Unique Gift Giving on a Budget

“The good guest is almost invisible, enjoying him- or herself, communing with fellow guests, and, most of all, enjoying the generous hospitality of the hosts.”--Emily Post

When in doubt, ask Emily.  It is an honour to see a bride and groom, who are well suited for each other, pledge their lives to one another.  As a guest, I am there to say that I believe in what they are doing, that I am a witness to the goodness of this day, and that I will help in whatever way I am able.  With that said, I can't tell you how many weddings I have decided not to attend simply because I could not afford a gift.

Though it is no longer customary to give a gift that equals the amount the bride's parents will spend on you as a guest at the wedding, it is still customary to bring a gift (Thank you, Peggy Post for amending that rule of your mother's).  If you are able, by all means, stick to the registry.  However, just because you don't have a lot of money or you spent all of your gift money on traveling to the wedding, doesn't mean you can't give the bride and groom something lovely.   

The difference between spending a lot of money and looking like you spent a lot of money is creativity.  Thankfully, for those of us who don't have a lot of money to spend, our favorite stores like Anthropologie and Restoration Hardware have taken things which are beautiful and simple and have made them elegant and luxurious.  

Following are 4 beautiful and simple gifts, which will cost less than $10.  

1. Vintage Tea Linens

Find old hankies at antique stores, flea markets, and ebay.  I bought these for $1 each at The Madison Flea, which is an antique store with flea market prices.  Compare these to Anthropologie's Chit and Chat napkins, which are $8 each.  Add a personal touch with a recipe for English Scones.  If you still have a little left over cash in your budget, a nice additive to this gift would be Emily Post's book on Entertaining, which you can buy used on Amazon for 1 cent--or new for $20.

2. Vintage Apron
If you buy actual vintage aprons they'll run between $3 and $12 (compare that to Anthropologie's aprons, which look like vintage aprons and cost between $30 and $40).  I found this apron at The Madison Flea for $5 and paired it with this sweet yellow spatula.  For a personal touch I included a few of my favorite recipes.  Should you have a little more cash left over in your gift budget you can pair this gift with Bought, Borrowed, Stolen by Allegra McEvedy, Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Julia Child, or The Fanny Farmer Cookbook by Fanny Farmer

3. A Framed Invitation
 If you're going to the wedding I'm guessing you got the invitation.  Find a lovely old frame.  I bought this vintage metal frame at Music City Thrift for $2.  Choose a complimentary fabric or paper and use it as the background.  I used this lovely old hankie I purchased at Madison Flea for $1.

4. A Jar full of Knobs
Ignore the name and just walk in--Hobby Lobby has an aisle full of cool knobs, all priced from $1.50-$6.00 (compared to Anthropologies knobs, which run $6-$12 each).  This is a collection of 12 porcelain knobs in a Ball Canning jar.  I bought them for $1.50 each (ok, ok, if you buy 12 then it's going to be $20 instead of $10.  So, just buy 6 if you need it to stay under $10).

The Habit of Happy: drink specials around Nashville

Happy hour is a state of mind.  Let's forget the happy and talk about schedules.  Our internal clock usually tells us to drink and be merry between the hours of 7 and 10 pm.  However, if we can learn to appreciate alternate hours of merriment we can easily transform a $50 tab into a $20 tab.  Following is a list of my favorite and frequented happy hours (and remember: tip your server on the value, not the price).

Holland House: Monday-Sat 5-7 pm and Monday through Wednesday10pm-2am, all day Thurs (yeah-ya!). $5 cocktails off of their happy hour menu.  I always get the Weller Manhattan.  

Eastland Cafe: Monday-Thurs 5-6:30; Friday and Saturday 5-6.

$5 appetizers; $5 cocktails; $3 beers.  I always order the pizza and the Downtown Jim.

Whiskey Kitchen: Tuesday: 2 for 1 4-10 pm.  I always get their Old Fashioned.  Also, between now and Christmas if you buy a $50 gift card you get 30% off.  The catch is you have to wait a day before you use the gift card.  

Rumours East Wine Bar:  Wednesday 5-6 $5 select wines and $5 paninis

3 Crow: Wednesday and Sunday: 2 for 1

Crows Nest 1/2 priced drinks Mon-Fri 2-7 pm

Coopers on Porter: Tues-Sat 4-7pm; $5 appetizers, $3 beer, $4 wine (their burger is one of the best burgers I've ever had)

Mafioza's: Tuesday: 2 for 1 beer; 2 for 1 pizza

Urban Flats Wine Down Wednesday: for $20 you get 8 half glasses of wine and appetizers

Sunset Grill: Tues-Fri 11-4:30: 1/2 priced well drinks and wines by the glass; Thurs: Girls' Night Out $5 Stoli Martinis, $5 apps, $5 wines--I've never done this with a boy, so I am not entirely sure if this is applicable to men, but it's worth a try.  Also, I'm somewhat passionate about their late-night nachos.

Anyway, these are just my favorites.  Please share your Happy Hour favorite below if I missed a really good one.

Our $20 dinner party, part 2: Making Your Table Lovely for $5

So, while I was busy cooking in the kitchen for our $20 dinner party, Lindsey arrived with her "tool-box" (that is, a giant container full of supplies--sort of like a first aid kit for her events)  She whipped out scissors, a vintage sheet, and an old, plastic hula skit and got to work.

I'll let her tell you the rest.

A Lovely $5 Table

by Lindsey Huddleston

Candelabra: $1.09 at Goodwill

Vintage Sheet: $0.70 at the Goodwill Outlet.

Yellow placemat and green hula skirt: $0.76 at The Goodwill Outlet.
Oranges: $1.99
Candles: (ok--I cheat--I already had them.  But Trader Joes, Wal Mart, and The Goodwill often have good deals on candles)

This was a unique project because the budget was so small! Of the entire $20, we allotted just $5 to decor.

It was a challenge to be aware of inventory that I have  at my house due to my line of work that others may not have lying about.  However, I am going to assume that you have plates, cups, silverware, pitchers, a music player, and lamps.

The first thing I did once I arrived at Crystal's house was prepare the table.  I cut a vintage sheet to fit the table.  The sheet was the first thing we found.  When working with a tiny budget, you must find a few things that inspire you and build around them.  In this case the inspiration was our 70's sheet.  

Whenever I dress a table I stick to 2 easy rules of design: create a focal point on the table and have clusters of odd-numbered objects.  While at the Goodwill I found a 5-point candelabra from the 70's, which met both needs.

We found a yellow placemat at the goodwill, which I placed in the middle of the table.  At first it was a bit much because there was a lot of the same color in the middle of a smallish table and the yellow looked weird with the gold candelabra, so using some spare fabric from the tablecloth I made a new middle for the placemat.  When you're on a budget you just have to go with it and keep adding and subtracting until you get it right.

We had quite a bit of extra fabric from the cutting the sheet to fit the table.  I used extra fabric to create napkins and a swag to the decanters.  I rolled the silverware inside my napkins and then tied with the green ribbon/hula skirt.

Following is the method I use to roll silverware:

1.Arrange your napkin in a diamond shape. Place your silverware in the center.

2. Lift the bottom corner to the center or as close as you can.

3. Pull the top corner down to center or as close as you can.

4. Pull the left corner all the way over to meet the right corner, hold the silverware in

place at the same time. Line up the corners as best as you can.

5. This will look like an arrow with a flat edge on the left, top and bottom with the

point on the right.

6. Hold the left flat edge and roll inwards towards the right.

7 Continue rolling until you have a tube of silverware.

8. Tie or accessorize as you please.

Instead of putting flowers on the table, I bought a bushel of oranges at Aldi for $1.99.  We used these to garnish drinks, decorate the table, and make the room smell nice.  The oranges looked lovely and also served as something our guests could munch on while waiting for dinner to be served.

The table was set and everything looked wonderful.  The next order was to set the mood.  I turned off all of Crystal's overhead lighting.  We collected lamps from the rest of her house and used those to light the room, giving it a calm and yellow glow.

I used my personal library in my ipod, pressed play, and fun was had by all.  

So, in conclusion for your $20 dinner party:

• Buy fabric cheaply in bulk and use it for different purposes.
• Remember, fruit is edible art.
• Don’t be a stickler about color scheme -- use what you have.
• Use the strengths of what you already own. Have blue vintage glassware from your grandmother, but only two pieces? Mix and match or use for flowers, candles, small fruits or plants.
• Decide what your priorities are and put as much of your budget there as you can.
• Lighting is just as important, if not more, as music. Choose well and intentionally.

You may or may not have met Lindsey Huddleston, but

if you live in Nashville you've probably been to one of

her events.  From her Black and White Party at Mercy Lounge,

to Geek Prom, to the most recent Nashville Burlesque show,

this little lady has really made a name for  herself among

Nashville event planners.  In addition to amazing parties,

Lindsey also plans alternative weddings with her company

DandyLion events. I guess you could say she was your

so-called wedding planner.

www.dandylionevents.com

photography by John Yates

www.jxcreative.com

Our $20 Dinner Party, part 1

Harvest Happy.

The Menu:
Roasted Acorn Squash
Curried Sweet Potatoes
Beets
Beet Greens
Bread Pudding for dessert

The Southern Way:
Close your eyes, count to 3, and pretend boxed wine never happened.

The Grocery List (all store brands):
4 acorn squash
5 sweet potatoes
3 beets with the greens
cheap white bread
1  pint of milk
a carton of 6 eggs
raisins
brown sugar
bargain cinnamon and curry
1 lb. butter
1 small onion
1 box of dirt cheap wine




Back in February, alternative event planning guru, Lindsey Huddleston, and I decided we were going to throw a $20 dinner party.  After 2 weeks of scavenging and planning we did it and are here to report back.  Following is what we did for the food and drink.  Stay tuned for another post on decor and mood-setting by Lindsey.

and fun was had by all.

Since we had given ourselves a budget of $20 for 8 people we knew we had to leave out the meat.  Instead of filling our plates with starches, we decided to go harvest happy and fill our plates with colorful vegetables.

We asked the wine store if they had any cheap, closeout wines.  As it turns out, they had a $14 box of wine that was marked down to $6.  The man at the wine store explained that this wine was so cheap because they were no longer carrying that wine with that particular label and were liquidating the boxes merely because they had the old label.  Should you find yourself too fancy for box wine you'll need to take the Southern approach for your $20 dinner party: close your eyes, count to 3, and pretend that boxed wine never happened.  Once it's in your crystal decanter you can pretend it was a bottle from the cellar of the Queen.

Following are instructions for our dinner.  I didn't measure anything, but I didn't think it necessary.

Check back soon.  Lindsey is going to tell us a bit about how to make your dinner area inviting and lovely, using things found around your house or local thrift store.

Roasted Acorn Squash
turn oven up to 400.  Place squash in the oven and allow to bake until finished (about 30 minutes).  Allow to cool, cut in 1/2, and scrape out the seeds.  20 minutes before serving, turn oven on to 250, put 1 teaspoon of butter, cinnamon, and brown sugar into the cavity and allow to bake until it reaches your desired serving temperature.

Curried Sweet Potatoes

Chop the sweet potatoes into 1 x 1 cubes.  Chop up your small onion and place it in casserole dish with the potatoes.  sprinkle with cinnamon, curry, and salt and mix, making sure the seasoning is equally distributed.  Dot the top of the mixture generously with butter.  Allow to bake on 400 until soft.  Add raisins.  Heat with Acorn Squash before serving.

Beets

Cut the beets from the greens and boil until soft.  Once beets are finished, drop in greens and allow to cook.  Slice beets and drizzle with a mixture of butter, salt, and brown sugar.

Bread Pudding

Cut the crust off of the bread, then cut into cubes and place in your casserole dish.  Add raisins to bread cubes.  Make a mixture of your milk, 5 eggs, 1/2 c. brown sugar and any other flavors you'd like to add.  I had some dark rum in the cupboard, so I mixed rum with mine.  Dot the top generously with butter and bake on 350.




Lindsey Huddleston: www.dandylionevents.com
Photography by John Yates www.jxcreative.com

The Mean Reds Never Looked So Good

The most expensive dresses I own are the ones I never wear.

Coco Chanel's "Ford" dress

Brandon and I attended a cocktail party at a swanky club last night.  My grand dilemma?  I hadn't purchased a cocktail dress since 2007.  And now it's 2011.  And even though my dress wasn't that outdated, the hemline was all wrong.  Then I remembered a story I had heard my grandmother tell.  The year was 1937.  The United States was just climbing out of the great depression when another recession happened.  That was the same year my grandmother had one of her major recitals (she was a classical Soprano).  My great grandmother was faced with an important night and nothing to wear.  So what did she do?  She found her old velvet dress that, by this time, was worn in the places dresses tend to wear on women.  She took it apart, turned the material inside out, adjusted the sleeves to the fashions of 1937 and put it back together. Then she attended her daughter's recital as a prim, proper, and stylish lady.  No one had the slightest idea that she was wearing her dress inside out.

Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel introduced her "Ford" line of simple, black dresses to Vogue in the 1920's.  Before the 1920's black was reserved for women in mourning.  After the 1920's black was for the tasteful, sensual woman.  And, luckily, for those of us who attend a cocktail party every 2 years, the little black dress maintains it's shape, while the hemline and sleeves go up and down, out and back in.

So, instead of buying a new little black dress every 2 years so you can wear it once, consider taking your old little black dress to your tailor and having her lift the hemline, cut off the sleeves, and adjust the waist.  Look at it this way: Would you rather pay $20 or $200?

1930

1951

1961

Yes, the dress was really
lovely when you guys
walked down the aisle
of Kim's wedding.  But,
really,  what are you going
to do with this giant dress?
Simple. Cut it off.

The $20 makeover

Haircut: $11 Eyebrow wax: $7.  a cup of coffee: $2. A day at the beauty school? Priceless.

I can't afford $70 to get my hair done.  As a consequence, I've cut my own hair for years.  Sometimes it's cute, sometimes it's awful.  You never know what you're going to get when you're cutting the back of your hair with a straight razor and have no idea what it looks like.  Then my life changed.  My friend, Amanda, started beauty school.  At first I went to be supportive.  Then I found out that she's good!!

I know.  You think that sounds scary.  But look at it this way: everyone's got to start somewhere.  And either you have it or you don't.  So, the key is to have your hair cut by someone who has it, who is just starting out.

Amanda Rogers, getting ready to chop off my mullet at The Salon Professional Academy.

If you don't know anyone personally at the beauty school, make an appointment for a pedicure.  Think of this as your undercover trip, an investment in the future of you hair.  Let's be honest, you can live with a bad pedicure, but the mop that frames your face had better be lovely.  While you're getting your pedicure, ask your nail girl who gives the cutest cuts and look at the students' hair.  When you find the student with cute hair ask him/her who cut it--chances are it was another student.  When they tell you, make an appointment.  Done.  You have your stylist.

Next stop: massage school.

Below is the menu for The Salon Professional Academy (www.nashvillebeautyschool.com).

• Haircut                               $9
• Child’s Cut (12 and under)$5
• Bang or Beard Trim       $7
• Shampoo & Style              $6
• Special Occasion Updo$19
• Conditioning Service   $6
• Color & Style                   $19
• Highlights                        $29
• Perm                                $39
• Relaxer                           $39

SKIN   STARTING AT:

• Facial                              $19
• Facial with Makeup     $19
• Makeup Application      $9
• Facial Wax                       $9

NAILS   STARTING AT:

• Manicure                         $9
• French Manicure         $14
• Pedicure                        $19
• Polish Change              $5
• Paraffin Dip                     $7
• Nail Art                            $4

Let's travel like it's 1955: taking trips at vintage prices

Let's travel like it's 1955 in the new year.

6:30 am.  The Mega Bus was scheduled to leave at 7 am.  Brandon and I arrived at the Nashville Metro bus station.  "Excuse me, ma'am?"  I said to the lady at the ticket counter. "Where do we catch the Mega Bus?"  She looked at me like I had just asked her where platform 9 and 3/4 was.  

"The what?" She said.

"The Mega Bus." I answered.  I could see she was contemplating whether answering me was worth the energy or not.  She finally shook her head no.  

Brandon and I frantically called Mega Bus.  Shannon answered the phone.  "Hi, Shannon.  I'm calling from Nashville.  We're trying to find out where to catch Mega Bus in 30 minutes."  Shannon was on it.

"Alright, Mrs. Morgan," she said, "You will catch Mega Bus on Commerce Street, between the 4th and 5th blocks."

"Between  the 4th and 5th blocks?" I said, as if she had just told me to go to platform 9 and 3/4.  "You mean, just in the middle of the block.  That's where the bus is coming," I said, making sure I had heard her correctly.  

"Yes, ma'am," Shannon answered.  We hung up.  With 60 lbs of luggage in tow, 2 pillows, and a blanket, Brandon and I ran 4 blocks down to Commerce Street, swearing and vowing to buy a suitcase with rollers the entire way down.  Finally, we arrived at Commerce Street.  There, in the middle of 4th and 5th, were 15 sleepy eyed people, waiting for Mega Bus to arrive.  

I turned to Brandon and said, "Change of plans.  We're going to Hogwarts instead of Florida."  We laughed and thought about the 10 hours of Harry Potter we had uploaded onto the computer for the Mega ride down to Florida.   By 6:50 am there were 56 of us boarding the big blue Mega Bus.

Earlier in the month we had gone on Expedia and reserved a $400 room.  However, since we found it on Expedia we only paid $90.  We could have stayed for $40 at Days Inn, but since we had only paid $1 to go to Atlanta and $11 to go on to Orlando we decided we could splurge and stay on the 56th floor of the Westin Hotel in the heart of Atlanta.  After a trip to Ikea and some awesome cocktails at the swanky strange lounge in The W Hotel, we headed back to the Westin, enjoyed being married, and went to sleep so we could wake up bright and early to catch the Mega Bus down to Orlando.  

After spending 30 hours on Mega Bus in one week I have a love-hate-love relationship with the big blue bus.  However, with fairs as low as $1, I no longer feel like I need to choose between traveling and paying my bills, which fills me with more love than hate for the bus.

Up North, Mega Bus has double decker buses with seats that recline and televisions.  Randy, our driver, informed us that the South doesn't have that luxury yet because Mega Bus is still in the testing fazes for the Southern routes.  However, whether you ride in the North or the South you still get your own electrical outlet, a friendly driver, and have access to a bathroom on the bus. 

Following is what you'll need in your Mega Bus survival kit:

1. Hydrogen Peroxide.  It's cheap.  It's useful.  Put a little dab of this in each ear and it will decrease your chances of getting sick substantially.  Though the Mega Bus was very clean, one still cannot control who boards the bus while ill.  

2. Enough entertainment for at least 1/2 of your trip.  Mega bus does have internet, but it's very inconsistent, especially on the smaller buses.  Brandon and I uploaded 10 hours of Harry Potter and the entire series of Parks and Recreation onto our computer for our Mega trip.  We also brought 1 book each. Before we even realized it we were in Orlando.  

3. Wet Wipes.  Though there is a bathroom on the bus, its more like a Port-a-John.  With that said, there's no way to wash your hands.  However, the bus stops every 3-5 hours, so if you can hold it like a pro, then you can easily use the facilities at the stop, where you will most likely eat at Hardee's.  

4. Snacks.  Though Mega Bus does stop every 3-5 hours, the snack options are limited.  Furthermore, the bottle of water I bought at a gas station was $3, the nuts I bought were $5 and the gross cup of coffee I bought was $2.  For those prices I could have gone to Whole Foods and purchased Artisanal water and snacks along with kombucha and chocolate or I could have gone to Kroger and paid $3 for all of it.  Mega Bus has overhead compartments as well as a cabin for luggage under the bus.  So, if you have a backpack full of snacks and entertainment it'll only be cumbersome before and after your board the bus.

5. Make sure you print out your itinerary.  It will make boarding the bus much easier, as they check off each passenger who boards.  

This year let's travel like it's 1955.

Olive, the other Reindeer: Gifts you can eat

Every Christmas my dad tells the story about the kid who goes to his mom and says, "Mom, I don't like Olive."  And his mom says, "Who is Olive?"  And the kid says, "You know, Olive.  The other reindeer?"  (i.e. Olive the other reindeer used to laugh and call him names).  My dad loves Kid-speak.  In fact, he loves it so much that even after my brother and I stopped using Kid-speak, he still called children "churren" and yellow "lellow" and balloons were still called "bombaloons."  My sweet little 10 year old sister (who is now my sweet little 22 year old sister) sat him down one day and said, "Dad, I need you to stop using those words.  I am 10 years old and don't know which words are real and which words are not real."  Thus ended the day of Kid-speak in the house of Thomas.

Back to Olives.  Every time I go to Seattle I have to stop at Pike Place Market to pay homage to the olive man.  His store is the 31 flavors of olives.  I once asked him if I could try them all and he told me yes.  It was glorious.  Glorious.

With that said, I have come up with a few Christmas presents, which will help your pocket out and 2 of which indulge my love of olives.  The only way you'll save money with these is if you give multiple people the same gift.  You'll need small jars for each of these--I suggest getting them at Old Time Pottery. Let's have money for groceries this month.


The-Best-Bloody-Mary-you'll-ever-have kit.
You'll need: a big bottle of Stoli vodka, a jar of olives, a jar of jalepenos.

Fill 1/4 of your vodka jar with jalepenos and olives.  Pour a bit of olive juice into it if you'd like (I'd like).  If you have the money and want to complete the gift of Bloody Mary, accompany your vodka with a bottle of Zing Zang and tabasco miniatures.

Rosemary Olive Oil
you'll need: a big bottle of extra virgin olive oil (whole foods has a nicely priced one) dried herbs (I'm just using rosemary, but you can fill it with any herb).  It is important for the herbs to be dry because if they aren't the water left in the herbs can grow harmful bacteria.  I have a Rosemary plant outside, so I am drying whole sprigs of this to put into my olive oil.  However, I'm sure you can find what you need readily available at specialty food stores.  Place your dried herbs in your bottles, then pour olive oil over them.

Wonder Salt
This gift will be of no use to someone who does not have a salt grinder.  Make a mixture of coarse Kosher salt, peppercorns, coriander, and dried herbs.  Package.  Fini.


Bacon Bourbon
You'll need a big bottle of bourbon (I suggest using the giant Bulleit bottle for $40 or just good old Four Roses yellow).  Good, smokey bacon--it'll be worth the extra bucks--I mean, who wants putrid bourbon?  I use Benton's bacon (available at our very own Mitchell's Deli).

Cook your bacon.  Make a sandwich for yourself, then pour the grease into the bourbon (1/4 c. of grease to 3 cups of bourbon).  Let it sit for an hour, then place the mixture in the freezer and let it sit for 24 hours in the freezer.  The fat will separate from the bourbon.  Remove from the freezer and strain the bourbon immediately with cheese cloth or a coffee filter.  Voila!  Bacon bourbon.

If you have the extra bucks, accompany your bacon bourbon with angostura bitters, an orange, maraschino cherries, and some brown sugar (or grade B maple syrup) for the ultimate Bacon Old Fashioned kit.

Homemade Vanilla
You'll need: Vanilla Beans (Olive Nation has good prices), your liqueur of choice (you can use vodka, bourbon, rum, or brandy), and sweet little glass bottles.

Use 1 vanilla bean for every 1/3 cup of liqueur.
Place the bean in your bottle and fill the rest with liqueur.  Shake the mixture and allow it to sit, shaking it again every week or so.  The vanilla needs to sit for 2 months before it's ready to use.  So, whoever you give it to will have to wait a month to use it.  But it'll be worth it--you just can't buy good vanilla anymore.


Homemade Sugar Scrub
Technically, this one isn't for consuming--but should you want to, there's nothing stopping you. Click here for the recipe.  If you're giving it as a gift leave the citrus out so it doesn't spoil.