The best laid plans of mice and men...

I had every intention of putting more work in on some beautiful but affordable throw pillow options, but, that, I'm afraid to say, didn't happen.  I had a super busy (but great!) week with extended visits from my mom and one of my best friends, along with appointments, auditions and day trips.  And, as everyone made their exit, I had a very short time to put together something special for my husband's birthday on Tuesday.  So...yeah.  Not so much on the pillow-talk, errr, work.   

BUT, I did put together a pretty cute birthday celebration for my handsome honey, and I thought I'd share that this week!

My husband is definitely not a birthdays-are-a-big-deal kind of person (like me!).  To him, it's just another day.  But for me, birthdays are about celebrating the person you love - a chance to say "You're awesome, and I'm glad you're in this world!!" 

I also love the opportunity to tailor a celebration to someone's personality.  As Scott is not a party-hat kind of guy, I decided to make a special dinner, with his favorite foods and a beautiful but masculine tablescape (You know how guys really love a good "tablescape"...) :-) 

As inspiration is wont to do, it randomly made its appearance in the form of an empty cigar box in the office.  I don't smoke, but there's something wonderfully classic about cigar boxes and I love the vintage look.  They remind me of low ball glasses, leaded glass decanters full of amber whiskey, big band music on a record player and all things World War 2.  This works well, because they're all things that also remind me of my husband.  

Spinning off these ideas, I decided to make the cigar box my centerpiece and filled the black, red and gold graphic container with large blooms in vibrant yellows, purples and reds.  I kept the arrangement itself fairly low to showcase the lid and relied on piles of vintage books and an old woven tray to add height to the table.

I spread the table with a red, textured tablecloth and then toned it down by layering some fabulous antique-style newsprint (actually a square of wrapping paper, from Home Goods!) over top. 

I added coffee tins from our hometown coffee roaster (they seriously sell The Best Coffee Ever), a bottle of high quality whiskey, a pair of amber hurricanes and an adorable wooden bi-plane from my husband's childhood (how stinkin' cute is that?!)


To brighten up the look, I used our gold rimmed bone china plates and then added angular glassware, and my favorite cobalt wine glasses (I love the way the blue pops against the red).  I know some people don't, but I really like the look of mixed metals, so I chose silver utensils instead of gold.  I topped it all off with graphic blue napkins and folded them into the shape of a tie (a nod to his very appreciated kickass work skills).  How absolutely adorable totally manly (and not at all cute or pretty) are they?!



I love the way it came together and it gave me just enough time to whip up dinner: prosciutto wrapped melon, filet mignon with a bleu cheese butter, vegetable melange and twice baked potatoes. 

I cheated on dessert by buying a variety frozen petit fours from Trader Joes (Chocolate and Coffee Opera Cake, Raspberry Macaron Aux Framboises Cake and Caramel and Chocolate Cake - seriously delicious!) and prepping some decaf coffee to go with it. 

And just before he got home, I threw on some Frank Sinatra and mixed us each a Moscow Mule (alas, sans copper mugs) - one of his favorite cocktails, and also appropriately from the 1940s.  Give me a hammer and call me Bob Vila, 'cause I totally nailed it. 


Though he's not exactly the most vocal guy, he really seemed to appreciate the ambiance and we had a pretty lovely evening in.  Success!

Next week I'll be back with some more pillow projects and maybe even a few other tasks I'm hoping to work on.  You know, with my extra time.  (Ha Ha! I'm hilarious.) 

Have a fantastic week!