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

For the Love of Candles

                                                                                    

mmm. love these.

I love good candles.  I think they are essential to every house that wants to be a home.  And, yes, I am the girl standing behind you in the check-out line at Anthropologie with 5 candles when they go on sale.  And why shouldn't I?  When I invite friends into my home I want them to be greeted with the smell of Baltic Amber as I serve them a hot cup of coffee with a splash of Bailey's--perfect for secrets among friends.

And I'm not the only one.  While looking through articles on smell I found this from sensingarchitecture.com:

"Perhaps you can be more proactive as you design. Instead of letting the scent within your space just sort of happen as a by-product of all your other design decisions, you can instead think about what effect you want to have with your space....did you know that some hospitals are beginning to design for the olfactory sense? Patients in some facilities are already benefiting from aromas (circulated through the air systems) that are more soothing, anxiety reducing and calming....Think of what you want your occupants to experience within your architectural space, how you want them to navigate though it and where you may want them to stop and engage in activity. As a designer, think about ways to tap into the olfactory sense — use it to spark occupant behavior, thought, emotion and intellect."

Now! The moment you've been waiting for; the moment where I tell you where to find amazing candles at amazing prices!  Nope.  Sorry.  I don't think you can buy amazing candles for amazing prices.   This is why we upcycle what is left of them.  Follow these simple steps for a full, prolonged, and resuscitated life out of your hard-earned candles.

You'll need the following: Candles with no more wick to burn them, a darling glass or metal container in which to contain your new candle (and you can get creative.  Use an old candy tin, tea cup, anything metal or glass), a wick, which can be purchased online or at Michael's, and a pot of water on a stove.

candles in water

1. place the candles in a pot of water and turn on low/med.  If you have pillar candles you can put the remains into an aluminum can. Be careful not to let any water get into the candles (and if it does, pour it out in the trashcan, not the sink--trust me).

2. Place wicks into your container.  If you buy a spool of wick, make sure you dip it into the wax so it can stand upright on it's own.  Also, attach an anchor to it (like a nut or bolt).  Then wrap the top of the wick around a pencil and let the pencil lie on the top of your candle container.  However, you don't need to do this if you buy the wicks to the right. (if you only have a tiny bit left, take a tea candle, remove the wick from the wax, and use it for the little remains of your beloved candle)

3. Dip the anchor into the wax and attach to the bottom of your container.

candle wicks

4. Pour the hot wax into your container with the wick and allow to sit until hardened.

Voila!  More candle!

Entertaining on a Budget: Ethnic Eating, part 1

When it is possible, I like to enjoy as many of my favorite things as I possibly can at one time. Really, why take just a bubble bath when you can take a bubble bath with Cabernet, Voluspa candles, lavender oil, salts, Erik Satie (the music, not the man), and my bath time book of choice, Pride and Prejudice. Furthermore, I've read Pride and Prejudice so many times that I don't even bother with the entire book anymore.  I merely choose my favorite parts and read them to my delight and at my leisure.  Then I soak, detox, and enjoy.

So, in the spirit of enjoying everything at once, I present to you, traveling, entertaining, and spending as little money as possible.  Unfortunately, we are going to travel in our kitchens, but if we spend a small amount of money doing it, then we can put more in our actual travel fund.  Greece, here I come.

Try these ethnic desserts and impress your guests, while spending 3-7 dollars:

1. Turkish Sutlac
2. French Petit Choux (this recipe does have not the filling recipe, but it's a good choux recipe--you can fill them with any kind of cream or custard--whipped cream is the easiest.)
3. Ukrainian Vareniki 
4. Polish Paczki 
5. Thai Mango Sticky Rice (Khao Niaow Ma Muang)
6. Japanese Daifuku 
7. Spanish Churros 
8. Mexican Flan
9. Norwegian Pannekakes 
10. Indonesian Burbur Ketan Hitam