Pretty Vintage

Back in September we threw a fantastic Vintage party for Bean's 30th.  We went for 1940's themed party with bunting, tasty finger food from M&S, a Gin Bike and a dance session.

We hired the local village hall and brought in a fantastic dance teacher/DJ for the evening, Salsa Dance Parties, who lead us in a brilliant charleston, jive and lindyhop dance session before cranking up the tunes for some cheesy party dancing.

The absolutely stunning photobooth from The Vintage Photobooth Company was probably the highlight of the evening.  We hired in the 1920's Vintage booth which was so beautiful and the double prints meant that Bean got to keep a memento from the event.

We decided to dress up a vintage bike that we have and make it into the Gin Bar for the evening, with pretty paper cups, stripy straws and a collection of Gin accompaniments.

We all dressed up in Vintage 'get up' with G and me donning our best and really getting into the theme.

When planning a theme for a party it's often the little things that can make the difference.  

• Think about the venue and how it matches your theme - village and church halls work well for vintage, whereas a room in a manor house would work well for a masquerade ball or a cocktail party.
• Ask guests to dress up as this will automatically bring the theme to life.  Providing a few props for guests to use is a nice way to help guests out if they struggled with an outfit.
• Continue your theme through to your food and think about the type of food that you have been eaten in that era, country etc.
• Think carefully about your music - an ipod playlist with well selected tunes will set the theme just as well as a DJ.
• Make your own decorations - thinks like paper bunting, paper pompoms and balloons are a really cheap way to dress the room.

Lounging On The Farm

{1st August}

On Friday last week I finally made it to Lounge On The Farm for the first time.  LOTF is a local festival in Canterbury that was set up on a farm about 5 miles down the road from my parents house to showcase local bands, local food sellers, local comedians etc.  I have been thinking for years how I would like to go, but the dates never seemed to work out.

I went this year with Bean and we had such a brilliant day.  I bought my day ticket last minute on the Monday and it was £51 online, and was then waiting for me to collect at the gate.  The weekend ticket includes 3 days and camping and is only about £100 if you buy it early enough.  Definitely something I will be doing for next year.

Favourite things about LOTF were: Coco and the Butterfields - definitely check them out, The burrito stand for lunch - yummy, Free bright orange sunglasses with a pint of Oranjeboom, and spending the day sitting out on the grass chilling and chatting with bean.

I love the fact that when people are at festivals they wear the most bizarre outfits, but it's all part of the fun of it.  As it was such a hot day I brave shorts and wore my denim shorts WITH NO LEGGINGS!  I don't ever do this but in the morning I had a 'who cares what other people think' moment and donned my shorts and rocked up at LOTF with my legs out!

TOP TIP: prepare yourself for the day when heading out to a festival.

• take a bag that isn't too big so that it doesn't weigh you down - however this means you need to be economical about what you take.
• wear comfy shoes - think about the weather, if you do wear sandals be prepared for them to get ruined if it rains
• prepare for sun - take a small SPF lotion and a hat
• prepare for rain - take a wheelie bin liner that you can make into a poncho. You can then use this to sit on or put rubbish in at the end of the day
• take a scarf or pashmina - you can tie this to the strap of your bag so it doesn't take up any room. It will provide warmth for when it gets cold later or you can use it to sit on instead of a rug.
• Take a phone/camera.
• Take cash as machines will charge a bomb and a lot of stalls won't take cards.