Monday, May 31, 2010

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



19 comments:

  1. Beautiful...love those dishes too. Hope you enjoyed the day!

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  2. Ahhhh...soooo pretty! I'm sure your dad would have loved this THRIFTY tablescape as much as all of us do...HAPPY NTT!

    Blessings,
    Linda

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  3. Loved your patriotic table and so neat that all your items were bought at thrift stores. Your Dad would have been proud. Love & blessings from NC!

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  4. I set a patriotic table for dinner tonight as we observed Memorial Day with my husband's twin brother and his wife. Both twins and their dad served in the military as have other family members.
    Thank you for sharing your table and the story. ~ Sarah

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  5. Love your patriotic tablescape and adore those dishes!!

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  6. Love your table-what a thrill to find all of those bargains! I especially like the Independance tea set, I have some Independance "Pillowtalk" and "Limerick" but would love to find more! Thanks for sharing with us!

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  7. Hi Sonia! Oh, what a lovely patriotic table you've set! I'm loving that tea pot/coffee server! Your china cabinet looks very similar to mine! :)
    Be a sweetie,
    Shelia ;)

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  8. Sonia, this was a deep and meaningful Tea! I love your values your Father taught you! I know I love to find thing things as you do. It all about the great price! Well, I have to love it too. lol Your dishes are so wonderful, I love that the two of you split the set. Adore the napkins and rings! The apple topiary is too cute! Your menu sounds wonderful, such a great time spent with Family at the Table! Thank you so much for joining me for Tea Time Tuesday! I just love your ironstone Independence Tea Set!

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  9. Such a beautiful tablescape in honor of Memorial Day and your dad.

    Debbie

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  10. Precious tribute to your dad and your tablescape is just exquisite. I love the colors, they are perfect for the holiday. Your china, the apples and all of your linens are wonderful. I love that gorgeous white coffee pot too. You really did capture the essence of the day. Thanks so much for sharing and joining the party. Hugs, Marty

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  11. Pretty table for Memorial Day! Wow! those hail stones are amazing-I am sure they could mess up a garden but hopefully it revives,

    Carolyn

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  12. I very much like your table-scape and your growing up years sound a bit like mine, I was an Army brat who's father did 2 tours of duty each in Korea and Vietnam. He is dead now and I still miss him. He , like your father, loved our country.

    The dinner sounds so yummy, you must have had a sweet time during dinner, maybe remembering your father and the reason we celebrate memorial Day.

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  14. Hello Sonia,
    Nice to meet you here in blogland and thanks for your visit and sweet comments. Your post was wonderful and your table lovely. Loved all your GW finds. You did really well, and it made for a great patriotic table. Loved that you set it to honor your military dad, what a lovely thing to do.
    Have a lovely day hon,
    Blessings, Nellie

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  15. I love your patriotic table. The placemats and table runner were a perfect match. I really like the plates too. The apples and the silver napkin rings give it a colonial touch which is so perfect!
    Come by my blog and win a $50 CSN gift certificate.
    Sherry

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  16. Sonia, love your thrifted red, white and blue table. You got a good deal on the set of dishes.

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  17. Very patriotic.It seems so sad that so many of the vets have passed on. Glad that you had such a Dad!

    my tablescape is not on my usual blog, but here instead: http://monkeybusiness-nannykim.blogspot.com/

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  18. I LOVE, LOVE the tablescape... My husband and I raised 5 Air Force Brats, lol, So I share your sentiments! I'm gonna' follow you! Lezlee

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  19. Your tablesetting is really beautiful. What great buys you find at Goodwill. It shows a beautiful table does not have to cost a ton of money. Yours is lovely. And so sweet in memory of your dad!

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