A flowery, summery fiesta

We recently took a vacation in England, flying into London and driving to Liverpool. On our return to London, we made a stop in Stoke-on-Trent, the birthplace of Wedgwood, Royal Worcester, Emma Bridgewater, and many other potteries (a post about this visit is coming!). At the Wedgwood complex, there were several gift shops. In one of these delightful shops, I discovered a shawl or table scarf that truly was me! What was it? Of course, it featured large, mod flowers in primary colors! This gorgeous scarf inspired a summery, floral fiesta table!

My dear friend Kissy was visiting, and we began setting the table together. I started with the table scarf but quickly realized it was too small for the dining room table! We tried a deep red tablecloth underneath it, along with a peachy one, and then we spotted the madras cloth and thought, "hmmm..." This tablecloth was a gift from my mother-in-law, who once mentioned it was originally a bedspread! As soon as we placed the scarf on top, we knew we had a perfect match! The colors in the madras undercloth and the scarf matched beautifully, and Fiesta would complement it perfectly!

I had purchased (I can't remember where!) a set of poppy and sunflower appetizer plates—which are flowers featured in the scarf. A recent trip to Hobby Lobby brought us a set of bright coral, sunflower, and aqua placemats for under the plates. After trying many plate colors, we landed on Persimmon, Butterscotch, and Turquoise. The Homer Laughlin China Collectors Association has Fiesta exclusive designs they offer to their members. A few years ago, they offered Turquoise with white polka dots, which I loved, so those plates joined the table.

Next, we moved on to napkins, selecting solids, florals, and once again, a few madras plaids. After trying out several options, we decided on the primary-colored plaid ones. During our trip to Stoke-on-Trent, we stopped by Emma Bridgewater, where I discovered these charming polka-dotted teaspoons among a few other items! We filled in a few blank spaces on the table with Turquoise serving pieces, my favorite rectangular platter -- which is a perfect size -- and medium Bistro bowl.

We selected a vintage Indiana Glass tumbler featuring classic Fiesta colors, perfectly complementing the entire table setting. The centerpiece was a truck repurposed from our kitchen table, tying everything together beautifully. In the truck bed, there's a maidenhair fern, which I've never successfully grown before, but this one appears to be thriving!

We didn't eat at this table, most times after I set a table, I take pictures and tear it down and return the dining room to its normal state. The next day, we were having friends over for a BBQ and pool party, and so we used the same color theme to set the island with serving dishes!

The menu featured pork baby back ribs, homemade potato salad, fruit salad, corn with mint, a tomato and feta cheese salad, baked beans, a relish tray, and corn muffins. Many of the ingredients came from a morning trip to the farmer's market, which also provided lovely centerpieces for the island. Cooking was a team effort with Kissy and her husband. We enjoyed the company of friends, the food was thoroughly enjoyed, the wine was drunk, and we went swimming. Overall, it was a great day!