Summer Serenity

Don’t grow up too quickly lest you forget how much you love the beach. –Michelle Held

In the Photo Forum at Recipezaar, I participated in the Grilling Special for July.  The recipe I chose to make was Spicy Grilled Shrimp by bratty.  Wow, this was some delicious shrimp!  If you love shrimp and spicy foods, this recipe is a must try.

Along with the grilled shrimp, I served Cheddar Bay Biscuits, fries and a garden salad.  It was a wonderful meal!  In the spirit of seafood for dinner, the table was set with a beach theme.

I love the beach…the warm breezes, the amazing colors of an ocean sunset and the soft sounds of the waves lapping at the shore.  You can almost feel your troubles floating away on the waves.  I’ve tried to bring a bit of that tranquility to my table setting. 

I started out with turquoise straw placemats layered over a white tablecloth.  The dinner plates and bread/butter plates were white rimmed with platinum.

The salad plates each feature a different sea shell/starfish and were found at a local thrift store.

I couldn’t resist buying these goblets after my daughter spotted them on a shopping trip last year.  They just jumped in my cart and begged me to bring them home!   So what’s a girl to do?  I love how the blue glass at the top fades into a green shade at the bottom. 

Butter spreaders have a little blue fish on the handles.  This was another thrift store find that I couldn’t resist.  The napkins were recently found at Old Time Pottery and the napkin rings are clear acrylic with seashells on the top. 

I love how the turquoise blue in the placemats shines through the clear handles on the flatware.

The bowl I used in my centerpiece is an antique store purchase from many years ago.  It’s depression glass, but I don’t know if it has a pattern name.  The bowl is filled with sand and seashells.

Place cards were held by seashells and feature a tranquil beach scene.

The candles have little seashells embedded in them.  Can you spot the tiny starfish in the candle?

Seashells surround the bowl and are scattered around the table.

For the finishing touch to a delicious meal, dessert was Lemon Gold Cake.  This is an old recipe from an issue of “The Progressive Farmer”.  My grandmother had cut out the recipe and saved it with some papers in her chifferobe.

 

Thank you for visiting and I hope you’ll come back soon.

I’m joining Susan over at Between Naps on the Porch for another fantabulous Tablescape Thursday.  Don’t you want to join in too?

DG