topping things off

Our dining table is pretty plain-jane, but it makes a nice blank canvas.  Here it is bare...well, almost.  For a few days it played host to some of the smaller plants I brought in before the frost, but they were never intended as decor.  They've relocated to the south side of the apartment now.

When it's not being called upon for utilitarian purposes, our table can dress up kinda sweet.  On a recent trip to Goodwill I found this gorgeous painted-border tablecloth for $2.38.  How 'bout that?  No stains or tears and I swear it was starched.  I took this photo right after bringing the cloth home, but I washed it before using it at a meal. 

And, you know, at that price, why not get two? You may have noticed I kind of have this thing for yellow....  I have a gold-on-gold cloth we've used for a while now, but, being human and all, we've kind of stained it over time.  And I admit I'm not the world's greatest laundress.  I don't mind doing laundry, but coin-op is all about quantity and not so much about quality.  If something gets ruined I just let it go.  That's why I get excited over $2.38 tablecloths.  But who wouldn't?

Our table can do rustic too.  Right now I have my version of an inexpensive, locally-sourced, seasonal arrangement sitting front-and-center.  Translation: I filled a bowl with pinecones from the park.  I felt a little bit like a crazy person going over there and filling my plastic bag with sap-soaked seedpods, but it was totally worth the mild discomfort once I got home.  See?

The tiny chicks (no hens in these hen-and-chicks, really) are potted in what I think are dip dishes from a restaurant.  On a walk with my friend Anna a week ago, I saw what I thought was a small blue flowerpot just lying by the path, but it turned out to be two tiny cups stacked together.  They were just the color I had envisioned for the kitchen, which I hope to bring together in some coherent balance of blue and green.  I know the plants aren't in the kitchen, but there's a chance they will be before long.  You know how this goes, right?

How about you?  Any serendipitous discoveries or shockingly good deals lately?  I'd love to hear about them!