You’re invited to my birthday dinner party…

I love July.

In my mind, the month of July is always associated with warm, sentimental feelings and good times with family and friends. That’s because our anniversary and my birthday happen in the first few weeks, and we have these little traditions that make these occasions so special. Last week we had dinner and drinks with our dear friends, Kirsten and John, because we both share the same anniversary. And this past Sunday, my parents hosted my birthday dinner.

Only this year the dinner was at our house because we have the ping pong table. And of course, if you’re going to have a highly competitive ping pong tournament that involves a five dollar buy-in, you have to have a table. Ah hem. Did I mention that I grew up in a family of baseball playing guys who happen to love a good contest?

But—back to my dinner, because I took a few photos to share with you.

For my tablescape, I kept it simple. I bought a navy blue and white striped fabric remnant for four dollars, and I cut it, and laid it down the center of the table. I pulled out my mason jars that were wrapped in lace and tied with twine. Then I placed some white rocks and seashells down the center.

I love the color combination of the flowers, white daisies, orange roses and pink dahlias. These colors look so fresh and cheery with the dark blue, don’t you think? 

Originally we planned on eating outside, hence the paper napkins. But the 95 degree day made it too uncomfortable so we brought everything inside at the last minute.

I snapped this shot before the stemware was added, but you get the idea. I used wicker placemats from Pier One, white dishes from the Home Goods, and everyone got a special place card; it’s a decorated peat moss container filled with a monogramed sugar cookie.

I made these cookies the night before. Then I slipped each one into a cellophane wrapper and added a small nametag.

 

Do you want to learn how to make this peat moss container? I’ll be posting the tutorial shortly. I originally made these for my French Country themed luncheon HERE.

This was the Sangria that Mr. Moss prepared. It was made with red wine (Merlot), spiced Rum, and a bit of fruit juice. I think. He used Rachel Ray’s recipe and modified it. It was so delicious!

There are some of the tissues pom-poms that my Mom and I made the night before. It’s so easy to do, and here’s a great tutorial if you’re interesting in learning how to make them. Right now, I’m liking them more than balloons…

This is the ping pong tournament schedule that Mr. Moss printed out. It was funny, everyone was ranked. But what was really funny and so cute, was watching Michael and his Dad decorate my board with the little burlap pennants. This board was where we kept the scores.

This is what they made. It’s sweet, isn’t it? But can you see the list with everyone’s assigned handicaps? See? –I-told-you the men in my life get competitive.

After dinner I snapped this shot as we were clearing dishes. Dinner was wonderful and as usual… my parents helped with the cooking.

My Dad made the fresh Snapper. I made braised chicken breasts with a sun-dried tomato sauce, pasta with fresh vegetables, and a Caesar salad. And my sweet Dad made his signature dish, a shrimp appetizer that’s my favorite.

In the end, I felt so full; overwhelmed with the blessings of a great meal and the noisy teasing and laughter of my family.

And of course, my birthday wouldn’t have been complete without my brother Mike’s annual birthday card.

Are you ready?

 

Can you hear me laughing through your computer screen?

That’s my brother.

Well dear friends, that’s it for now. Thanks for joining me today, I hope you enjoyed it…

I’ll be linking up over at

http://savvysouthernstyle.blogspot.com/2012/07/wow-us-wednesdays-75.html

http://myuncommonsliceofsuburbia.com/tuesdays-treasures-94/

http://elizabethandco.blogspot.com/2012/07/be-inspired-features-and-link-party-28.html

xoxo

Leslie

 

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