I can't believe that one of today's news headlines announced that Rosie O'Donnell will return to cohost THE VIEW this fall. Can we get a collective
"WHO GIVES A FLYING HOOT???" I've never cared for the show, the annoying hosts or anything they've ever had to say, so Rosie and her big attitude returning are completely lost on me. I do enjoy talking, though, especially when it comes to chatting with entertaining guests, so that shall be my breaking news today: JUST LIKE GOOD DINNER GUESTS, TABLES NEED NOT BE LOUD TO BE INTERESTING! I've never been a fan of overly colorful, wildly obnoxious plates for one simple reason; they tend to take focus away from the incredible meal sitting on it! We have always had simple, white dinner plates purchased at Williams Sonoma years ago and I've never strayed. (and about six years ago I blogged about an incredible find at the Williams Sonoma Outlet, where I purchased caterer boxes filled with extra dinner plates in white, wine glasses, etc.). Where I tend to go hog-wild is in the accessorizing of the table with linens, cool glasses and anything and everything I've found in our yard. In the fall I take twigs from fallen trees and place them in vases or spray paint them gold and silver, in the summer months I put fresh flowers from our yard in vintage bottles and I often use large maple leaves as hot plates. In short, a little creativity goes a long way (and makes for interesting dinner conversation). For some odd reason all of our seasons seem to be getting shorter and shorter, at least according to most retailers. I popped into Target yesterday and everything SUMMER was marked down 75% to make room for back to School..how is that possible? So, I snapped up solar outdoor lights, fun planters, table linens and cocktail napkins. One of my favorite finds were terra cotta planters in different sizes, so I snapped a few small, a few medium and one large and imagined my next outdoor table scape; I'll use the largest one filled with ice to chill beverages (after placing a plastic liner or saran rap in the bottom), the medium pots will be filled with sand half-way and candles of various sizes (pots will then flank either end of the table) and the smallest pots will be filled with utensils and napkins. Who's coming to dinner remains to be seen, but the table talk is guaranteed to entertain!
