I have to blame it on the lightning.

Tuesday night, we experienced a strong thunderstorm that brought lightning and over four inches of rain in a short time. We were already awake from the storm, and suddenly we both saw and heard a massive bolt of light hit VERY close to our house. Our electricity immediately went off and that started my day at 4:45 AM.

I had no intention of creating a patriotic tablescape this week; in fact, I didn’t even think I had enough in my stash to make one. Then I remembered the box of decorations I had put away in the garage. I had too much time on my hands this morning while I waited “patiently” for ComEd to get the power back on, so I started designing this tablescape in my head.

When I got home from my errands (really an avoidance measure to stay in the air-conditioned car instead of my hot house), I started with a crazy foil starburst decoration that I must have bought for a 4th of July party along the way. I pulled out my ironstone pitcher and it made a nice firecracker effect; I was hooked.

I checked for flowers — what would go with the firecracker? More roses, of course. I knew that my climbing rose was on its last legs after the storm, so I cut a big bunch from the bush. I had to fight with a bumblebee who was determined to get the last bit of nourishment from my roses. 🙂

And what to put on the table? My red tablecloth was not bright red enough for the placemats I made years ago, so I grabbed the blue and white quilt that usually hangs on my upper hallway bannister. Perfect! We actually eat at the table after I create the tablescapes each week, so I wanted to give the quilt more protection than the little placemats provided. One of the elements of the placemats’ patchwork effect is a blue and white striped ticking, so I got out my everyday dishtowels which also had a similar stripe. Voila! — as the French say; I had a layered linen base for my dishes.

After that it was easy. I pulled out the navy napkins, rolled them up and put them in the Pfaltzgraff Filigree cups that match my plates. I layered blue glass plates and tumblers, followed by the stoneware with a blue rim. Finally, I added my super-special shrimp cocktail glasses and filled them with delicious cherries. My table was just screaming July by this point!

Remember that I had no electricity during all of this? I pulled the curtains wide open and took the photos with my trusty Canon Rebel T3i using the afternoon sun streaming in through the window. For someone who had no plans to do a patriotic tablescape, I think this turned out darned good.

Image Credit: KSF

The power came back on just as I was finishing up the photo editing on my laptop and I was a happy girl. We’ve got a lot to celebrate in the upcoming week. The United States has its faults, but I’m proud to be an American today.

I’m resharing this patriotic tablescape from last year for Christine’s Table It party at Rustic and Refined. Hopefully I’ll have another new ‘scape later on this week — stay tuned!