The first clue that dinner wasn’t just a simple pasta and salad affair came from the table settings. But I had been shooed out of the house mid-afternoon to take The Kid somewhere and we eventually ended up at Fully Booked at Serendra which is always a nice hour or so spent in the cookbook section, so I didn’t see the table until right before dinner. Our 12 foot + (two 6 foot+ tables) dining table was draped with a fabulous linen tablecloth that was sent to us (Mrs. MM and myself) as a combined birthday present from my sister. Made of 100% heavy weight linen with a beautiful pattern in an unusual beige/grey color, this tablecloth was made in Russia. On this were laid our ever trusty plain white Limoges restaurant china…
Silverware was simple and the number of pieces minimal (little did I know they would be changed three times that evening!). A water glass and a white wine and red wine glass were at each place setting. A fancy fan shaped white linen napkin with red grosgrain ribbon lay atop each plate. One of our crew is the napkin folding expert and it is probably her personal goal to try every single napkin in a napkin folding book that someone gave to us years ago… The Kid contributed hand lettered place cards in a multitude of colored markers accented with metallic accents, a very nice touch.
For the flowers, another crew member was sent off to the flower market and returned with a mixture of different colored roses that were cut short and placed in low vases, with one larger centerpiece filled with more of the same rose mixture. Six crystal candlesticks with plain white dripless candles finished the setting. Overall, it was rather simple yet very elegant with a very basic and calming color palette, punctuated with the red tones of the flowers and ribbons. With only 9 place settings on the long table, there was a lot a room between guests, making serving the meal a breeze. In retrospect, this is one of my favorite table settings of the past couple of years…
18 Responses
MM, my, i so like how subtle and elegant it looked! What a special birthday.
Very simple, yet very elegant table setting indeed! Oh, MM you’re killing us, i can’t wait to find out what “special menu” Mrs.MM came out with and graces your lovely table setting!!
Dripless candles? First time I’ve heard of this. The table setting looks gorgeous! :)
All i can say is “omg”….. it’s really lovely Mrs. MM. I love the tablecloth and the table napkins. But where are the place cards that The Kid made?
brenda, another sharp observation… sorry, I took them out as the guests names were on them… :) meekerz, good candles burn off all the wax and don’t drip unless there is a draught or breeze… dhayL, I am typing posts as fast as I can :), jong, meal coming up!
not typing quick enough MM, you are all making us wait in suspense….I thought we would know about your mystery dish in a day or two, day two na after your birthday ha. But I love your posts in between, keep’em coming please….
oopsie! so it was french onion soup he he he, me not reading fast enough…too bad i didn’t guess it right.
looks so elegant can’t wait to see what’s for dinner!
It is almost like agony to wait for the menu. MM you are so good with your food and equally good at kicking in the suspense. Lovely, lovely setting.
Very nice! You celebrated in style!
the stage is set … we all wait with bated breath for the grand surprise!
I just couldn’t help looking back and forth to see the tablecloth, it is just so simple yet very elegant, it looks like a delicate stationery..
congrats to Mrs. MM for such a lovely setting. the white plates and linens look great against the red and fuschia roses. so elegant.
simply elegant…
Can you tell us the name of the book where you get ideas for napkin folding?
always very classy!
erleen, the book is called “Napkin Folds, Beautifully Styled Napkins for Every Occasion” by Bridget Jones and Madeleine Brehaut. We got it as a present one Christmas.
Romantic!I adore the arrangments. You’re indeed very lucky MM!
Lovely and elegant!!!