There are a few things I hope you’ve picked up after reading this blog for any amount of time: namely, the joy of fiscal responsibility, a deep appreciation for goals of every stripe, and a conviction that donuts are delicious. Also, this:

Kelly Cummings

YES! We are the kind of people who use our wedding china on a daily basis. The people who crack open the letterpress stationery for a quick note. And yes, we are the people who throw adventure dinner parties.

I’ve been reading the blog Oh Happy Day for years, and Jordan is the one who initially introduced me to the idea of an adventure dinner party. As far as I can define it, it’s a meal shared with friends and the trappings of an indoor occasion — table, chairs — on public property. So, a fancy picnic. I was immediately taken with the idea, as I have a deep love for creating memorable experiences for the people I love. I put it on my 101 list almost three years ago, finally checked it off (hooray!!), and would now like to share a few tips I picked up along the way.

1. Choose your location wisely. It must be said: don’t dinner party on someone’s private property unless you have their permission. Duh. Also, don’t break any laws, and I’d suggest not choosing a location that expressly forbids picnicking. In fact, I’d look for a place that DOES encourage it — because really, an adventure dinner party is just an elaborate picnic, so if picnicking is allowed, you should be in the clear. Try also to find a location that has parking close by, since you’ll be hauling a fair amount of stuff from your car. Also, a bathroom, especially if two of your friends are pregnant.

Once you’ve found your location, make a scouting trip before the big day — even if it’s a location you’re familiar with, you’ll see it with new eyes. We chose the NC Museum of Art’s Art Park as our location (we took our engagement photos there). Here I am on our initial scouting trip in our chosen spot:

There was even a path mown to it!

2. Plan a moveable menu. The more food that can be transported and stored at room temperature, the better. Bonus points for anything that packs down tightly and requires few or no utensils. We chose chips and salsa as an “appetizer” (just served them out of the bag and jar, respectively), and Cobb salad as the main course. We brought the pre-washed spinach and arugula in the boxes it came in, and all of the other ingredients — hard boiled eggs, turkey, bacon, tomatoes, avocado, blue cheese, vinaigrette — in mason jars. Guests could assemble as they pleased. We also packed watermelon mint lemonade in Weck jars and fruit skewers in a 9×13 pan with a lid.

3. Make your packing list and check it twice. You’re going to be (kind of) out in the middle of nowhere, so there’s no running back to the kitchen when you realize you forgot plates. Walk through the entire event in advance and make sure you have — and pack — everything you need. Think about clean-up, too. Among other things, we brought mason jars for guests to drink out of (with lids, so that we could just screw the lids on at the end of the meal and not worry about rinsing them or drips), wooden forks, plastic plates (I figured they’d be less likely to blow away than paper), and bug spray. We packed everything in our cooler and my oversize Bean bag.

4. Get the right equipment. Because we could see ourselves doing this again, we bought a tote-able 6-foot table and two folding chairs from Home Depot to supplement the six folding chairs we already owned. Renting would also be an option. So would buying from Craigslist if you leave yourself enough time. We already had a surplus of mason jars, but they’re pretty cheap at Walmart.

5. Invite the right guests. You want people who will relish the experience, and be excited about something different… not think the obscure location and mysterious lead up are a hassle. Guys, I can’t tell you how grateful I am to have friends and a husband who appreciate things like adventure dinner parties!!

6. Have fun with it. You’re creating an experience for your guests, so layer on the fun touches! Keep the location a mystery until the last minute, or text clues in the days leading up to the party. (I’d recommend giving them an estimate of how long it will take to drive to the location, though!) Bring a tablecloth. Send invitations in the mail. Order up a giant balloon to mark your spot. On that note, make sure you have a car large enough to transport said balloon — I have an SUV, and had to fold my seats down to fit it in! It wouldn’t even fit through the doors of our house!! We bought our 36″ balloon from Party City, and it was $6.29 to inflate it with helium.

I modified Amy Moss’s invitation template and had them printed at FedEx Kinkos — so cute!

Post-dinner we loaded everything back into my car, then walked over to the Museum’s outdoor showing of Moonrise Kingdom. We packed dessert boxes for everyone in turquoise berry baskets with cinnamon sugar kettle corn, chocolate chip cookies, brownie bites, and gummy bears :) One other note on food preparation — if there was any dinner party to take food shortcuts on, this is it. All of these goodies were purchased from Whole Foods!

7. Roll with it. The weather. Oh me oh my the weather. There were a plethora of angsty text messages flying between my and John’s phones the day before and the day of our dinner party. Suffice it to say, we didn’t definitively call holding the party outside until about an hour before the arrival time, BUT the weather turned out to be beautiful! We had sun!!

Also, make sure you’re okay with attracting some attention. There were bike riders and walkers moving past our location, and at first I was a little self-conscious, but as soon as everyone arrived they faded into the background. Remember, they’re not judging you, they’re either curious or want to BE you! :)

Finally, be flexible. When we arrived at the park, we discovered that the entire field had been mowed, meaning our private circle was no more. We made a quick decision to relocate under the tree, and it worked out wonderfully.

8. Clean up. Leave your dining room for the night better than you found it. Duh.

Friends, what do you think? Would you host an adventure dinner party? Have you ever purchased a giant balloon? :)

Goodness gracious, it’s been more than two weeks since my last post. I don’t like to comment on that sort of thing, because I try not to set up expectations for myself about how often I post, BUT, since I have been gone so long, I thought I’d do a quick update on what we’ve been up to.

The day after I wrote my August goals post we flew to New England for ten days. We spent the first evening with two dear friends from college in Somerville, and the next morning we took a long walk around their neighborhood. We even saw my parents’ first apartment — in an old schoolhouse!

That evening we joined many more friends from college at the wedding of another alumna. I was horribly, horribly homesick my first year of school, and Laura is the first person who made me feel at home at Wheaton. I am forever grateful to her and was so happy we could be there to celebrate with her and her new husband!

An early teaser from their photographer, Tyra Bleek:

As you can see, they had beautiful weather, and that turned out to be a theme of our trip, thankfully! We spent the next week in Maine, and enjoyed some of the most perfect conditions imaginable. Lots of tennis, walks, good food, games, and one very special visit from our friends Meredith and Michael. A highlight of our trip for sure! You can see their recap here.

A few more of our snaps from the week:

Yes, that’s a gigantic double rainbow!

Since coming home we’ve hosted our small group for dinner, went out for a big dinner with my team at work, and tonight is our adventure dinner party! (Fingers crossed — the weather is still looking a little iffy.) So many good things and so much excitement — but I will say we’ll be happy to lay low the rest of the weekend :)

Back with more soon!

Welcome to a brand new month, friends! August is here, and it is going to be marvelous!

Blueberry picking at Buckwheat Farm!

July was full and wonderful, capped off by our week long trip to Northern Michigan. Last month we also managed to organize the loft, which serves as a crafting and storage space for my shop. It had been a hot mess since moving day, but no more! Pictures to come soon! We also hung several pieces of art downstairs and have plans for several more. My bike is in the shop for its tune-up as we speak, and last night (squeaking in under the wire!) I submitted my life insurance application. We decided to postpone a rain barrel for the moment — for some reason I was under the impression that we could get one from our town for $10, but it’s actually $85 :(

August is shaping up to be quite busy — it’s traditionally one of the most hectic at work for me, and we’ll also be in New England for ten days. Therefore, my main goal this month is to spend the free time I DO have wisely, and then enjoy each minute to the full! Especially looking forward to lots of family time, boat rides, long walks, and lungfuls of the pine salt air that sings “Maine” to me. A few additional goals:

— Read To Kill a Mockingbird for no. 13 (my favorite book of all time — worth reading over and over!)
— Start the retirement series for Marvelous Money (whoo!)
— Host an adventure dinner party for no. 41 (WHOO!!)
— Help lead a service at the Island for no. 50
— Refinish our dining room table
— Hang our gallery wall!
— Hang our master bedroom curtains

You can see all of my 101 in 1001 goals here and my 2013 daily goals here. If you’d like to share your goals for August, I’d love for you to either list them in the comments or leave a link, and I promise I’ll check them out!

One of my July goals is to hang art downstairs in our new house, and we’ve been making some progress: we hung the chart and the Abe Lincoln print, both of which you can see in our apartment tour. We’re held up on a number of other pieces because we want to paint the walls they’ll hang on first.

The art that I think will make the biggest impact in our combined living/dining room and kitchen is the gallery we’re planning to hang on the back wall. I’ve been collecting pieces and trying to analyze inspiration photos I like so we can possibly implement this weekend. A few favorites:

via The Everygirl

Black, white, and wood frames (almost all with mats) mixed with canvases and “objets d’art.” Asymmetric arrangement. Colored wall.

via Young House Love

White and cream frames, all different and thicker, some with mats and some without. Stand-alone objects and photos mixed in. Tight arrangement. Light gray wall.

via Lonny

Gold and black frames, all with mats. Neutral and black and white artwork. White wall.

via Darling Dexter

Mostly white and cream frames. No mats. Colorful artwork. Canvases and objects (mostly circular) mixed in. Taupe wall.

via Les Confettis

Birch frames with pops of color. Colorful artwork in a tight palette. Thinner mats. All framed pieces. Blue wall.

When I collect inspiration photos on Pinterest I’m usually not pausing long enough to figure out why something appeals to me, just that it does. But when I’m actually trying to draw from that inspiration, I find it helpful to go back and really pick out the individual elements to get clues as to how I might be able to create something similar. That’s what I was trying to do here!

Have you ever hung a gallery wall? Did you lay everything out on the ground first? Use the wax paper trick? Just wing it? I’m considering winging it, but any tips are welcomed :)