Hey there and Happy Friday!! I know I know I said I was going to do this post yesterday and then wrap it up today but I got kinda busy yesterday picking up a grate so we could get our fireplace to actually put out some heat and then I had a wedding. Yep, 2:30 on Thursday afternoon. Nice break for the weekend and it was a good time. So I had good reasons: warmth and weddings. Can't beat those excuses for missing a post. OK so let's get down to this because quite frankly this was a blast to do. I had so much fun searching and looking and finding swampy items. So let's show you what I worked on for a few weeks (i.e. scoured pinterest like a crazy woman). Originally the plan was a centerpiece for each table with brown paper covering the tables and then burlap runners. Well when the wind is 40 mph and you have to stuff ALL the tables into the tent so everyone won't feel like this is going to happen: You reboot those plans and modify quickly! So here is the tent and how we managed to get most of the tables jammed inside. It looks so peaceful and quiet in there. hahahahahaha Anyhoo, we didn't get the burlap runners on the table but the centerpieces made it to the table in a totally different way than the plan but it was still great! Table decoration #1 Isn't little mister alligator scary??? Well not so much anymore. This is a lantern that normally hangs out on my mantle. He got plopped in the middle of some spanish moss and some cattails sprouted up around him. #2: Just a large hurricane with a smaller candle inside, stuffed with moss and tied off with a burlap knot and a friendly little crab and the whole thing resting on top of more spanish moss. Oh, make sure you have no moss near the top of the inner candle. We're trying to prevent the party from going up in flames you know! #3 is just an old wine crate with plenty of spanish moss packed inside, some fish net and a big ole' crab. Swampy and simple, are you getting the idea here? mmmm, too bad he wasn't real and didn't come with about 50 friends and some melted butter! #4 was kind of a last minute (or night before) thought. I thought I was one centerpiece short so I dug around pinterest and was inspired to do this one. Just some old tomato cans wrapped in twine then tied off with a raffia bow and a lobster and a crab. We dropped about 4 tealights each into these and they were a perfect addition. I just pulled the animals and the raffia off and now I have some cute twine wrapped cans. #5 was also kind of a last minute but since we were featuring red beans & rice on the menu I got the idea to use them as centerpieces too. I grabbed 3 big mason jars, filled each with a bag of beans then dropped a candle down into a metal dipping cup. Presto chango now it's a centerpiece. This one is my favorite of the three and for the record all of them are now living behind my cooktop on the counter. They look very much at home there. #6 was a great little find I picked up at the flea market. An old gas can got a nice raffia ribbon on a bed of spanish moss with an alligator head. Now the gas can is residing on top of my kitchen cabinets, sans alligator of course. side note: alligator went flying off the whole thing and busted his jaw, good thing he wasn't expensive! Saving the best for last is #7. Oh yeah if you watch Swamp People on the History Channel then you recognize these boots. I made a little trip to the feed store one afternoon and I'm sure everyone in that place thought I'd won the lottery when I found these. Nothing like looking completely out of place in a feed store and running through it slinging these boots yelling "oh oh oh how much are these?". By far the most expensive decoration but oh my how worth it they were!! On a side note, I can actually wear these in the yard so not such a ridiculous purchase after all, eh? I still refer to this as the most party perfect theme decoration ever! Of course before they were centerpiece ready they got to get a little dressed up with some cat tails and some faux wheat. Can't be going to a party all plain jane now. I showed you this the other day when we talked about sweet treats but I thought you should just see it completely empty. I bought a small bundle of firewood (which we can use in the fire pit) and then a wood disc from Michael's and glued them together. Voila a rustic cake holder. Couldn't be any easier or cheaper. Those things were like 30 bucks to buy...no way jose! Since we were serving the food help yourself style I wanted to get the utensils on the table. Am I the only one who hates juggling my plate and the eating utensils only to find out when you sit down that you forgot something? No? Maybe it's just me. Anyway I wrapped the green eating utensils up in a brown napkin and tied them off with some bakers twine. Plopped then in a little galvanized bucket and sat them on the tables. No juggling this way or forgetting your fork. Now aside from juggling utensils and food I hate when I throw away my trash and realize I needed my fork again for dessert. No worries here I wrapped up some brown forks in some cute little green polka dot napkins, tied them off with a little more bakers twine and popped those and some clean plates into a galvanized tub right on the dessert table. No excuse to skip dessert! And while this last picture isn't exactly the best photo you've ever seen....I wanted you to see the cute crawfish cups I ordered. We had plenty for the adult beverage of choice and they were quite fitting to the theme of the party. That's all folks! Easy peasy table decorations. I tried to make sure that I didn't buy many things that would have no use after the party but that I still would enjoy. I think it worked out quite well. NOT as I had planned but it was just fine. I am truly blessed with such wonderful family and friends who still love me when I get all last minute frantic and step in to do whatever they can when the guests start arriving and I'm still makeup less and in my shorts and tshirt rocking the sock bun. I love all of you so much and especially because you love me back enough to put up with my crazy ideas. We don't normally throw parties of this magnitude but you only turn 50 once and I think the Hubster is well worth the big celebration. Hey, it was his idea to have the DJ. Now if we ever win the lottery it'll be party central at this house because we do like a good party and that's probably one of the few reasons I have managed to keep the Hubster from down sizing just yet. Although I've got my brain churning on a party place/pool house for the next house thankyouverymuch! Peace, Love & Party On For easy lookup I'm listing the sources with links for most of the items. Everything arrived very quickly with minimal shipping costs. If you have any questions don't hesitate to ask. Eating utensils, plates, napkins & small galvanized buckets: Shindigz Table & chair rentals: Keller Party Rentals Brown Kraft paper, galvanized tub: Amazon Spanish Moss, dried flowers, raffia ribbon: Michaels Fish nets, red crab, alligator head, crawfish cups: Mardi Gras Outlet Not seen but in the bathroom alligator and lobster soap and a crawfish hand towel also from the Mardi Gras outlet.