If you follow along on Instagram then you know that right smack in the middle of the One Room Challenge dining room makeover, I hosted some co-workers for a little friends, fun, and feast.
For those of you that are fairly new here, you may not know that I am the Managing Editor of Hallmark's blog highlighting our highly-celebrated creative community of 500+ in-house artists. Obviously one of the perks of this job is working with creative people all day every day. So while I'll admit to being a little intimidated having them over, it's always so cool to invite creative people into your home. (Okay, let's be honest; I welcome the excuse to invite any friend into our home!) But I feel like other artists respond to the quirkier aspects of our decor. And that always makes me feel a little less...weird.
Same could be said of setting the stage for a great meal. Just like with my home, I wanted something with a neutral base and plenty of personality. (Ahem...enter ze brass menagerie.)
I picked up an ivory linen tablecloth and some funky, vibrant table runners, but in the end, decided to scrap the runner and keep the table more neutral. I'm going through a neutral life stage. Less visual noise is calming me...and I need all the calm I can get with a toddler and pregnancy hormones :)
White everyday dinnerware and my vintage Thai bamboo flatware (similar here) kept things warm and fresh. Vintage tumblers housed what I can only assume was the most delicious Sparkling Cranberry Orange Sangria ever known to man because Ali made it. (I really need to stop hosting parties while pregnant.) She also provided a spread of sides. Which is genius, if you ask me, because I suspect only a select few of us get actual joy from cooking a huge turkey twice in one month (or year, if you're me). It was all so incredibly delicious. (Ali detailed and linked the entire menu here.)
Florals aren't really my game, but I wanted to give it a shot. I played around with incorporating produce into the arrangement and tabletop. I love that the centerpiece really took center stage this way! It was great for conversation, too. "Is that...kale...in there?"
Why yes, yes it is. Details on how I did it here.
The other standout was the place cards. One of my coworkers hosted a feather-painting workshop with several Hallmark artists, and the results immediately inspired the place settings.
Details and downloads for the place settings available here.
All in all, we had a crazy good time, and I'm really excited to start making this an annual tradition at our house. I'm curious -- how many of you are hosting Friendsgiving this year? I feel like it's a real thing now, which is so so awesome.
This post is in collaboration with Think.Make.Share and Gimme Some Oven. All opinions are my own. Photos courtesy of Jane Kortright for Think.Make.Share.
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