dining room

Hosting Thanksgiving

| The Bee Life

Although I won’t be hosting a big thanksgiving dinner… maybe one of these year’s I’ll have the honor – that inner hostess in me can’t help but get excited at all the fun and easy ways to make an impact on your family and friends this upcoming meal.  Here are some easy ways to make this holiday personal and unique.

Name Tags: this is your time to get creative and personal, the more unique you make this, the better chance you have of making a genuine impression on guests.

  • Mini pumpkins are easy, inexpensive and cute as a place setting – paint the person’s first letter or name, they can even take these home as a keep sake.
  • Write each of your guests a person note upon their arrival at the table, tell them a few things you’re thankful for in regards to them and your relationship.
  • Find some free downloadable name tags like the ones here to print out and customize!
http://www.eleganceandenchantment.com/free-printable-thanksgiving-place-cards/
http://www.bhg.com/thanksgiving/crafts/thanksgiving-tabletop-crafts/

Accents: mixing up different napkin patterns and glasses gives the dinner an eclectic look, it will also add a layer of effortlessness to the occasion and not make it feel so stuffy.

http://apartment34.com/2013/11/how-to-set-the-ultimate-holiday-table/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+Apartment34+%28apartment+%2334%29
Rick E. Martin/Mercury News Styled by Vicki Thorne, napkin setting of a traditional Thanksgiving theme, with a vintage linen napking tied in a 1940’s millenery ribbon with miniature indian corn.

Ambiance: candles, lighting and music will also add an element to your entertaining.  My personal picks for music would be of the Peggy Lee and Frank Sinatra era on Pandora.  A scattering of candles around the table and seating areas will add that cozy, welcoming feel.

http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/spiced-wassail
http://fabyoubliss.com/2012/11/08/inspirational-holiday-table-setting-centerpiece-ideas/

With the big day almost a week away, there is still plenty of time to put the finishing touches on the menu and the table!  I can’t wait to host a dinner one of these years and start new traditions while incorporating old.

Decorating for Fall

| The Bee Life

In case you didn’t know, I love fall – I mean… who doesn’t?  But one thing I don’t like is the immense amount of Halloween specific decorations that are available or the standard cheesy scarecrow and thanksgiving cornucopia.  So I wanted to share ways to keep the decorations up from end of September until the Christmas tree’s are being chopped down!  Also this is the first time decorating our house, so I needed some extra inspiration!  Breaking this down, there are a few focus areas to really spend your time, be creative and make a statement.

Focus Areas: Front Entry Space, Mantle, Dining Room

You can really make an impact with your outdoor decor, simple sprucing and added pieces are easy accents to make a big difference. Mums and pumpkins are no secret, it’s having the right amount and pairings that really set you apart from your neighbor.

Bold and Inviting
Simple & Clean
Industrial Rustic

Moving inside; there are two places to focus on, your mantle and dining room table. The mantle is the focal point in your living space, making a statement with this, again, can be done using simple and inexpensive elements like pumpkins and candles.  For me, I think the simpler the better – that way you don’t have to go overboard. I love these examples below.

Homey
Neutrals
Pops of Color

Your dining room is the place where the family will connect, especially over one of the biggest dinners of the year, Thanksgiving.  Having a centerpiece that is no fuss and can be kept up for almost two-months, allows you to focus on the meal plan and less on the supporting elements.

Stunning & Elegant
Pops of Color

Since this is our first fall in our house, I’ve been having fun figuring out ways to decorate these areas of the house.  I know it’ll transform over the years, but I’ve been loving being able to buy fresh mums, pumpkins and gourds!  It’s been a work in progress, but I hope to share some of my key spots soon with you!

Happy Decorating!

House Hunters – Dining Room Design

| The Bee Life

Well it has been nearly 3-months since we began our house hunt, and we are happy to report that we got a house!  We probably also have the most lucky and unique story when it comes to our house. To give you the cliff notes version; we saw this house our second day looking at houses, B loved it – I was stuck on a house we lost. The house had an offer placed on the house, so we went back to look at the house and ended up placing an offer – we freaked out and pulled our offer. The house was gone – contingent with the other offer. A week or two later, the house was back on the market. Two weeks after that we went and looked at it again. Two weeks after that, we went back again with my contractor uncle and did a more technical walk-through (so in case your counting, we saw the same house 4x).  After that, we made a real offer, and after a bit of negotiations our offer was accepted!!

Now the fun part begins -decorating! Here are our plans for the dining room; I want a mix of patterns, modern and a classic look to tie into the bones of the house, (which will be 100 years in 2015)!  I am obsessed with the floral chairs (05) – I think these would look good  for the heads of the table. We are also looking into having our table made, so that is it a little more affordable – more details to come on that.

Dining Room Design
01 / 02 / 03 / 04 / 05

While we wait to close on the house I have been doing plenty of on-line shopping and deal hunting – any suggestions for hidden online (or places) treasure troves for a great deal? I am always game for a good DIY project!