Welcome to the 871st Tablescape Thursday! My friends are enablers—in the best way! Ha! Recently, I received an email from a friend letting me know about a great sale on Spode’s iconic dinnerware, Blue Italian. Her timing was perfect, as just a few days ago, I was thinking about how much I miss the Blue Willow china that is my daily dinnerware back in Georgia.
During my visits to the Dollhouse, I’ve come to realize that six place settings are not enough for daily use. For one thing, six place settings will not fill up a dishwasher enough to even make it worth running. Six dinner plates and six salad plates does not a lower rack, fill. Since I don’t like running a dishwasher that’s only half full, I end up washing plates by hand a lot. Back in Georgia, I have 12 place settings for my everyday pattern, and by the time I’ve gone through those, the dishwasher is full and ready to go. I think 12 place settings in a pattern is just about right for my lifestyle. How many place settings do you have of your everyday dinnerware pattern? What works best for your family?
So, all that’s to say, this Spode Blue Italian sale is calling my name! It’s such a beautiful pattern, and it reminds me of my much-loved Blue Willow back in Georgia. It is currently on sale for a great price here: Spode Blue Italian AND here: Spode Blue Italian.
We are just weeks away from Independence Day, and I get the feeling the celebrations are going to be huge this year. (View this table setting in full here: 4th of July Tablescape.)
This past Memorial Day was the kick-off for a full year of festivities leading up to the 4th of July 2026, when we will be celebrating 250 years of American Independence. I remember how big the 200th year celebration was, and I am excited to still be here for the 250th!
I wish this Warren Kimble dinnerware was still being made. This would be a great year for the china manufacturers to produce some new patriotic designs for our year-long celebration. Looking online, I found that this dinnerware is still available on eBay. I found a set available that’s reasonably priced here: Warren Kimble Colonial Dinnerware.
You’ll find all that’s available in this pattern here: Warren Kimble Colonial Dinnerware.
I found a set of the Warren Kimble flatware available here: Warren Kimble Colonial Flatware. I like pairing it with other red, white, or blue flatware in table settings.
As you plan for your 4th of July celebrations this year, here’s a fun recipe for a non-alcoholic, easy-to-make red, white, and blue punch: Patriotic Punch.
If you like mojitos, check out the recipe for these Watermelon Mojitos I made a few years back: Watermelon Mojitos For A Summer Party. Gosh, that looks so cool and refreshing right now!
Do you have any big plans for the 4th of July this year? Looking forward to the beautiful table settings linked for this week’s Tablescape Thursday!
If you are participating in Tablescape Thursday, please be sure to add your permalink below, and not your general blog address. To get your permalink, click on your post name, then copy and paste the address showing in the address bar, into the “url” box when you link up. You’ll need to include a link in your post back to the party to link up and participate. That’s so visitors to your blog will be able to find the party and the other Tablescape Thursday participants. Requiring a link back also prevents businesses and scammers from linking up to sell their products. Please, don’t add your post name/blog name ALL IN CAPS…it tends to create big spaces between the rows of links. Please do not link up table settings that were just recently shared in the last few weeks for Tablescape Thursday.
Oh My!!! The Spode Blue Italian is calling my name!!!! My first everyday set was Finlandia, and you know I HAD to have any and every piece they made!! Breakfast cups, espresso cups, pasta servers, tiered servers, you name it I bought it! Eventually it was no longer being made and was getting expensive to buy. I then sold all of it and started buying Lipper and Mann Blue Danube. It had been made since the 50’s, was still in productions and a lot was an eBay at reasonable prices. After a year or two Lipper and Mann announced they were no longer going to produce it! I started selling that off when Portmerion decided to take over production. That was IT I had had ENOUGH!!! I bought a black and white Block Bernarda set that was good enough for everyday!! I DO miss my blue and white though………….I think I will go with the salad plates, LOL!!!!!!!!!
Elena, you crack me up! It’s a good thing we don’t live near each other because we would be dangerous together. Hahaha!
I know, there is something so classic and beautiful about a blue and white pattern. I’m about to head back to Georgia, but I really want a few sets of Spode Italian to come back to when I return! I think you need a set, too. It’s time to update again! 😉
Many years ago, when I started following you, I just had to purchase the Warren Kimble Colonial dishes. So thanks to you, I now have 12 place settings. I absolutely love them still. I cannot even tell you how many other dishes I’ve bought just from your tablescapes. Not sure if you’re a good influence on my bank account though. Haha. I’ll just admit I love dishes and it doesn’t take much to twist my arm on buying more. And you have such great taste that it’s hard to resist copying off your style.
Oh those would be perfect Susan! Ha – I have lots of enabler friends and relatives too, but it’s so much fun!! Thanks for the lovely party and fabulous patriotic inspiration!
Susan, Have you ever considered getting “Liberty Blue” they are all historic scenes and I think they came out in 1976, so they will be 50yrs old next year. They are easily found and pretty inexpensive.
Susan, you are a bad influence on hoarders, I mean collectors. I love dishes and glassware, especially the blue and white. I collect Chinoiserie too. But, I am getting older and sicker, Reining it in is difficult. I told my daughter “You cannot sell all this in a yard sale. Nobody would know what it’s worth.” I don’t remember who it was now, but a blogger said they suffered a hardship and lost everything. At the auction for the contents, some guy had a collectible in his hand saying “a green dish”
Spode huh ?? Beautiful. Hummm.
Thanks to bloggers, tablescapes and “grandma’s old suff” has made a comeback.
Lovin’ that Warren Kimble tableware! You’re right – next year will be BIG for summertime in general, especially the 4th of July!
We typically use service for 8, but we typically use more bowls and salad plates than anything before the d/w fills! (It’s a good thing I buy so many salad plates, right???)
Have a great weekend.