Let's get Nautical!

Nautical! I wanna get nautical! Let's get into nautical! I think that's the way Olivia Newton John should have sung that song.  Really yall!

With the Memorial day weekend fast approaching I am thinking of all things nautical.  I am pretty sure I will be working Monday but am hoping for Sunday off.  The Mr. and I enjoyed a wonderful weekend of sailing this past weekend and hope to be able to do more again soon.  While we were out we talked about getting our new grill installed on the boat so we can do more grilling out on the water.  Please feel free to send me all your delicious shiskabob recipes ladies, as I am craving those to kick off the season!

With that in mind I decided to gather up a few of my nautical inspired serve ware pieces to create a display for the screened porch.  This will also keep everything handy in case I want to grab a few serving pieces as I head out the door.

Here's how it all stacked up!

I started over here on the blue table and brought out my plaid runner to work off of.

It sorta has a bit of a nautical flair, right?  Okay,  well, not sure why I brought this out really but there it is.

Next I decided to use the old wine crate that I keep on the porch and have been trying to decide how to decorate.

Then I very carefully (Hehe!) draped one of my patriotic dishcloths inside.

The first thing in was my chip and dip set that I purchased last year from CTS for only $5.99.  Love it!  I cannot wait to bring this down to the club.  It's ceramic so I will have to be very careful.  

Next in was my sailboat dip with spreader dish.  To save all of us a lot of time and reading here you should know all of these items came from the CTS. This was only $3.99.  We do not have one here where I live, so I made a special trip down to one in Augusta last year and went wild when I found all of the great deals on the nautical serve ware.  

This sailboat bowl was sold separately for only $1.99. I bet this could hold a boat load of salsa!

Then I collected up this set of three boats to add in my box too.  They were purchased at $4.99 for the whole set.

Oops! These melamine plates are from Walmart this year.  They were on clearance for $1.00 and I could only find 3.  I need one more!

I am pretty sure the napkin holder was only $2.99 and included the napkins as well.

The votive candle holders were only .64 cents a piece.  What a deal!

And my cups were only $1.69 each.  Now here's the real deal!  Those are all the prices I pulled off of them today as I was unpacking them.  I am pretty sure I got an additional amount off on many of these pieces but cannot remember exactly what.  That's how good of a deal it was and so worth the trip.  If you have a CTS near you or withing driving distance you are so lucky.

I had to move the box to it's final resting place before it got to heavy.  I almost forgot to add in the napkins and napkin rings that I made last year too, or was it the year before?  Oh, IDK!  Anywho, there they are before going in the box.

A little blue bottle of something good and I am all set!  Don't worry this is actually empty but I saved it because I liked the color of the bottle and the taste of the wine and wanted to remember the brand.  I was at World Market a few weeks ago and saw a wine with a Sea Glass label that I wish I had bought.  I think it was a Pinot Grigio, but not sure.  Maybe next trip.

And there you have it!  All set and ready for a very nautical day of dining.  Well, kinda, I still need to find a good deal on some red flatware somewhere.

I've set this up on my bakers rack outside.  If it stays here a bit I may have to redo the whole rest of the vignettes on the bakers rack now too.  But I think I'll wait and see how much I pull from here to go on the boat first.  We shall see!

Speaking of seeing and the boat...

Here's a few glimpses of what we enjoyed out on the water last weekend.  

It was very windy all weekend and we were able to get in a few good sails before getting to tired to fight the wind any longer and calling it a day.

I stretched out in the cockpit for a rest to lay down and look what I saw!

Right over our heads above the top of our boat was a beautiful rainbow.  I couldn't help but think that I guess Jesus wanted to remind us he likes going sailing too!  

Thanks for stopping by today.  I really appreciate the visit.  I am joining a few fun linkys today.

Be sure and visit them too at;

Let's Dish

Outdoor Wednesday

Tablescape Thursday

Seasonal Sunday

And just in case you missed it I am gearing up to host a linky party of my own.  Please be sure and check out my latest post HERE to get the scoop.

Have a wonderful day!

In Honor of Earth Day

Hey Ladies!  I made it!  I made it! I made it!  Yay!  Not only did I make it on time to Kathleen's Earth Day Tablescape challenge, but I literally "made" a few things too specifically for this challenge.  Woo hoo...hoo!  

Sorry about all that, but I just love when a plan comes together!  When I first heard of the tablescape challenge being Earth day my mind started racing.  I was thinking of all the possibilities that one could do but I could not get away from a few elements that I already owned that I wanted to use.  I just needed a new way to present them.  So for me...it was game on!  I love a challenge that spurs creativity! 

This post is going to be very photo heavy so I will try to keep the chit chat to a minimum.  Haha! Yall know how hard that is for me!  When I first thought of what I was going to use I wanted to do this scape outside on the patio by the pool.  Unfortunately, the rains came last night and today and there are threats of thunderstorms so I decided to play it safe and keep it inside.  Keeping it inside may have been a blessing in disguise though, as it challenged me yet again to change up a few things.  Regardless, I am loving this tablescape and I really hope you will enjoy it too!

It's so simple, but loaded with things that really do represent Earth day.

This is one of the first ELEMENTS I thought of that I wanted to use.

I had intended to use these three server dishes outside on the umbrella table so that they would surround the pole.  This four piece set which includes another serving piece that goes in the middle is a very old CERAMIC set that I purchased at a RESALE store last year.

I thought it would be adorable to use with ROCKS and added the tea lights for ambiance.  Since I had not intended to use the middle piece of this set, I now needed to come up with a centerpiece.

Insert my latest GARDEN purchase.  It just so happens, I had made a trip before Easter to a local GREENHOUSE to buy some plants.  There sat my CHERRY TOMATOES still waiting to be planted.  I plan to grown them in a pot on the deck but have yet to get a new big pot for them.

I love cherry tomatoes, don't you?

So, I decided to stick the whole carton down into one of my old pots, add a little moss and waalahh, instant centerpiece...and they smell so good too!

This is an old Terracotta pot that I've had for quite some time.  As you can see, I painted it myself.  It was one of a set of two that I made.

I love how over the years the paint has started to chip away and think it gives it even more character now.

The next ELEMENT I knew I would use would be these dishes.  

I'm sure you remember because I've recently used them but decided to show you the back so you could see they are made of TERRA COTTA.  Did you know the latin words for terra cotta are BAKED EARTH?

 Another ELEMENT I knew I wanted to use was my salad plates that are made out of RECYCLED plastic.  Pretty cool huh?

Then, I knew I had to use my BAMBOO flatware.  Atleast, I'm thinking it's real bamboo.  Haha!

My pretty blue iridescent glasses made it to the table for a few good reasons.  One, that are a glorious blue that represents water and are made of glass..glass being made from SAND.

But one of the other reasons I love is that I bought them from a yardsale, and that represents RECYCLING and RESTORING right?

Speaking or Recycling, how do you like the napkins I made?  How's that related to RECYCLING you ask?  Well, every time you use a cloth napkin that you wash instead of paper you throw away, you are RECYCLING!  I'll show you how I made these in just a minute. 

I made my place markers out of pop sickle sticks to represent garden markers that anyone could make.  I have this huge box of popsickle sticks that I bought when the kids were little and it was fun to find another use for them.  All I did was angle two sticks vertically, add a little hot glue and then place the three sticks horizontally across.  So simple!

Can you imagine my surprise when I found this fabric?  I know!!!  When I was thinking of all the ELEMENTS I would use for my EARTH day tablescape I was drawing a blank on the napkins.  After looking around for something that I liked I decided I would just have to sew up some of my own.  I had been thinking of something green maybe with a grass print or something.  Never, did I expect to find this!

I purchased one yard.

Cut them into 18 squares.

Then steam ironed the edges over once and....

...then twice to get a finished edge, rotating the folds clockwise each time.

Then I sewed a straight stitch along the inside edge pivoting around each corner.  It was very simple and something you can do too.  You could probably even do this technique with some of that no sew stuff too that you use with an iron.  Easy peasy!

Making your own napkins allows you the freedom to find napkins that are just perfect for any special occasion, even one like celebrating EARTH DAY.

I hope you enjoyed my table.  I sure had fun putting this one together.    Sorry so wordy, but I'm sure you knew I just had to give you all the details.  Didn't I tell you I love a challenge?

Thank you also for visiting me today!  

If you have the time, be sure and visit the following linky parties.

For more tablescaping decor be sure and click here at

Let's Dish

and 

Tablescape Thursday.

Have a great day!