I love a party. With so much negativity in the world, it's good to embrace the good whenever or wherever it happens and celebrate the heck out of it, right? The other month, Mr Curiouser and Curiouser and I celebrated another year together. Whilst we could have easily had a fancy holiday abroad, instead we had our nearest and dearest round for food and drinks (we later went to York for a couple of days and kept it domestic).
From a waste perspective, nowadays I'm trying to avoid buying new things every time a special occasion crops up. And if I do, I do so in the hope that it will serve another purpose another time for effective "cost per use". Our shindig was composed of items we'd bought years ago and already had, along with a a couple of new homeware pieces that I just couldn't resist.
I had to throw out one of my old vases (a beautiful clear cylinder with a black frame) as it wasn't washing up well anymore and the wooden frame had split. I expected to replace it with another clear glass vase but when I saw this copper vase, my head was turned. It adds a a lovely warmth to any room and can you believe that it was only £6?! I tried to source roses and gyp, but sadly our local supermarkets were a bit dry on the flower front (typical!). As luck may have it, one of my best friends came to the rescue and gave us these lovely pink and blue flowers along with a bottle of bubbly. Aren't they beautiful?
Food and drink wise, we had different zones - one for food, another for prosecco and champagne, and last but not least... a tea zone! We left out boxes of honey & chamomile, turmeric, green, mint and standard teas, as well as two types of coffee and white hot chocolate. The pictured tea set was a bargain from Asda and very Curiouser and Curiouser as I'm sure you'll agree! I was so impressed, I later went back and ordered another tea pot (I was stunned at how these huge things were only £8 each!) so we could dedicate one to 'builders tea' and the other to herbal teas. How cute are the matching milk jug and sugar bowl? (just £3 each!). We ran out of space in the kitchen with the sheer amount of food and drink, so had to set up (tea) shop on the cooker (literally can't wait until we get our kitchen extension done!) Although my OCD wishes I'd put the left tea pot more on the hob to match the right one in the below shot! ;)
Funnily enough, this was an item that I featured in last's year Christmas gift guide here. I was delighted to discover that it was back in stock (and it still is here if you're interested!). It would make a lovely wedding prop and at £6 doesn't break the bank. It takes pride of place in our kitchen, but I may later re-locate it to the hallway (as and when we actually have a console table to sit it on...)
This was a bargain purchase from Flying Tiger (which I'm pretty sure was just called Tiger before?) a few years ago. They usually do wire baskets and the like so it's definitely worth having a look in-store as it's the sort of thing they may still have. I lined mine with paper and filled with still-warm, sun-dried tomato bread which all our guests raved about! Mine alternates between being used as a bread basket and a fruit bowl - but there are plenty of other good uses for it I'm sure!
I found these delights in my local Dunelm store when I was there buying curtains and cushions for our lounge (something for a future post!).
Another Flying Tiger purchase from a few years back! They ALWAYS have paper straws in cute striped and floral patterns (I think my pack of straws was only a pound at the time?) so it's definitely worth a look! I couldn't believe my luck when I found these in our packing boxes - they matched perfectly with our gold polka dot napkins! The miniature buckets were a gift from a couple of years back. I love filling them with fries, bread sticks, or in this case, straws!
That day we toasted life, family and good friends, and ate salmon, homemade salads filled with grains, chickpeas and roasted vegetables, crunchy veg dipped into hummus, falafel, popcorn (this was pre popcorn machine!), macarons, cheese, crackers, and chutneys. A veritable feast and one that resulted in lots of leftovers that we were eating for a while afterwards. It was a lovely day catching up with friends and family. A huge heartfelt thanks to everyone who sent us well wishes and thought of us!
From a waste perspective, nowadays I'm trying to avoid buying new things every time a special occasion crops up. And if I do, I do so in the hope that it will serve another purpose another time for effective "cost per use". Our shindig was composed of items we'd bought years ago and already had, along with a a couple of new homeware pieces that I just couldn't resist.
COPPER VASE
I had to throw out one of my old vases (a beautiful clear cylinder with a black frame) as it wasn't washing up well anymore and the wooden frame had split. I expected to replace it with another clear glass vase but when I saw this copper vase, my head was turned. It adds a a lovely warmth to any room and can you believe that it was only £6?! I tried to source roses and gyp, but sadly our local supermarkets were a bit dry on the flower front (typical!). As luck may have it, one of my best friends came to the rescue and gave us these lovely pink and blue flowers along with a bottle of bubbly. Aren't they beautiful?
ALICE IN WONDERLAND INSPIRED TEA SET
Food and drink wise, we had different zones - one for food, another for prosecco and champagne, and last but not least... a tea zone! We left out boxes of honey & chamomile, turmeric, green, mint and standard teas, as well as two types of coffee and white hot chocolate. The pictured tea set was a bargain from Asda and very Curiouser and Curiouser as I'm sure you'll agree! I was so impressed, I later went back and ordered another tea pot (I was stunned at how these huge things were only £8 each!) so we could dedicate one to 'builders tea' and the other to herbal teas. How cute are the matching milk jug and sugar bowl? (just £3 each!). We ran out of space in the kitchen with the sheer amount of food and drink, so had to set up (tea) shop on the cooker (literally can't wait until we get our kitchen extension done!) Although my OCD wishes I'd put the left tea pot more on the hob to match the right one in the below shot! ;)
HAPPILY EVER AFTER SIGN
Funnily enough, this was an item that I featured in last's year Christmas gift guide here. I was delighted to discover that it was back in stock (and it still is here if you're interested!). It would make a lovely wedding prop and at £6 doesn't break the bank. It takes pride of place in our kitchen, but I may later re-locate it to the hallway (as and when we actually have a console table to sit it on...)
GEOMETRIC BASKET
This was a bargain purchase from Flying Tiger (which I'm pretty sure was just called Tiger before?) a few years ago. They usually do wire baskets and the like so it's definitely worth having a look in-store as it's the sort of thing they may still have. I lined mine with paper and filled with still-warm, sun-dried tomato bread which all our guests raved about! Mine alternates between being used as a bread basket and a fruit bowl - but there are plenty of other good uses for it I'm sure!
GOLD POLKA DOT NAPKINS
I found these delights in my local Dunelm store when I was there buying curtains and cushions for our lounge (something for a future post!).
STRIPED STRAWS
Another Flying Tiger purchase from a few years back! They ALWAYS have paper straws in cute striped and floral patterns (I think my pack of straws was only a pound at the time?) so it's definitely worth a look! I couldn't believe my luck when I found these in our packing boxes - they matched perfectly with our gold polka dot napkins! The miniature buckets were a gift from a couple of years back. I love filling them with fries, bread sticks, or in this case, straws!
That day we toasted life, family and good friends, and ate salmon, homemade salads filled with grains, chickpeas and roasted vegetables, crunchy veg dipped into hummus, falafel, popcorn (this was pre popcorn machine!), macarons, cheese, crackers, and chutneys. A veritable feast and one that resulted in lots of leftovers that we were eating for a while afterwards. It was a lovely day catching up with friends and family. A huge heartfelt thanks to everyone who sent us well wishes and thought of us!
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