{31 Days of Hospitality} Day 17 ~ White Dishes, Etc. (With the Emphasis on Etc.)

The party is tomorrow!

The Linky party where YOU are the honored guests!

I have been talking all month about the ins and the outs, the ups and the downs of hospitality.  

But tomorrow it's YOUR turn!  

I am inviting YOU to write a post sharing your own tips for hospitality.  

Then come over here tomorrow, October 18, and link up.  

If you don't have a blog, come and join the party anyway!  

Just write your tips in the comment section.  

(I'll be reminding everyone to take a peek there too.)  

I'll be putting out the welcome mat...and I might even serve hors d'oeuvres! 

Won't it be fun to learn some great hospitality tips and secrets? 

And now, on to today's topic...

Et cetera = "and the rest"

If you decide to plan your table settings around basic white dishes, then "the rest" kind of follows right along, easy peasy.  

"And the rest" might be finding brown cloth napkins on the clearance rack at Target, $1.74 for a package of four!  Of course, you buy four packages of four so you'll have enough to use at Thanksgiving, although you  may be amazed at how many times you'll use them for other occasions.

"And the rest" might be a $3.00 summer tablecloth, also on clearance, that you purchase at Marshalls in October.

"And the rest" might also be tan linen hemstitch tablecloths that you keep your eye on for weeks, for months, until one day you see that they are on sale and they are your price.  

"And the rest" could be a scarf (as in a fashion scarf that most people use to accessorize an outfit) that is snatched from the rack (yep, the clearance rack...do you see a pattern?) to be used as a table runner...someday.

"And the rest" might be serving platters and accent dishes that you pick up here and there, sometimes on sale, sometimes at a yard sale, sometimes at a thrift store, sometimes at a discount store, and sometimes you just go ahead and pay full price for a plate or a bowl that is calling your name simply because you love it and you know that you'll get lots of mileage from it.

"And the rest" could even be family treasures that have ended up at your house, or a birthday gift from your mother-in-law who knows that you love serving pieces.

But once you have your feelers out for "et cetera," I guarantee that you'll find lots of ways to make those white dishes pop!