{Guest Feature} The Party that Etsy Built: Beauty Queen Birthday

Recently I was asked to collaborate on a party being styled and thrown by Tiffany Reese of Lookie Boo. I sent some of my gem-ed up diamond toothpicks her way to help with some of the beauty queen party glam. Now that the party is done and the pictures are in, I get to share some of them with all of you!

The dessert table

Diamond Toothpicks with Gems

Diamond cookies to match!

Personalized Beauty Queen crowns

More yumminess

Miss Ruby Mae ... how could you say no to this adorable face?

If you'd like to read and see more about the party hop on over to Lookie Boo's blog post: The PARTY That Etsy Built: Ruby Mae's Pink & Gold "Beauty Queen" Themed Birthday Party!! There's a complete list of all the vendors who collaborated on the event at the bottom of the post.

{Event Recap} Vegan Soup Club Dinner Party

My husband and I are part of a cooking group called "Soup Club." About once a month they meet and everyone who attends makes a dish that goes along with a selected theme. One person makes a soup and everyone else competes for the prettiest and tastiest dish.

Last night my husband and I offered to host. It was a vegan theme! This was quite a challenge since only one attendee was actually vegan. She had attended the previous gathering (make a dish using as many ingredients that start with the same letter as your first name) and thus inspired this month's theme.

I hadn't intended to do anything special for the decor. Of course the morning of the dinner I started eying my linen closet and I just couldn't help myself.


I wanted the table to represent the vegan theme. I latched on to this leaf and floral print I found hidden in my closet


I paired it with yellow and golden hues because ... well that's the color of my living room curtains and that was an easy place to set up the buffet table. Because it was a potluck event, I wanted to keep the table as simple as possible so that it wouldn't be too cluttered when all the different dishes arrived. I decided to go with simple, white, elevated serving dishes. I think the end result looked fairly cohesive despite the fact that each serving dish came from a different household.


After I set the dinning table, I realized it needed some of the green and lavender hues that were in the buffet table. I ventured into my yard to see what I could find. The majority of the centerpiece was all from one giant bush in my front yard. I latched on to it because of the little yellow flowers and the fact that it was huge and could easily cover the entire length of the table.




I didn't think I had any purple to add so I decided to look at the grocery store since I had to purchase a few more items for our dishes. I got lucky on my way to the car! I passed by my herb garden and found my rosemary and lavender in full purple bloom!


It was a great night of friends and yummy food. Now I just need to discover my husband's secret! He hates to cook and the only time he tries is for soup club. Yet, every time he gets either first or second place for tastiest dish! The only prize I won was best costume for the Halloween themed meal. I think I need to consult my husband more for my menus.

{Event Recap} The event that started it all

Six years ago today I threw my first big event (and married my wonderful husband).

Engagement Photo by Claude Laviano with Giselle Macfarlane Photography

It's not my most polished event because, after all, I'd never planned an event before. However, it's still my most memorable. Of course it is, it's my wedding!

I enjoy looking back and remembering all the little details and dwelling on the mistakes but as my first event it gave me a great starting point! I learned so much about planning, organizing and everything that makes up a wedding. I'll delve further into all these points in future posts, but for now I'll just share with you some of the details that made up the day.

Color! This was my main inspiration. Getting married in the fall I wanted to have some darker but also vivid colors to work with. I finally decided on Cranberry, Eggplant with touches of Gold. Every time someone asked me my colors I got this weird questioning look when I told them. Was I the only one who could envision this looking wonderful or was I completely crazy? I'll let you judge for yourselves, but I couldn't be happier with my bold contrasting colors.

The Invitation by Enchanted Events & Design


The Dress from Jobyna's Bridal


My Bridal Bouquet by Flora by Fauna


The Groom's Boutonniere by Flora by Fauna


The Programs by Enchanted Events & Design


The Ceremony


The Favors
Boxes of cookies and custom match boxes


Escort candles for each guest by Enchanted Events & Design


The Tables


Yum, The Cake by Jaqki's Cake Creations


The Head Table
With our Swarovski toasting flutes and my bridal bouquet

The Vendors
Cake: Jaqki's Cake Creations
Florist: Flora by Fauna
Hair & Makeup: Sherry with On Location Beauty
Location (ceremony/reception): Calamigos Equestrian
Paper products: Enchanted Events & Design
Photography: Claude Laviano with Giselle Macfarlane Photography
Wedding Dress: Jobyna's Bridal