Now...we may seem crazy. The house is currently half covered in plastic sheeting (I mean the inside) to protect everything from the dust of our renovations. And we are NOWHERE close to being finished. I mean...it will be years. But, we're going to keep it low key and fun. At least, I'm trying to despite the ugly perfectionist in me that's fighting to come out and take over.
So, first came the invitations:
Lately, I've been loving the mail. We had our 3 year anniversary last week and I got a bunch of cards (and all my magazines arrived too) and it reminded me how much I love the U.S. Postal Service. Receiving a letter feels like Christmas. I just love them. So...I decided to send real invitations using the actual postal service for our party. I couldn't afford anything fancy, but I wanted to get creative.
Several weeks ago, I stumbled on this cute antique shop in Hallowell (4 miles from my house) which had an amazing selection of old postcards. I bought up the whole stack of Maine themed postcards (20 for $1 to $2 a piece = total of $30.00) and sent them as invitations. I could have gotten much more creative with the envelope, but my insane job limits my time/creativity way more than I'd prefer. I tried to match the card to each recipient's interests or personality. Here is a sampling of the invitiations:
Upper left: "Greetings from Maine" Upper right: "Deer in Maine" Lower left: "A River Road in Maine" Lower right: "A Maine Potato Farm"
"Nut cracker in Maine"
"Surf Scene on Maine Coast"
"The Gardiner-Randolph Bridge" (I wish it still looked like this!)
"Lunch time in Maine" (sent to two of my favorite Maine parents)
(I forgot to add the time of our party to this invitation...luckily...I only did that once!)So now that the invites are out, the RSVPs are rolling in. I think we'll have about 30 people. The next thing I need to worry about is food. Anyone have good hors d'ouevres ideas/recipes? Please comment and help me out!
Oh man I want to come! Will you put up pics of the house ready for the party?
ReplyDeleteshocked abbey's comment wasn't "date wrapped in prosciutto" or pear wrapped in prosciutto"!! i want to come too. will it be halloween themed??
ReplyDeleteYou both are always welcome, but NYC and Milwaukee are quite a ways from little Maine.
ReplyDeleteNo Halloween theme...I think I'm going to go for more of a Harvest theme. But we will have a 1/4 keg of some fabulous microbrew. :)
I considered posting about the pear/basil/prosciutto/cheese appetizer. There are better appetizers that go with beer!
ReplyDeleteI love the vintage postcards! What a great idea!!! I often make stuffed mushrooms -- for about 2 doz mushrooms, use baby bellas or plain old white, pop out the stems and sautee the stems in olive oil and minced garlic (1-2 cloves), then put them in the cuisinart and chop; add a generous handful or two of fresh parsley, 1 cup of bread crumbs and about 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese. Pulse to combine, and add more olive oil if needed to hold it together. Place mushrooms in baking dish, or on a parchment lined baking tray. Preheat oven to 350. Fill caps with stuffing, drizzle all with olive oil and bake until mushroom caps are browned, 15-20 min. serve warm!
ReplyDeleteSo sorry to miss the fun! But the invitations were truly fabulous, and the house is looking great judging by the pictures on the blog. Aaron and I are painting our dining room this week (have only done the primer so far)... with OIL based paints (agh - the insanity) and I am appreciating your tips! xoxo, Allison
ReplyDeleteah, i thought i had subscribed to this, but i missed this post. the invitations were an perfect start to what was an awesome party. seeing the postcard in my mailbox slipped in between bills made me smile. the house looks amazing. i am soglad you and jon are documenting this process.
ReplyDeleteeverything about that party really, really did rock.you and jon are amazing hosts. (I thought I posted earlier...but I am repeating as I don't see it here. )
ReplyDeleteI did come wondering if I missed a post. I came to see if I missed any new posts. :)