Party – Flipping Tourist

Party without the Panic

May 21, 2019 4 Comments

Our current home renovation is fully underway. But you know I didn’t allow one wall to come down until we partied in the original space. We signed the papers on the house at 10am Friday and put together a random last minute party for that same evening.

**Because time was of the essence, I built this on MINTED. Saved it as an image and then just texted the photo to friends and family that I thought would like to see!**

Party prep pre demolition — **Crafts and Kids. Totally stress free in a home that is set for demolition the next morning.**

Listen people, we don’t do all these home renovations just because we like seeing the beautiful outcome. Buying a home in desperate need of attention gives us another perfect reason to entertain. And we are NO ONE if not simple humans seeking any excuse to throw a shindig.

{See our last home renovation pre-party HERE. And that specific Before and After HERE.}

Some of you may ‘gasp’ at the idea of putting together a soirée last minute in a home that is minutes from being demolished. But let me tell you that this setting is EXACTLY the perfect place to host your friends.

Think about it: *Expectations are low. (unless you are a total monster, everyone has grace on the couple hosting a party in a dilapidated home they purchased only hours prior). Which leads me to the next major bonus: NO CLEAN UP! Can I say it again for those in the back? NO CLEAN UP! Don’t really have to clean before guests arrive either (a few cobweb dustings might be appropriate but don’t get too crazy). You certainly DO NOT have to clean up when they leave. Countertops filled with crumbs and muddy floors are the least of your concern when you know a demolition crew is just hours away from coming in to rip up floors and jackhammer thru some brick walls.

And while all this sounds a bit silly, to us it’s seriously fun! We would not enjoy spending time renovating homes if we couldn’t share the updates and progress with friends and family. It’s more exciting to share the home reveal when you’ve been able to share a true ‘before’ experience with others.

**Wall of Fame. Does is stay or does it go?**

Complete Self Portrait — **Self-portraits only a mother could love.**

We are all so busy this time of year – it’s actually the perfect time to keep your celebrations simple and focused on the fun of being together – unless of course you need some alone time. In that case, may I suggest you be the one that does all the shopping for a party. You leave for a few hours and your family never needs to know how quickly this can be done. #winkwink

I’ll include our shopping list and quick party tips below. For this particular party, it was the perfect weather to have doors open, kids playing outside. And of course we had the luxury of allowing them to color and glue on walls. Not to mention, no parents had to walk around pretending their kids know how to pick up after themselves. Because no one enjoys picking up after themselves so we should really give each other grace on this front as well.

CHARCUTERIE BOARD (this portion feeds approx 20):

(we like to purchase all items from our local Central Market)

1/2 pound Capricola

1/2 pound of Mustard Seed Salami

1/2 pound Sopreseta

4oz goat cheese

4oz Manchego cheese (add a drizzle of honey sweet thang)

4oz Blue Cheese

Vine of Grapes

2 handfuls of Olives

Handful of Corshons

Praline pecans

Dijon and Mustard Seed mixture

Add in Apple/figs/strawberries/etc.

*The key is a good mixture of savory to sweet along with spicy to mild.

Various Crackers (we {HEATH} make our own using a skinny baguette sliced up. Then toast up the slices and top with olive oil/salt/pepper). We {ME} also buy Water crackers and I’m very visual so anything else that pops out at me that day.

Simple party bites — **I love a good ‘come and go’ before dinner party. Lite Bites are so easy to prep!**

Drink set up — **Drink Station. Waters in the shape of an airplane and the plastic cups stacked high. We are David Tutera’s party nightmare!**

Have music playing as guests arrive (we always use our BOSE speaker wherever we go). Let guests know where the drinks are if they are not immediately visible when they walk in. Offer to take any bags and let them know where you will be putting them so they can easily find it when they need to leave. And if kids are involved certainly just put away anything you don’t want juvenile hands touching. Keeps everyone more relaxed!

I wish I would have taken more photos during the party, but isn’t that truly the sign of a good time. So much fun, never thought to find my camera.

As I write this we are hopeful that we are just 6 weeks away from moving into this completely transformed space. In the meantime…feel free to invite me over to your place. I promise to always be a good time. And let’s make a deal that you don’t have to pick up before I arrive!

What is your favorite go-to party food?

Blog, Party, Renovation

Pied-à-Terre Par-tay

October 17, 2018 No Comments

Last week I finally introduced you to our ‘Pied-à-terre’. Our House in the City. She would be a Plastic Surgeon’s dream (Just in house form). She has great bones and is well-kept. She just needed a serious refresh. As I write this, most of her walls have already been torn down and she now gleams with brand new sheetrock and a layout that suits her much better.

And just as a Plastic Surgeon would do, we took tons of before photos. But because our life as home renovators allows us to have a bit more fun with our ‘patients’ than actual surgeons are probably allowed (HIPPA hasn’t reached the construction business yet), we also threw a party to show her off! Before and After photos are so important, but getting to celebrate your work and let your friends and family actually see the process is so fun for us.

Since the ‘pied-à-terre’ (home in the city) has a pool, we knew how we needed to kick off the renovation:

Pool Party!

Seriously though, if you are doing updates or renovations to a home, I want to encourage you to throw a little shindig for friends and family. As I’ve mentioned, ‘before’ photos just don’t do a project justice (although I’m going to flood you with plenty of ‘before’ pics anyway. See a few here). It’s more fun to let people into the space. Here is how we kept it simple and stress-free (because the party shouldn’t stress you out. Home Renovation that gets to take the ‘stress’ glory)!

Impromptu ‘BEFORE’ Pool Party came timeline:

Thursday morning: Having just returned home from Thailand, we rushed to get papers signed on this home and line up our crew. We realized demo wouldn’t start until the following Monday – we literally looked at each other this morning and both had the same idea. “Let’s throw a party on Saturday“. It was 110º daily so we coined it the ‘Dog Days of Demo Preview Party‘. I quickly created an online invitation. I typically use Paperless Post, but this time I tried MINTED’s online invitations.

Minted invitation - too hot to hammer — **Too Hot to Hammer!**

Friday mid-day (more importantly still nearing 110 freaking degrees outside): We decided it was seriously too hot to cook and way to hot to offer a cook-out. Heck, the heat made it barely possible to breathe. With Heath devoting his time to his renovating spreadsheets and my brainstorming the details that truly make for a good party, we decided we didn’t have time to home cook for this little shindig. We would need to ‘cater’ the dinner. We fell back on an old favorite that is always a hit. First, let me give you a quick back story – Prior to meeting Heath, I had been ordering fried chicken from a hamburger joint. He has blessed my life tremendously by introducing me to the best fried chicken on God’s green earth. Even if you aren’t a fan of that type of food, this joint has a recipe that will leave your mouth watering. And preggo mammas…just get ready to give them all your money….

Saturday afternoon: We call CHICKEN EXPRESS. Oh ya baby! Locals know this joint as Chicken E and their corn nuggets are the crown jewel to the combo of fried chicken and mac ‘n cheese. We also stocked up on various frozen desserts. As I type this and salivate, I may never allow Heath to cater with boring Ahi Tuna and those silly charcuterie boards again. (I jest. My mouth is salivating again). Regardless, fried food is always a win. And are you like me? Do you somehow put on a bikini and all of a sudden crave fried, buttery foods? What is up with that?

Saturday 4:30pm: With 30 minutes before the party started we quickly set up. We didn’t have to do the silly pre-party cleaning. Nope. Didn’t need bother dusting a darn thing. No need….who was going to judge? The only thing we did to truly prepare the home was use spray paint to outline as many of the changes as we could. We wanted to give a good visual to anyone really interested in which walls would move, where the coveted kitchen island would go and how large the master bath would be.

When your party is so on brand you can use the decor dump truck to help bring in party supplies.

PARTY TIME: The adults had a great time walking the space and we loved describing the future of this home. The kids were allowed to paint, glue and color ANYWHERE they wanted (Although Tide stain remover for their clothing would have been a nice parting gift. Next time!). We had fully functioning bathrooms so the drinks could flow easily and no one even had to dry off from swimming to relieve themselves. I accidentally put the ice cream in the refrigerator instead of the freezer, but not one single parent stressed about their kids spilling the soupy dessert. It was just good ‘ole laid back summertime fun!

Party Setup — **Fried chicken, sweet rolls in a dump truck, silverware in a Home Depot apron and paint supplies for kids.**

Easy to brand a construction party when your child owns all the toy trucks.

Party Painting — **We can’t be held responsible for kids leaving this party and trying to paint their own walls at home.**

Saturday 9pm: Clean up lasted all of THREE minutes. The Demo crew would be there to enhance the party mess on Monday so no need to even sweep up crumbs. We did throw the remains of the food and plates in the trash (because we aren’t total savages).

party girl — **Ta-Da! Party clean up was a breeze. Grabbed the dump truck and headed on home.**

While this party really had nothing to do with the actual renovation, it was so fun to share our project with others. Our desire was that we would complete the full renovation project in enough time to throw a reveal pool party as well. Unfortunately, the cold rain is now pouring down in Texas so pool season is over and I regret my complaints about the heat (it wasn’t that miserable, was it?). But this home boasts an amazing backyard, so maybe an evening of s’mores and decor is in our near future! We can’t wait to show you the final product!

Before showing where the stairs will go — **Soon enough I’ll show you the reveal photos!**

If you remodel, what are ways you make the process feel special? If you don’t personally like to renovate, what makes seeing others progress so exciting?

Home, Party, Renovation

Pied-á-Terre

October 5, 2018 4 Comments

Split level with a split personality. Bold and confusing. — Upon entry she was bold red. Yet she leaves you wondering if you are to retreat down the narrow added stairway or head upstairs. And the bright color along with an abundance of nick knacks made this stairway decision space feel claustrophobic.

Brown on Brown on Brown. — ***All wood. All day. And brown accents everywhere you glance. This home was well cared for but definitely dated and crying out for a refresh!***

Claustrophobic Kitchen. — On my InstaStories, I referred to that wall of cabinets as the ‘Segregation Wall’. This is the entire Kitchen. All of it. And if you’re cooking you don’t get to be part of ANY of the fun your guests are having because you can’t see beyond the stove and it’s too small for your friends to fit in the space to help you.

Downstairs but not downtrodden — This is going to be such a cool hangout space. It was added on by the original owners, but we are going to make it feel cozier and create a proper bathroom and laundry room. This will become the area that fully completes this family-ready home! OH…and BYE-BYE popcorn ceilings!

There is no perfect remodel home. Some are completely trashed and you need a hazmat suit just to get started. Some have been vacant and infiltrated with pests and ‘pets’ (read: raccoons and their furry friends, squirrels and cats).

But occasionally you find that easy breezy remodel home. The one that has been well-loved, yet it is dated and needs a fresh update (this is also how I typically describe myself!).

These remodels are so fun for us as parents because we can actually take our kids into the home throughout the renovation without third world style vaccines or having the fear of death by impalement or toxicities. (Sure…it’s also nice for us as grown ups too. I have a good sense of smell and I promise you no amount of Febreeze can hide the scent of untrained animals).

Our current project falls into the ‘we could move right in, but we prefer to make it a #1 Stunna’. And we shall call this project the ‘Pied-á-Terre’ (home in the city) because:

1. The term is French. We LOVE anything french: This French toast recipe similar to Norma’s, French braids, French promenades along the southern coast of France and of course French fries. Even our dog is French, people!

Moiselle. Our FRENCH dog — You didn’t think I was going to mention our little Bichon Frise/Shih Tzu without showing her did you? Moiselle will make an appearance anytime I can sneak her in (standby for the story of her missing and being found after nearly 5 months).

As I write this, we are currently living in out the country. 30+ long minutes away from family, friends and the city of Fort Worth we love. We honestly needed a ‘home in the city’.

So while we will sell our Pied-á-Terre before the Autumn leaves are done falling, this project is our little home away from home as long as you don’t mind a home with live wires, exposed nails and subfloor (hint: we don’t mind). But better than even the location, is that it has a pool. We seriously are doing this project at the perfect time. What a waste it would have been to have renovated a home with a pristine pool in December?!

Hidden pool. — ***There is a pool back there…you just can’t see it because the railing is blocking it. Don’t worry…we will enhance your view post renovation!***

Look how HUGE this pool is! Check back in soon and I’ll tell you how to throw a quick and easy Renovation Party! We invited everyone over for a pre-reno swim (Pro-Tip: more people come if it’s for a swim party vs. having to do ACTUAL work).

Don’t get me wrong. Just because this home was technically move-in ready, doesn’t mean that we aren’t completely changing the footprint and going full resurrection mode to bring this charming home up to date. Every room has changed in ways that will enhance this living space for the next owners and we can’t wait to show you!

I am late in sharing this current project with you all, so it will feel almost like an episode of HGTV because the big reveal is just a few weeks away. Do you want to see the progress photos? Or maybe you’d like to see how quickly our budget spreadsheet changed. When the ideas flow….the money flows along with it…..

Have you ever thought about renovating? What scares or excites you the most about it?