Today, I got lost at Pintrest and found some lovely ideas for summer garden parties:
[caption id="attachment_8421" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="This picture looks a bit weddingly, but you can adapt the decoration... I love using ivy (muratti?) with branches swaying softly in the summer breeze.."]
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Just a few lanterns with some flowers, crystals and/or pearls... It doesn't need to be complicated, they can all be different (in fact I even prefer it that way...), or you can have just one or two.
Easy! I already have the recipe for the best chocolate cake in the world, and like to serve it with real flowers in this style...
If it's worth the effort of arranging a garden party, it's definitely worth the effort of carrying a real table outside (instead of using some horrid plastic one). Alternatively, you can have it easy - like I do - and opt for some vintage French or Danish wrought-iron tables and chairs which can stay out all summer. They just get more charming with a bit of rust.
[caption id="attachment_8428" align="aligncenter" width="498" caption="I've got little glass lanterns like this; in the winter I light up tiny candles in them, in the summer I replace them with a single blooming flower. So lovely."]
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You can be as industrious as you like with other furniture (this is the point where your husband starts to suggest calling off the whole party...)
But in the interest of family peace, all it really takes is imagination, candles, flowers (picked from your own garden?), and maybe a vintage tablecloth.
Below inspiration for keeping it simple without compromising the charm:
In fact, you don't even need to have a garden for a party like this. We don't, but I try to throw a little party of this spirit on our terasse every summer...
All you
really, really need, are your friends.
~*'*~
You nailed it Kate. As ever.
The tulips are the dot on the I.
~*♥*~
Here's a little purchase I've made for this trip, especially. Something light, comfy, slightly transparent but not toooo much so... MmmmmmmmMmm. By the lovely Oona Elena ♥♥♥. Perfect for a summer in the sun. And my lovely ladies Noora and Hanski might come and spend some time with us.
Poolside lounging, bronzing and total relaxation is in the cards with Noora... We've already planned to have a real girlie holiday, going to the gym, sleeping in the same bed in our room upstairs and talking girl stuff all night....
Hanski, I'll take all around the area by Mamie's little white car, as it'll be her first time in the South. Touring and discovering little picturesque villages, lovely restaurants and the nicest places outside the tourist circles...
The kids will be totally relaxed as usual there, and play in Mamie's pool all day long... There's also pony rides and tennis lessons in the cards this time.
Ah, it'll be so good.
~*♥*~
I think the phone lines are still open for all you vintage & antiques lovers out there...
~*♥*~
When I first saw this handmade, hand painted beauty in the dusty corner of an antique shop, I knew she belonged with me. And home she came immediately, even though I had to negotiate, twist & turn and practically beg to come up with the money for it.
And again, we ate oatmeal for a month...
But every time I look at it, I feel the sun of Provence.
~*♥*~
