The pattern is Noritake Lila, and it has feminine and delicate pink roses and green ferns. It was produced from 1964 to 1973. They have silver trim and will mix and match beautifully with my Lenox Fedral Platinum.
I love having a formal dining room but with young children, we don't use it that much. I thought it would be nice to have a formal Sunday dinner with my new family china.
For the centerpiece, I layered a platter and an oval vegetable bowl in the middle of the table. I had seen a couple of flowers on my camellia bushes and envisioned a bouquet of pink camellias anchored in oasis in the vegetable bowl, but the two blossoms I had seen had turned brown. There were no more flowers, but there are plenty of buds, so I hope to have some in a few weeks. Look for them in another tablescape!
The linens that I used for this tablescape were a gift from my mother last Christmas. She gave me a tablerunner and twelve napkins embroidered with an H for our monogram. I have two other sets of white linen placemats, but I thought that I would turn four of these napkins on the diagonal to highlight the initial.
The crystal candleholders were a wedding gift. They were recently used in our advent wreath. The sterling salt and pepper shakers belonged to my grandmother.
The crystal clarets are Araglin by Waterford. While replacing my crystal in the china cabinet after Thanksgiving dinner in 2008, a glass shelf fell, and all but three of my Araglin goblets shattered. I am slowly replacing them.
The sterling pattern is Tara by Reed and Barton. This is also my mother's pattern, and I knew that I wanted to register it, as well. While I was still working, I found a great buy on place settings for twelve on Ebay, and I bought it. I have never regretted it!
For more creative tablescapes, visit Susan at http://www.betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/.
