A Playful Dinner for Two

Welcome to the 486th Tablescape Thursday!

I had expected to be home by now and was planning on creating a table for this week’s Tablescape Thursday. With all the snow and ice moving in across the southern states yesterday, I decided to delay my return by a couple of days. Getting stuck on the interstate or a side road somewhere didn’t sound too appealing!

The temps are supposed to start rising today so I’m hoping the snow/ice will melt enough that I will be able to make my way back home safely tomorrow. I’ll be trekking south down I-75 all day tomorrow. Wonder how those steep hills in Tennessee are looking today? Hopefully they will be clear by tomorrow.

So since I’m still here visiting with my son, dil and two grandsons, I decided to create a table setting that’s unlike any table setting you’ve ever seen here at Between Naps On The Porch. 😉 In the neighborhood where my son/dil live, they have a Mom’s group that shares toys and such as their children outgrow them. My dil scooped up this adorable play kitchen with play dishes a while back, and the youngest of my two grandsons (he’ll be 2 in June) loves cooking and preparing meals with it.

Play kitchen

 

A special delivery came yesterday. I brought it in from the snow-covered, screened porch and got busy putting it together.

Pottery Barn Children's Table and Chairs Arrived

 

Sorry these photos are a bit dark…it was already getting dark outside when they were taken. You’ll notice the blue hour in one of the photos. (Read more about the Blue Hour here: Blue Hour.)

I’m so glad that we’ve finally hit that time of the year when the daylight will be staying with us a little longer each day. Love that!

Here’s what was inside the boxes on the porch. This adorable table and chairs is available in a ton of colors, so you can mix and match to create the color scheme you like best. My dil decided to go with a white table and red chairs which works great with the colors in the downstairs part of their home.

Pottery Barn Children's Table with Chairs

 

The table is set for Tablescape Thursday, won’t you join me? 🙂

Pottery Barn Kid's Table and Chairs

 

I picked a fresh bouquet of flowers for our centerpiece. Hee, hee. These little flowers are normally in the window of the play kitchen. I think that’s my favorite feature of the play kitchen…the flowers in the window. 🙂

Playing with Pottery Barn's Kid's Table & Chairs

 

Ummm, what are we having for dinner?

Playing with Pottery Barn Children's Table & Chairs

 

Oh, it looks like roast chicken, carrot soup and freshly baked bread. Yum! Hope you’re hungry!

A Playful Tablescape

 

I brought out our best china for the occasion. Since it’s so yucky and cold outside, I went with a happy, spring-floral pattern to remind us that spring will soon be here.

Play Dishes for Kids

 

Thanks for joining me for this dinner party for two. You’ll find this adorable table and chairs available here: Play Table AND Chairs.

I added one of their clear, protective play mats to the top. The “Small” size is the one that fits this particular table and it’s available here: Protective Mat.

Carolina Table & Chairs

 

There’s a smaller version of this table set available here: Smaller Table and Chairs. We were tempted to buy the smaller set since it would have been perfect for my youngest grandson, but the older one who is almost 4, would have outgrown it pretty quickly. So that’s why we went with the slightly bigger set.

Here’s a better photo of the set taken this morning. You’ll find all the table/chair sets here: Table and Chairs Sets. They also have a really cute craft table with drawers that tempted us.

Pottery Barn Carolina White Table, Red Chairs

 

Looking forward to all the beautiful table settings for this week’s Tablescape Thursday!

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Comments

  1. Oh how cute! Makes you want to be a kid and play again doesn’t it! I bet you’d been having a lot of fun especially with the grandkids! I suspect they’ve put a few tons of salt out on the roads by now and that it’s warmed up enough to melt them but I don’t blame you for waiting. It’s the other driver idiots you have to worry about that cause the accidents. We’re going to warm up to the low 40’s by the weekend- can’t wait!

  2. Ann E Friend Seigman says

    Oh Susan, that reminds me of when my grandchildren were little and I had a kitchen area set up in my home for them. They loved it and so did I! It brought back such good memories!

    Venturing out on icy roads is never a good idea when you have the option to stay a little longer. The temperature will be increasing every day this weekend here in northwest Ohio, nearly 50 by Monday!

    Enjoy your extra time with family. Those little grandsons are very lucky to get their grandmother for a few more days. More time for making memories with them. Prayers for a safe journey home, Ann

  3. How fun! I was babysitting one day and got out my daughter’s china and set up a tablescape with her things, it was so much fun! Safe travels~

  4. My kids and grands spent hours playing with their kitchen. What happy memories!

  5. Leave it to you to find a way to be creative and fun at the same time!

  6. Oh Susan,
    I’m glad you are feeling better and visiting your family! I’d only say someone in Ohio took that “Let it snow” banner too literally! lol I’m fighting a stubborn cough since Christmas! No other symptoms, so no antibiotics just cough suppressant which doesn’t really help. 🙁 However, I’m looking forward to spring and better temps here, too! 🙂
    Susan, your grandsons are so adorable! I love their new play kitchen! There’s even a decorative magnet on the fridge! Your today’s tablesetting is too cute and I love your “best” china! lol
    Have a safe trip, tomorrow!
    ~Hugs to you~
    Cecilia

    • Hope you feel better, Cecilia! lol about the sign. I think you’re right!
      Thanks, Cecilia! It was a fun one to create with the “good” china. 😉

  7. What sweet memories this post brings back! My precious great-niece had one of these kitchens and she and I had many tea parties set from it. I always call her my ladybug and I had bought her a set of plastic ladybug dishes. We had a Ladybug Tea Party with all the meat and fruit and vegetables from that kitchen that we could put on our plates. What fun! I’m glad you stayed extra days in Ohio. The South has been treacherous with ice this past week.

  8. Deborah Touhey says

    Simply adorable and very grand!

  9. So Cute!!! I love it!!! Safe travels on your trip home.

  10. Susan….
    Our family in Ashville area have had no school since storm hit and have sent pictures of roads and highways in that area…and they are awful!
    Please don’t rush to get home but stay put for a few more days until the temps melt the snow and slush is plowed. As you likely know, the stuff melts during the day but freezes overnight and makes roads treacherous for travel much before noon at least and then cycles back into frozen roads after dark.
    This is likely to keep schools and business closed until next week.
    As Mary Englebreit says, ” Bloom where you are planted” and please do not
    take chances. I bet your DIL could set you loose on several projects. What a lucky gal to have you snow- bound at her house! I am jealous!

  11. Absolutely adorable!

  12. One of my fondest memories of childhood is playing with a little set of dishes with my sister. I think that playtime has made me closer to her than my other sisters. If we ever happen upon a miniature set while shopping we always say, “Remember how we played….”

  13. Still iced in in Cumming. Be careful.

  14. Hi, I love the spring china. Also the placard…where love grows best… I know you have enjoyed the grandchildren. The pictures on the mantel are adorable. Have a safe trip home….

  15. This is just adorable!!! Our grandson is almost nine, he’s too big now for little tables and chairs anymore, sniff sniff. Thank you so much for sharing, and thanks for another great Tablescape Thursday!

  16. I too purchased the table and chair set from Pottery Barn for each of my grands. I wasn’t aware of the table mat. Now I need to get those too! Safe travels! 🙂

  17. Susan, how fun! I always love my children’s and grandchildren’s kitchen playtime. Did you and your DIL do the mantel? It is the nicest winter one I have seen. Safe travels.

  18. Marlene Stephenson says

    Oh, how cute, you are so creative. Know you are having a good time with your family, be safe traveling back.

  19. Just too cute! I hope you were able to teach them 1 or 2 things about tablescaping. Like what tablescapes are 🙂

  20. How cute is this! Safe travels back home and thanks for hosting.

  21. Ann E Friend Seigman says

    P.S. You have ADORABLE grandsons!

  22. Awww…we are NEVER too old for pretend!!! Way cute! Oh, those TN mountains…it’s the fog that would always concern me when I used to drive that 10 hour trek…SAFE TRAVELS!! franki

  23. Nan, Odessa, DE says

    GREAT!!!!! It brings memories to all of us.
    WHERE can I buy the dishes and FLOWERS. HELP! They are a gotta have. I have my son’s table and my two chairs in our living room as a coffee table. Keeps the grans in our minds when they aren’t here and keeps the toddlers all in one place when they visit. I have great grans enjoying them. We need dishes! Those from our past are damaged. Please help!

    I have ordered the table and two chairs from Pottery Barn for the homes of all our great grans. Each family has a different color and all enjoy!

    Know that these tables and chairs are an investment in your future. Still getting pleasure from ours. Thanks for the fond memories!

  24. Hi Susan,
    I love your tablescape Thursday. I bought the table and chairs for my granddaughters in 2000. We had many tea parties and many different tea sets. I loved watching the girls enjoy tea and cookies.
    Be safe.
    Joyously,
    Betty

  25. For our grandchildren, right at the top of the favorite toys ever are kid-sized tables and chairs. As much as little kids love the set, the bigger ones are eager to sit and color or play chef and restaurant. You hit a home run and you get an A+ for ingenuity for creating a tablescape while snowbound in Ohio. Safe travel heading south where we are expecting 70 degree weather on Sunday.

  26. Too cute. This does bring back memories! I always wanted a kitchen with “play food”. I would pour over the Sears catalog making wishes. Instead my sister and I made do by being creative. We also made a restaurant with a menu and we had a bank…all in my dad’s shop (he had to work around all the stuff and dolls, too!). Love all the decorations. Glad you are waiting out the weather as the icy roads are not something to take lightly. Big bonus is you get to visit longer and enjoy your grandsons.

  27. Jane Franks says

    Hi Susan: Adorable! I love the blue hour light. I had never heard of that before. We learn so many interesting things from you! I’m going to try this in the next few days!

  28. This is too cute….thanks for sharing your trip!

  29. Your tablesetting for this week is just adorable!!! Love that you bought a table and chairs for your DIL and the grandkids to enjoy! That was one of my most favorite things to do with my kids ~ have tea parties and I’d get down on a small chair and they would sit on our other plastic and wooden chairs at their table and we’d play. Love the little kitchen, too! Pinned a bunch and shared to Twitter. Sharing a Valentine’s theme napkin/tablecloth tutorial and some tablesettings of my own. <3

  30. Peggy W Nodine says

    What a fun vacation to spend time with Grands after Christmas. I know you are having a wonderful time with them. Those ages are some of the best years. So much fun to play dress up, and pretend with meals of plastic food. I remember those days with my grands, who are all grown up now. I still have their little playhouse in my back yard, and their little kitchen is almost identical to the one your grands have. I have played hours with them in that playhouse and sitting at a table and chairs much like the one you have, pretending to order from a menu and them bringing my plastic food to me on a tray. Such delicious meals and so much fun. Thank you for helping us remember those wonderful days with our own grandchildren. Enjoy those times, they grow up way too fast.
    Have a safe and pleasant drive home, the snow is melting pretty fast in SC, so be careful. Thank you for sharing your beautiful family with all of us.
    Safe travels, and looking forward to more tablescapes.

  31. Cyndy Cook says

    This is my favorite of BNOP tablescape of all time. Because Love. 🙂

  32. donna a zoltanski says

    Super cute! So funny the way little ones imitate everything we do — mini tables, food, and tea parties. You are creating wonderful memories.

  33. Bobbi Duncan says

    You’re such a fun grandmother! I know the littles have enjoyed every moment with you. These pictures brought back “remember when” memories, playing with my daughter and her little kitchen. I only had an oven when I was small–worked with a special light bulb that baked little cakes. I especially love the “little house” plaque saying–so true. Hugs!

  34. Cyndi Raines says

    What a great gift for everyone, the boys for hours of play and for you, mom and dad the special memories. The food is the best with no calories, so be sure to have seconds, please. Hehe What a great tablescape! Safe travels Susan.

  35. When my daughter was little, she had a matching maple table and chairs. Brings back memories.
    You are not kidding us Susan, next thing you know those kids will have a kid’s table at your home the likes of Marie’s. LOL What fun and memories to last forever.

  36. That’s so adorable! I have a small round table with two chairs, where my granddaughter and “the babies” (dolls) have tea parties. Such fun! Have a safe trip home.

  37. So happy for you Susan that you were able to spend some quality time with your son, dil and grandchildren. Re the table and chair set; a number of years ago for the first grandchild I purchased an Ikea Dinette Table (found in their scratch and dent section), customized its height by cutting down its legs and decoratively painted it to match four children’s sized chairs that were purchased elsewhere. To conclude; it certainly served its purpose over the years as it accommodated four children comfortably and was also used a craft’s table however now outgrown has been handed down to another family. SAFE travels on your journey home. -Brenda-
    TIP: If doing such a project, ensure to prepare your surface properly with a good primer (I use Zinsser’s Bulls Eye 1-2-3) and always apply at least one to two coats of a clear protective finish which in turn on most accounts will ‘slightly’ darken your colour choice(s).

  38. Susan, how darling is your Tablescape! Safe travels!

  39. How precious is that tablescape! I hope the roads are clear and safe on your journey home.

  40. Susan, check online for road condition cameras on your route home. Also, state police may have postings of road conditions. I know in North Carolina NCDOT has a statewide camera system for major traffic areas. Several years ago I found out my hubs wouldn’t be able to get home from a hunting trip before he did by checking the cameras for road conditions.

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