So I'd intended to show you the really cool way I was planning to display my advent boxes {see the post just below this one}. I was going to use this really amazing silver glitter spray paint {which I stole from my friend Whitney's stash the last time I was there}...
...to coat branches laying around the yard. I was then going to stick those lovely-fied branches in a clear, tall glass cylinder vase filled with faux snow and hang my boxes like ornaments from the branches so that my son could choose one each day in our count down to Christmas.
INTENDED being the key word, because in the hustle and bustle of the last few weeks, that project never happened, and my boxes were simply piled into a pretty silver bowl.
Here, though, are a few pics I pulled off Whitney's blog, from her Pier 1 table centerpiece post that illustrate the idea...picture my cute, colorful boxes hanging from those branches and you'll get the general direction I was heading. {great minds think alike, or at least I'll flatter myself to think so...}
Not only have all our festive holiday activities kept me and my family crazy busy, I also surprised my wonderful hubby for his big 3-0 birthday this year, first with a whirlwind weekend trip to Disney World with one of our favorite couples, then with a top secret surprise dinner party with 36 of our closest friends and family when we got back.
{Me and my better half in the Magic Kingdom}
{Our amazing friends who love us enough to go along with my crazy idea to surprise Eric with them and this trip}
{On a side note, our dear friends who we went to Disney World with are the awesome Pete and Sara-Britt Guinta. Pete is the lead singer of a fabulous Long Beach, CA band called Centrevol. They're fantastic, so check them out. Your ears will thank you if you download "Save Yourself" and/or "Don't Hear Me Wrong"...you can do that right here on the website}.
For the dinner party part of Eric's birthday surprise extravaganza, I enlisted the help of the amazing Jessica of Modern Moments Designs. I first saw Jessica's "Circa 1980" party suite featured here on hostess with the mostess' blog, and knew that it would be the perfect party theme for my music fanatic husband. She customized an invitation for me, along with thank you tags {I used them to embellish the party favors, which were CDs burned with the ultimate "mix tape" I had my husband create...30 of his top favorite songs of all time!} and place cards.
{the invitation...excuse the quality of the next few photos...I snapped them with my trusty iPhone}
{party favors...burned CDs with Eric's top 30 favorite songs of all time...his ultimate "mix tape"...email me or comment if you're interested in any of the how-to details or materials list to create these}
{table centerpieces...I used glass vases I already had, scalloped cardstock, and pictures of my hubby through the years that I simply photocopied at Kinko's.}
{the menu I created in Photoshop to go along with our theme...click to enlarge in new window if you care to see the details}
Jessica was fantastic to work with! Even when she broke an arm halfway through the customizing process, she was still super great with turn around time, and was a huge help working with me when Paypal was being screwy with my order. I highly recommend both Jessica and her Modern Moments products.
As for the birthday boy, he was totally surprised on all counts, and the dinner was a complete success, made so of course by our incredible friends and family who all came to show my hubby some birthday love {though I like to think the design details were pretty fantastic!}.
