Well, the mister turned 30 this weekend.
And even after dad’s stay in the hospital last week, I felt we needed to stick to the plan of a surprise birthday dinner.
(Dad is home, by the way, and on his way to recovering. Thank you all for your prayers, sweet comments, tweets, and emails!!)
Originally, we were going pretty formal, but in the end, my lack of energy and who I am, in general, overruled. I had basically one day to pull together a casually elegant evening for our friends.
Did I mention the entire house was a total wreck and I cleaned literally all day on Friday?? It gave me a reason to redeem our disastrous messes, that’s for sure.
Once the house was mostly clean, I played around with tablescapes. I envisioned simple, natural, and one conducive to lots of laughter and conversation.
No towering flower arrangements here.
I also wanted it to feel classic, elegant, casual, and a little masculine all at once. Plus, I didn’t want to buy a single thing.
My favorite element was honestly placing my tarnished silver in this rusty tin caddy. Oh, and the fact that I stacked it on books.
I even broke out the place card/napkin ring holders. You only turn 30 once, right? Refined because of the place cards, and a little rustic from the twine-tied linen napkins.
I’m so very happy I took a picture of it in the candlelight, because I totally forgot to light them once our guests were here.
Nice, right?
I really wanted everything to feel earthy and natural, but I still needed some space on the table for our guests and also wanted to encourage conversation.
That meant there was no room for lots of greenery and branches, so I simply used my Ballard topiaries in the center, and brought more nature in by using split peas in teacups and crystal…and in the rusty tin.
🙂
I LOVE seeing the silver, wooden candlesticks, crystal, old books and rumply linen all side-by-side.
Our dining table seats eight, so I had a smaller table set up for a few of the guests (including myself). To keep with the casual-ness of the party, I used a tray filled with our necessities rather than creating more place settings.
I’m telling you, you’ve got to jump on the split-pea bandwagon.
Their color is perfection and by storing them in an airtight container or Ziploc bag, you can use them again and again.
While Matt and I agreed that he looks sort of jeepers-creepers in this shot, we’re both thrilled to have a current picture of us together. Honey, you know it’s true. Still love ya, though.
I had Matt’s best friends from Florida (and here) come surprise him…and that was the best part!
If you follow on Twitter, you know I decided to channel my inner Pioneer Woman and use only her recipes. And I almost went broke in the Fresh Market on Thursday.
Therefore, my gift to him was the meal.
🙂
Something tells me PW doesn’t look this frazzled (and goofy and almost mad) in the kitchen.
But luckily I had help.
(Thanks Crystal and Anna Lauson-who is also one of the world’s best babysitters!)
The Menu:
Cheese Plate with Olives and Honey
Herb and Simple Yeast Rolls
Strawberry Chantilly Cake
(which was totally purchased 🙂
Here’s the tenderloin after searing in the skillet with butter and olive oil. I know you know that PW knows how to serve up some delicious, totally butter-free dishes, right??
And because I was a total spaz and completely worn out from the week at the hospital, I had no energy to snap pictures of each step of the cooking. I thought I’d show you how it turned out straight from the source.
photo courtesy of The Pioneer Woman
And it really did turn out that lovely. And pink. And tender.
I may have completely scared the more timid beef-eaters, but it really was delish. If you guys haven’t checked out The Pioneer Woman’s site (and recipes), you should jump over there asap.
It really was an incredible night. I’m affirmed by time spent with friends and family, and put simply, I was filled.
I think Ava had fun, too.
(you can get a sneak peek of new things in the master if you look really hard…past the mess, that is)
I hate that Lance had to drive down for such a situation with dad, but I was so thankful my brother was there to spend time with us. And…who would have been in charge of the cheese plate if he hadn’t been here?
Lauren and Rick were here. We took a break on the book for one night, at least.
And that tablescape?
It served its purpose.
And the night was filled with conversation and laughter.
I hate the baby girl was already in bed, but it was fun to snap some pictures with my boys.
Happy 30th, Matt. I hope you know how much you are treasured and loved by this crazy woman, and what a blessing you are to me and everyone who knows you best.
And because I couldn’t take lots of pictures, I wanted you to get a glimpse of that glorious meat in person and a feel for the goofiness of the evening. Take a look at this butter-filled snippet…
Don’t forget to enter the Willow House Giveaway. Closes Wednesday at Noon!
Beautiful! And I love his shirt!
I'm pretty sure I see some friends of mine, Jeremy and Crystal T, in your pics. I follow your blog and noticed them in my blog roll this morning. Funny…and random! Small world! 🙂
Happy birthday to your man, you guys are so cute together! I wish we were nearing our 30th not our…..yup…
Pretty wonderful for a party that was thrown together! Friends are the bets part anyway. I love the "nothing tall" on the table. James has a rule about that. He likes to be able to see everyone. Happy belated birthday to Matt. Lisa~
y'all are SO cute. I'm hungry now. I love lance. 😉
looks sooo sweet! and you are just adorable, shaunna. happy bday, matt! you youngen'.
You did incredible….and never cease to amaze me. Even as exhausted as you were and juggling your kids, you still managed to pull off an wonderful evening! I've got to check out this pioneer woman you keep speaking of because I'm pretty sure that was the best food I've ever put in my mouth. And Rick and I were thrilled to be there (we didn't quite look like it in the photo). I can't speak for him, but I'm pretty sure I was just trying to breathe and eat my cough drop. 🙂
Please tell your hubby that I LOVED his tee-shirt "one man wolf pack"…. The Hangover…I could watch it over and over…
My husband turned 31 this week and he requested the PW's beef tenderloin too. I had made it once before for Christmas and was unsure whether I could duplicate such deliciousness. I think it was actually even better this time. I made it with her garlic mashed potatoes though.
I see i'm not the first to comment on this, but…i LOVE his shirt!!!!! It cracked me up! My hubby and I watch The Hangover on a weekly basis. Best movie ever! 🙂
Love the tablescape, love the beautiful cake, love your gorgeous house, and I, too, love the one man wolf pack shirt! My husband actually gave the "one man wolf pack" speech at his best friend's wedding toast, so I had to show him that photo!
Yay! And Happy Birthday to Matt!
Happy Birthday, Sweet, Sweet Matt!! I am so proud of you Shaunna-Girl!! This was beautiful! You were always a graceful, beautiful girl and now you are a graceful, beautiful young woman!
Elegant. Casual. Awesome! Everything looked beautiful, great job!
Happy Birthday to your husband! Your party looks perfect! The menu sounds delicious, the table setting is gorgeous and you all look like you had a great evening with family and friends. What a cute photo of Ava and Matt. I think I've commented about this before but I'll say it again….you and Matt are a sweet couple, Shaunna!
Ava is so beautiful and I think the table setting was perfect.
Happy belated to your man! What a fabulous party girl! Love all the vignettes on the table and your meal looks divine :).
Being able to decorate like this is a true gift. Everything looks welcoming and beautiful; great job! I may shamelessly copy this menu for an upcoming 70 yo birthday bash I am throwing for a relative.