Inspiration for living a luxuriously and balanced life

Thursday, January 12, 2012

Can we Eat Outside YET???

One of the draws of living in a part of the world where all forms of outside dinning, unless you are prepared to eat while wearing parkas sitting on stools made of ice/snow and chance having your lips or tongue stick to drinking cups; you are left with dreaming of the warm days ahead and look for inspiring settings, you may be able to recreate, once the bitter cold is long gone.

Here are some photos i hope will get your creative juices flowing and I hope will also add a little warmth to your day.


This setting reminded me of a setting in Italy ... Tuscany perhaps??


This one with a few modifications, could be transformed into a setting reminiscent of the tents that may have been set up for Marie Antoinette, on stops along her travels.


The blues and whites with the pop of yellow ..have me drifting to a setting in the South of France .. Provence


Whimiscal and a great inspiration for a child's outside birthday celebration...


Now this had me dreaming of enjoying a wonderful afternoon in the garden sipping champagne, wouldn't it be divine to have a greenhouse to laze away the hot summer days.. butterflies and birds flying by to say what a blessing...


This year we decided to host a boxing day Pancake Brunch ... of course with it being winter , everyone was inside. When I came across these photos .. I thought Hmmm OutDoor Pancake Brunch!!



I hope you have enjoyed your visit and will stop by next time where cold days and mid-day breakfasts make great companions.

Have you started dreaming of warmer days and Dining Al Fresco?



I'm joining
Between Naps on the Porch for Tablescape Thursdays  where many more inspiring table setting ideas can be discovered.


21 comments:

  1. Amazing photos! I miss summer and can't wait until my "Tea Patio" is complete.
    Right now its in the planning stages!

    As for the paneling - yes technically we can paint it. However its so old that its peeling away from the wall and is too old to reattach with any real success - in the next few years (one or two) we will repanel my son's room.
    The Living room we may end up painting...

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  2. Hello darling! Of course. I never stop dreaming of AlFresco dinning. My ancestors from Italy always said that in their area, they can eat alfresco about 75% of the time. Here near the Rockies I can do that about 4 months out of the year, if we are lucky.
    I love, love that image with the nice yet simple table setting inside that light and airy greenhouse. That would be so nice for one of those days when it is sunny but maybe not exactly yet very warm. Lovely. All images are so inspiring. Great choices!

    Of course you can use that image from my last post! (the one you requested). Glad you like it.
    Have a wonderful day!

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  3. Not yet! We are still waiting for winter weather. We have been unseasonably dry and warm and I miss the wet weather. We could probably eat outside now!

    Great photos. xoxo, A

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  4. Dearest Celia,

    That were great pictures for keeping the dream alive... Oh, we love to have al fresco dinners or tea in the gazebo.
    It was fun watching that 'skeleton' greenhouse without the glass in it! Ours is now loaded up with pots and plants till there will be no more frost surprises. Even though we had about three days with sun and temperatures till 20-21°C. Yesterday some good, still rain, that was much needed. Still not enough after the dry summer...
    Love to you and stay warm and cozy inside. Focus on your tea, chocolate or whatever hot drinks!

    Mariette

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  5. Bonjour Celia! Love the al fresco dining scenes. I want to be in one of those now. It is warm here now, lucky us, so I'm sending good weather and shorter winter your way.
    -Marie

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  6. How lovely! If we weren't dreaqming of outdoor dining before....we sure are now! I wish I could sit at each and everyone of these tables! (just not here today)

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  7. For sure the part of living in Canada that I dislike the most.
    Nothing like eating outside. Sigh. I long for those days again...
    enjoy the snow today! xo

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  8. Stupid snow moved in overnight and left the city an icy mess. It was the first snow of the season (unusually late!), but I'm ready to see it gone already!!! I've gotten cranky about cold weather in my old age! :-) I am already dreaming of and scheming on lovely outdoor parties for the spring and summer. I can't wait!!!

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  9. it's freezing here today in Minneapolis...brrrr...this warmed me up. I loved the photo of the pancake party! CUTE !

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  10. Dear Celia,
    I thought I'd lost you forever! Couldn't remember the blog name but thought of you often. Then I saw you on someone sideboard, (thank goodness!) so I'll not lose you again. Hope your year has started well, I'll have to read backwards and catch up. Gorgeous inspiration for spring and outdoor dining. I'll admit that I'm in Florida so that's almost always an option here.
    Glad to find you, please come and visit. I have a little linky party, too. So feel free to link what ever you'd like.
    Big hugs,
    Patti

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  11. What a fun post! It is snowing and freezing out tonight. I ate dinner tonight on the couch inder a big blanket! ( I was home alone) These photo's look much better!
    Have a pretty day!
    Kristin

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  12. We ate outside at the lake yesterday (because it happened to be warm in New Orleans--yay!) I love these pictures--They're so totally dreamy.

    Your blog is a total inspiration~I'm wondering if I can visit when I'm in flip-flops this summer!
    xo
    Cindy

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  13. Sigh...unfortunately it is so miserably hot here in Texas during the summer, it isn't much fun dining outside.

    Your photos are gorgeous and inspiring!

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  14. OMG!Yes, I am dreaming. I love the blue emblished tablecloth with touch of yellow. As you can see in my posts those are MY colors. I flurish surrounded by those colors.
    That scene was purely from a dream. The tablecloth is breathtaking and I loved the chairs.
    Thanks sooo much for sharing,
    Blessing, Ginger

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  15. Gorgeous photos Celia. Here in Spain we can eat al-fresco during the winter sometimes. Many days over the Christmas period where spent eating out with friends. It felt wonderful, but just not Christmassy enough. Christmas should be snowy and cold, and we should all be wrapped up against the elements ;-) I do miss the seasons here.
    Happy weekend Sweets xx

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  16. so elegant....and inviting. Makes me want to drop my pen and paper and stroll outside to those tables. Have a great day out there Celia....

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  17. WOW. Those are absolutely GORGEOUS photos. All of them. I'd be happy to be at any of those tables, lol!

    <3-Cami from First Day of My Life

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  18. Oh, yes, I've been dreaming about warmer locales. It's frigid and snowy here (although not enough to have fun playing in), so I'm ready for a change. I love nice summer evening where one can dine outdoors, like what Ina Garten has featured on her cooking program. I love the photo you featured of the refreshment table with the chalkboard menus - I may have to borrow that idea for an upcoming event I'm hosting (see today's blog post). Have a great weekend!

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  19. Hi Celia
    Oh yes, I can't wait to eat outside again. In the good weather we eat almost all meals at our tables in the back yard.
    At least winter hasn't been too harsh this year but who knows what Feb. will bring.
    Judith

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  20. Celia, now that we got our first real snow of the season (other than halloween blizzard), I feel I can officially start to dream of warmer weather! There is nothing we enjoy more than dining al fresco. So much so, we have several options.......the table on our little patio, the table in our little screen house/tent (hate the pesky mosquitoes) and picnic table by the campfire. As soon as we put the screen house up in Spring, I'm in there the next morning enjoying a bite of breakfast, a cuppa tea and a read....and the birds singing. Dining al fresco is heavenly.

    Have a fantastic weekend and thanks so much for popping by the Muse, Pam

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  21. In our neck of the woods, we have not experienced snow or too much cold, but never the less we do not dine outside. Your photos of desire are lovely. I like your photo of the girl going forward to her future and not looking back at her past.

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