Seasons bring so much to life—it’s the delicious reminder that nothing’s constant and change is good—letting go of the old and embracing the new~~from new foods and nature to what we wear, those of us who live in seasonal areas can shift into new modes of eating, cooking, activities, dressing and gussying up our dinner tables! Whether you’re dining outdoors on a cool Fall evening or inside where a fire could be burning as early as October, here’s some ways that even my table, well, in this case the picnic table, gets into full Autumn style~~
1. Use what you have in your yard and from outdoors—even if you’re city-bound, swing by a park, pick up branches, dried leaves of all colors and other things that have that intrinsic natural and oh so Fall beauty. For me, I’m lucky to have huge rosemary bushes that are lush and fragrant year-round, so I love to crack off ‘stalks’ and put on the napkins—not only is there a cool scent, but even the stripped rosemary can become confetti on the table—yipppeee fun!
2. Large Fred Flintstone pumpkins are great for carving, but not for versatile table tricks. I like to load up on odd sized small pumpkins and gourds that I can perch on a cake platter, arrange into various groupings, use as individual name place cards and more! So when you’re at the pumpkin patch, don’t overlook the babies.
3. Use those baby small pumpkins for name place settings~~just pull out your Sharpie pen and have at it! Write names, draw designs, or, better yet, just put the guest’s name on the pumpking and give them a Sharpie pen at the table to have some decorating fun!
4. Pick up some inexpensive flour cloth dish towels or bar mop towels at one of the super stores and use as napkins~~get creative with your folding or just shake out and create a cool knot! If you want to get fancy, use washed and cleaned tin cans (15 oz size) or old (or new) glass jars (mayo, etc.), labels removed and put the utensils in along w/the napkin.
5. Work in those great Fall colors—shades of orange, purple, reds, yellows and browns—think Mother Nature palate–pine cones, twigs, leaves and, then, of course, Halloween!
Oh, and one more thing~~there are no rules! It’s your playground! It’s your boho table~~make yourself giggly happy with whatever tingles your blissful mood. ~peace, luv & here’s to your table, your way~ ally xoxox
©alice d’antoni phillips www.allyskitchen.com
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