Dining al fresco, my new tabletop has arrived and a winner!

Hi there, boy its been one heck of a busy week. First things first, here's the lucky winner of the gift certificate to Nancy's Daily Dish giveaway, congrats goes to........ 

Result:

59

chedeb5353April 9, 2013 at 11:59 AM

I love Nancy's shop and blog. I would choose the Mason's Vista Dog Park Couples red plate. Debra C. chedeb5353@hotmail.com

Please contact me here to provide your shipping details.

 Sooooooo happy its Friday..... I am glad the week is over, I need some downtime in a big way. The weather has truly been all over the map as I know it has in many parts of the country. We have had 82 and sunny one day and today it's a cold 48 and rainy........all in one week! I think the flowers and plants are quite confused as to whether or not they should make their debut! I for one cannot wait until the warmer weather is here for good....which makes me instantly crave eating outdoors, one of the perks of the late spring and summer months which leads me to my post today...... I had given a little preview of the beautiful new melamine dishes I was waiting on....by far the most beautiful I have ever seen! So naturally I was super excited about carrying them, well I am happy to report that as of today, they are up for sale in my shop! I am really thrilled about this line, not only do they look and feel like real pottery but they are dishwasher safe, doesn't get better. The glasses also look like real glass....this entire set might well become my every day set! Here's a look at some of the new items, click here to see the entire line in my online shop. Tah dah........

Can you believe it's melamine? And it even feels like pottery....I am still amazed! And to whet your appetite for dining outdoors, thought it would be fun to take a look at all the beautiful ways to entertain outside. Don't you just love eating outdoors? I love planning a meal al fresco. How about you? Always love to know your thoughts..... 

 Love mixing natural element like wicker and net with cool blues...so pretty! Pottery Barn 

  This is totally magical. I love seeing a table draped in a beautiful tablecloth, yes even outdoors!

 No flowers? Even a few potted herb plants looks beautiful in an al fresco setting! Pottery Barn

 Big fan of rattan and wicker serving pieces...can make even the simplest of dishes look soooo good!

 I am a big fan of oversized glass dispensers, just chilled water filed with lemon and lime slices looks so wonderful! PB

 Love the way a pop of yellow added to any outdoor setting gives it such a cheerful feel, Pottery Barn

Love the idea of adding a beautiful patterned tablecloth to an outdoors setting to dress it up a little.....so pretty!

Crisp white and blue with a pop of yellow always works! Centsational Girl 

 Beautiful natural elements with lots of earthy texture make this setting just dreamy, Rinfret

 Adore these glasses.......one thing I want to buy this season! Global Amici

 Love how fresh and fun these colors feel! Eddie Ross

Love the way a seaside theme was carried out....gorgeous! Moonlight and magnollias 

 I also like the idea of using all white and then adding a bold graphic element to the table, Wedding Wire

Using a pretty functional tiered container for a mini raw bar is a fabulous idea!

 When you have a beautiful setting like this, a large pair of hurricanes and a set of rattan placemats does the trick!Williams Sonoma

                Love the idea of fun and whimsical serving pieces like this one from Pottery Barn

I love the idea of adding something as simple as a fern leaf or any type of greenery to dress up a setting!

 Love the idea of beautiful, unique serving piece....like the salad being served in the giant clamshell! Williams Sonoma

Love the idea of large tall lanterns on a table, not only is the lighting gorgeous but it gives great height to a decorative element for the table,  Wedding wire

Have you ever seen a rustic wood log slice look so elegant? Love it for an outdoor setting! 

 Yes please! I love the idea of taking simple glasses and filling them with tall skinny breadsticks, easy! Lynn Butler

Pick a bold color to accent on a table...it gives a lot of great drama!

 Love the layered effect here...simply stunning! One Kings Lane

Now here is a few examples of how stunning my newest line looks for al fresco dining...Just love it and cannot wait to set up  my own table!

Have I gotten you in the mood to plan a little al fresco meal of your own? I cannot wait until mother nature decides once and for all to allow the mild weather to stay put, so we can all start planning our little outdoor soirees! I for one, cannot wait because we all know everything tastes better al fresco! Wishing you a wonderful Friday and a fabulous weekend ahead. Thanks for stopping in and thank you Nancy for your wonderful and generous giveaway!

Also if you missed some of my gorgeous (mostly silver) new arrivals from yesterday, click here, a few pieces still left. Talk to you soon!

 

Bits and pieces I am loving......chapter 1

Good Saturday morning. As we continue to settle in, I am slowly thinking about furnishing this place! Right now I am concentrating on getting the kitchen, family room and breakfast room done. I have ordered bedding for my bedroom as well as my sons and will start working on window treatments. I am excited about the dining and living room and unlike my last house, where I took my time so much so that by the time we sold it after seven years after building it, I had just finished the dining room. I am determined this time to be much more expeditious in getting this house done! So in my travels, just some odds and ends that I am enjoying and liking very much. Thought I would share.....this will be a likely occurrence as I continue to scour the market for furnishings, fabrics and such hence the "chapter 1". 
Also I was so happy to discover a simple button on my camera had not been set (auto light) and voila when I pressed it, I finally got the natural light in the pictures I had been wanting! Phew....I was starting to get annoyed as that meant I was going to have to read the manual and anyone who knows me knows how I hate reading manuals more than anything next to assembling something:) So here's a picture of my kitchen with the new setting....much better!!

SO much better, right?

Now onto bits and pieces I am loving........
Safavieh Home. Love their new Dutch Collection. I absolutely love every single piece in this entire collection! What beauty, all made of reclaimed wood and then painted and antiqued, whats not to love. Talk about statement pieces!!! Click here to visit.

Williams Sonoma...I don't think they have ever looked better. Love all their monogrammed goodies as much for myself as for gift giving. And they have some fabulous lighting as well as beautiful high thread count bedding, monogrammed of course! Click here to visit them.

Decorative Crafts Lighting.I have spoken often about how much I like Decorative Crafts lighting. Their things are very well made, most made in Italy and are simply stunning. We used many of their things in our old home and are using sconces and lanterns from them in our new home. Click here to visit them.

PINK PAGODA I showed a few from Thursdays post...but they are so darn cute!! I love the statement this chic little case makes! Click here to visit!

So thats my bits and pieces for today. Anything exciting over on your end? Hope everyone has a great weekend, we have dinner plans, son left for a ski trip to Utah early this morning and hopefully tomorrow is going to be that long awaited lazy Sunday I have been longing for!!