Mixing Fruit and Flowers for an Inexpensive Tablescape
One thing about blogging is that you generally receive nice comments (99.9% of the time), and then an occasional comment that is really critical. If you’re a blogger, you know what I mean.
I so appreciate my faithful readers here at RE who know me and what my blog and message is about. Thank you!
Recently a reader said my “blog” and a “table post” was too bright and colorful, that my dishes were too-perfect, and she said I paid too much for my asparagus – which made me smile, because I bought it on sale right before Easter! (Ha! How did the reader know what I spent?)
Imperfect and inexpensive is what RE is about:
– I love a bright and cheery table.
– I most always use what I have in the house, this time, flowers from the yard (leftover roses from my daughter’s bouquet), and apples we are going to eat!
– If you notice, my son set the table and the silverware were placed in far from perfect order and spacing.
– I never pay too much for asparagus. I usually shop “what’s in season.”
– My white dishes are 20 years old in June this year (when my husband and I will be celebrating our 20th anniversary).
– My tablecloth is from Wal Mart.
– Paper napkins were left over from last year’s Easter meal.
Should I add that I shop at the Dollar Store? I love my $1 goblets.
Enough said …
Beautiful is a must, but expensive rarely happens in my house.
Moving on to the centerpiece …
Whoever thought you could mix fruit and flowers?
How to Make a Fruit and Flower Centerpiece
– Decide which tablecloth and napkins you’ll be using
– Choose a fruit that matches your “setting.”
– Stack your fruit on a plate or bowl, into a tier.
– Look for flowers that will match your “setting.”
– Cut the stems short and place in the holes between the stacked fruit.
So beautiful and simple.
Do you have a Springy, simple and easy centerpiece that you’ve recently made for entertaining table?
Hello and welcome to my home and table!
I’m Sandy—lover of food, family, cooking, THE BIG BOARD, travel, and bringing people together. Through great recipes and connection around the table, we become better, stronger, and more courageous people. Feasting on Life is real, and every time we do it, we grow a little more. Read more...
Love this idea! We gave up a formal sitting room in lieu of having a HUGE Dining Room. I keep both leaves in my table – I want to walk in my front door and be welcomed by a big, open table. But keeping my centerpieces new and fresh can be challenging. This is a GREAT idea!
boo on someone who comes here to be mean. Sandy, for years I have read your blog, commented and even emailed- with responses from YOU! Love that! I have an email for you right now in draft mode… has to do with raising kids – balcony girls- and how to end such situations as what you have encountered here. Backhanded comments are just that. When people begin to realize what comes out of their mouths, texts and fingertips have true meaning only then will they think about putting on YOUR shoes!
I am sorry you have had this..
and as for fruit as a center piece- it totally is! I designed a fruit centerpiece for a table that went into a design magazine!! We needed more color on the table so we raided the fridge! The designer I worked with loved the idea and loved how with a little bit of money and ingenuity anything is possible!!
Keep up RE – you lift me up :) God is happy with you being the best you you are being!
My husband and I just laughed and laughed at the absurdity! (though if it were my blog, I’m not sure laughing would have been my *very* first response!) I just want you to know that we’re both HUGE fans of your blog and creativity. He would never admit it to his friends, but he’s always asking me if (and what) you’ve posted that day…. if it has anything to do with gardening, he gets his own laptop out to read it. :)
Well we LOVE your blog, and your thriftyness!!! That person does not know your budget for anything. We all have different budgets, and I too served Asparagus, (your yummy recipe!) for Easter and here in the Redding area I paid $1.99 a pound for it, not that, that matters. What matters is that if this person had read more than one or two posts, is that we all reach out, stretch our personal boundries and touch lives. One meal at a time…… We have expensive China and Crystal, and we have Dollar store, and yard sale plates and glasses too! And I mix em up do different tablescapes, try and show people that it does not have to cost you a lot of money to have a beautiful table and home. That center piece is so pretty I saw one on the cover of a magazine when we were checking and told my wife that is so pretty and the best part??? When you are finished with the dinner you can eat the apples!!!!! Sandy you continue doing what you do best, encouraging all of us to be better people, to share our faith, to go beyond our comfort levels….. we love you for it!!!
Blessings to you and yours
Curtis & Sherrie
In the last few months, I’ve seen a rash of critical and unpleasant comments on my favorite blogs. RE is really the LAST place I would have expected to find any negativity. Sandy, if you have an “air” about you, it’s one of joy and loving life. And someone must be a VERY new reader to not know that you always give the frugal and thrifty information up front. And honestly, I don’t know how a reader could miss the dollar store goblets. I always read the “About” pages of blogs I follow, but they must have skipped the “Why” page, because it says it right there!
Thank you for showing us the beauty of entertaining, and making it accessible for all. Don’t change a thing!
Ugh…and then “j” above goes and makes yet another negative comment.
I thought your response was classy and very helpful. I’m reminded of that old shampoo commercial with the two gals with beautiful hair. One washes her hair with the expensive salon brand and the other uses the basic brand. Which is which? And the one gal responds, “If you can’t tell, why should I”? I love how you can pull off “perfect”, expensive looking decor without anyone being able to tell that you actually shop the Dollar Store and Walmart. It’s what all of we middle-class, Regular Janes aspire to do and you show us how all the time. I love it when I get a compliment and then get the look of amazement when I say, “I made it myself” or “oh, it came from Goodwill”. So keep it up!
Thanks Jill, and I think what’s happened is there are a lot of NEW readers to RE who haven’t read my RE message for almost 5 years … Good Will, Thrifting, Yard Sales, Dollar Store … and more. HA! It’s how RE came to be!
https://reluctantentertainer.com/meet-sandy/
Most of us are Regular Janes, aren’t we? :)
Simple yet elegant. Thanks for the idea and thanks to the critical comment you received because it blessed me to hear of God using your frugality and creatvity for His glory! Loved this post! I have truly been inspired! :-)
In all my visits here, I never left with the slightest thought of anything negative! Yes, you create beautiful things, but in such an accessible, “you-can-do-it-too” kind of encouraging format – not to mention affordable! I enjoy your inspiring blog so much and aspire to be more hospitable (I tend to worry about everything being “perfect” and miss the fun of having folks over when the house is “good enough!”) Oh, and by the way, my Mikasa French Countryside dishes will celebrate 28 years with us this November! I never ever get tired of white dishes! Keep up the great work!
I’ve received several emails this week from readers who have the same dishes. So fun! My set from 20 years ago is 12. But I came across “1” plate at Good Will, so I have now 13 :)
Thanks for your encouragement, Leslie! :)
Well, not a centerpiece exactly, but when we had a party for our daughter recently, I used lemons to hold down the napkins (we have a lot of wind here in CO) and I really liked how it looked. Now, I have them on the table with my napkins all the time, well, until I have a recipe for them ;)
So practical. I have a centerpiece on RE today that uses lemons … thanks for sharing Judy!
Well…
The “critical” blogger may have had a point. I too, get tired of TOO perfect.. you do have quite an “air” about you. This is the first I have heard that your goblets are from the dollar store or that the napkins are left over, or that the asparagus was on sale.
Maybe what readers want is a little more of the practical, afforable tips up front so they think they may be able to do the same on a tight budget or limited time.
I think your criticism of your criticism could have been done in a little more constructive, hospitable manner.
Dollar Store goblets have been shared about on RE for almost 5 years; thus the RE icon.
https://reluctantentertainer.com/meet-sandy/
The one thing about blogland is that you can pick and choose what blogs inspire and work for you, and you are not forced to read any of them. So freeing.
Thanks for sharing!