Ferns & Feathers Dinner Party

Hey party people!
So…I adore parties. And since you’re a smart cookie you probably already figured that out.
My greatest frustration throwing parties, however, is having to limit the guest list. I’d invite the hitchhiker off 75 & Windy Hill, if I could. (Don’t worry Mom! Mike already put his foot down on that one) Realistically, since we don’t live in a mansion, the list must be limited. But you know we try to pack in as many people as the fire department will allow us.
The problem with this is that sometimes it’s harder to have quality conversations with others. I hate that because we have such incredible friends that we want them to get to know each other.
That’s why I decided to have a girls dinner party.

It fell right around Halloween so I wanted it to be somewhat festive without being overly spooky. I didn’t ask the girls to wear a costume but I did ask the girls to “stick a feather in it.” They could wear a feather in their hair, on their earrings, on their necklace…any where. It gave them a chance to be creative!

When I was brainstorming table centerpieces, nothing was really jumping out at me. I had planned on using black tablecloths and always loved the combination of kelly green with black so I thought that maybe some type of greenery would look nice. Ferns came to mind since they resemble feathers. Lo & behold…I found three fern centerpieces at a craft store on clearance! Boom.

In each fern centerpiece, I stuck a couple of turkey feathers. I loved the way the black feathers had the gold tip but I couldn’t find any more of them, so I made my own with white & black feathers.

I orginally pictured big candlelabras lining the table for ambience lighting but after not finding any at the thrift store, I decided to go with a free option…old wine bottles.

The trick to getting the candles to stick in the wine bottles & not fall in your guest’s lap (that’d make a memorable dinner party) is with hot glue. Line the rim of your wine bottle with the hot glue & stick the candlestick in as far as you can. Take the glue gun and run it around the rim of the wine bottle & the candlestick. This will help to secure it. It worked great…no fire trucks were called!

My original plan for this dinner party was to have it outside, underneath the hanging white lights and the stars. Unfortunately, 31 degree out-of-the-blue cold weather (for Georgia) is not conducive to outdoor dining. So…I decided to create my own stars.

We have a big chalkboard wall downstairs that I use as backdrop for my video tutorials, so I decided to brush up on my astronomy and create my own night sky.

Speaking of downstairs…I almost forgot to mention where we had to take our little estrogen-packed party…

…down to the man cave or the dude dungeon (as Mike calls it). Mike was a little frustrated that all those girls would be sucking all the testosterone from his space, but he moved past it once he saw all the leftovers that were his.

I apologize for the bad pictures…it was in a man cave, remember?! 🙂 

The place setting was simple: green ribbon with a feather stuck in it. But what went on that plate?

The beauty of this menu was that the main entree was made the night before.

I made the braised beef the night before in the crockpot and an hour before the party started, slid it in the oven at 300 degrees. It was perfectly moist & flavorful. I’ll include the links to the recipes here, along with my suggestions/tips.

Braised Beef in Tomato & Red Wine Sauce

(Check your beef between 5-7 hours. Mine only took 5 hours & it was delicious.)

Polenta

(I used instant polenta, on accident, but it turned out great. I started it in the crockpot 30 minutes before guests arrived. If it starts to get too thick, add a little water)

Fudge Bundt Cake

(I actually made this from a box cake b/c I found one that looked delicious but I’m linking over to the recipe I had planned on making)

Before the main meal took place, I laid out some little bites for the guests to enjoy. 

While the guests arrived, I had the girls create their own wine charm.

Those gold circles can be found in the jewelry department of your craft store. They’re very pliable and inexpensive. I just got a bunch of beads & let the girls create their own unique charm.

I’ve seen the pumpkin drink bucket before but I wanted to jazz mine up a little. I spray-painted it glossy black & added the word “Cheers” across it.

I served water, wine & pomegranate sangria. See the recipe for the sangria here. It was really, really good.

If I could sum up this picture in one word, it’d be: ENJOY.

The evening turned out perfectly. Everyone enjoyed meeting other wonderful women, sharing stories, being heard, delicious food that they didn’t have to cook, dressing up, and lots of laughter.

I had some conversation starters ready but I didn’t need any. These ladies connected, talked, shared and got to know one another…exactly what I was hoping.

And let’s not forget the feathers! Some women wore a feather head-piece they made themselves. Other women wore feather earrings. And one woman even made a temporary tattoo! Isn’t it awesome?! That’s Sarah…and she’s had two kids and I was instantly jealous of her legs. She looks amazing and is an equally amazing mom.

Here are some of the other girls! There were still some ladies that I wasn’t able to get a snapshot with but thankful for these. It is a reminder that every party is worth it if you make someone feel special and it made me feel really special knowing that I have friends like these!

Hope you ladies enjoyed it!! I would love to do this every few months for women. I absolutely love bringing everyone together. We’ll give the wound some time to heal, for Mike, before I invite a group of girls to hang out in his man cave again. ;p

Friday, I have an easy outdoor lighting solution that would be perfect for any evening affair. Until then…Party On!

p.s. This is YOUR official invite to the party… join in on the Parties for Pennies Facebook page, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram & Bloglovin!