Guest Post Meg from House Notes

Well hello there! My name is Meg and I am the proud owner of the blog House Notes. Usually I'm a cheap Goodwill diy makeover kind of girl, but in honor of Ms. So Wonderful, So Marvelous and her inspiration to me, I'm foraying into parties today.

Let me just say that I am no Michelle. She makes everything look so amazing and effortless. I, on the other hand, usually have grandiose visions that are above and beyond my capabilities and time constraints. And no matter how much I dream of classy and sophisticated, I usually land on raucous keg party.

This time around, I was determined to create an elegant setting using some of the inspiration I'd gleaned from Michelle. Here are a few shots of the space I put together for our Southern Soiree:

I wrapped the deck in twinkle lights and adorned the tables with tea lights and citronella votives to keep the party well lit after sunset and bug free. The temperature was surprisingly pleasant.

 

 

(The hurricane lamps at the ends of the table are my great grandmother's)



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To keep my expectations in check, the total cost down, and my to-do list more manageable, we included a 'tapas cook off' as part of the festivities.

The top dishes were: coconut shrimp, dates stuffed with almonds and wrapped in bacon, bang bang shrimp and pecan crusted goat cheese drizzled in honey. I kept my contribution easy with a smattering of appetizers:

Now, I admit I got closer to classy and sophisticated than I have in the past, but the paper lanterns I purchased never ended up hanging from the trees ( silly I know, but I was stoked to find eyelet paper lanterns) and we all ended up hammered.

 

Plus, we all picked our nose...

 



I'm also pretty sure we probably infuriated the neighbors with our loud drunken singing at 3 in the morning. Especially when I kept screaming "white person party!" as we sang terribly to Bon Jovi.

 

But it sure was fun!

 

So, Michelle, tell us your secret! How do you manage to put together parties that belong in Home and Garden magazines but still have so much fun?

 

And can you do me one BIG favor? Cuddle and coo and kiss all over that beautiful baby girl for me! Congrats on your precious little bundle of joy! What a lucky girl she is!!



I am pretty sure that this post illustrates just why I love Miss Meg so much, she’s sweet, she’s from Georgia, and she knows how to have a good time.  She is endlessly creative and I am still trying to convince her to give me the fabulous red filing cabinet she made over ages ago, it’s just that awesome.  She can be found blogging {not often enough!} at House Notes, go over and fall in love with her style yourself or follow her on Twitter.

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