TABLESCAPE THURSDAY - True Blue

I have to tell you that this week's table has been fun! The inspiration started when I was at my local grocery store - Harris Teeter - and saw that Le Bleu water was on sale! I just loved the bright, rich blue of the bottles and the scroll-like script used for the brand. After drinking the water I saved three of the bottles planning to use them outside on the deck to hold fresh cut flowers the next time we dined out. The bottles are shatterproof so they make a great alternative to glass vases. After looking through the cabinets for dishes and crystal, I spied the Le Bleu bottles sitting on my counter! BINGO! This week's table would take its queue from the bottles - a classic pairing of yellow, white and blue was the natural thing to do! I set the breakfast room table using a yellow, hem-stitched linen placemat and layered a round, straw placemat in Aegean blue on top. I just love to layer placemats. I didn't use any chargers but laid down my Blue Churchill plates and topped them off with my favorite IVORY salad plates. I sat a small white hobnail vase holding bright yellow daisies in the center of the salad plate for added punch. I only have one of these little vases but would LOVE to have 8 or 10! They are the perfect size for holding individual sized bouquets.
To form the centerpiece I used an oriental wooden tray and filled it with three Le Bleu bottles filled with white hydrangea and three white milk glass vases filled with "sunshine-y" yellow daisies. I filled in around the vases with the infamous birdie salt and pepper shakers and the votive candle holders.
Remember these? I think it's time for Susan to host another "Target Birdies go on holiday!" party. We'll have to let her know!
These fluffy white hydrandeas came from my local market. They were the manager's special this week - only $1.99!

To get a better shot of the Blue Churchill plates, I propped it up on a plateholder. I've had these plates for 20 years or better. I have cups and saucers to match but can not find where I've stored them. I still have boxes of dishes I haven't unpacked from 3 years ago! Yikes!

By now you are well acquainted with my IVORY dishes from Better Homes & Gardens. I use these dishes more than any others. They are so pretty. I love the embossing. They can be dressed up on an elegant, formal table or dressed down with a gingham checked tablecloth on the back deck!

The sparkle of crystal goblets will add panache to any table.

This is the third week I've used the Bamboo flatware. I am finding myself reaching for it over and over. I love the texture it adds to the table.

I found these napkins at HomeGoods a few months ago. I purchased a package of 4 for $2. You can't beat that! I looked for more packages but to no avail. They are hand blocked and painted. I can see myself using these in a new beach table - stay tuned for that! These little white wrought-iron birdie napkin rings are my favorites. I use them on my table almost continuously during the Spring and Summer months.

Yellow, White and Blue - next to Red, White and Blue it's the perfect summer time trio of colors - a true American tradition. I hope you've enjoyed looking around today. For tons more inspiration and FABULOUS tables of all types, sizes and styles, visit Susan at:

Between Naps on the Porch!

Until I see you again,

Happy Decorating!

~Alisa

The Cook's Corner - Lemon Curd Layer Cake and Yellow Daisies

Have you ever had a day when things just didn't go the way they were planned? Well that was my yesterday! I wanted to post a project that I'm working on featuring Jelly Bean Pots but that was not meant to be. So I wll feature that a little later this week. In the meanwhile, I'll share a new recipe with you. You might remember that I'm a huge fan of Sandra Lee and love the concept of semi-homemade. That's where this recipe comes in. My mother loves lemon anything and I wanted to test a few recipes that used lemon. I decided to play "Sandra Lee" and spruce up a boxed cake mix with a little added zest. Here's my version of Lemon Curd Layer Cake. I was really happy with the way it tured out. Here's what I used.

1 pkg. Duncan Hines Lemon Supreme cake mix

3 teaspoons of fresh grated lemon peel

1 pkg Jello sugar free instant pudding - Lemon flavored

3 Eggs

1/3 cup Organic Canola Oil

1 1/3 cups of water

1 - 7.5 oz jar Dickinson's all-natural Lemon Curd

Lemon-Cheesecake Frosting (recipe below)

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Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Prepare two 8-inch round cake pans, butter bottom and sides.
3. Mix first 5 ingredients together on low speed for 30 seconds until moistened. Then beat for 2 minutes on medium speed.
4. Evenly divide the batter between the two pans and bake for 30-34 minutes on middle rack of heated oven.
5. Remove cakes and allow to cool completely.
6. Once the cakes are cooled, remove from the pans, level the layers by cutting away any rounded, raised cake from the tops.
7. Place a little of the Lemon Curd on a cake stand (this will hold the bottom layer in place.) Place the bottom layer on top of the stand.
8. Empty the entire contents of the Lemon Curd on top of the bottom layer. Spread to an even thickness across the entire layer.
9. Place the second layer on top of the bottom layer, then frost with Lemon-Cheesecake Frosting.
10. Garnish with fresh lemon slices.

Lemon-Cheesecake Frosting

Take one tub of Duncan Hines Whipped Cream Cheese frosting and add 1 tablespoon of fresh squeezed lemon juice and two teaspoons of fresh grated lemon peel. Next, add 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract. Blend well on low with electric mixer.

This cake turned out so moist and lemony. It was an incredible explosion of flavor! Mr. Panche never eats two helpings of dessert but last night he did declaring that "I could eat this cake every day of my life!" I thought that was little extreme but evidently he really enjoyed it. I have been staying away from sugar and high carb foods for awhile now but last night I sampled a small piece of my handiwork and I had to agree that it really was delicious. This will now be one of my "tried and true" recipes and I will do the honor of adding it to the family cookbook.

Here, I saved a slice for you. Enjoy!

While the cake was baking I decided to put together a quick and easy centerpiece. I love working with fresh flowers but sometimes they are hard to arrange without a lot of special tools or the right containers. I had purchased three clear glass square jars from the Dollar Tree. Everything there is only $1 each. They are actually intended for candles but I decided to use them as vases. However the mouth of the vase was wide and the vase was shallow so I had to figure out a way to keep my flowers from falling out of the vase.

I have my photos out of order but here is what I did.

I embellished one vase for use as the centerpiece. I used grosgrain ribbon in yellow and brown. I simply hot glued the ribbon in two places to hold it in place.

Next, I made my own "floral frog" but taking clear, waterproof tape and forming a crisscross pattern across the top of the vase. If you look closely you can see the pattern and the tape. Once you have completed the taping, simply tuck a single stem in each square opening in the tape. Start at the center and work your way to the edge. You can vary the height of the stems if you want but I kept mine the same. This gave me a more casual relaxed look.

Here's a better shot of the three vases and the one I embellished with ribbon.

This little project cost $10. Three vases - $3, 2 spools of ribbon - $2, tape - $1.99, yellow daisies - $3 at my local market.

Since I wan in a lemony mood yesterday, these lemon-yellow daisies caught my eye. This little centerpiece made an eyecatching display on my kitchen island. When Mr. Panache and the boys came home, they were greeted by this cheery scene. The house was filled with the scent of fresh lemon cake baking in the oven and the happy color of sunshine. They wanted to know what was the special occasion. "No, special occasion, just wanted to say I love you guys", I said.

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Hospitality truly begins at home. Don't wait for a special occasion to treat your loved ones special. Make an extra effort today to bless those who live in your home. Tomorrow I'll share the tablescape from our dinner last night. Betcha can't guess what color I used????

Until then,

Happy Cooking!

~Alisa