bday details: table top

PROGRESS REPORT

completed
–weeks 1 to 2: fibreglass cast + crutches | non weight bearing
–weeks 3 to 5: air cast + ~~crutches~~ knee scooter | non weight bearing
-week 6: farewell scooter | weight bearing
-week 7: boot walking

currently
-week 8: The scooter has been picked up and is officially out of my life. I’m about to start walking in public sans boot [likely will still wear it on public transit as commuters cannot be trusted] + possibly with crutches

It’s a week later and I’m still flying high from my 30th birthday seafood feast. My “turning 30 nerves” were channeled into hostess anxiety. However, by the dinner conversations made up of verbal silence, crab shells cracking, and clarified butter slurping, I’ve concluded that my event was a success.

With this being my first attempt at a “formal” dinner table setting, naturally, I turned to Google for guidance. Though my birthday dinner was far from traditional, the traditional settings I found were the perfect guides in helping me arrange and bring together all the elements I wanted to include on my table top.

With a $200 budget, a couple DIYs, and some stitch work, I pieced together a table scape suitable for a seafood soirée for 7.

DINNERWARE + GLASSWARE

champagne flutes + water glasses | already had on hand
wine glass –these glasses reminded me of sipping wine at the ‘restaurant around the corner’ in Paris | FÖRSIKTIGT wine glasses fr. IKEA, $3.99/6pk
blue rimmed ramekin –for clarified butter! | already had on hand
dinner plates | ARV Plate fr. IKEA, $4.50 each

TEXTILES

botanical print table cloth | SISSELA fabric fr. IKEA, $5.99/m
linnen table runner | AINA fabric fr IKEA, $8.99/m
cloth napkin | TEKLA tea-towel fr. IKEA, $0.99
napkin ring –DIY below | Paracord fr. Candadian Tire, $8.99

To keep costs in check, I decided to go with a nod to nautical for the napkin rings.

For this DIY you will need the following to complete 1 ring:

paracord
lit candle
piece of cardboard approx 2.25″ wide

cut a piece of paracord approx 40″ long
with the candle flame, melt each end of the cord to prevent from fraying
then [this may take some practice] follow these instructions to create this Turk’s Head knot pattern

FLATWARE + EATING ACCESSORIES

white paper napkin | Walmart
plastic lobster bib | Dollar Store & More, $2/8pck
cracker + 2 pics | package containing all 3 pieces fr. Dollar Store & More, $2
long seafood fork | Dollar Store & More, $2/4pck
shell tin | tin from IKEA, $0.99 each + can of 18K antique gold spray paint fr. Canadian Tire, $6.99
- tape off top half of tin with duct or painter’s tape + spray the bottom half with gold paint

FLORALS

Drawing inspiration from my party invite paper, I knew I wanted full bloomed feminine arrangement grounded in black. With less than an hour until closing, Shereen walked while I hobbled behind her to the nearest flower shop. We were a twenty minute tornado swirling around the 200 sq ft space picking up stem after stem, arranging and contemplating until we decided we had a sufficient haul.