An Elegant Dinner on the Patio

Prom.

A super fun, super expensive fancy event for teenagers.

I'm jealous.

Seriously.

How often do Moms and Dads get this kind of treatment without having to pay through the nose?

So I guess you could say I'm living through my child.

My boy was going with a great group of kids and I knew a couple of the moms.

We suggested doing a dinner supplied by the Mom's as a way to help the kids save money.

I think it turned out fabulously!

And with minimal cost.

Sometimes it really does take a village to pull off something this amazing.

So let me give you the low-down.

There were 12 kids, 6 couples.

Someone supplied the table linens and dishware.

I did the center piece.

There are Mason Jars, votive candles, playground sand, Christmas lights, sheer curtain fabric, 

babys breath flowers and a Pallet wood platform with finials for legs.

The only thing I spent money on was the candles and the babys breath.

The Christmas lights were piled up in the center.

Then the sheer fabric draped over the lights.

Then the pallet wood platform and finials.

Mason jars with playground sand and candles were next.

Finished off with the babys breath flowers spread around the jars.

It truly looked magical with the Candles lit, twinkling lights in the background,

and lovely dinnerware for each place setting.

The kids had a great time.

And at the end they called out the moms and gave us a standing ovation.

It was awesome!!

Just a quick rundown of the dinner:

To start it was artisan bread bowls with spinach dip served with pita chips.

A small cup of lime sorbet to cleanse the pallet.

(my boy was the only one who knew what that was, 

the rest were just excited to have some ice cream!)

Salad with choice of toppings and dressing.

More Lime Sorbet.

Italian Cream Soda to drink.

Dinner was chicken breast, roasted vegetables, and baked potato.

Lime Sorbet.

And finally a gorgeous Piezookie which is just my favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe 

pressed into a ramekin, baked and topped with vanilla ice cream, 

and drizzled with chocolate and caramel sauce.

They looked so good I had to take a picture.

My friend went a little crazy with the chocolate and caramel drizzle-ing across the top,

but hey, how often do we get to do that?!?

Plus it makes the dessert look amazing!

All in all, it was a lot of work, for not much money.

And the kids had a great time.

Perfect!

Mason Jars, Keys and Candles

I love Pinterest.  You can follow me here. I found this jar here.  And I simply had to copy it.

A few quick ingredients and done.

Mason Jar ... Check

Epsom Salts ... Check

Cool Keys  ... Check (I got mine from Pick Your Plum a few months ago)

Twine or Jute ... Check

Votive Candle ... Check.

Assemble, light the candle, and done!

I am so loving these right now.
It also works for Pint jars too.
Just make sure the key fits!

Mason Jar Soap Dispenser

Did you know you could make your own soap dispenser in a matter of minutes?  Yep.  I did. And with stuff you probably already have.

I used a spagetti sauce jar and the pump from a shampoo bottle.

Drill a hole in the lid. (I was a little nervous about drilling but it worked pretty well.  Just be careful.)  I spray painted mine before drilling, but when I do it again I'll wait until after drilling.

 Cut the end off the pump to fit the jar.  I used a hair band around the pump to secure it in place.  A large rubber-band would work too.  Fill the jar with soap and you are done.  So easy!

 Super cute!  I love it on my counter!

I made another one for my bathroom.  The cotton ball jar has a regular glass votive cup in the top.  It fits perfectly!  The jar in the middle is a vintage one I had.  So nice and easy!  Love it!

Mason jar Decor

While working on this project I couldn't help thinking about Gaston in Beauty and the Beast.  You remember the line from his song... "I use Antlers in all of my decorating!"  

Well... I use Mason Jars.

Get 2 similar jars.  I used two wide mouth pint jars. And find some cording.  I may make holders out of wire someday but I like the rustic-ness of the twine.

 Wrap the twine twice around the top of the jar and secure with a bread bag thingy.

 Remove from jar and lay on table.
 Cut 2 lengths of twine for the handle. I doubled mine.

Tie one side to loop.

Then tie the other.

Place the twine on the jar and tighten and tie the twine around the jar.

Now you're ready to hang them.

Mount your hooks to the wall.

Mine came from Rod Works.

I recently discovered them and have fallen in love.  Luckily for me they opened a new store about 5 minutes from my house.  I know there will be multiple trips in the forseeable future.

I still need to think about what to put in them.  Maybe I need to go back to Rod Works for some ideas.  But even with a few black rocks in them, I love it!