Fall Dinner Party

I think October has become one of my favorite months of the year to entertain. There are so many seasonal elements to incorporate that can make for a chic dinner party! I picked up a few pumpkins at a Farmer's market in town to display on my front steps, along with a few candles and a purple mum. ..




I decided to tackle turning a gourd into a vase, but unfortunately the gourd selection at Publix was not very appealing. I ended up grabbing a pumpkin, which was probably a lot easier anyway! My sister had some leftover flowers from Bennett's baptism, so I spent a grand total of $10 on flowers, which my wallet is thanking me for!


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I don't know if you remember my flower inspiration from earlier this week, but here is how my copy of Martha's arrangement turned out. I decided to throw in some white pumkins for a fun twist!

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Do you think I made Martha proud? **One note of caution if you try this...make sure to place the candles a lot lower than the flowers, so that the flame doesn't turn your flowers brown.

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When having a large dinner party, I usually set up the bar outside (depending on weather of course) and I always drape my table with burlap. Its very rustic chic and I love it! I used a large lantern for decoration and to provide more light at the bar. It was perfect for taking up some space on my large table so that I didn't have to use a large flower arrangement!

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One thing I always tend to forget when planning a party is that it usually takes a lot more time than I think. Thankfully my BF came to the rescue helping me cook and set up, which I was so grateful for. The more hands the better! Happy fall party planning!

"Wedding Shower" Dinner Party, Part Two

I hope you aren't tired of my "wedding shower" dinner party, but just in case, I'm keeping today's post short! I love to incorporate a "signature" drink into events I host so I made Tyler Florence's Champagne Lemonade and it was delicious...and easy to make, which is even better!! I have to give my roommate Stacey credit for coming up with the adorable idea to make the Champagne Lemonade name card.

I served my guests their dinner on Juliska's white berry and thread dinner plates, accompanied with Pomegranate Inc.'s lemon provence napkins and Libeco Lagae white linen napkins.

For the main course I served Herbed Shrimp and Feta Casserole out of the Jackson, MS Junior League cookbook Come On In. It was delicious!! And of course I used another cute lemon name card!

"Wedding Shower" Dinner, Part One

The "wedding shower" dinner party I hosted last night honoring Lauren was a lot of fun! My group of girlfriends in Birmingham always love an excuse to get together and drink wine, so thanks for giving us a great excuse Lauren! I (of course) had to include a picture of Lauren (in the middle) and its so perfect that my two favorite bloggers, Brooke (left) and Marianne (right), are standing next to her!

If you read my post yesterday, I included some photos that were a source of inspiration for me when I was planning my flower arrangements. I decided to thread lemons throughout the party, which you will see in several of my photos. The arrangement below is on my dining room table, and I think the yellow and white were a great contrast to my dark wood dining table. It turned out a bit more simplistic than the photos I posted yesterday, but I think it has an understated elegance that was perfect for the party.

Ok, so I tried to tackle the orange slice arrangment(substituting lemons of course) that I saw on BHG's web site and it definitely wasn't easy! I think I needed a few more lemons to make this work, but I had to make do with what I had left. I first filled the vase(yes, its juliska my FAV) with water and realized this wouldn't work because the lemon slices started to float...duh, right!? To improvise I stuck a shot glass in the center of the vase with water and arranged the daises in there. I wish I had added a few more flowers in there to give it a fuller look, but I was of course in a rush/mad dash(which I get from my mother) to get everything organized before my guests arrived.

My ever so creative roommate Stacey showed me the idea below she had cut out from a magazine, and I immediately got excited about trying this out! I placed these lemons on the "peep through" window ledge into my kitchen. All you need for this project is a couple of lemons, daisies and straws. You just poke a hole in the lemon and cut the straws and daisies to similar lengths. To finish the look you slip the daisy into the straw and stick it into the lemon. Super easy and such a fun creative look! The straws are white with yellow stripes...much cuter in person than in this photo.

I think my favorite arrangement for the party was the one I put together for the table on my back deck. It's a combo of hydrangeas, daisies and queen anne's lace. I was hoping to use the hydranges in the vase with the lemons on the dining room table, but the shape of the hydrangeas just didn't look right in that arrangement, so I threw it together with some leftover daisies and queen anne's lace in a large square vase and it came out great... thank goodness!!

Stay tuned tomorrow for more details on the menu and dinnerware!

Make an Entrance

Here is a little preview on the dinner party I hosted last night for my friend Lauren. I will try to get the rest of the photos up today...unfortunately work gets in the way of my blogging!! I wanted to make a festive entrance for the party, so I borrowed the hurricane lamps you see in the photos from my cousin who lives around the corner. I added a tulle bow and set them on either side of the entrance to the sidewalk that leads to my front door. They looked great!

Stay tuned for more details later...

Dinner Party Inspiration

I'm having a dinner party tonight to celebrate my friend Lauren's engagement (she got engaged in March so this party is much overdue!). Lauren is a very close friend so I really want to make tonight special for her! I saw this image on Beach Bungalow 8 and loved the combination of hydrageas and roses. Hydrangeas are Lauren's favorite flower so my plan is to incorporate them into my flower arrangements. I think the limes are a fun twist, but after seeing the next image on Blue Orchid Designs, I am in the mood for lemons!





I love a table with tons of vases of all different sizes and the lemons are a great way to decorate without breaking the bank! The napkins I have in mind to use are yellow, blue and white. My color scheme is coming together quite nicely!




How neat is the vase full of orange slices. Should I dare try this tonight? It is so unique, but looks tough to pull off!

I'm a huge fan of silver and since this is somewhat of a "wedding shower" dinner party, I think using silver would be a special touch.

I have such a large vision for this party in my head...I hope I can accomplish it on my budget! I will post photos tomorrow...stay tuned.

Photos via Beach Bungalow 8, Blue Orchid Designs, Better Homes and Gardens, and The Bride's Guide