Keeping a Secret from your Spouse

I kept a secret from my husband for a long time.

It was not easy.

It was not fun. 

It was stressful.

I had to pay for things in cash. I had to sneak around on my lunch hour. I had to keep my cell phone in my purse (instead of leaving it on the counter like normal) so he would not accidentally read a text message.

I had to come up with several elaborate stories.  One was trying to explain why my trunk looked like this:

I lost sleep because I would wake up in the middle of the night making to do lists in my head. I had to pretend we had plans that we didn't. I had to make up ridiculous reasons why we couldn't go here or there, or make buy tickets to a concert on Saturday night.

The hardest part was staying calm the week of and relaxing while around him, while I was really stressing about my secret plan.

But it all worked out...

Surprise!

A little blurry, but still fitting.

I surprised my husband with a 30th birthday party.

And cupcakes, and a beer cake. (Beer cake idea was actually crafted by my parents)

And of course, booze. Keg of beer not pictured :)

And most of his family. Even my parents drove 3 hours for his party. 

Adam and his father-in-law.

I think he liked his cake.

Oh, and we had a Nacho Bar. Build your own Chicken Nachos.

All the fixin's.

 I was relieved, he was was super surprised.

Shout out to my friend Lora for her help with setup! I was a crazy chick that afternoon and she kept me sane.

We had a wonderful time. Adam was so surprised he was speechless, which is rare. I'm so thankful for our fabulous family and friends for spending the evening with us celebrating Adam's 30th birthday.

Cheers to 30 years!

Oh hey P.S. Did you know we are having a giveaway?

Enter to win your very own Teak Bench right here!

A Ski Lodge Party

This New Year's Eve we participated in a progressive dinner party.  What is a progressive dinner party you ask? It's a house hop. Everyone starts at one home, and hop to different homes throughout the evening. Each host serves a signature drink, and appetizer to the house hoppers.

It's best to do it with your neighbors or friends that live close. Cuts down on drive time, and if you can walk to each others homes...you don't have to worry about choosing a DD! But if you will be driving from house to house, don't forget to decide on a DD before the night begins!

This year we decided each house could do their own theme of their own choice.

We chose Ski Lodge. We figured our house already has the lodge feel, so we already had the setting. Since we would only be hosts for a short time in the evening (about an hour), we didn't want to go nuts with party planning. But still wanted to do a few fun things..

One Saturday afternoon we pulled out the barn wood. Adam hammered some nails into it for about 10 minutes in the garage and came up with this:

Yep, that will work.

 We busted out some stencils, and printed some "mountain animals" from the internets to trace.

 This was Adam's first time stenciling. He said it was boring...

 Rawwr...

 And here she is. Ready for the front yard.

Welcome to the ski lodge!

Adam strung up some lights last minute to give it a little more pizzaz.

I added some new year's art to the chalkboard easel to greet guests in our entry way.

Vintage ski poles courtesy of my dad for some added lodge decor.

 My dad also gave us some of his old cross country skis. Adam tied them up on the catwalk.

 For the table I spray painted some pinecones with gold spray paint. And used some fabric as a table runner.

I served my favorite hot warm dip. Bagna Cauda. It's italian. And it clogs your arteries. And it's soso good.

 We had a bar set up with hot cocoa, wine, and scotch.

Your Ski Lodge hosts thank you for coming!

Other stops on the evening's progressive dinner included:
Hawaii (if you didn't notice by Adam's lei)
Mardi Gras!
German Christmas Market
A Wild West Saloon
and ended the night in New York Times Square!


I wish I would've taken photos at each hop, but the night happened so fast!
Here are a few more:

Adam's Aunt Katie painted this backdrop in one afternoon!

Beautiful German Christmas Market Setup.

Ladies in New York for the ball drop.

I am Tyra Smizing here..

At Mardi Gras...notice the cowboy in the background...

Have you ever been to/hosted a progressive dinner party?
What theme would you choose?