Tablescape Thursday: Picnic on the Greens

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.  He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside quiet waters, He restores my soul.  Psalms 23:1-3 (NIV)

Since this coming Sunday is "Golfer's Day" & the Masters golf tournament is beginning (& because our weather this last weekend was absolutley beautiful!), I decided to treat the golfer in my life to a special
"Picnic on the Greens."

My hubby is an avid golfer, golfing almost every week with his dad.  While most people wait 'til the weather's beautiful to golf, they have a slightly different rule......the 40 / 40 rule.......it must be at least 40* & less than 40 MPH winds.  That's still way too cold for me!  And I think they've actually broken this rule a few times!  Like I said, they're avid golfers!!  I think it's great that they spend that time together, bonding & creating many memories......and boy do they have some stories!  They could probably write a book, or at least start a blog :). 

Me, on the other hand?  I'm just glad when I actually hit the ball!  Let's just say I make a much better cart driver than golfer!  I do go with my husband occasionally, mainly to enjoy the scenery.  (And I must warn you, I've learned a lot of golf terminology & slang....some of which you'll get to see below!)  On most of our vacations, we make it a point to visit a golf course.......so my hubby has gotten to play at some beautiful places......TPC at Saw Grass,  TPC at Scottsdale, Torrey Pines, Pebble Beach.......just to name a few.  He still has a bucket list of courses he eventually wants to play.

But on to the picnic......

While my hubby was out golfing this past Saturday, I decided to set up a special picnic dinner in our backyard.  I chose the greenest place I could find.......the shade grass under two of our trees...... just in front of the woods, and there I arranged the table & chairs. 
(The rest of the yard hasn't quite greened up yet).
{You'll have to forgive the landscape project going on in the background.  We have big plans to have a fountain that flows into a "creek" that will wind it's way around the outer edge of our yard.  But seeing as how this takes time & money, it's a very slow-moving project.  So for now, just imagine that all the dirt is really a small creek gently bubbling in the background.  And when it is complete, you can bet I'll show you the real thing!} 

So back to the tablescape:  At first I considered using darker colors, such as hunter green & burgandy, and using some of my hubby's golf collections (such as golf towels for napkins, golf flags for placemats, golf balls for place cards, etc.), but the beautiful weather just called fore for a much brighter setting.
 So I scrambled around the house, rounding up my dishes & supplies......and after "playing-a-round" a little, this is what I came up with:

I began by covering the small iron table with this red, semi-sheer overlay. 
(The red circle pattern reminded me a little of golf balls).


{Maybe I should have taken all of the pictures from this angle....a much nicer background!}



While I don't have any golf plates (I know, it's hard to believe), I do have a couple of matching golf chip & dip sets, so of course, I had to use them somehow......that's a gimme.

I used the chip platters as chargers........

{If you look closely, you can see the reflection of the clouds & trees on the platter.}

.....then added my everyday red Emeril dinner & salad plates (as I stated in yesterday's post, I love red dishes because they can be used for so many occasions & holidays),
followed by the golf dip bowl & a lime green cup goblet.



{Oops, I left a couple of spreaders & wine glass charms that I was considering using on the plate.}



To add a little more color, I chose royal blue napkins. 
(Although when I was cleaning up after dinner, it hit me that perhaps I should have used yellow napkins instead, since they resemble golf flags.....oh well.)


In keeping with the casual 'scape & to save on space, I simply putt put the colorful flatware inside the goblets.


(I have to admit, running up & down our sloped yard from the house to the table with my dishes was a little rough.  Maybe I should invest in some kind of cart or at least a caddie caddy!)

After drive-ing to the grocery store to pick up a few food items, I came across these fun, bright yellow Pom Pon flowers, and thought they'd be perfect for the table.  Rather than using a vase, I chose to display them in this golf ball bowl.





A couple of candles add to the ambiance.  (Although, they wouldn't stay lit due to the wind.)


I also grabbed this red golf-like bucket out of the garage, in which I had a little gift waiting:
some new golf balls & tees.

As evening approached & my hubby returned home, the table was ready & waiting.....now all we needed was the food.

In order to follow-through with my golf theme, I came up with this "Golfer's Menu" for the evening:
 ~ choice of Sweet Tee or Water Hazard
~ Greens
~ Club Sand-Wedge
~ Chips & Chili (cheese) Dip (yes, "chili dip" is actually a golf term!)
~ Slice of coconut cream pie

I decided the only fair-way to serve this 3-course picnic, was one course at a time.  Using my turf tray, I first served the tee tea & water.......

.....followed by the greens (a salad which consisted of leafy romaine lettuce, tomotoes, carrots, walnuts, and mandarin oranges)........

......next was the club sand-wedge (aka, club sandwich) & choice of chips........

......and finally a slice of coconut cream pie to finish it off!

Because I was short on time, & because I am, unfortunately, quite the amateur when it comes to home-made pies, I let Marie Callendar's make the pie for me!  I must say, it really hit the sweet spot!

Here's a few more pics as the sun was setting:

{I like how the sun is peeking through the tops of the trees}.

 You might be wondering what those big Christmas light spheres are hanging from the trees.  Well, this past Christmas, my hubby made these to add some festivity to our backyard.  I thought all the bright colors were perfect for tonight's picnic and would add some romantic lighting as the sun went down.  So we hooked them back up,
and this is how they looked a little later in the evening:

{The pictures just don't do them justice!}

{I tried taking a pic without the flash to show you the true glow of the lights, & the wonderful cast it made on the table, but it didn't turn out so well!}

 

As the sun set, the evening was beautiful, with a cool breeze and the chirps of a few birdies.  It was right on par with what I had envisioned.  You could say it was an ace, a perfect hole-in-one......no mulligan needed here.  We had a ball.  I think I even scored a few points with my hubby.  (Okay, I know what you're thinking....get a grip with all these golf terms already!)

Well, thanks for swinging by my blog.  Take a few minutes to check out BNOTP's Tablescape Thursday & Lady Katherine's Tea Time Tuesday for a hole whole lot of inspiration by other tablescape pros.

red overlay - The Market at Quail Springs
golf chip & dip sets - Steinmart
red Emeril dinnerware - Dillard's
lime green goblets - Kohl's
colorful flatware - Kohl's
blue napkins - Pier 1
turf tray - Pottery Barn