first dinner party

Ok, so, it's not really my first dinner party, but it is definitely the first one in our new house! I figure that now that we have an actual dining room -- one that is separate from all the other rooms -- we should put it to use!

And what better way to celebrate a new dining room than with these beautiful new dishes? I picked out a few of my favorite patterns from Noritake, and mixed and matched them until I felt like I had it right! Would you believe this table setting came from three separate china patterns? I couldn't love them together any better if they'd come as a set.

One of the crazy things about china is that you're supposed to pick this set when you get married, whether it's at 22 or 35 or any age, and then it's just supposed to be your set for the rest of your life. But when your tastes change or you want to mix it up, there's nothing better than mixing and matching your china with new patterns! It's amazing how a set of new accent plates or stemware can perk everything up.

So here's what I did, if you want to recreate it:

• I stuck to black and white, because it fits our dining room perfectly, and keeping your china within a color family makes it easier to blend together a lot of textures and patterns.
  

  
  

• The actual place setting this is based on is from Noritake's Metaal collection (a four-piece set is only $50 right now!), and I used both square and round dinner plates, alternating by side of the table.
  

  
  

• The accent plates, which I used for salad, are from the Colorwave Graphite collection (the Plume Accent Plate) and the Cometa collection, which are both just gorgeous. You could just as easily start with one of these as your "base" and grow your collection from there!
  

  
  

• The stemware is also mixing and matching -- I'm obsessed with these black champagne flutes and wine glasses! And the traditional crystal glasses are from the Vendome collection -- adding a little classic elegance to our modern table setting.

All in all, an amazing way to celebrate our new house! And Noritake has offered you guys 10% off any purchase with the coupon code SUGARLAWS at checkout! xo

The recipe for the salmon is here (although I made it on our grill), and the potatoes are here (although I made them with new potatoes). The recipe for the corn on the cob is below!

Corn on the Cob

INGREDIENTS

6 cobs of corn, husked and cut in half

1 stick (1/2 cup butter)

1 tbsp sugar

1 tsp salt

2 tbsp lime juice

Freshly ground pepper

DIRECTIONS

Preheat grill to medium heat. Place the corn cobs in a large bowl.

On the stove in a saucepan, melt the butter and dissolve the salt, sugar, lime juice and pepper. Turn off the heat and allow to cool for 30 seconds. Pour the butter mixture over the corn cobs, and when the mixture is cool enough to touch, toss them to coat. Wrap the corn cobs in foil and grill for 15 minutes. Serve.