Our Table

Our table set for dinner is simple and homey but fills me with pleasure whenever I look at it. It has a comfortable, well-lived-in feel that can't be faked but is certainly the marker of a happy home. No one at this table has to keep her elbows off of the table (though I do draw the line at talking with your mouth full!)

While it can't compare to some of the gorgeous tablescapes out there, I particularly love some of the elements on this table. First, the flowers. I try to keep some kind of fresh flower or small plant on the table, even for a casual weekday meal like this. It adds a sense of occasion, and grounds the whole table. It also give us something prettier to look at than my cooking!

I also set the table with silverware, cloth napkins and gen-u-ine Correlle every night. (I'll have to write about my Corelle someday because I luuuurve it) No character plates or plastic knives here. I even avoid, as much as possible, paper towels or paper napkins for environmental (and budgetary) reasons.

And yep, those are plastic cups. Hey, little kids knock cups over. A lot. (Never mind that we broke 6 of 8 glasses in our wedding set before the kids came along. )

We use placemats every meal as well, these plaid ones are tired-looking but they are well-loved and now that they have been on my table for such a long time they make me think of all the other meals we've had on them, everything from our holiday meals, to birthdays, the first cookout of summer and our first meal in this crappy rental house. Lots of my cooking has passed over those placemats - and they show it!

Thanks for joinging me for a tour of my table - I may someday have another gorgeous, organized, matching table, but it'll never look as much like home and love to me as this one does.