Part 1: Summer-Inspired Dinner Party

What is it you really love?  That gets your heart pounding, for simply no reason at all?  For me, it's decorating and rearranging and styling things.  I could do this until the minutes turned to hours and the hours, days upon days.  I suppose I've gone through a lot of my life thinking this was quite normal and practically everyone did this in their own homes/lives.  Imagine my shock during a recent conversation with girlfriends when I learned that in fact, not all people love doing such a thing!  To this I simply say, "to each their own."  But perhaps today after taking a peek around the blog you'll be inspired to pull a few pieces from here and there, break your everyday mold, and add a bit of surprise to your life.  It'll be fun, I promise!

Long ago I read an article or quote or something about not always saving your best ideas/dishes/parties for when company came.  To go ahead and indulge the people closest to you on a regular 'ol day.  I'm a believer.  About once a month or so (sometimes less) I like to style things up extra special, adding a dollop of style to our already full dinner plates.  This particular day I started with the flowers.  The teeny, beautiful, yellow flowers found by the mailbox, a surprising burst of color in the middle of an otherwise brown and green August.  Once I plopped them in the bright red pitcher, an idea was born.  I gathered a few more props from around the house (I'm a prop collector/hoarder, remember?) and let the pile sit and stare at me for a while. 

Later that day I snagged a huge bag of these peppers to incorporate as well.  My mama gifted me some of these earlier this summer so I'll be back in the upcoming months to share a few more ideas because these peppers really pack a punch in more ways than one! 

For this particular dinner party I wanted to string the peppers myself, to either hang as a garland or simply drape around the table decor.  I used a simple needle and thread and sewed them together, careful not to rub my eyes during the process.

The end result was simple and lovely and vibrant.  

Among the rest of the props in my stash were a few colorful plates from Italy, tiny succulents, tomatoes from the garden, colorful votives, vintage books with the spine torn off, an old metal box, and some colorful canned goods from my local grocery store.  

I also decided to make a banner from white paper bags to add a bit of dimension to the background of my dinner-party decor, which was done on top of an old dresser.  The supplies needed for this versatile little garland are simple: white paper bags, a pair of good scissors, and a hole punch. 

I started by laying several bags down on top of each other and cutting out this easy, scallop shape.  My favorite shape in the history of ever.  

Next, I used my hole punch to add a bit of interest along the bottom of the banner.  To assemble the banner I laid each paper piece side by side on a piece of string and hot-glued it together.  

Now after all that, aren't you excited to see how all these pieces came together? 

Well, my friend sometimes suspense is a very good thing. 

You'll simply have to come back tomorrow to see the final result! 

In the meantime, I hope you gather your own little stash to sit and stare at for a day or two, banner supplies in hand, and begin to at least entertain the thought of a delightful dinner for the ones dearest to you.  I'll see you tomorrow with the final look!