Party at the Pickett's

Sometimes alliteration just gets the best of me.

Anyway, in order to celebrate the end of summer Bill and I threw a little barbeque last night. Since we're still on limited funds (2 weeks until real paychecks start!! Maybe that's why I'm so ready for school to start!) we provided burgers, hot dogs, buffalo chicken dip and mac salad. Since we have great friends, we ended up with a lot of delicious additions - including oreo brownies. Yum!

I also didn't want to spend any money on decorations for the party. We have plenty of stuff in the house and I just brought it outside for the evening.

I started the decorating out front with a simple sign to let the guests know where we were. It also served as a polite warning to watch that Simon didn't try to run away as they came in!

 

We set up four different seating areas, aiming for shaded places for people to sit since it was a bit of a sizzler yesterday.

We set everything up and took pictures in the afternoon while the sun was blazing, but by five o'clock the majority of the yard was shaded and perfect for the party.

The deck is always set up as a nice conversation area with comfy outdoor furniture. You can also see the EZ Up and the table umbrella are up in an effort to provide more shade. 

Of course I put little centerpieces on each table.

The main outdoor dining table was lantern themed. These looked great once it was dark and the candles were lit. All three of those came from Home Goods a few years back.

The coffee table had more of an outdoorsy theme. Yes, that is a moose arm wrestling a bear. Bill and I picked that and the mini Adirondack chair up in a little shop in Indian Lake. We're still debating whether the moose or the bear would win in an arm wrestling match! If you squint, you can see a couple of the birch candle holders that Bill made for me. They go with everything :) 

I corralled things on the food table to make it look pretty. I started by using a table cloth that I had made for my sister's bridal shower. The paper plates and napkins went into a basket. I love these napkins - another Home Goods find.

Craft tape wrapped around a cylindrical vase made the perfect spot for the forks. In an effort to use what we had already, I had to use some red forks. I was a bit disappointed that they didn't match the rest of the table decor!

Right after we moved in, Bill put in horse shoe pits on the far side of the yard. I thought it would be nice for people to have a place to put their drinks while they were playing, so I stuck these drink holders in the ground. It's just a Progresso soup can, a few washers and nuts, and a threaded metal dowel. I made these before we spent the week at the lake in July. They are super handy and the perfect size to hold the beverage of your choice. There's one on each end of the horse shoe pits.

Here's the view of the yard from the horse shoe pits. The guys set up a game of Kan-Jam in the big open space too.

I strung some white Christmas lights along the railing of the deck to add some lighting and ambiance once the sun went down. I'm pretty sure they might become a permanent fixture out there. I didn't remember to take pictures of them once it was dark out, I was too busy enjoying everyone's company.

I'd say we ended the summer on a high note. It was so fun to spend a relaxing evening with so many of our friends. This might just make going back to school a little easier. Maybe.

What is everyone else doing to wrap up the summer? What's your opinion on the bear/moose arm wrestling debate?

Thanks for reading,
Kathleen


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