BABY SHOWER FOR JENNY!

Last weekend, we got to throw a baby shower for Jenny! It was so much fun planning a party and I loved being able to host it at my place. Our newly painted dining room made for the perfect party room! Of course, I couldn't resist the beautiful party supplies from the new Oh Joy line at Target. I might have gone a little crazy. ;) -- We decided to have lots of sweets at the party! We had delicious macarons from 'Lette (see awesome coupon code below!) and cupcakes from CamiCakes as well as a bowl full of yummy fruit and Jenny's famous punch.

I loved watching Jenny open all her gifts! I can't wait to see how Rowan's nursery comes together and be able to meet the little man in April or May! I just love being able to celebrate life with wonderful friends. :)

Planning a baby shower while having a newborn can be a little tricky, so I loved that places like 'Lette Macarons shipped us cookies overnight to enjoy! 'Lette is so kind and is offering my readers an exclusive %15 discount on all orders placed between now and next Tuesday. Just pick out your favorites on their website and email your order to: paulettebh1@gmail.com or call (310) 275-0023. Don't forget to mention "Maiedae Macarons" to receive your discount! 

ANNOUNCING: THE MAIEDAE MIXER!

Jenny and I are incredibly excited to announce that we will be hosting the first annual Maiedae Mixer!! This event has been in the planning stages for the last several months and we are stoked about making this first announcement and putting together a spectacular party!

What's The Maiedae Mixer? The Mixer is a "Get Fancy. Get Connected" event for bloggers. It's a time to pamper yourself, meet creatives and best of all, dress up! Basically it's one big networking evening with food, music, swag, giveaways, crafts, a photo-booth and some face to face mingling with new friends.

Why The Mixer? Let's face it, the blogging community in the Southeast Region is a *little* small. We wanted to start meeting other amazing blogging ladies and create an event that we can all look forward to every year. One of our favorite things is meeting new people, so let's dress up and make a party out of it! Besides, we all need a reason to get a little fancy and wear some lipstick. ;)

I Wanna Go! What are the Details?! The first Mixer will be held on the evening of June 1, 2013 in downtown Rome, Georgia. Early bird tickets will go on sale March 1st for $95.00. Your ticket will cover the event, including; food & drinks, crafting, photo-boothing, swag goodies and your name entered into several giveaways throughout the night. We will only be selling 50 tickets, so be sure to mark your calendar for March 1st to purchase your ticket! We'll be officially announcing the THEME of the first Mixer in April so you can go out and buy your outfit...and we've got a great theme!! ;) More details as the event gets closer can be found at: www.maiedaemixer.com 

We are thrilled about this new yearly endeavor for Maiedae and we can't wait to meet all of your beautiful faces!! Check back on my blog, Jenny's blog and the Facebook page throughout the next couple months leading up to the event for sneak peeks, announcements, features and details!! If you want to tweet about it or ask any questions use hashtag: #maiedaemixer on twitter!

CHEER: DINNER PARTY

Last Saturday, Jon and I hosted our first dinner party. I set a goal to finish my dining room decorating on December 1st so we could host it in our newly decorated space. We ended up pushing two tables together and fit 12 people in our space. Everyone brought a side dish and we had a feast! This may sound silly, but I felt like such an adult! We all dressed up, lit candles, I pulled out our best dinnerware and we had a fancy meal all together as friends.

I love celebrating the holidays with my family, but there's something special about being able to celebrate with your community as well. :) I am STOKED that our dining room is finally done! If you've been following along on my Project Condo series you know it's taken me some time. I haven't revealed the final photos yet, but I will very soon! For our dinner party, I was able to use some of the fancier things we haven't been able to use yet. I love how the whole setting looked. It was Christmasy, simple, and just enough "adult". ;)

For the table setting, Jon helped me cut out place-mats from kraft wrapping paper that I picked up from Target and Jenny wrote everyone's name on the side. This was a clever way to assign seats and make it look pretty. I got the idea from Chelsea of Oh My Deer who made a similar handmade place-mat and loved the idea! It's a lot less expensive than buying 12 place-mats. I was also tempted to buy these tear off paper place-mats at West Elm, which I might end up doing later, but liked this idea for the party better.

Because I didn't have quite enough silverware for everyone to have the branch flatware setting, I decided to mix and match what I had to give it a more collected look. I did the same thing with the glasses too. I had purchased around 20 random glasses (some mason and some jam jars) from thrift stores for one of Jenny's showers when she was engaged and I loved how they were all different, but looked great together. I've used these glasses on so many occasions! Definitely worth the hunt!!

I decided to decorate the table with pieces I already had around the house, plus a little glam. I bought the gold candle wreath from Michael's and used holly from the backyard to decorate the table. I love how everything came together. The dinner party totally made me want to start one of those dinner clubs and make a fancy meal every month...maybe even a themed dinner night?? Ah! That would be so fun!

Dinnerware & Decor Found Here: 1// Organic Dinner Plates - West Elm 2// Salt & Pepper Shakers - Gneiss Spices 3// Faux Antler - Z Gallerie 4// Branch Flatware - West Elm 5// Silverware - Gift 6// Blue Glass - Anthropologie 7// Mason Mug - Thrifted

Do you throw dinner parties during the holidays?? What is your favorite thing to cook? How do you like to decorate the table? Oh, and while you're answering those questions, be sure to check out my friend Gina's farm to table Thanksgiving on her blog. Best idea ever!

You can follow along with 12 Days of Christmas Cheer on the Maiedae Facebook page! Also, be sure to check out how Jenny sets her table on her blog later today! Happy weekend, friends!

SNAPSHOTS: MARY POPPINS

Jon and I threw a Halloween party for our friends on Friday night. We made s'mores trail mix, homemade butterbeer, and invited our friends to dress up, brings snacks, and hang out. :) I went as Mary Poppins. Jon went as Handsome Jack and we had appearances by Very Mary-Kate, Link, Snow White, and servants from The Haunted Mansion.

Now that Halloween is over...time to start getting into the Thanksgiving and Christmas seasons! We've officially moved into my favorite time of the year. Can't wait for the decorating, celebrating, traditions, warm drinks, and lots of blankets!!

FANCY SHMANCY: HALLOWEEN DINNER PARTY

I saw these stunning Halloween themed dinner party photos on Style Me Pretty last week and I had to share. It can be hard to find inspiration for a Halloween get-together that isn't "too novelty". I love this translation of building the decor around candles, monochromatic coloring and touches of Fall pieces. Can I be invited?

See the original gallery here and DIYs on how to make the pumpkin wine chiller, bottled candles, and sparkling champagne cider.

This year for Halloween, Jon and I are driving up to Rome, GA, to visit our good friends Zach and Leah. We're having dinner together and helping them pass out candy in their neighborhood since we don't get any trick or treaters at our place. On Friday night, we are throwing a casual costume party for our friends! Can't wait! :)

BRIDAL SHOWER: COOKIES & MILK

I mentioned in my post earlier today that Anica and I threw a lingerie shower for Jenny! We were able to host it in an absolutely stunning place in downtown Rome, GA. The eclectic mix of industrial, rustic textures and colors were so beautiful and perfect for the shower.

We had a "cookies and milk" themed shower. Jenny LOVES sweets, especially cookies and milk...so Anica and I spent the weekend baking chocolate chip, chewy brown sugar ginger, and lemon crinkle cookies. We also bought Oreo's, Girl Scout cookies, and some frosted animal cookies!

I went to a couple different thrift stores and purchased a mix of glasses, mason jars, and jam jars to use as cups and put cute little paper straws in. I had a small collection of glass bottles with lids so we put different types of milk in each, labeled them and put them in ice inside a way cute silver tin I recently scored from Target.

Take a look at how beautiful this place is!

I wish I lived there! -- It was so fun planning this shower. Jenny had an amazing time, see her post about it here, and Anica and I were so thrilled to be able to do something special for her. :) I can't believe my best friend is getting married in June!!

Recipes for homemade cookies found here:
* Chocolate Chip Cookies
* Chewy Brown Sugar Ginger Cookies
* Lemon Crinkle Cookies