Tablescape Thursday...or...Dinner in Provence

Welcome to Tablescape Thursday with our hostess with the mostest, Susan at Between Naps on the Porch! Please be sure to pay our gracious hostess a visit to see one of her wonderful tablescapes and to find a list of this week's participants!

Once again, our co-host is Baby Kitty, who is very busy checking out the placement of the flatware. He is a big fan of Miss Janice and wants to be sure that everything is done properly!

Tonight, imagine that we are having dinner in a little restaurant in a village in Provence! I am using my favorite colors, yellow and blue, because they remind me of the sunny south of France! Do you see my new Spode plate and spice jar on the sideboard? I won those in a giveaway from dear Diane at Four Paws and Co. Don't they just look right at home?

I am layering my yellow Vent du Sud tablecloth with Waverly placemats in a provençal pattern and, at the center, my very special table scarf that I found in Fontaine de Vaucluse, France! In Provence, it is common to mix patterns in fabrics and layer with coordinating colors.

The simple centerpiece is an arrangement of faux paper whites and a pair of blue and white candlesticks. I cannot use real plants for fear of having them eaten by my staff! lol

I used placemats at the two ends of the table and let the scarf serve as an interesting touch at the other places. I am using crystal goblets because there is already so much color on the table. These are actually my everyday dishes that I bought at HomeGoods about 6 years ago.

My friend Linda at Nina's Nest took me for my first shopping trip there. I walked in and these plates were on a big cart, not even on display yet. I squealed so loudly when I saw them that the manger came over...no kidding! Women started gathering around the cart to see what was so wonderful! Poor Linda had to explain...her first trip to HomeGoods!! lol They match my placemats which match my window treatments and the wallpaper in my kitchen!!!

There are four different salad/dessert plates that feature little shops you would commonly find in France. This one shows a wine shop.

This one is a boulangerie...a bakery that sells bread, not sweets.

This is a little grocery store/ fruit market. You can see from the name that the shop is in Provence!

And here is my favorite... a pâtisserie....a pastry shop! It's called Le Chat Blanc...the white cat. In the window is a croquembouche, which is a pièce montée...a pyramid of profiteroles or cream puffs held together by hardened caramel drizzles! Can you guess what it is? It's a French wedding cake!!!

I am using my pewter flatware again because I like the way it looks...chunky and old-fashioned. It just seems like the kind of flatware you might have in a tiny restaurant in a little village in Provence!

I have added an Italian egg plate because I love the colors. This one usually hangs above my stove.

I like to use these pots for breadsticks or condiments. They reflect the pattern in the candlesticks.

Well, there you have it...my dinner in Provence! I hope you have enjoyed our little outing and will continue your tour de tablescapes by visiting Susan at Between Naps on the Porch!