Backyard BBQ Couples Shower

If you know my parents or my family at all, then you know that two of their favorite things are having people over for a party and cooking BBQ. My Dad is the grill-master of ALL grill-masters and my mom happens to be an amazing hostess, so when they decided to host an Backyard BBQ Couples Shower for my cousin, I immediately asked if I could plan and execute the decorations!

My mom and I were so happy with the way everything turned out and we really had a lot of fun. Most importantly, my cousin and his fiancee and their families had a great time!

Almost all of my ideas came from either Pinterest or Southern Living-esque publications-- here are a few pictures of the day:

 First things first, the iced coffee fairy arrived. (necessary to a successful party.)

My super talented Mother made individual home made pies in mini mason jars-- 

Peach, Blueberry, Apple and Cherry. So fun!

 We originally planned to rent a tent because of the heat, but I'm so glad we did--because of the ridiculous amount of rain that week! We used tablecloths similar to these but in yellow from Target, they were disposable but the looked and felt like cloth. With Burlap runners and Mason Jar (of course!) Flower Arrangements. 

See? Ominous Black Clouds would have really would have been a "damper" had we not had the tent. 

Quart Size Blue Jars for the Arrangements

(Jars: World Market)

 An Old Wagon lined with a small quilt was perfect for plates. It would be even cuter with real, mismatched china plates! 

Also, that chalkboard is from Hobby Lobby. I purchased Chalk Board Markers (also from Hobby Lobby) to write the menu and a cute saying on the other side. And guess what? The CB Marker will NOT come off. HA! FAIL. Guess who is going to be re-painting the chalkboard with chalkboard paint? Oh. Yeah. 

 Silverware buckets

(From Ikea)

Beverage Table. We served Sweet Tea, Unsweet Tea and Lemonade and then had Ice and water bottles in a cooler underneath. Apparently I never got a picture of the table "finished." It was so cute with everyone drinking from Mason Jars though. Does anyone know I love Mason Jars? 

I do. I truly do. 

(Clear and Blue Mason jars from Amazon

Striped Straws from Target

Beverage Dispensers from SAms or Costco)

This is an old wheelbarrow which we were originally going to fill with ice and water bottles, but when it started to rain, we brought the presents in from that other picnic table and put a quilt under them. It turned out pretty cute. 

Cute little tags with ribbon for everything that needed explanation 

(Tags: Hobby Lobby)

And yes, I did take time for pie. Wouldn't you?  

I could not have done any of this without this girl. My mom and I were both so busy and I asked Courtney and Mike to come help me watch the girls and she ended up doing SO much more than that. She's a wonder I tell you!!! She REALLY alleviated my stress level. 

Everybody needs a friend like that. 

A Birthday Tea Party

For Lucy's 4th Birthday this year, we had a Tea Party with a small group of her little friends. 

Here's a few pictures from that fun day! 

The entire party took place on our front porch, so since outside is so naturally pretty, I kept it simple with the decorations. We took a Shabby Chic approach to the Tea Party, which was not only girly, but also allowed me to use so many things I already had. (Money Saver!!)  

We made this bunting/ banner from scrapbook paper and twine-- it's probably going in the girl's room. 

The Tea table for the little girls. Yes, I used my real dishes. The cups and saucers were perfect sizes for their hands and they were all perfectly careful with them. After searching ALL over for metal or plastic cups that would be foodsafe and also pretty, I decided to use what I had, as it was really the theme we were going for. 

We had Tea Sandwiches (PB&J and just PB)

Mini Scones: Chocolate Chip and Strawberry

Mini Chocolate Muffins

Decorated Sugar Cookies

 (all three of which I baked ahead and froze)

Strawberries and Grapes

Goldfish (of course!)

Chocolate Cupcakes with Pink Buttercream!

I also put Pink Raspberry Lemonade in a Tea Pot and served them from that. 

They all LOVED it and were perfect little ladies. 

And as I am never one to miss an opportunity to entertain, I did a separate "Mom's" Table and I'm so glad I did. It was lunch time and that way they could wander down the porch, grab a little plate and enjoy the party too. We served:

Tea Sandwiches (this time pimento cheese and egg salad)

Cream Cheese and Red Pepper Jelly with Triscuits

More Scones and Sugar Cookies

Fruit: Berries and Grapes & Cheese

Chips and Salsa

Chocolate Cupcakes with Pink Buttercream!

Beverages: Peach Tea, Unsweet Tea, Lemonade and Spa Water. (It was WAY too warm for hot tea!)

See these Mason Jars? They are limited Edition Heritage Ball Jars (apparently the color was only made 100 years ago, so they are remaking them for limited distribution) You can get them here but I did find these at my local Target. I LOVE them and have enjoyed using them for drinking. 

I found this chalkboard easel at Hobby Lobby-- LOVE!

a Little view of the side where the girls sat. 

 Our Birthday Girl!

 Sweet!

 So glad my parents could come!

And of course, Fresh flowers in a Mason Jar were a must! These flowers came from Publix and I was so pleased with them. 

Her face cracks me up!! 

"Happy Birthday to Lucy, Happy Birthday to you!"

Favorite Things Party

A couple of months ago, I hosted a "Favorite Things" party for the women in our small group. If you aren't familiar with a "Favorite Things" party, it is a relatively new idea and so much fun!

Basically, when you invite everyone to come you ask them to think of one of their favorite $6.00 items and bring THREE of that item. They bring them to your house unwrapped and then you do a fun gift swap in which everyone leaves with three new, different items to try.

Everyone also brought either an appetizer or a dessert. (What's a party without fun food, right?)

 Right as everyone came in, there was a table with these buckets. The one on the right was for door prizes, so they added their names once. The one on the left was for the actual favorite things so they added their names three times. Once the party began, I dumped the one on the left into a gift bag and passed it around. Everyone drew three names, (no duplicates and they couldn't draw their own name.) and then those three people got one of their item. As we went around the room, each person explained why they brought the item they did and handed it out to the three names they drew. It was a little confusing at first, but it was so fun once we got the hang of it. 

 I had a table set up for everyone's items to be displayed on. These ladies brought some really great items! Bath & Body items, Downy Unstoppables, Nail Items, Fun Lip Balms, Cups, Etc. I brought rolls of Chevron Burlap from Hobby Lobby, (upper right corner.) So fun! 

 I made these bags ahead of time for everyone to take home with their items in them. I got the free printable card from (where else?!) Pinterest and attached it with colored ribbons. 

We had several soda and tea choices and no one even touched them because they loved the Spa Water! I added gallons of water, plus some ice, and sliced oranges, lemons and limes and a few strawberries. I will definitely do this again. 

And fun napkins-- a must for a party with ladies! 

 I made this sign in photoshop and framed it for decoration

And THIS is one of the items I received.. EOS Organic Lip Balm--- I had seen it before but never tried it, and all I can say is WOW. This is the Sweet Mint kind. I love that it is in the ball shape, because I never lose it in my purse. So, thanks Kelly--who thought to bring this as her favorite thing! 

I also received two other things I love, 

One was this Stir and Sip cup by Copco-- it is perfect for Iced Coffee (ask me how I know.) and also Ice Water! I love that the straw is a stir-er as well. Two months later, I still love it!

I also got this combination of Tazo Chai Latte Concentrate and this sweet little bird, who immediately took up residence in my kitchen window. (LOVE BOTH!)

I *HIGHLY* recommend hosting a Favorite Things party with your friends, female family members, or whoever! It was so fun and I think we will definitely do it again in the Fall! If you want more info, just look up Favorite Things Party on Pinterest!