.Simple, Rustic, Valentine Inspired...Dinner Party.

Last night was perfect.

 Adam and I hosted our first official dinner party and we could not have been any happier.

Our theme: Make Your Own Ravioli Night

It's February and LOVE is in the air.
 What better way to celebrate than a house filled with amazing couples, adorable babies, and delicious food..
not to mention some Valentine inspired decor :)

The best place to start is decor and set up (at least I think so)..cooking is a blast, but for me--
it's the part of "making it pretty."

Here is my making it pretty:

Time for a few close ups!

This simple heart garland was made by scraps and only took 30 minutes to make. I used scrapbooking paper and created a heart pattern to trace and cut out all of the hearts. Once cut, I simply made a heart sandwich using hot glue as my jelly around the twine. Final look is simple and sweet, perfect for Valentine's Day :)

As my table runner, I was planning on using some simple brown paper. A trip to the Dollar Tree led me to this beautiful wrapping paper..it's simple, regular brown craft paper with white flowers..how delicate and such a lucky find! Did I mention it was a $1? I used white table cloths, also from Dollar Tree, to brighten the room up while keeping simple and rustic! I just love the romantic touch the white flowers added :)

Centerpieces. My heart loves centerpieces. 

For under $2.00 each, I made these beauties (look up now look down):

My lovely ladies got to take home a candle and a heart bouquet home as their little Valentine.

Are you all still with me? I have more photos..let's just say I was a little camera happy :)

Sitting by candlelight is nothing but romantic and sets the mood, you know which one, perfect for the month of LOVE, ow ow.......okay okay, let's cool down and remember, this is Make Your Own Ravioli Night, we need light!!

Ready for our guests: 

Living Room rearranged, CHECK!

Cooking Stations ready, CHECK!

Food Station ready for food, CHECK!

Coffee Station ready, CHECK!

(note: the creamer made an appearance for the picture and then

 went back to it's home in the fridge until it was time to come out.)

I hope you have enjoyed my "Simple, Rustic, Valentine Inspired...Dinner Party" making it pretty portion. It was a blast designing and decorating for our dinner party. Remember, you do not need RED and PINK when doing Valentine's Day decor, think outside of the box and use soft color palettes. For all of you newly weds and stay at home moms--this party was fun and AFFORDABLE! Look through your house before shopping for any items and materials that can work for your party. Dollar Trees are a fabulous place for table cloths, plates, cups, utensils, decor, etc. It's important to pick and choose where you want to spend money..I chose to splurge on yarn ($1.29 for each color at Michaels) and mason jars ($1.19 each at Michaels) while everything else came from my home, outside, or the Dollar Tree. 

Be inspired and get CRAFTING!

"Cooking, eating, smiling. laughing, cooing, walking" pictures coming 

later this afternoon :)