The House and Garden: Dining Alfresco

This time of year in the upper Midwest, the late afternoon sun is warm ,but you can feel the cool night air hovering above, just waiting for the sun to go down.

With summer weather finally here, there is nothing better than having dinner outside . Eating with Al as my daughter says.

On this sunny Sunday afternoon , we decided to sit outside for a cocktail and watch my husband grill up something delicious for dinner . He's a great grill master!

My daughter and I had fun designing the table-scape, using the colors in the table cloth for our design inspiration .

The table cloth and melamine dishes are both from Target.

We grabbed whatever we could find around the house that had the lime citrus green and soothing whites.

Don't be afraid to mix old and new together. Here the vintage porcelain pitcher and old wire locker basket provide the right balance with the contemporary graphics of the table cloth and dishes.

Cool and refreshing on a warm summer night !

Ladies Mantle and variegated grass is all that was needed for this fresh centerpiece. My flowers in the garden are pinks and red and didn't look right on the table. If I had white flowers, I would have used them here, but I like the simplicity of the greens alone.