In 2007 I had the privilege of getting to know a lovely young woman who is from England, but lives in Michigan because of her husband's career. Her mum still lives in England but is here visiting, so I invited them to lunch today. The welcome flag was hung to greet them.
The table was set. I had never heard of layering table linens until 2008 when I attended "An Occasion for Tea" sponsored by Tea Time Magazine, and designer April Cornell did a presentation on layering. She began with a floor length under cloth, covered with a tablecloth, and a mini-cloth in the center [or a table runner], and place mats. Ever since seeing her presentation, I often layer my table linens.
I used my pink Depression glass dishes. I only had two berry bowls, so my girlfriend suggested I "re-purpose" my juice glasses [cherry blossom pattern] and use them for fruit. I liked her idea and it worked perfectly. Pattern of the dinner plates and teacups and saucers is Sharon.
I used my Fenton Epergne for the centerpiece. It's low and doesn't obstruct vision.
We began with tomato dill bisque. [Bowls are Manhattan pattern] I normally don't like to take photos once my guests arrive, but they read my blog and were very gracious about taking photos so I wouldn't have to recreate the lunch afterwards.
Green fruits in jasmine tea syrup [honeydew melon balls, seedless green grapes and kiwi] followed the soup.
I shaped corn tortillas into salad bowls for our southwest chicken salad.
We concluded with a simple dessert of raspberry sherbet. Our tea throughout the meal was Lemon Jade Green Tea from Simpson & Vail.
I so enjoyed my guests and our time spent together around the table.
