To Dine on a Dime

Years ago if someone had told me I would be obsessed with dishes, I would have thought they were crazy.  As long as we had one set of everyday plates and a halfway decent set of plates to set a table for guests, I was totally happy.  Keep it simple, right?  Well, not anymore.  This didn't happen gradually - it sort of snuck up on me.  Yes, I know snuck is not a word, but it's what we Southerners say instead of sneaked.   We have our own language down here, ya' know.

Now when I go to garage sales,  I zero in on sets of dishes.  A couple of weeks ago I found a beautiful service for eight called Napa Style by Michael Chiarello.  When I hear the word Napa, I automatically think...Italy - grapes - wine - romantic - castles, don't you?  And the best thing about this set of dishes was the price -  $10 for all 32 pieces.  Now I'm a very amateur tablescaper...  and I need lessons in photography,  but I do like to show people that you can set a pretty table on a very low budget.

I love the pottery feel of it - and I think the raised design must be grape vines.

This is some vintage Community silverplate flatware that I've had stored in plastic bags - a flea market find.

 The yellow placemats are actually large napkins.  The little flowers are a Michael's $1 clearance purchase a few months ago that I knew I would find a use for one day.  I posted about the yellow napkins and the white napkins here.  I think you'll agree it was a great price.

 The goblets with gold and white are some I found at the flea market back in January for $6 for 6 goblets.  I used them in another table setting here.   The wine / champagne stems are vintage.

 That old terra cotta flower pot looks like it has the perfectly aged, mossy patina, doesn't it?  That's because it does.  Came straight out of my flower garden today to do a stand-in for fresh cut flowers.  I think it looks "old Italy", don't you?  The Gerber Daisy's have just the touch of color I was looking for.  Yellow, with a splash of red for a little pop of color.  The plate below that they're sitting on is red Fiesta.

 My knock-out roses are brightening up the buffet where we'll serve dessert and coffee with the mugs that are part of the Napa Style dinnerware.  And some chocolates are teasing me from the little clear candy dish.

I took the shot below with the chairs framing the centerpiece. The black and gold candle sticks have the look of columns from an old Italian castle.

 This butter dish is the Metlox Poppy Trail pattern but looks like it belongs to the dinnerware.  It stands ready to butter up some crusty loaves straight from an Italian kitchen oven.

 Even the print I have hanging over my linen chest is of an Italian Villa.

 The last photo is a mirrored image taken of my old oak china cabinet. 

Hope you enjoyed how you can Dine on a Dime (or at least dine on a ten dollar bill).  Such a small amount of money went into the table setting, but I don't think anyone would complain if served a meaty Italian dinner on it, do you?  Like maybe Veal Scaloppini with Saffron Cream Sauce  - with a nice, crusty Italian loaf.  Now, that's making me hungry.

Linking up this week to: S- Fleamarket Finds  M- Apron Thrift Girl  Tu-  Coastal Charm, Frugal Treasures Tuesday T- Vintage Thingie Thursday, Treasure Hunt Thursday, Blue Eyed Owl, The Haps F- The Thrifty Groove, Vintage Inspiration Friday S- Penny Worthy Project

Also to:  Katherine's Corner's Thursday's Favorite Things Bloghop party.  Also, Knick of Time Tuesday,  Wow us Wednesday  Tablescape Thursday and Thrifty Things Friday.