Reed's Birthday Invitation

I cannot believe that Reed is going to be 1 in less than two months!  My little guy is growing up!

Here he is at the beach...I know I am partial but he is such a cutie pie.

I have started planning his birthday party and have decided on a Picnic in the Park theme.  There is a great little park just down the street from our house.  Not only will we have the playground as entertainment, there is a Frisbee golf course for the big kids. 

I started putting together his invitation and this is what I came up with.  Can't wait to put all the details together for this special party!

Sailboat Photo booth 99% Complete

I just need to attach a anchor on the sail and then it will be ready!

I painted the windows by simply painting free form circles.  I added some details to create the look of rounded glass.

 I added black dots to look like the bolts that keep these windows in place.

I purchased a short dowel rod and a seven and half feet long piece of shoe moulding.  The moulding was not quite long enough and the dowel a bit too long.  So I was able to use the left over piece from the dowel rod to solve the problem. 

Once I get the anchor created and secured I will have the final "after" photo.  Can't wait to all the sweet kids taking pictures with it!

Custom Nautical Snack Cups - $1

Another detail Theresa and I added to the nautical 1st birthday party we are styling are nautical snack cups.

Here is an example of cups from Parents.com.

And here are our cups!  I love the added sailboat.



These were very easy (and cheap!) to make.  I purchased the cups from the dollar store and simply painted the waves with blue acryllic paint.  Then I drew the boat and filled it in with permanent markers.

Can't wait to see them on our tablescape on Saturday!

Simple 4th of July Decorations

I am going to be spending the week with my family at the beach all next week.  As much as I would love to style the occasion and think of all these great DIY decorations, I really just want to be with the family.  So there will be pictures from our week to come, and definitely our tablescapes but they will be low key, relaxed and not involve much effort. 

I wanted share these for a little inspiration...keep it simple inspiration!

Food & Wine

Menu in A Bottle - Food &Wine

Rustic Flag Centerpiece - Food &Wine

Blue Bottle Centerpiece - BHG

Mom has lots of blue bottles at the beach - definitely doing this one!

Star and Wreath - BHG

I could easily do this one today!

Fabric Garland With Yarn - BHG

Probably not going to do this one beacuse it would require buying fabric but so, so cute!

Lots of ideas to get me thinking - can't wait to share photos with you all next week!

Going Away Party

Our good friends Nick and Natalie sold their house and are making the move to Asheville.  We are sad to see them go but so excited for them to start this new chapter in their life. 

Of course this was the perfect opportunity for a party!  My friend Theresa and I styled the going away gathering that my friend Bryn and her husband Matt hosted.  It turned out so cute that I wanted to share the pics with you.  It was a simple cookout but we added some special touches to it.  Thanks to my sweet husband for taking the photos! 

The colors were yellow, white and gray.  I picked up these flowers at the farmers market and put together these arrangements.

Theresa created this great farewell montage that we framed in a simple wooden frame.

Theresa also created this sweet banner that we hung in the breakfast room area of Bryn's house.

 Another fun thing we did is to have each guest complete a mad lib for Nick and Natalie.  They filled in their favorite memory, fun time and what they will miss most about having them here in Charlotte.

I wrapped a few of the vases with coordinating paper, ribbon and raffia. 

These coordinating pom poms and the chevron runner were the perfect details for this party.

Theresa and I made a great team.  The pom poms and runner she had on hand.  She created the banner and mad-libs game.  The day of the party I created the centerpieces and set everything up with Bryn's help. 

Can't wait for the next opportunity for Theresa and I to style another party!  If you have a gathering that you need help with let me know!  We would love to help you no matter what the theme, size or budget.

Party Dreaming Organization

Do you dream of party ideas?  I do.  All. The. Time.  I jump on any chance I can get to host or help plan a party.  I see so many cute ideas in the magazines I suscribe too but the thing is they just sit there.  So when I think about something I want to do I can't remember what issue the idea was in and I don't really want to go back through 3 years worth of magazines.  So I decided to start a party idea file.

I selected a few categories like Creative Food Display, Fall, holidays (non-Christmas), young children's parties, early elementary children's parties, tablescapes and place settings, floral displays and adult birthday parties.  I will add more categories as time goes on but this was a good start.

Here are some of things I pulled.  I loved this trifle for the holidays.  This idea could be done in smaller tasting glasses and with any kind of trifle.  How cute would red, white and blue be for the 4th?

I loved these oversized balloons!  Such a grown up version of the old favorite.  You can buy these (36" round balloons at Party City and at Balloon Fast)

I also liked this vase.  Seems like a great way to arrange flowers to look good if you don't quite know what you are doing...like yours truly!

I have seen these a bunch of places but wanted to pull the pic for the reference.  I have also seen smaller versions with batter lights in them hanging on trees.  Very cute.

I am heading up the committee for my neighborhood block party for games, decorations and raffle prizes so I am on the hunt for inexpensive decoration ideas.  Also I have Reed's first birthday to plan and a murder mystery party in October.  Lots of fun stuff to plan!

My friend and I styled a going away party this past weekend...turned out really cute!  Pics of that coming later this week!

Girls Night Wine Tasting

One of my book clubs has turned into more of a Girls Night Club.  And each host can choose if they want to pick a book, play a game, do a craft, etc.  We were getting a little stale on the books and the group needed a boost.  Theresa was due to host next and picked a wine tasting theme.  Each of us brought a bottle of wine which she put into paper bags labeled with a number.

Then we started tasting and rating our wines using this handy score card that she created. 

She provided an awesome spread of tasty treats to go along with the wine.

This strawberry and basil salad was a big hit.  The recipe is from Southern Living.

Theresa also served veggies and dip (carrots, celery and asparagus) in these glasses.

Dessert was this awesome peach and blueberry cobbler served in cute mason jars.  So good!

It was fun night and something different!  Wine number 2 won...a great pinot grigio.  Currently #2 at Total Wine.  We had so much fun I didn't write it down!  But the concept was great.

Just In Time For Cinco De Mayo

Yummy recipes!

Rum Ritas (my take on Margaritas because Tequila just ain't my thang...) and layered Mexican casserole.

RumRita Punch

24 ounces frozen limeade concentrate (thawed)
12 ounces frozen lemonade concentrate (thawed)
1 oz orange extract
6 cups water
3 liters soda (sprite)
1 1/2 cups rum

Mix it together and put in a pitcher ready to serve when your guests arrive!  Or ready to drink poolside without having to get up to mix another drink!

Layered Mexican Casserole

1 pack of small corn tortillas, torn in large pieces
3 boneless skinless chicken breasts cooked and chopped
1 can black beans
1 container fresh salsa
1 container guacamole
1 small onion finely sliced in rings
1 pack taco seasoning mix
1 can cream of celery or mushroom soup
2 cups Mexican cheese
fresh cilantro chopped
sour cream (optional)

Layer bottom of baking dish with pieces of tortillas then top with 1/2 of the beans, guacamole, chicken, onions, soup, taco seasoning and a third of the cheese and salsa.  Repeat with another layer.  Then top with one last layer of tortillas, salsa sprinkled on top and remaining third of cheese.  Bake in oven at 350 degrees for 45 minutes covered.  Uncover for the last 15 minutes.  Serve warm topped with sour cream, extra salsa and fresh cilantro.

Supper Club - Paintin' and Drinkin' Party

After I had so much fun at Wine and Design here in Charlotte aka Sips and Strokes or Paintin' and Drinkin' as I like to call it, the girls in my supper club wanted to do it too.  So we thought it would be fun to do it one night instead of our traditional gathering.  But at $35 or $45 a person and not having the ability to really eat a good dinner, we decided to create our own by me teaching the painting I learned.

So I picked my menu (make your own tacos) and got the house ready.  I served chips and salsa and veggies and hummus for appetizers.  We started out with wine and margaritas inside and then moved outside to paint.

I purchased 12x12 canvases at Michael's and inexpensive craft acrylic paint.  We made our "palettes" on paper plates from the dollar store and got to painting!

Everyone had a really good time!  And they all turned out awesome!

After painting we had dinner by candlelight!  It cooled off and there was a nice breeze.  It was just lovely!

Here we are showing off our art! 

Sweet Rudy not only got Reed down for the evening while I got ready for the party but he also cleaned up when he got home.  I have the best husband!

Great evening!  Can't wait to see the girls again!

Walk Down Hostessing Memory Lane

At one of my bridal showers a good family friend gave me a hostess diary.  As a person who faithfully wrote in a diary everyday for 5 years, I can say I like the concept.  I have actually used it and written down many of the parties we have hosted here.  I pulled it out tonight to write down the details of my supper club party next Monday and enjoyed looking back.
This was the invitation front of the Parisian Brunch travel themed bridal shower I gave for my friend Karen.  She LOVES Paris, minored in French and is an adventurous traveler. 

The invitation read:

Bonjour!

Karen's wedding is on the way

so let's her her prepared for the big day.

Join us for a Parisian Brunch Shower

for our dear friend the adventurous traveler.

Enclosed is one of her favorite destinations

please use it for your gift's inspiration.

So each person got a card like this with a city and a brief description.  The name cards on the table were luggage tags I made, I framed black and white pictures of Paris scenes and we had LOTS of flowers.  I think this was one of the cutest shower themes...felt very clever with this one!

Here is the invite for our Texas Holdem party.  That was a lot of fun.  I made homemade BBQ which was awesome.  Just the basic recipe from Joy of Cooking.  We had a signature drink Texas Tea, lots of other good picnic food and of course lots of card playing.

For Christmas one year we gave Rudy's parents a Tuscan Dinner Party.  We cooked and served all the food, decorated, made the invitations...it was lovely.

I traveled to Italy and painted with a group.  We had our own chef who made meals for us every night.  I followed his lead and walked guests through each course.  Before we sat down we gave a toast to Tuscany..."The sweetness of doing nothing".

I also found the first entry which was such a fond memory.  8 girls came over for dinner and to help me assemble my programs and wedding favors.  And I even noted the first time I had my in-laws over for dinner as a married couple.  Our first Christmas Eve dinner.  It was fun to look back and remember.

If you would like to purchase the diary for someone who likes to entertain, you can find it here.