I don't think I need to tell you that The Gatsby Summer Afternoon was fabulous. But just in case: It was fabulous. The morning of, Julie and I prepared a picnic lunch, then headed over to the estate with her friend Dave. When we got to the parking lot and dressed up picnic goers were getting out of the car I got giddy, but it was just a little taste of what the afternoon would hold. Groups of people had set up anything from picnic blankets and baskets, to tents with tables and oriental rugs. There were art deco automobiles parked on the edges of the lawn, and a dance floor and live band in the middle of it all. Seeing so much 20s and 30s attire in one place was amazing, with every turn Julie and I couldn't help but stare at the detail and drape of many a ladies frock. One of the greatest things about it was that most of the attendants were people just like me, who dress in vintage every day. I met some amazing people, and even a couple gals who read Vixen Vintage! I am counting down the days until next years picnic, we've already started planning something crazy elaborate! I think every weekend should be a Gatsby weekend. You can see ALL the photos I took in a special Flickr account I created for this picnic and ones in the future! Click here Dress-Gift from Twila Jean Hat-Estate Sale Purse-Urban Eccentric Vintage
Hosting a dinner party? Set the table with these decorations—centerpieces, floral arrangements, candles, and more DIY ideas.
These stunning examples of bicycle decor in the home or garden scene bring together a mix of styles from modern meets vintage to country chic.
As you might have caught on to by now, I am kinda obsessed with playing the ukulele. For the majority of my life I’ve been playing various musical instruments, but the ukulele is the only str…
I drew the Battle of the Sexes--the epic men-vs-women tennis battle between Bobby Riggs and Billy Jean King, for "Transcend: Moments in Sports that Changed the Game" on the Bleacher Report. Check out...
If there's one thing I know for sure, it's that Southern weddings are awesome. And this gorgeous wedding? Yeah, this o...
The idea of the ceiling instillation for Lindy and Javi's party came about because we had very limited space. Due to budget, we were hosting the party in a 2-bedroom New York apartment, and with 60+ guests expected, we knew that every inch of floor space was going to be used. Therefore, we needed something high impact, inexpensive, and in a spot where nobody needed to stand. I have been really inspired lately by all the rainbow ideas over at Hip Hip Hooray, so once the rainbow confetti was in the invitations, I decided to go with that for the decor as well. We decided on a swooping instillation of crepe paper and dot strings above the food table. It was about 14 feet long and 4 feet wide. The process took about 4 hours for two of us. It was a fun, late-night, wine-drinking instillation: I think the finished product looks amazing, don't you? One of my favorite things about it, the wave design where it attaches to the ceiling, was actually a happy accident. We finished the red and the orange when we realized that we weren't being careful about where the streamers lined up. Instead of redoing, we decided to make it look purposeful, and I think the result is so much more interesting than it would have been otherwise. Now. About those strings of dots. Believe it or not, those aren't sold anywhere, so we made them. It was a long effort. We hand-punched each circle and then sewed them together with contrasting thread. But the effort was worth it. They look amazing. They literally almost sparkled in a way I hadn't anticipated. I think the key to the depth of this instillation was that for each color section (red, orange, yellow, etc.) we used an assortment of different shades in order to help us achieve the look we wanted. So instead of just one color of red streamer, we used three shades, which included some pinks, and we even pulled in black to the confetti string as well. For colors where there was only one shade (orange, for example- believe it or not, they only have on shade of orange crepe paper streamer), we blended in the occasional red and yellow streamer to give it depth. The best thing about this instillation is that it looks amazing in pictures. With flash, without flash, it created a phenomenal backdrop. I think it would be beautiful at a casual and brightly colored wedding, don't you? More party details to come tomorrow! P.S. The whole ceiling installation cost less than $40! I bought the crepe paper streamers online at Zurcher's Discount Party Supplies. They have a wonderful array of brightly colored streamers.
Down the bank and through the trees Where dead leaves whisper in the breeze Where flowers die in earth bone dry Is where the cabin si...
Take your next birthday party over the top with this collection of DIY birthday party hats.
I've been loving all the ribbon detail brides have been incorporating recently. Ribbon accents give weddings that sweet whimsical feel and with so many ways to include them (ceremony backdrop, chair detail, getaway wands, centerpieces...and even swings!), the options are really endless. Brightly colored ribbons will add a playful element while more neutral colors will give your wedding that romantic touch. Image via W. Scott Chester Image via Elizabeth Anne Designs Image via Our Labor of Love Image via Jose Villa Images via Snippet & Ink Image via Green Wedding Shoes Images via Jose Villa Image via The Schultzes Images via Wedding Day Tree Images via Jose Villa, Martha Stewart Weddings Image via Our Labor of Love Image via 100 layer cake Image via Our Labor of Love Image via Style Me Pretty Images via Green Wedding Shoes, Our Labor of Love Image via Austin Weddings Happy Friday yall!
Met a new client last nite with a no-mans-land of trees/ivy/invasives/drainage ditch/weeds. Its ownership 'looks' like it could be their property or their neighbors. What to do is quite easy. An entry & path will instantly take ownership and tame the trouble. . Clearing invasives, controlling ivy/weeds, planting desirable understory trees & etc... will take a bit more time. Happily, now there is a road map. . Garden & Be Well, XO Tara . Exciting times, their brown brick home with brown shutters will soon be WHITE ! . Pic Litchfield Hills, lost provenance of photographer.
A collection of ultimate Lego party ideas from across the world.
When I entertain, it usually amounts to cocktails and at times heavy hors d'oeuvres. But this year, I resolve to host a small dinner party on a monthly basis. And I'll continue to have people over for drinks as well because that's fun and easy. Alrighty then, I better start gearing up for all of this planned entertaining. Perhaps I should consult the designer Richard Nelson for advice. If you'll recall the post that I wrote about him in 2010, I mentioned that at one time, Richard hosted suppers for twelve people on average of four or five nights a week! Needless to say, I'm not that ambitious. I do have a list of recipes that I want to try and things that I want to buy to help make my entertaining easier and more fun too. We'll see if this list helps me to achieve my goal. 1. I hope to finish out my place settings of my flatware, Tiffany & Co.'s Hampton. If I don't do it now, they'll probably discontinue it and then I'll be out of luck. 2. I want to learn more about buying wine. I'm tired of being at the mercy of others while shopping for it. 3. I resolve to start keeping a menu book. If you're wondering why, just read this article by Christopher Petkanas in T Magazine. Maureen Footer and Christopher Spitzmiller are doing it. Perhaps I should too. 4. I want to have custom fill-in invitations made. I have a few ideas floating around in my head. And fill-in invitations are great for informal dinners and drinks parties. Perhaps I'll see what Pickett's Press can do for me. 5. I plan to make a second attempt at Bill Blass' Meatloaf. I hate to be blasphemous, but the last time I prepared it, I wasn't so crazy about it. Maybe the second time will be the charm. 6. I must expand my hors d'oeuvres repertoire in hopes of giving Steven Stolman a run for his money. First up, James Beard's Onion Sandwiches. I'll be sure to have Altoids available for my guests too. 7. And finally, I want to host a party that is so fun and raucous that one of my guests ends up with a lampshade on his or her head! I think that the best way to encourage that to happen would be to serve some Hunch Punch.
Super DIY project: how to make paper Hawaii lei, necklace. Use 4 colors of papers and check the instructions. You will like it, it's so easy and fun to make
This little man turned 4 recently. As you may have seen here, we were going for an airplane theme for Evan's party. I got lazy and wanted a simple party with very little work so I rented out the child drop-in centre that we frequent. It is closed on the weekends and is very affordable for half a day. It was SO worth it because I didn't have to clean up my house before and again after the party! The room is a giant play space so all the play activities were taken care of. There were tons of toys, a big play structure with slides and climbing things and outside there were ride on toys, a sandbox and picnic tables. So I really didn't have to do all that much. Yesssssss. I did set up a couple of tables as work stations - in keeping with the theme. The first was the 'Customs' area where the children got to stamp their own passports. I couldn't find actual country or flag stamps but the kids didn't mind. They stamped away, and the ones who were old enough to write, printed their names or the names of countries. It was a hit. The next station I made was for making paper airplanes. I supplied paper, scissors and instructions for creating different types of planes (readily available on the internet). Again, I was going for the easy route the whole way so I made cupcakes instead of a big cake. I made vanilla cake with white frosting (which may or may not have been from a box) and put marshmallows on top to look like clouds. Then topped them with mini paper airplanes made by big brother Malcolm -thank you very much! The last station I set up was the 'luggage pick up area' where the kids could assemble their own loot bags with an assortment of plastic planes, Styrofoam gliders, candy, parachute men, and pin-on pilot's wings. I didn't get a picture of the wings but I basically printed off pictures of them (also from the internet), laminated them and taped a pin to the back. The table also doubled as place to put the gifts. The party wasn't too structured but when I wanted to mix things up a bit I broke out the parachute for a bit of fun. And there were squeals. All in all a pretty fun day for my lil man :)
Tonight is the night of our annual Halloween Spooky Dinner. This year I am combining forces with Grandma (the kids are ecstatic) so this is only my half of the menu. More pictures to come! Candy Pretzel Bones Look at this creepy tray
