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Thursday, March 26, 2009

A Tippling Tablescape, with Hidden Secrets! Or: Where O Where Can That Single Malt Be?


Oh where, Oh where can my single malt be?

Oh where, Oh where can it be?



For a whole big batch of wonderful tablescapes, all of them better than this silly effort, go visit Susan at Between Naps On The Porch.
Click here to go there!



Don't these Tablescape Thursdays zip around awfully fast? I wasn't going to play along this week -- brain freeze -- but I got to thinking last night, as I watched a DVR'd episode of an Agatha Christie mystery, of a fantasy tablescape I could set up, right in our study.

(No, not one of those fantasies, you saucy minx!)

Play along with me. There's the reveal of a hidden secret at the end! I guarantee you will laugh. Or at least grin. Probably.

Here goes. . . .

Howard and I are not the ritual-cocktails-before-dinner types. With us it's more a welcome home, quick kiss, feed the dogs, pop open a Fresca before dinner ritual, but, just for tonight . . . we pretend. . .

I am sitting in our comfy, feet-up study near seven in the evening, flipping through The Economist (this is a fantasy, remember), and waiting for my guy to return from the trenches of Manhattan. I've tossed a cloth over the coffee table. On it, waiting, are a couple of simple sturdy glasses:


an old cobalt blue pottery ice bucket by Pfaltzgraf that I have had for more than 30 years:


a pretty little Italian pottery plate, with a pre-dinner tease of aged cheddar and whole grain crackers:


2 linen napkins, and a small bunch of Peruvian Lilies:


in an anniversary vase my daughter Anne made for us when she was 12:


and ... and ... and ... hey! Hey!

Something's missing!

Where is that wonderful single malt Scotch we bought at the duty free shop at Gatwick airport?
I think DH deserves a little splash of good whisky at the end of a 14-hour day, don't you?

Where oh where can that single malt be?

Wait.

What is this?

The end of the table is moving!



It's swinging open!


The end of the table swings open to reveal. . . the single malt Scotch, hidden in a secret compartment!


Now the tablescape is complete.

Ta-da!


About that unusual coffee table. . . I found it last year on Ebay. I couldn't resist it. (Yes, it was cheap!)


It's got strong Art Deco lines, and I bet it was made during Prohibition in the U.S.
I wonder if it was meant to help clever hostesses hide their liquor?
I'd be more likely to hide M&Ms. (Aged cheddar would get stinky after awhile.)

Each end of the table swings out to reveal hidden compartments for -- what else? -- booze, and also a small ice bucket,
shot glasses, everything the good hostess needs for a clandestine cocktail party. Except the olives.


It's a neat old dear, in good shape for its age, with great curves and a heavy plate glass top -- just right for putting your feet up.


Its style doesn't really "fit" with my other furniture, but I am a believer is using
what you love, and if you love it, it will work.


This piece is on loan to me; I know that someday one of my girls will beg for it, and I will fold. But meanwhile it's got a home in our study. It cracks me up and I love things that make me smile.

I forgot one of the important elements of a cozy pre-dinner drink and chat in the study:
the dogs join us. They are hoping for a bite of cheese.
Poor Dion and Connie -- always hopeful.

(Sorry it is so blurry; they were a bit quivery with excitement as I was holding
their attention with one of those cheese slices. Yes, they got some!)

Have a lovely Thursday! . . . Cass

P.S. I learned something valuable today; I have no decent double old-fashioned glasses. (I think that's the right term.) Can you tell we are not cocktail folks? But this must be remedied. . . .

38 comments:

  1. Cass, I so enjoyed your post and your tablescape I am in love with your pretty Italian dish and that incredible vase your daughter made for your anniversary with those beautiful lillies. your secret compartment table is perfect, just perfect. thank you for such a giggle this morning and for a peek at your beautiful doggies too. Kathy.

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  2. Oh, Cass...what a funny girl you are....it sounds just like an adventure I would only "dream up" in my head....the hidden away stash is a very novel idea. I've never seen anything like that! Thanks for sharing!

    Suzanne

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  3. * How charming, Cass! And how fun, too! Your pups are sooooooo precious~~~ did they GET that cheese??? Glad I could stop by! Thank you!Best, Linda *

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  4. Love the table!

    What a fun post - especially the pups waiting patiently for their cheese.

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  5. Very fun - - - only, is the "secret" in the table also a secret from hubs????

    I love crackers and cheese, especially when the crackers are Triscuits.

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  6. A tippling table - love it. That table with the secret cabinet is great.

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  7. Well that made me laugh! Cute puppies and I thin they should have had some cheese. Hugs, Marty

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  8. I just love those hidden spots for alchohol! I need one of those for beside my be :)

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  9. Someone else has found your hiding place and they have been testing that single malt a few times by the look of that bottle. No wonder Dion and Connie were quivering, it was them all along! Seriously, that is a fantastic table. That's just what I need to hide my liquor from the in-laws.

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  10. Cass,

    This was just a scream!! I nearly piddled myself! I just hemm and haw over posts and I am glad to see that you just went with your impulse.

    I think the table is very clever! I could have used it when my first teen started having parties while we were away!

    And who could ignore those two sets of big brown eyes? ;-)

    xoxo
    Janie

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  11. Oh Cass,
    You had me laughing good! Don't feel bad...we frequently (gosh I sound like a lush already) have a gin and tonic in a heavy crystal goblet. As long as there is crushed ice and a lime wedge I DON'T CARE....unless company was coming, then that's a whole other program. I could live on cheese and crackers...you are a girl after my own heart! Cheers! You enjoy putting your feet up, I'm still tired thinking about all of your sewing prjects still!

    Smiles, Nancy

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  12. Cass,
    Very clever girl and the coffee table is quite a conversation piece. Those doggies of yours have the cutest big beggy eyes, just love this post! Cindy

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  13. Hi Cass,

    Hope you had some luck shopping, did you find some good buys on glasses? Not that you need glasses. After seeing your secret compatment on your coffee table, everyone will be so fasinated that they won't need a glass. Next time they come for a visit, they might remember to bring a bottle or two to help fill those empty spaces in the secret compartment too. ;) Thanks for your visit to my blog.

    'D'

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  14. ooooooooooohhhhh, You have the vase your daughter made on the table....
    I love that....and I love the way you think girl. I am a believer in keeping things that make you smile.
    I don't drink but that table makes me smile too. You bribing those dogs for a picture made me laugh. Thanks! ~Athella

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  15. Love your post! The table is wonderful and give the pupies some cheese!

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  16. Now that is an interesting table! Great post, love everything.
    Hugs,
    Sue

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  17. darling babies, great choice in drinks, lovely platter for the cheese and my color on the dining room walls!

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  18. Cass,
    I love your creativity! The malt was just the right touch!
    Thanks for visiting me in Atlanta today...
    Blessings...

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  19. Great post, Cass..
    No cocktails here either. Total non drinker, but I have the glasses, from cordial to margaritas! Never know when a crowd of throw them back folks will arrive..
    And yes, I am addicted to glasses as well as dishes..so it is a good thing I don't drink!
    Love your table, and the ice bucket, so different!

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  20. So fun! A hidden treasure! I love it! I got to show hubby, well he gone to bed. I love the vase and flowers. OK hand over the Italian dish! lol Its so pretty! Malt Scotch! Better not let hubby know, he loves malt milkshakes. Can you tell I do not know much about Whiskey? I was a white wine lady on occasion, but Doc says NO! But he wants me to have a glass of red wine each day. I just can't find any I like, except a lady near by make some from her musadines. She can't sell it, so I have her recipe and her vines growing outside. lol I have sheet rock up in my dining room! No mud, son in law, took it off and when Hubby got ready today to mud, too far to go to the city. The day would be gone. My house is a wreck! My parlor still has the tongue and grove walls,celing and floors. I will not let him sheet rock until he finishes the other rooms. Beside I like having one room with the wood. All our ceiling are wood in the house. They were all wallpapered with orginal paper crumbling. Weather is bad here, and I am going to have 8 children and grandchildren, staying here tomorrow night as the worst is to hit. My dishes are every where! Little hands!!! I hope they do not have to come tonight, I will be up unstacking somewhere else! OK I am gone, I got a lot to do tomorrow!

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  21. What a fun post. That table is so neat! I've heard them referred to as a "Baptist" table, because when a member of the church drops by, you swing the liquor cabinet closed. Those two babies at the end of your post are adorable!laurie

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  22. Hello Cass,
    The vase your daughter made is just precious! I just love things like that, they are priceless! The coffee table is really unique and the idea of a hidden compartment! Most Awesome! I think I would hide my pens and my scissors in there. Then I might be able to find them when I needed them! The dogs are just too cute!

    Have a great weekend!

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  23. Hi Cass...thanks for swinging by my blog...I'm so glad to meet you, & in fact, I'm adding you right now to my blog list so I can come back & visit again & again...I love your sense of humor & those doggies! Oh, and I love your home too! Happy weekend, ;-) Bo

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  24. What a fun coffee table you have. Don't you just wonder who originally owned it and imagine them sneaking their booze from it during prohibition?
    Great post.

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  25. Great tablescape post! Loved that sneaky coffee table! Cute doggies too! Also...thank you for stopping by my blog! Have a great weekend!!

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  26. Cass, I love that desk! I can just imagine Fred Astaire dashing off a note sitting there. The secret compartment is the best thing I have seen in a long time!!!!!!!!! You need one of the wire covered seltzer bottles for it.
    Loved your mystery! :D Jewel

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  27. Good morning Cass :)

    You DID make me smile and giggle too. What a neat piece of furniture! I love ones that have secret compartments :)

    Thank you for your sweet words about my blog and Alex. It's been difficult, but I had no idea how much I could get done while on this blogging break ;)

    Have a great Thursday yourself!

    rue

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  28. Cass, I always enjoy your posts. You are so creative and imaginative.

    That table is too much fun! We could use that here at our house (we live in the land of Fundamentalist Conservatives). It is customary to hide the booze so as not to offend the sensibilities of the seriously pious.

    Scribbler

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  29. Cute post. I love your personalized pottery. So sweet of your daughter to make it for you. Love the lazy susan cabinet too...Christine

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  30. Hey! Thanks for stopping by my blog. I love your table scape. A table scape with a story-love that! I have a friend whose whole house if filled with Art Deco, I know she'd be envious of your unique find.I love the vase your daughter made when she was twelve. I have three girls and I can't part with anything they've made for me. I loved the plate the cheese was on too.

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  31. What a lovely coffee/liquor hiding table!

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  32. Thanks for visiting my blog & leaving me a comment. Your table is quite interesting. Kind of James Bond-ish. And your doggies are too cute for words.

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  33. Wow! That's a lovely vase! I also got a kick out of your secret compartment in the table! Deb

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  34. What a clever coffee table! I love your dogs, too; my sister also has two King Charles Cavalier spaniels. Chester looks very similar to yours, and Charley is a tricolor.

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  35. Hi Cass...I love your tablescape! Gorgeous plate! Wonderful vase...so sweet! Clever table! And amazingly cute little doggies! Have a great weekend...Debbie

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  36. Hi Cass, I loved your post. I bet you could hide some great chocolates along with the malt in that fabulous table. Your pups are beautiful. Aren't they the greatest? Our little tri is Sable, 1 yr. Second tri is Sapphire, 4 yrs and our blenheim is Natasha, 9 yrs. Enjoy your weekend.
    Kathleen

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