Taking time to turn the pages

Okay I admit it - here we are a week before St. Patrick's Day and I've just now gotten 'round to decorating Grandma's table. That's because I absolutely fell in love with the Valentines version, and I didn't want to put away the little tic-tac-toe set! 
But I finally decided to change it up, and here is the new arrangement:  

The book is a little over-whelming, perhaps, but it completely deserves center stage because it's absolutely stunning. More on that in a moment. 

I don't have (and didn't want) a lot of the traditional St. Paddy's decorations... I'll be honest, Leprechauns kind of give me the creeps ;)  Shamrocks are pretty but I felt like a vintage version would be better suited for the look I wanted. So I decided to just go for a green-and-white theme. 

Here is the little grouping just behind the book to the upper left in the picture: 

I've used my two green fluted vases found on a recent thrifting adventure, along with some Dollar Store silk carnations: 

And a tiny print courtesy of The Graphics Fairy in a diminutive silver-toned frame: 

Under the whole setting is this pretty white crocheted table runner - yes, I kept the romantic pink tablecloth (I couldn't bear to put it away!) but decided to try to mask it for my green-and-white tribute to the Emerald Isle. The pretty hanky also picks up the green-and-white theme, while lending a touch of pink. 

Around the other side of the table, we have the omni-present Mr. Duck...

In front of another pretty print from The Graphics Fairy. I thought this Irish girl was lovely! 

The book I'm using for this display is a real treasure - I picked it up in the bargain section at Barnes & Noble recently: Castles of Britain and Ireland, by Rodney Castleden (no pun intended, I'm sure!). 

It's hard to get a good shot of an open page because of the lighting, but it features beautiful photography and a bit of informational text about the centuries-old castles of England, Scotland, Wales, & Ireland. This spread shows Cashel Castle, a.k.a. The Rock of Cashel or The Rock of St. Patrick. 

The book is a little more in proportion to the table when it's closed, but having it open encourages one to flip through the pages - which I otherwise might forget to do! 

I'll be linking this happy little table to Marty's Tabletop Tuesday party over at A Stroll Thru Life! 

More soon,