Summertime… And The Livin’ Is Easy
TODAY’S TIPS FOR SETTING YOUR OUTDOOR DINING TABLES
The phrase al fresco is borrowed from Italian for “in the cool [air]”, although it is not in current use in that language in reference to dining outside. Instead, Italians use the phrases fuori or all’aperto.[3] In Italian, the expression al fresco usually refers to spending time in jail. While you are letting this tidbit sink in…let’s talk about dishes!
Retailers, especially online vendors, pay millions to marketing companies to make their products appeal to the masses. The goal is to sell product.
They are masters at this! They keep us all drooling and hitting the “Add to Cart” buttons. It works! But do we want our decor to look like the Pottery Barn Store all the time? Too harsh? Wait, stay with us a minute.

Here is the “enticing you to buy” PB photo for the Lemon and Marble Plates . Looks fun. Uses a classic Blue/Yellow theme. You are going to head right over to the directed screen and order it all…the table cloth, the napkins (please order the blue -the two yellows clash PB!) Nothing wrong with this plan. You’ll have a lovely alfresco dinner but you will be just like a lot of other people who also are unloading their PB boxes now. Perhaps you like to be YOUR OWN market advisor and mix things up a bit.
How about you join the group that will be having lunch at this gal’s table…WOW! I’m right there with you sister or mister! Let’s see what she did with her PB dishes.


Yep…these are the same two PB plates! See how wonderful they look on the blue/white table cloth? Told you so.
What about that blue and white stripe table cloth? Pretty nice, huh? Nope…it’s not because it’s not a tablecloth… it’s two beach towels! How’s that for multi use products? Remember our previous post, POOL PARTY! where we talked about Pestemal Beach Towels? These thin Turkish towels come in so many colors and patterns and would make some amazing table cloths. Any beach towel could be fun and teamed with dishes that won’t break…let the parties begin!
What about a dusk to dark dinner with the same cloths and marble plates? Simply swap out the lemons with any of these Del Sol cultural beauties.


Perhaps a garden centerpiece?
Add as many candles as you have clear jars for and set the mood!

To be fair to PB, and give credit when due, I do think they got this one right! I’d use these Gray Marble plates in our home and love it. Especially if that lemon was real and headed to the perfect glass of ice tea. How chic would this be with a wooden cutting board and knife on the table ready to cut and serve! I’d use a gray and white stripe towel as my cloth and add some purple flowers. Can’t you just smell the lemons?
MY DAY TIME LOOK

Artisan Wood Cutting Board Gray Stripped Pestemal Beach Towel
MY NIGHT TIME LOOK WITH THE SAME GRAY STRIPE TABLECLOTH
INTERMISSION
Here is another great example of mass marketing…I always have a carton of broken eggs on my kitchen floor don’t you? Bet you had to look twice and noticed the rug more than the eggs – I did! All kidding aside, these runners are fantastic, come in 4 patterns and we recommend them for clients often. They have been out of stock and we got a notice they were back this week! I am going to use this one outside this season and bring it in later on. It’s going to look great wherever it is!
It’s Time For Friday Favorites!
Beach Towel Tablecloths with Outdoor Table Settings
Perfect with Fresh Florals or Chic Centerpieces!
Have Fun Mixing Up All The Choices!
Round Table? Don’t worry there’s a towel for that. Wouldn’t a round towel make sense for a beach picnic too?!
Cream Dish Ware Green Dish Ware Eddy Beach Towel
Slippa Moana Beach Towel Knots Blue Outdoor Dishes
Woven Green Dish Ware Aztec Beach Towel
Ibiza Dinner Ware Majestic Round Beach Towel
Don’t Forget We’ve All Got The July 4th Bashes Coming Up
Let’s Have Fun With Our Tables!
Thanks for spending another Friday with Us!
See You Next Motivational Monday!
I loved this post. Makes me want to have a party!
You have one of the best outdoor spaces for a party!
love those lemon plates! So funny that we both posted them!
Happy dishes! That’s what I used to tell my kids colored plates were.