Hi everyone,

This post was written last weekend when we were all waiting for the hurricane & nor’easter.

(Click on photos to enlarge)

Okay, it is October 3, 2015 and Autumn has only officially been here for 10 days and I miss the Summer already. Today it was cold, rainy and plain disgusting outside; so what do you do to cheer up?

Some people make soup on days like today, which is all well and good and I will be doing that during the week. Some people stay in pajamas and watch movies all day, which is also good. But for me, I cook! Today I set a beach themed tablescape. I just had to hold on to one more seaside dinner….

 I was in the mood for Linguine with Clam Sauce today, so Bob went out and bought 2 dozen little neck clams for me. He is an angel. He went out in the worst weather- a nor’easter.

I just had to have a beach themed tablescape if I was going to have a seafood meal.

I am desperately missing the beach, the sun, the sand and the sound of the waves.

I dug out some of my summer dishes and accessories which I already packed away for the season, but I didn’t mind the extra work to unpack them. Besides, Bob is a great assistant. I direct and he does all the lifting. My husband is priceless!

I have a lot of nautical and fish dishes that I have accumulated over the years but one of my favorites is the Bella Seashell dishes I purchased over 15 years ago. The colors are both soothing and cheery at the same time and that is what this rainy cold day needed. So let’s get started on this dreary October day.

The dishes are coral, aqua, burgundy and seafoam green earthenware with hand painted starfish and seashells on an off white background. When I look at this pattern, it reminds me of all the beautiful shells at the beach and I can almost smell the ocean.

Just in case you are interested there are only 240 days until Memorial Day from today. I keep telling myself I can make it.

I am using a Nicole Miller tablecloth that has all the same colors of the dishes but in a very muted pastel (I just love Nicole Miller patterns). I thought that this would be a great back drop for the dishes so it wouldn’t over power the table but still keep the theme going.

Next, a seafoam green woven placemat and a white ceramic charger plate. The seafoam green picks up another color featured on the dishes.

I didn’t buy the matching napkins to the tablecloth because sometimes I would rather pick up individual colors from the dishes I am using; so I chose coral napkins to feature yet another dish color.

I was so excited to find nautical rope napkin rings at the end of the season and I knew they would be perfect for a beach tablescape. I also have nautical rope plates — but we’ll get to that on another tablescape.

The flatware that I am using happens to be the only nautical themed set that I have (so far) and they have adorable sailboats with a nautical rope trim design on the handle.

I was going to use peach long stem glass goblets for this tablescape, but then the goblets would be too high and block the centerpiece. Instead, I chose small water tumblers with aqua schools of fish circling the glass.

If you visit the beach as often as I do in the summer, not only do you see Seagulls flying around but you can usually see Sandpipers. They are cute little birds that you see while they are searching in the mud and sand for food. 

While I was browsing on Amazon one night for some beach decor, I came across this trio of brown and creme wooden sandpiper statues, and I knew immediately that they would be just perfect for a centerpiece. So the purchase was made and I am now adding them to my tablescape. I am so happy with this purchase.

I might even keep them out next summer on an end table in the living room as a nice summer decoration.

Of course the centerpiece had to include some seashells and I am using some of my “vacation seashells”. I mentioned this in another post that these shells have been collected from our past vacations.

A souvenir that brings back great memories for me.

For an extra little beach touch, I decided to accent the centerpiece with fish netting and some glass gems along with the shells to add a little sparkle to the table.

You know how much I love candles on the table by now, so I am using clam shell tea light holders and filling them with sand to hold the candles in place. The tea light holders were another great find last year in Pier 1.

I think that candles bring such a pretty soft glow to any table

A few accent pieces of mini ceramic starfish plates and a seashell salt and pepper shaker pulls the table together.

Oh, before I forget. My latest find that I am not using today, but had to display on the table just to show you, is a vintage ceramic soup tureen with a pastel seashell design. I just love this tureen. The colors match the tablecloth perfectly. I bought this late in the season and never had the opportunity of using it yet. But I see a big pot of New England Clam Chowder filling this bowl next summer.

(A little secret: I bought this soup tureen a month ago in the car on the thruway while we were driving home from my son’s house. I just love the Ipad on long trips. Bob can’t believe that I can shop in a moving vehicle.)

Now the tablescape is complete.

I am now ready for my Linguine with Clam Sauce and a taste of the summer and the sea.

I can’t believe I did this, but I forgot to take a photo of today’s meal. I was so busy unpacking the soup tureen that I completely forgot. The photo I posted above is the Linguine and Clam Sauce I made a few weeks ago that I posted on Facebook. I just wanted to show you what the final product looks like.

I hope this tablescape brightened your afternoon.

It certainly helped me get through a rainy, dreary day.

Until my next post, stay well and make every day a celebration!

Diane

Place Setting

Tablescape Details

Bella Seashell dishes from a purchase 15 years ago…

Nicole Miller seashell tablecloth from Amazon

Nautical rope napkin rings from Bed, Bath and Beyond

Coral napkins from Amazon

Seafoam green placemats from Pier 1

White chargers from Pfaltzgraff

Nautical Sailboat flatware from Towle

Fish glassware from Homegoods

Clam shell tea light holders from Pier 1

Fish Net from Party City

Colored Gems from Michael’s Arts & Crafts

Seashells from past vacations

Ceramic starfish from Homegoods

Seashell salt and pepper shakers from Pier 1

Wooden Sandpiper statues from Amazon

Seashell soup tureen from Etsy

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(Photo credit: deanmillerprints.com)