We’re officially half way through May! Â Please tell me it’s as crazy at your house right now as it is at mine. Â Even if it isn’t.. lie. Â I need to believe I’m not suffering alone. ;) Â If you have school aged kids I know you’re with me on this one. Â It truly is such a busy month and most days I’m just focusing on one hour at a time because that’s honestly all I can keep up with! Â It’s kind of like that last month of pregnancy that pushes you right over the edge so that you are beyond ready to have a baby. Â Always by mid-May we are counting the seconds to summer break around here!
On Saturday we hosted a party for some associates/friends from my husband’s office. Â I had so many fun plans for decor and table centerpieces but my week was so busy with my kids’ activities that I didn’t even have time to think about the party until about 5 hours before it started! Â So I headed to the grocery store and bought ALL the hydrangeas. Â Because naturally that’s what one does in a moment of panic. ;)
The food was catered (my favorite part about throwing parties for my husband’s office!) and we had an extra table and chairs and some heat lamps brought in because it was a cloudy, chilly weekend so really we didn’t have too much to get ready.
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Five days before the party I called Jared (my favorite light guy who helps me with my Christmas lights every year) and said “how fast can we get outdoor string lights up?” Â Kenny and I have wanted to put some up in our backyard the past few years and just hadn’t made it a prioity. Â This party was a good excuse to get it done before summer hit and Jared saved the day helping us so quick! Â He recommended these lights because they are a great price, LED and of course.. waterproof! Â I’m thrilled with how they turned out!
So Saturday afternoon just a few hours before the party the outside was a hot mess with last minute string lights going up..
and the inside was a hot mess with last minute hydrangea arrangements being put together. Â We were hardly party ready and I was starting to get a little bit nervous we wouldn’t be able to pull it off! Â But I put Kenny and the kids to work on the backyard and I kept chipping away on the inside.
And we started making progress!
Two of my cute friends who were hosting with me came to help and we pulled it off and had things ready just in time for people to arrive. Â Whew! Â :)
{Hem Knit Top/AG Legging jeans/Espadrille Wedge Sandals/Kendra Scott earrings}
This outfit I wore to the party I had on earlier in the week for an event at Kole’s school and it was so cute I wore it again Saturday night! Â My cute shirt is only $22 right now! Â (This top is a similar look and also so cute for summer!)
These Kendra Scott earrings were a gift and I love them so much! Â Statement jewelry really makes an outfit doesn’t it!?
Back to the party. Â (I had on these earrings that night!) Â It got cold in the evening so I tossed on a long time favorite jean jacket. Â Fun summer look. Â (If you are looking for a stylish jean jacket for summer this one is so cute, has great reviews and is on sale!)
Almost party time!
Our husbands made a last minute ice run and got the heaters going. Â We were in business!
For being so last minute my hydrangea table centerpieces turned out pretty good! Â You just can’t go wrong with hydrangeas and rope lantern vases. :) Â I used a mix of colored vases I’ve had for years and these vases you all know I love! Â I shared pics/video of this party on IG stories today and got a lot of questions about how I keep my hydrangeas alive. Â I’ll have to do a video on that sometime but all I really do is take off most of the leaves, cut the bottoms of the stems off at an angle (I usually cut them a lot shorter than they come) and then I put in flower food! Â (You can always ask for extra flower food packets at your grocery store.) Â Then I switch the water (and add new flower food) every 3-4 days. Â I can usually get them to last at least two weeks (sometimes three) this way. Â I’ve also heard that bottled water vs. tap water makes them last even longer but I haven’t tested that theory yet! Â I need to. Â Hydrangeas are hands down my favorite flower.
Dessert table ready to go! Â I forgot to take a pic of the food! Â It was Persian and delicious. Â You can see more in my IG story!
The party was a blast!  Sometimes I get so busy with work and kids and regular every day life that I forget how fun and important it is to prioritize time to have friends over.  I often think to myself “I’ll have friends over as soon as things slow down” or “as soon as that house project is done..” but the truth is that the house will never be 100% “done” (because that would be boring) and things will never slow down!  At least not any time soon.  I’m going to stop stressing over the little things and try to invite people over more.  Even if the house is messy or “not finished” and even if the centerpieces are last minute or don’t exist!  The food will be a pizza instead of a nicely catered meal if I’m in charge, but I’m not going to worry about that either.
Fun with good people trumps all. :)
Besides.. we’ve got string lights now! Â Who’s coming over!? Â Let the outdoor summer parties begin!
:)
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Wow, absolutely beautiful! Looks like you could have weddings at your home it’s so amazing.
So sweet of you to say Bonnie.. thank you! xo
Well that sure was a success! How awesome for you and your husband. I’m so happy for you that everything turned out so well. What a beautiful setting for a party. Those lights made the difference, I think. They look fabulous. Thank you for sharing. You look fantastic in that outfit, too. Lovely lacy top and those pants are a gorgeous color. They hydrangeas were beautiful. Our hydrangea (snowball bush) is just about in it’s full glory for a week or two. I never see hydrangeas in stores around here, except to plant. Taking things one day at a time sounds good. Your older daughter is finishing up middle school, right? That’s bittersweet for sure! This week is pretty busy for me, too. My girls school is letting out early due to some major construction going on this summer. They will be done on Friday. I still have to work until next week. This week I have something going on every night. One thing/event at a time, right? You can do it! :)
I’m so happy you like it all Jeanne! I agree.. the lights made a big difference! Yes.. El is finishing up middle school. I honesty can’t believe it! Definitely bittersweet. Hang in there for your last week! YEA! Almost to the finish line! :) xo
Oh dang, just as I hit post comment, I thought…I should have said your party looked totally LIT! There, I said it. I can move along with my day, now. ;)
Ha ha.. if ever there was a post to title “lit” this was it! Ha! Love you Jeanne! ;) xo
Erin your outfit was absolutely perfect! Wow! The party looked beautiful and I was glad to see the recommendation on the string outdoor lights! Love them! Glad you all had so much fun! Thanks for sharing :)
Lisa you are such a sweetheart.. thank you! Yes! If you are thinking about the string lights definitely do it! They added so much light and fun to our backyard! xo
those lights definitely complete the backyard area! I love them. Your home is perfect for entertaining so I agree have more people over for sure, it’s so open with the indoor/outdoor setup!
Thank you so much Aria! I definitely need to entertain more.. I always love it when we do! So excited it’s almost summer! xo
I love the lights! Perfect addition to your backyard. I would love to do the same on our patio/garden area but I can’t figure out the electricity part– we only have one outlet and it’s not at a good spot. Hmm. Looking forward to more pics of you all using this lovely space!
Thank you so much Audrey! Yes! The lights are so fun! I wonder if you could add another outlet? Hmm.. might be something to look into. They really do add so much light and whimsy! xo
Looks like a great time was had by all.
Your flowers were perfect and everything looked great.
Thank you so much Audrey! xo