bon voyage
October 08, 2014
Let's talk about entertaining, shall we? We are lucky to have friends who very often invite us over as a part of a small group, a large group or an in-between sized group. Sometimes it's fancy and sometimes it's not, but it's always gracious and always fun and always always appreciated. When Carole and Bill heard that my husband and I were going to visit Maine with mutual friends, they invited us over to share some of their favorite Maine experiences and locations. They have visited Maine many times, go often, and in fact were there the week before we were. Seems like once you visit Maine, it becomes a favorite and you go back again and again. I now see why...what a terrific place. I just can't say enough about that lovely state; not only beautiful and friendly, but the food, as in lobster, was fantastic. But this post is about the dinner party and how clever my friend Carole is: the tablecloth was made with maps of Maine. We spent the evening eating our dinner and tracing roads with our fingers and circling points of interest! What a great idea for a dinner party to say bon voyage for a move or a vacation. After dinner we cleared the table, brushed off the crumbs and folded them up to take home. Clever idea, right?
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| At one time I had a business making decoupage plates, many of them were from vintage postcards like the one above. This particular one was a best seller and over the years I must have sold 300. The calligraphy is beautiful, especially the striking "P" in Paris. About 5 years ago Carole and Bill and my husband and I visited Paris together. I took a plate and Carole and I were going to knock on the door and give them this plate as a gift, just because I felt that maybe one of them should find it's way back to it's original home. After a zany day of map reading, sore feet and poorly spoken French, we finally found out that this street had long ago been gobbled up by progress and no longer existed. So sad, but when I look at this plate, I think of that fun memory and I'm very proud that Carole has one on her mantle. |
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| A pretty appetizer. |
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| Our salad was a platter of sliced garden tomatoes with balsamic vinegar and basil. |
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| A simple dessert of cream over figs from their tree. |
6 Comments
Clever ideA.
ReplyDeleteOh that's just incredibly cool. Oh and I should have been there, I hope you took notes for me, haha! (hopefully not only on the tablecloth)
ReplyDeleteO. K., it's my house, but you can make a silk purse out of a sow's ear!
ReplyDeleteCarole
What a fabulous idea, I may have to copy this if you don't mind, I love maps and this sounds really fun.
ReplyDeleteGreat dinner party food also. Cilla Rule
Can't wait to hear about your trip to Maine! I see my area of Maine circled on your map! Dying to know if you made it to the Coastal Botanical Gardens or Edgecomb Pottery!!
ReplyDeleteSUPER idea to use maps as the table covering! I mean, genius...as long as you don't spill marinara on the route! :-) I have heard so many good things about Maine and would love to visit there someday. Linda of Lulu's Musings lives there about 6 months out of the year, and she has nothing but praise for the beauty all around.
ReplyDeleteI love the story about trying to find that address in Paris. Even though it was no longer there, it was all in the effort. The plates you made are so neat. I have letters written to my Grandmother from my Dad back in the 30s that have a calligraphed envelope. This would be a neat way to share those letters!
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