Fantastic Fall Tablescapes

Have I told you about my dream world? In said dream world, I have an enormous kitchen with tons of prep room, a huge island and lots of windows. I don't even care what the rest of the house looks like; it could be a shack, as long as it has a big ole kitchen. 

What will I do in this large kitchen? Well, I would spend each day cooking and creating fabulous meals for the dinner parties I would be hosting every night. I would have stacks and stacks of aprons so I could be fashionable in the kitchen, and would have a walk in closet filled with pretty napkins and table setting accessories.

Until I reach this dream world, I still love to host dinner parties in my perfectly lovely little kitchen. Next week I am hosting my sister in law's birthday dinner and just as important as the menu is having a beautiful table. I have scoured the web and found these wonderful fall tables for inspiration!

I love the rustic, simple looks of these images! The use of cutting boards as serving trays is beautiful.

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This next table is glamorous with the white pumpkins and candles. I also love the metallic elements!

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This table is perfect for the fall with warm colors and tinted glassware. I absolutely adore this simple centerpiece!

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This next table is very simple with an elegant table runner and pretty napkin settings. Having a table runner is a great way to serve family style dishes.

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This next table gives you a way to use all of your leftover apples! And I LOVE the mini apple baskets on each place setting!

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This table uses scrapbook paper as placemats and cinammon sticks as the decor! This would be perfect for Christmas as well!

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Finally, I love the wooden plank table runner on this table. This is such a statement piece for the table, you really don't need any other decor except simple flowers!

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Well, it's off to the real world for me... but my mind is on beautiful tables and huge kitchens! 

Have a great Thursday!

2 years of wedded bliss :)

That's right - today marks 2 years of wedded bliss at the Fo House! And while wedded bliss might be a stretch in any marriage, I am so happy to be married to my best friend - the most hilarious and sweet guy I know. And he's not bad to look at either! I'm a lucky girl :)

Here are a few of my favorite pictures from our big day. All photos were taken by the amazing Christopher Record! I was so happy with our choice of photographer :)

Right after our vows :)

On the golf course at Ballantyne Resort (now HOTEL!) ...

Me getting aggressive during a toast for some apparent reason....

 

 Assisting the band, The Breakfast Club - if you are from NC, you have probably heard of them as they are an awesome 80s cover band.....We wore our sunglasses at night :)

Our amazing and delicious cake made by Cake Lady Jill! I know I am totally biased, but I think it's the prettiest wedding cake I have ever seen :)

 

 Draped ceiling and walls made for a gorgeous ballroom!

Our head table had these gorgeous flower arrangements!

 As I mentioned previously, here are the "sunglasses at night!" Mr. Fo and I with my sister-in-law and bro-in-law!

Thanks for checking out our wedding pictures, hope you enjoyed my walk through memory lane :) 

For another wedding post, check out this post HERE, where I talk about how my wedding dress was stolen before the big day.... yea... I'm serious.

Here's to 2 years and many, many more!

30th Birthday Celebration - Mountainy style!

As I mentioned in last week's post, it was my recently brother-in-law Michael's 30th birthday! Clearly, I am still recovering as I am just now posting about it! We had a fabulous  mountain weekend celebration in Blowing Rock, North Carolina! 

My sister-in-law Drew enlisted my help with the party details... take a look!

Welcome bags for all the guests - complete with personalized stickers from Vista Print, a weekend itinerary and Michael's favorite goodies...

 Michael's favorite things consist of: Moonpies, Gin, Peeps, Beef Jerkey - The Breakfast of Champions!

In addition to the welcome bags, weekend guests drove up the curvy, mountainous driveway to be greeted by this fabulous banner! (Also ordered from Vista Print)

 I took some pictures of the birthday boy and plastered birthday signs around the house...

... and put his face on some garland...

 

... and I used some Michael pictures for a guessing game...Guess how many pictures of Michael are in this glass?!

... I also used his face on some party confetti!...

We played a fabulous game of Michael Heid Trivia...I created this using a simple Word document..

 Would you care for a Michael Heid mint on your pillow? A perk for every weekend guest!

...How about morning beverages on Saturday? Mimosas and Bloody Marys with custom cups and drink stirrers are a great way to wake up! 

In addition to many "Michael-themed" items, I also made a double batch of chocolate chip cookies (Nestle Tollhouse recipe - why compete with the best?)

...and a double batch of pumpkin muffins - I suggest this recipe HERE - it's amazing!

We had to get Michael a cake that really exemplified his true love - that would be Apple computer products!

Hail to the IPhone!

In addition to the personal touches, there were some pretty fantastic views this weekend! 

A mountain view from our front porch...

My adorable niece Brookie... check her out reading People magazine - she takes after her Aunt Jackie!

... and Brookie in her mountain gear - a puffy vest and boots!

... but arguably, the best view is of Mr. Fo's and my birthday gift to Michael - his very own custom bobble head doll! We ordered this one of a kind gift from Custombobble.com.

Do you recognize that bobble from the top left picture in the shots below?! Gin and tonic and all, it's pretty much an exact replica for Michael to have on his desk forever... of himself! Can't be beat!

The weekend was a proper tribute to a fabulous 30 year old! Happy Birthday Michael!

(Now your birthday week is officially over - time to move on to my birthday month!)

FABULOUSNESS QUATRO!!

It's time for another round of Fabulousness around the web! Lucky for you guys I spend my days and nights scouring the Internet for fabulous ideas to share with you! If you are unfamiliar with this feature, basically I feature random, unrelated ideas that I LOVE from the world wide web. Well, they do have one thing in common - they are all FABULOUS, of course! Check out editions 1, 2, 3 and FALL! 

And the fabulousness begins! 

This dish below combines 2 of my favorite things... Gnocchi and Mac and Cheese... This is comfort food at its most decadent - picture your normal mac and cheese... and add fluffly gnocchi pillows as the pasta!! If you couldn't tell already, note that this is not a diet recipe! As someone who is currently watching her girlish figure, I must say just looking at this picture is pure torture...This delectable treat comes from the food blog Noble Pig - do your recipe collection a favor by visiting now!

The paper flowers below are no "wallflower." Check out the step-by-step tutorial from dana-made-it. This is a beyond gorgeous way to add color to your wall, your event or your tablescape! 

If you have been following my blog, you know I am a SUCKER for pictures... I love personalizing events with family photos...so I loved this picture display from a beautiful DIY wedding featured on Ruffled. I thought it was absolutely perfect for displaying family wedding photos! Take a look at the entire wedding feature HERE for beautiful DIY inspiration!

The next feature is perfect for Halloween! Over at the andeverythingsweet blog, orange and black is done in a classy, creative way! These cupcake toppers are incredibly easy and will make a big fancy impact at your Halloween bash! Use this idea for all holidays by switching up the different colors!

This next feature is SO great for people who think they can't do anything crafty... this is super easy and is absolutely adorable! I saw this on Hostess with the Mostess, but the idea comes from Prudent Baby. Click HERE for the DIY instructions to this easy and fabulous party decoration, perfect for a child's birthday!

Are you unfamiliar with polenta? I dare you to try it once! You will become a fan! They have ready made polenta in the produce department, but I like making my own via Giada's super easy recipe. Party Bluprints Blog has a great feature about polenta and it's versatile (and economic) uses for entertaining! Check out these mouthwatering pictures1

Finally, the last fabulous feature is this:

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That gorgeous fabulousness will be my view for the next few days! I am SO looking forward to spending a lovely and long fall weekend in the mountains to celebrate THIS GUY's 30th birthday!

Yes, that's my brother-in-law Michael being absolutely awesome in the photobooth at our wedding. Legendary. 

You know you want to celebrate his birthday too!  

I promise to post pictures of the celebration next week! 

Have a GREAT weekend!