Fall Inspired Dinner Party

Normally on Mondays, I post a weekend recap. Considering this past weekend wasn't very eventful (besides attending a good friend's baby shower), I thought I would go ahead and post a recap of the dinner party I hosted last week. 

I wanted to host a dinner party ever since we purchased our new dining room table earlier this year. I knew I needed to have one before the baby arrives and things got a little hectic. My best friend's birthday was the perfect excuse to host a fall inspired dinner party. 

Here are some photos of the table I put together:

I used gourds and mini pumpkins that were given to us by Bill's parents from their garden. I was thinking about painting them, but decided to use their natural colors instead. The flowers were from a fall inspired bouquet from the grocery store believe it or not. I just divided it up into 3 Ball jars. My place mats and napkins are from World Market. Plates and wine glasses are from Crate & Barrel.

On the menu:

Apps
Cheese Platter
Pumpkin Dip

Main Course
Apple Pie Pork Chops (recipe will be posted tomorrow)
Green Bean Casserole
Mashed Potatoes
Croissant Rolls
Salad

Dessert
Pumpkin Cupcakes
Kelly's Famous Cake!

My friend Kelly makes the best cakes (she made our gender reveal cake). I sent her a photo of what I wanted on Melissa's birthday cake...

It's a bridesmaids quote! Melissa was my Matron of Honor and it's one of our favorite movies.

The night was filled with girl chatting and laughter. Our girl dinners are some of my favorite times together! I'm hoping we start to have dinner parties on the regular.

I'm linking up with Biana and Leeann.

Valentine's Day Table Decor

Here is a quick, easy and inexpensive way to decorate your table for Valentine's Day!

I purchased a $10 pink fabric table cloth from Party City along with pink cake plates. 

I ordered the 10 inch paper doilies and the disposable wooden utensils from this etsy shop. 

I layered the doilies across the length of the table to mimic the look of a table runner. 

The gold sequined placemats are actually from H&M! 

Did you know they have a home product line on their website?!

The large heart straws are from Michael's and I added the felt heart stickers. 

The flowers are from Trader Joe's! 

One bunch of red and pink roses and one bunch of pink spray roses 

mixed together make the perfect V-day inspired arrangement. 

What girl doesn't want an excuse to decorate with pink, red, white and gold! :) 

Today is the last day to enter my Valentine's Day Giveaway! 

I will announce the winner tomorrow!

xoxo, Lindsay

Styled // Cinco de Mayo Dinner Party!

I had so much fun styling and planning this little dinner party in honor of Cinco de Mayo! My close friends {and a few of my bridesmaids} joined me for some Skinnygirl Margaritas, my famous layered bean dip, lettuce tacos and laughs! We wanted to get together to brainstorm for a new business venture we are planning together...more on that later...for now, I will be photo-bombing you with images from the night via my new Nikon D5100! Enjoy!{Bare with me while I learn how to use this thing! I think I did pretty well for my first photo shoot, no?}

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We ended the night outside with our margs enjoying the beautiful weather!

 

Cinco de Mayo Dinner Party

 

Sips:

 

Skinnygirl Margaritas

 

Corona Light with lime

 

Apps:

 

My famous layered Mexican bean dip

 

blue corn chips

 

Main course:

 

Lettuce tacos with ground turkey {recipe inspiration here}

 

Taco bar with all the toppings

 

Decor:

 

Fringe tissue paper for banner and table runner

 

Succulents in a glass vase

 

Mixed flower bouquet from Trader Joes

 

Small square vases and large vase from Target

 

Name and straw flags made by me, font used: Carolina Pro Black

 

Black and white striped straws from Etsy

 

Margarita glasses and sombreros borrowed

 

+++

 

Thanks for being good sports and letting me photograph you in your sombreros ladies! :)

 

This is such an easy little dinner party set up that you could put together this weekend to celebrate Cinco de Mayo with your friends and/or family!

 

How will you be celebrating the holiday? Or are you partaking in any Derby celebrations?

 

 

Wedding Inspiration // Style Me Pretty Fête

Side note first: Thank you for being patient with me as I make some minor changes with the blog over the next few weeks. As you see, I did change the header and the name of the blog to LL Styling Events. This is because I have chosen to focus my blogging energy solely on my love for event design, planning and all that goes with it. Going forward, I am so excited to share with you wedding inspiration that I find in the blog-o-sphere or Pinterest, some of my DIY attempts {I say some because not all turn out perfectly}, the progress of my current wedding planning process and some advice for future brides. I will also give you a few glimpses into my personal life here and there when I am excited about something or I just need to vent {like I did yesterday}. I'm also going to be researching all the wedding vendors in my area, as well as, national vendors in hopes they will share their expertise and guest post for me. SOOOO...Welcome to the new and improved LL Styling Events blog! I hope you like :)

+++

Today's inspiration comes from one of my favorite wedding blogs {probably the most known wedding blog out there} Style Me Pretty. Although, these photos were actually from a surprise party styled especially for editor of SMP, Abby Larson. Posted originally in September of 2012, the color pallate is that of a Fall fête with hues of glittery gold, warm reds/pinks/purples/cream and green florals, with pops of black and white chevron...pretty much the exact colors I want to be incorporated in my wedding! Of course, I have pinned these images as inspiration on my wedding board...don't you worry!

With out further adieu...let the decor drooling begin!
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

{photography by Justin Marantz}

 

Gorgeous, right?! I love the gold sequined table linens and the gold flat ware. I'm taking a mental note of the unique design and placement of the menu card.

 

Hop on over to the {gallery} to view all the beautiful images of this party. Or check out {this} simple DIY for the chevron risers for the bar.

 

Happy Wednesday Lovelies!

 

 

Tuesday Tablescape // Award Show Party!

I have been lusting over sparkly tablescapes and decor since NYE! Continue the glitter and glam through February by hosting an Awards Show watching party!

 

Camille Styles does is right with gold glitter as a table runner and fun, sparkly drink stirrers...

 

 

 

 

 

Or, what about this Oscar inspired soiree via Brunch at Saks?

 

 

 

How cute are these single serving popcorn holders?

 

 

Will you be hosting an Awards Show watching party this season? What's your favorite Award Show to watch?