The Lost Party!!!

Not sure how I missed it but for some reason I never got around to posting any photos of a party I did for one of my bestfriends! Teresa and I have been friends for over 25 years, and so when her daughter reached out and asked for help planning her 55th birthday how could I say no. I couldn't! This lady has been a rock in my life (not only as a sounding board but as a friend who is more like family, a sister from another mother, but still one of the best friends I have ever had). We spend a lot a lot of time together and for most of the tragedies and triumphs in my life she has been there!!! Well enough of the mushy stuff. LOL Let me share the few photos I have from that evening with you (and there really are only a few only because I spent most of the evening after setting up actually enjoying the party).

Her daughter Patricia told me from the start that she wanted to use the colors lavender and silver with a bit of white. Lucky for her my daughters favorite color is purple and I still have a lot of the stuff that was used in a sweet sixteen birthday party I did for a family friend (the napkins and sashes you see posted). As a matter of fact that friend recently gave me several of the items that she used for that party so again my inventory for parties has increased some more. LOL I am really going to have to come up with a good system to store everything that I have. And soon, before my hubby has a heart attack. :) The candles are the same ones I got from Sam's Club a few years ago for my daughter's wedding and the cylinder vases are from the Dollar tree. The larger vases are from TJ Maxx and were used for my cousins wedding many years ago. Same with the chair sashes which I used around the vase. 

My cousin still has all of the silver décor from her daughter's wedding so I gave her a call and she sent over things that I could combine with what I had in storage and before you knew it we had a scheme for besties wedding with minimum cost to her daughter (or myself). The silver votive's are from Michaels. I dragged them out of my dining room cabinet. I usually only use them around Christmas time. The frame is from the Dollar tree. My cousin and I both have a ton of these that we used for table numbers at the wedding reception. The vase is also from the wedding and basically I plucked out some of the flowers from my daughters wedding centerpiece and replaced it with flowers from the sweet sixteen party (which I also used for my daughter's birthday and for my cousins wedding, and a few other occasions). I cannot tell you how many times these flowers have changed! The lanterns were a gift from my husband a few years ago and you will see them again (soon), as I plan to incorporate them into my Christmas décor (and not at my dining room table as I have in the past. I used purple sashes as ribbon on the lantern and attached the balloons that her daughter brought for her celebration.

My daughter Nicki came to help me set up and snapped this photo of me working. The next day I was in soo much pain from standing on my feet (in the rain at some points), but it was worth it to see the smile on my friends face. 

The guest starting to arrive for the party.

It was all worth it just to see her so happy!

Flying By The Seat Of My Pants!!!

I told you that you might see this décor again. LOL 

Last Sunday my husband and I celebrated 9 years of him pastoring. The pastors aid ministry gave me permission to do what I love, which is decorating for parties. Hey, what can I say? I love this stuff. It makes me happy and gives me joy. Especially when I can do it for family. Once hubby and I decided on colors for the day I went searching for burgundy flowers but didn't find any in the stores. So while randomly looking through my stash at home I found some floral garland that I had up over windows in my familyroom years ago (I had actually forgot about them and for a minute could not remember why I had the flowers in the first place LOL). 

I had to insert this picture. Not so that you could see our outfits, but so that you could see the cute Mickey and Minnie Mouse stuffed animals we got as a gift. LOL 

I used the same candles from the baby shower, and dollar tree vases wrapped in ribbon that I have used in previous tablescapes. The mirrors are from the Dollar tree as well. If you have not figured out by now, the Dollar tree is my bestfriend. 

A tip for anyone who would like to create a table decoration. Look around your home and I guarantee you can find things that you already own that can be used in a different way. The candlesticks pictured here have been sitting on top of a bookshelf in my familyroom collecting dust (at times they have been on my fireplace mantel). I used my candles, wrapped some ribbon around them and placed the floral swag in front and BAM I have a centerpiece. And I didn't have to buy anything except the plastic tablecloths (Party City). 

And since I know my cousin Johnanna will probably read this, I am giving her another backstory to laugh over. Once again the vision I had in my head at home didn't quite work once we started setting up for the dinner that would be served after service. So I had to improvise. Also, my daughter Nicki still had some of the decorations from the shower in her car and forgot to bring them to me. So the lanterns I originally planned to "drape" with the second floral swag (which I cut in half to accommodate the two lanterns) ended up just being placed on the table. To hide the raw edges that I cut I wrapped a bit of leftover ribbon around them and tied with some twine.

Sometimes in decorating (just like in life) you have to adapt and improvise! Which is very hard for the planner in me to actually do. But sometimes you just have to fly by the seat of your pants and run with it!!!

M

I didn't decorate for Fall again this year ( I know I am slacking). But my mom did for a October family birthday party that we held at her home. So I thought I would share.

Baby Shower

I recently decorated two baby showers for a family member. She wanted a non traditional baby shower with very little "baby theming" in non traditional colors of Silver, Peach and Teal. I think we did pretty good. I know she was pleased with everything at the end. 

At the first shower, This event was hosted at the Mother to be's church. 

The Party Favors. 

I used the candle holders I previously used at my daughters wedding shower. 

Burlap runners were also a throwback from the wedding shower. Milk bottles are from a set I got from Sam's Club. Flowers are from Walmart. Mirrors are from the dollar tree. 

I am known for switching out flowers from a previous centerpiece and reconstructing for a new event. Ribbon and Runners are both Walmart purchases from a year ago. 

The second shower was held at a hall. When we arrived we realized they had upgraded to round tables (our family had an event there last year and the tables were rectangular. Our mistake for not asking in advance. So we had to make some adjustments. I ended up cutting up my runners so that we would have enough for the tables. We also had to cut the plastic tablecloths in half. I had one round tablecloth that was originally suppose to be for the cake table but ended up using that for the mother to be's table instead. Sometimes you just have to make it work. LOL

I love these lanterns. You will see them again soon when I decorate for Christmas (and possible a bit earlier). So stay tuned. 

Beverage container that was used at my daughters wedding.

These boxes were used at the gender reveal party for my cousins baby and so we used them again at the shower. 

My builder bear babies being "exposed" for a shower game! 

One of my favorite things about the shower was that the couple asked for books instead of cards, and boy did people listen. The mom is a bookworm like me and this was a cute way to fill up that baby's nursery with something meaningful that will last forever! Who doesn't like a good book?

The one "themed" item the mother was ok with was owls which is the direction she is going with the nursery.