I must have been living under a rock when these plates first made their appearance at West Elm. Apparently I was among the last to get the memo, as they’ve been out for a few years now.  But once I discovered them, it was love at first sight!

Goofy sea creatures, in brightly coloured outfits! Really, what could be better for our Cape house?

The Dapper Animal series is quite extensive. From what I can gather, it comprises four different groupings of animals. In addition to the sea creatures, there are four Christmas themed “couples” of animals, many woodland types in more autumn and winter-ish clothing, and a new series featuring an oryx gazelle, a hoppoe bird, a jaguar and a macaque monkey.  What fun!

I bought a bunch of the plates online last winter — a scattering from each of the different series. On our trip to the UK this past spring, I was very pleased to discover that the store in London, England had some that I hadn’t been able to find in the States, so into our luggage they went. No matter how virtuous my intentions are at the outset of the holiday, we seem destined to endure frosty stares from the baggage check-in people as they slap “HEAVY” tags on our bags due to the ceramics packed in among the sweaters and jeans…

In keeping with the beachy theme of the octopus, flamingo, shark and lobster, I styled the table with lemonade in milk bottles with colourful straws from Pier 1.  The red striped napkins are from Williams Sonoma a couple of years ago.

The galvanized chargers are from Pottery Barn this year, and the white dinner plate is Queen Anne Pillivuyt from Williams Sonoma many years ago, but still in stock. The cutlery is Berry & Thread from Juliska.

The lobster claw salt & pepper is Pier 1, this year and is now on clearance.

We’ve turned the calendar to August now. I’m conscious of wanting to hold back time to enjoy every warm day that remains of the summer. I’ve  marked the hour of low tide on my daily planner so I can walk the beach with the warm waves swirling around my feet, and soak in the warmth of the sun. The frost will be on the pumpkin all too soon!

I’m sharing this post with Between Naps on the Porch.