Memorial Day Table: In Loving Memory

Memorial Day is a day I pause and think about the men and women and their families who made the ultimate sacrifice for our country.  

My father was in the Air Force and served in Viet Nam, and later in his life worked as a civilian contractor during the Gulf  War.  I  grew up a "military brat"  who moved more often than I would have liked.    In hindsight, however  I am so grateful that I was able to live in so many different places and even overseas.  I am a better person for it and have very electic taste as a result! It is not without  hardships though having a parent in harms way is  stressful to any young child.  Even today a lead story on  AOL was reporting about the hardships to families and to their finances, always having to move and setting up a home every few years. 

I hope you express your gratitude to these brave men and women!

Today I wanted to set a patriotic table  in honor of my father.  He retired from the military and later served in a civilian capacity before he and my mom  retired  to a beach home in Florida.  He passed away  nine years ago this past week.  He loved his country and he was an incredible man and I was priviledged to have him as my Father!  

 He would have loved this table as many of the items are from Goodwill...he loved a good bargain and taught me the value of hard work, being thrifty and being a do-it-yourselfer!!!

  Red, white and blue is the obvious choice for this table and I was fortunate to find a set of dishes with a friend of mine at GW.  ( We found these plates in the dead of winter-totally off season) The set of eight was $10 and we split the set between us...so our service for 4 was only $5.00 a piece.  Each place setting included a dinner plate, bowl and desert plate.  I love the Americana pattern and it's perfect for a Fourth of July table too!  

The Independence Ironstone teapot was another $5.00 GW find.  I was so excited to find this piece in perfect condition.   

I used the apple topiary as a centerpiece to coordinate with the apple on the border of the plates.  The topiary was also from GW for $3  along with the red runner for 99 cents! 
Both were brand new!

I found the blue placemats for $1 at
Wal Mart and they are made out
of the same ribbed fabric

as the runner.

The silver napkin rings were $3 from an estate sale and I can't remember where I found the napkins...but I'm sure they were on sale or I probably would not have purchased them!  LOL

I used my cobalt blue goblets and my favorite blue and white candlesticks from Hobby Lobby.   

I had a lovely dinner with my husband and son today.  I prepared roasted chicken, fresh corn on the cob,  fingerling potatoes and ranch potatoe salad.  We had watermelon and ice cream for desert.

Remember to please pray for our soldiers and their families not just on Memorial Day but everyday!

I'm linking this week with:

Marty's Tabletop Tuesdays

Lady Katherine's Tea Time Tuesday

2nd Time Around Tuesday

Nifty Thrifty Tuesdays

Tablescape Thursday