Irish Authors: A St. Patrick's Day Table

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"After a good dinner, one can forgive anybody, even one's own relatives."
 ~ Oscar Wilde

For me, a good dinner starts with a good tablescape.  I like to think of setting the table as wrapping a present:  presentation is everything.  Besides, a well-wrapped gift (or well-set table) can compensate for a multitude of sins---like the alien salt and pepper shakers I got one year for Christmas.  They were wrapped in glorious, satiny papers and ribbons that glowed in the firelight.  I never saw them coming.

Now I'm not saying that we all need to set amazing tables for St. Patty's Day to make up for the ensuing Irish cuisine, but it wouldn't hurt.  Two words:  "bubble" and "squeak."  Our sister Hillary ordered this traditional dish once at an Irish pub.  When the waitress brought Hillary a plate laden with some kind of pureed substance the color of despair, Hillary turned to me and said, "It looks like baby food."  As it turns out, "bubble and squeak" tastes a lot like baby food, too.  What Hillary could have really used that night was a lovely table to divert her attention from the Loch Ness reenactment swimming on her plate.  That, and a cheeseburger.

In the next few days I will be foraying into some Irish cooking, so today I tried my hand at a "diverting" tablescape in case things go horribly awry in the kitchen. 

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I started with a nod to Ireland's flag by using green, white, and orange accents.  

I then centered the table around a pot full of "gold" in hopes of luring a leprechaun to our gathering.  I'm hoping he does dishes.

Finally, I made a nod to Irish agriculture by making name cards out of potatoes.  

I simply tied a ribbon on one end of the potato and wrote the names on the other end in fabric paint.

And suddenly, with my table decked in fresh hues and produce, I'm actually anxious to start savoring the "bubbliest and the squeakiest" of Irish dishes.  Well . . . almost.

May you find many lovely tablescapes this St. Patrick's Day!

Linking Up:
Between Naps on the Porch -
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Whipperberry
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Simply Designing 
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