OH BUOY! A MESSAGE FOR YOU!

Welcome to Let's Dish, hope you are all enjoying these last few weeks of Summer!

On the East End of Long Island,

On a warm and humid night

The lighthouse blinked a message,

With its beam of blinding light.

Now what could be so urgent

That bloggers need to know?

I'm passing on the info,

Don't kill the messenger, though!  :)

And so, as it is a beautiful day for the beach or boating, I present a little nautical table.
I started with a cotton quilted sail boat throw, over  a white cloth.

Blue placemat, red charger from PB, blue dinner, nautical salad, and boat bowl.  Bowl from CTS, salads via Pfaltzgraff. com   Each has a different design.

 

A little buoy from CTS holds the napkins.
Flatware from HG.
Little fish butter plates from the Tablescaper.
Glassware from Dansk.

Whale salt and peppers from CTS.
The centerpiece are twin lighthouse votive holders, a top a life preserver and scallop shells I collected from down the street.
  I hope you enjoyed my Nautical Table.  Here , the boats will stay in the water till October, and people will enjoy the water and beaches that surround us here on the Island.

My tip is, if you have an idea for a table, no matter the season, go for it!  It is always summer or winter somewhere.

It is always nice to see something different when everyone is posting Halloween, a refreshing change.  No rules!  :)

I am linking to Stone Gable's ,  Tidbits, Tips and Tutorials, with that earth shattering pearl of wisdom! :)
It will be summer a few more weeks here at CK's, so don't put away your flip flops yet!
I found this crabby soap at CTS, it looks happy it is still summer!  :)
Have some dessert!


I had some fresh whole cherries and apples left from a cake I made.  I mixed them with some sugar and cinnamon and put them in a small skillet baking dish.

I topped it with a mixture of ricotta, cream cheese, sugar and vanilla, and topped it with some crumbs made with flour, butter, brown sugar, cinnamon and vanilla.

Bake till the crumbs are nice and brown.

It was delicious!  The whole cherries bursting in your mouth with the apples, cheese and crumb mixture was a winner.


Here is the same idea made as a cake.  No cherries, just apples.

Make a yellow cake, let it bake till it is firm enough to hold the sweetened sliced apples.  Spread on the cheese mixture, then top with crumbs and bake in a spring form pan.

It was moist and delicious. Apples, cheese and crumbs with a little cake, what's not to like?

I am so glad you stopped by, I always appreciate hearing from you!
Joining Susan for Tablescape Thursday


NEXT TABLE CHALLENGE ...SEPT. 26th...  HARVEST THEME! 
Fruits, vegetables, you know!

Your turn!

Same rules, see last week's post if you don't know them, thanks.
 Please be sure to visit as many entries as possible. No linking and running, :), and do leave me a comment if you are linking up, it's a GOOD thing to do!

Let's Dish #23 Stripe and Dot for Not A Lot! Another Bargain Adventure!

Last week Alma, The Tablescaper and I went on another bargain hunting marathon.
This time it wasn't for dishes, and even though we were close to Christmas Tree Shops, we didn't go!
I know, you are shocked!
But, the itinerary included a stop at 2 fabric outlets I frequent here on LI, and CTS will have to wait.
(Umm, I think we are meeting there tomorrow, as The Tablescaper is already back at  her winter abode.)
Anyway , we did well.  She wanted Fall inspiration, I am not in the Fall state of mind, it is still summer, warm and beachy!  I've got perspiration, not inspiration!
If you can stay with me through my tablescape , I will share.  Anyone, anyone?  :)

The pale yellow and green striped polished cotton is a remnant from Duralee.  I hemmed it, and it fit my round table.  One dollar!


The charger and plates are from clearance  CTS.  1.00 for the dinner, and .50 for the salad size.  I got them in blue and orange too.  Wouldn't you at that price?
The flatware is by Cambridge and from CTS as well as the hobnail glasses.
The fish napkin ring is from Pottery Barn Outlet, a few years ago.

My centerpiece is a pierced lantern from clearance in CTS, 1.49. I like to find things I can use as a vase or a lantern.
I filled it with unbloomed Sedum, Peegee hydrangea, and one lone gladioli.  I bought the bulbs last month cheap at CTS, and planted them, and they bloomed!

I used 2 yellow, and 2 green napkins.  The little bowls for our rolls are from Target.

Did you notice my new white bench?  It is my Mother's Day gift from my son and dil and 5 kids.  It is Polywood, from One King's Lane, very heavy and will outlast me!
On to some bargains...

Literally sweated for this one!  No AC in those fabric warehouses!  2.00 a yd, 60 wide.  We both got 10 yds to make tablecloths, we can share if we have a big group!
Can you picture all the tables done outside with white dishes and aqua napkins?

These bandanas, made in the USA, yeah!, were 50 cents.

This was 3.50 a yard, but 60 in wide and great quality.

This was a remnant, enough for my dining room table.  Tan and black, great weight to it, one stinkin' dollar!  :)
I have lots of ideas for this one!  I am sure I will get my dollar's worth.
TIP, Tid bits and Tutorial at Stone Gable entry...
Have a BELT?

This was .99 cents, the placemat was too!  Cut it up and make napkin rings.
The black napkin is one of the bandanas for .50.
Some will have holes or you can just not use that part if you are fussy.  I though I could make a name tag and tie it with thin black ribbon through the hole.
When dh saw me doing this he gave me this one that was on a pair of pants he bought.

I think it will go well with the black and tan plaid fabric.
That's it for tonight!
Thanks you so much to those who took part in the Summer Fun Table Challenge.  I loved the ones who really stuck to the theme challenge!  Very creative!
Thanks for visiting the entrants.  Please try to visit a lot of the entries, don't be a link and runner! :)  That's like an eat and runner, lol!
Same rules, leave a comment, link back, no word id, blog name first, table related.  Visit , visit, visit! :)
Your turn!
I am joining The Tablescaper for Seasonal Sunday 
Susan for Tablescape Thursday
Yvonne for T T and T
Diann for Thrifty Friday

Let's Dish #22 Summer Fun Table Challenge

Welcome to Let's Dish, tonight is the SUMMER FUN table challenge.

Today's thunder storms and rain meant no boat table for outdoors that I had planned.

Instead we will have an Indoor Garden Party!



Remember I showed you these April Cornell napkins, and runner, as well as the picket fence napkin rings my friend Gail sent me?  I just love them, and decided to use them tonight .


I just happened to have a picket  fence centerpiece, and I filled it with Black Eyed Susan's .

.  They are blooming profusely on the hill on the side of our property. A few purple verbena for a pop of color.


Yellow placemat the long way, red square plate and yellow square plate from Pfaltzgraff.  com

They were both 1.00.  I got the red last year and the yellow/gold last week!

Green handled bowl from CTS, 1.00.  Same ones in HG for 3 times as much!

Flatware is Fiesta mixed with a set I got at HG so I would have soup spoons.

Green and yellow stem and tumbler were gifts from The Tablescaper.
Bird salt and pepper from Pier One.



Picket fence candle holders are 12 yrs old.  I have a lot of them, and they were .99 complete with a candle in a ceramic holder that I removed.


That's our indoor Garden Party on this rainy, dark day!

Last week, Alma and I went bargain hunting and I found this.
  The place was 10 grades below a Thrift Shop, definitely an adventure!  DIRTY!


A large ruffled platter in pastel colors..
.

The bowl matches it, so it could be a chip and dip,
or
put the bowl underneath and it becomes a cake plate.

TIP, look for pieces you can use for different purposes.



They are from Pottery Barn, and the platter was 2.00 and the bowl 1.00. Made in ITALY!


It held a good amount of iced brownies that I made for last weekend.


Flip the brownies out of the pan to cool.  Ice with chocolate icing, I have posted the recipe before, and when totally cool, cut into squares.


That's it for me this week.

I am joining
Yvonne for Tips ,Tidbits and Tutorials
Susan for Tablescape Thursday
Diann for Thrifty Things Friday
Gollum for Foodie Friday
Thanks for visiting!

Now Let's see what you have for the Summer Fun Challenge!
Same rules to link up, leave a comment, be a follower , one link, no word id, blog name first please. 
Your turn!

Let's Dish #21 Edible Centerpiece

Welcome to Let's Dish!  Next Wed is the Table Challenge,

SUMMER FUN! 

Camping, Boating, a Picnic, whatever you do for fun in the summer!  Some may pick an indoor event as it is so hot in parts of the country!

Tonight's table was inspired by this basket I have had for many years.

Black background with strawberries painted on both sides.

I filled it with washed berries, and put them on a toothpick and stuck them into the oasis filled basket.
I'll serve a little fruit dip and we can eat them as part of the dessert!

TIP:  Wash your berries with one part white vinegar to 9 parts water.  They will last lots longer without getting fuzzy, the vinegar retards the mold from growing.

I keep a spray bottle with a vinegar/water mixture in the kitchen.  I use it for wiping down the counters, as well as the frig, floors, etc.  So I spray and rinse all the fruit when I bring it home.


I started with a black cloth , square charger that I got at Pfaltzgraf .com during their Dollar Day sales for 2.00

The red plate is also from there, $1.00

Square white plate CTS, square bowl Pfaltzgraf.

I surrounded it with a strawberry wreath that was $1.00


The strawberry napkins are from PB Outlet on sale, about 1.00 each.



TIP:  Pachysandra makes wonderful filler for centerpieces. I tucked some white portulaca and diamond frost, and a  few strawberry leaves in with the greens.




Green flatware from World Market.  My friend Susan at Savoring Time in the Kitchen sent me settings for 4 and I added to it so I have 12.

Little strawberry candles from the .99 store .



Green chrysanthemum glasses by Anthropologie via the .99 store were, yes, .99!

 Bubble glass stems filled with strawberry iced tea from Pfaltzgraff Clearance Outlets years ago.

A little white bucket holds a big fat strawberry as a take home.


It opens up to this handy dandy shopping bag!


The wrinkles will come out when you fill it with goodies!

It was .80 at Cmas Tree Shops.  Very handy to keep in your purse
. Out here the supermarkets charge you .05 for a paper bag as plastic is banned.  Sounds like  good thing, right? 
BUT, we pay by the bag to get rid of our garbage.

Almost 3.00 a bag, and they are plastic!  Ironic!

Pull up a chair and pop a plump berry into your mouth !


You can see my strawberry table from 2 years ago HERE.


Looking forward to seeing your entries this week!


Marigene from In the Middle of Nowhere had the most visits last week, 57!

 Those polka dot napkins were very eye catching!  Lots of other entries were close to that, so THANK YOU for visiting so many entries.  I am so glad this isn't a link and run party!  :)


Same rules,
BLOG NAME FIRST, thanks!  There is no limit on the description, so you can add the title after that.
One link, no word id or selling things permitted.

Please leave a comment here, and a link back to this party is required. Please visit as many as you can! 




Of course, it is Let's Dish, so only table related things are invited.


It doesn't have to be a table, last week Christine wowed us with an amazing amount of table  goodies purchased at an estate sale.  It was unbelievable!

I'll be back tomorrow for Foodie Friday.  This was long so I decided to split it.

I am joining Yvonne at Stone Gable for Tips, T and T
Susan for Tablescape Thursday
Diann for Thrifty Things Friday

Thanks for visiting and leaving a comment, I love hearing from you!