The afternoon sun comes through my living room windows and I’ve always wanted to have tea on the little drop leaf table that sits in the window.
I started with the snowflake lace tablecloth that I got for Christmas. I was inspired by Diane’s beautiful tablescape at An Extraordinary Day.
When my neighbor’s household goods were sold after her death, I snatched up her collection of silver teapots. Some, like this one, didn’t have a lid and were black with tarnish, but I know that there are a million ways to use silver teapots. In this tablescape, it holds pink carnations (fake, but for a real dinner I would use real flowers). I was wearing a red sweatshirt when I took these photos, and had to dump a lot of them because you could see me reflected in the newly polished silver. 🙂
Our wedding “china” was a collection of mismatched depression glass that our relatives bought us. It was a such a thoughtful gift for people who already had years of adult living but were starting anew together.
I layered my trusty Pfaltzgraff Filigree with the depression glass plate (Jeanette’s Cherry Blossom) and then added the Japanese hand-painted plates.
I picked up a pink damask tablecloth and twelve napkins at an antique shop and my mother-in-law gave us the collection of twelve silver napkin rings, each of them different. Looking at these photos, I think a white napkin works better –what do you think?
I collect all kinds of silver and I always grab the black silver trays at garage sales. This one probably cost a dollar. All I have to do is clean it up with some tarnish remover and polish it with a high quality polish and it looks like it’s a family heirloom. I use silver on the patio, as a vanity tray, for serving drinks, and always on my buffet tables and for meal service pieces. The silver’s patina gets more beautiful the more you use it, and it’s not much more difficult than washing a dish to keep it polished. Nan at Silver Magpies is my go-to source for all things silver.
Although I actually have a matching silver tea service, I thought that for this informal setting I would use a mix of colors and ceramics along with the silver. The Sadler teapot from England is the perfect coloring for matching with the depression glass cream and sugar. The mint meltaways found a home in a hand-painted German dish, and I put a crocheted doily on the platter to protect it from drips and scratches. The M&O pink votive was gift from a friend and its chunky texture complements the dainty glassware nicely.
Over the years, I have been lucky enough to have built a large collection of dishes, but a lot of what I have was purchased at reduced prices at garage sales, church sales, and consignment shops. Once you decide the direction you want your collection to go, not only will you see beautiful additions everywhere, but people will give you gifts to go with what you already have.
The point is to use it; don’t let it sit in a cupboard or even worse, sit unused in those storage containers. Once your stuff is packed up, it will seem like too much trouble to drag it out. Keep your silver flatware in a convenient drawer in your kitchen and your grandma’s china in your cupboard. You and your family and friends deserve beauty in your lives; every day is a special day!
I’m linking up today at Between Naps on the Porch, Cuisine Kathleen, and The Style Sisters. Visit these ladies for more Valentine’s Day inspiration and be sure to comment.
We love hearing from you!
The Seasoned Dish 
Amen to not storing stuff away out of sight and out of mind!!! I think the more you can enjoy it on an everyday basis when you pass by it or open a drawer to see it there, the better! You’re really smart to grab up those blackened silver pieces! A little elbow grease and TLC, and voila!…you’ve got yourself something really special!!! The silver without lids are really great buys because you can still use them as you did here. So pretty! I couldn’t love that teapot more if it was my own sister!!!!!!! What a pretty, pretty thing!!!!!! Same goes for the S&P shakers. The pattern is really nice! I hope you can sit and enjoy tea( or “tea” as it would be in my case! 🙂 ) and just enjoy your quiet time. Have a great weekend!
It’s likely to be “tea” in my case as well. I’m sure that the wine police would not object to my using those beautiful pink tumblers for a nice white wine spritzer!
Jennie…I’m so thrilled you’ve started your own blog (about such a fabulous topic too) and flattered to be mentioned! I look forward to many more posts 🙂 and I totally empathize with having to take ridiculous numbers of photos of the silver and then finding you can’t use them due to reflections.
– Nan
Nan, you know me from my Got My Reservations blog (http://gotmyreservations.com/) — which I have practically abandoned now that I have an outlet for my obsession with dishes and setting the table. Who knew such a community existed?
Oh! I hadn’t made the connection (obviously :-). It’s funny I was just thinking I hadnt had an email about Got My Reservations in ages.
And yes, the most fantastic communities exist around the tiniest of niches. It’s a wonderful feeling, isn’t it.
– Nan
So beautiful! I love the teapot and the depression glass and silvers but you know what I really like? …your S&P shakers….Christine
Oh, I love your pink Depression glass! I have been sorely tempted to start collecting some — though I’m at the point in life when I really should start giving things away! Thanks for the tip about Silver Magpies. I’m off to check out her tips! Love those silver napkin rings you have!
I have been giving away furniture but only a few dishes yet. I imagine they will be the last to go — I hope someone will cherish my stuff someday, even if they find it at a garage sale. 🙂
Such a pretty table! I think I like the pink napkin better. Makes the setting white-pink-white-pink.
Deborah, that was my original take and I still love the pink linens. You should feel how soft they are from many years of use.
I love all of it and would love to come for tea. The pink depression glass brings back lots of memories for me of your wedding and of my own collection of course. Beautiful! I love silver too and have collected pieces for years. I rather enjoy polishing it. The transformation is part of the fun!
Mary Ette, you know that I wish we lived closer together so that we could have tea and “tea” together more often than we do. I hope that you will sign up to follow this blog by email as you will see many memories from our family show up in my tablescapes. XOXO
I think you should have tea every afternoon! I have decided to do that! That is a beautiful tea pot. I love collecting beautiful dishes too.
I loved your collection of tea pots! http://shirleys-world.blogspot.com/2013/02/all-my-tea-pots-so-far.html Thanks for stopping by to visit my dishes. 🙂
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A beautiful Table for Two for Tea! This so touched me and also a great way to shop and acquire a wonderful collection of china, silver and crystal. I love the hunt and the cleaning and using of the old, new, vintage and antique. Your wonderful collection of pink depression was also how part of mine began when we first married. You might enjoy the blog Rose Chintz Cottage blogspot with it’s Tea Time Tuesday link party but it’s really on Monday. The teapots are so charming and the light coming in for your photos is perfect. Your tea party is a pretty place to have tea and the sweets are so tempting. I am also crazy about china and teapots and enjoyed this teascape so much for it is so lovely!
Pam
Thank you for your lovely comment — it’s so much fun to find people who share similar interests in beautiful table settings.
Very pretty table…the sugar/creamer brought back memories…they sat on our table every day!
I love how the light plays on faceted glass and the pinky/yellow tone of depression glass really lends itself to the late afternoon sun. It was fun creating this tablescape and it brought back a lot of memories for me, too. Thanks for visiting!
Absolutely stunning, Jennie. I wished we lived closer – you could show me how to set a table and we could talk books and travel for hours. This has to feel like you’re in Europe without actually leaving your home. I love what you have created here!
xoxomichele
I’m starting a new business helping people to use grandma’s china and the things that they already have. Fly me down, girl; you can be my first client! Thanks for being supportive of my work, Michele.
What a wonderful idea to gift the bride and groom with the beautiful depression glass. Your table is so pretty, and I personally like the pink napkin. I also love that hand painted china. And how wonderful to have a collection of beautiful silver napkin rings, and that silver tray is a beauty too. Love the flowers in the silver pitcher. laurie
This is beautiful! I love the idea of your registry being “depression” glass!! You are a smart lady!
I am with you on the silver…I snatch it up at every junk sale or estate sale. I clean and polish to my heart’s content…first with Mr. Metal and then with Wrights.
There will be silver on our Valentine table this evening…I polished it on my lunch hour ;^)
Blessings,
J
There’s a silver compote holding chocolates on our table right now that was a wedding gift and of course my mom’s sterling flatware is always at the ready. There’s nothing like silver to brighten up one’s day. Thanks for stopping by!