^^How cute is George in his “dressy” clothes and high top Vans??!!

^^Even Sarge got “dressed up” in his black bandana!

^^My dress is an old find from Banana Republic but Forever21 has a super similar option!

Little known fact about me: I love planning events and even worked as a Catering Manager once upon a time.  I will happily jump on any opportunity to host a gathering at our house and love looking for fun decorations, creating menus, and bringing friends together, which is why back in January as we stomped divots at Polo I threw out hosting an Oscars Party.

About a week before the party I spent an hour browsing the aisles of Target looking for the perfect accents of gold for my vision.  I found the cutest gold paper straws (although I had yet to decide on cocktails), gold “Cheers” napkins, and a gold tassel/pom pom banner.  I knew that our local Dollar Tree (don’t judge, it’s awesome) had plenty of plates, balloons, and cups in black to bring my vision to life.

Chris and I thought it would be fun to create a combo photo booth/step and repeat for our guests as they entered the party.  We grabbed a few disposable table cloths from Dollar Tree in black and draped them from the roof on the side of our house.  I also picked up 6 white star balloons for either side and draped the gold tassel banner in between.  It was so cute and guests loved the photo spot…even Sarge got in on the action!

For our menu we kept it simple with a mushroom risotto (recipe coming soon) and a tri-tip plus a rum cake that Chris LOVES (I should probably share that recipe as well).  We asked each guest to bring either a side dish, appetizer, or dessert to round out the meal which was perfect!  We had canapes, spinach dip, a cheese board, fresh shrimp, fried rice, smashed potatoes, and salad.  Since we added our long farm style table to the patio we love entertaining out there and knew that it was the ideal spot for the party.  We moved the TV out of our bedroom to the patio so we wouldn’t miss a minute of the Oscar fun.

Overall the party was a success and actually pretty inexpensive thanks to Dollar Tree and Target’s Dollar Spot!

XO, Niki