Backyard Party Ideas: Anthropologie-Inspired Summer Dinner

What’s better than coming up with cute backyard party ideas? Creating them with two talented women who share the same passion for entertaining as you do!

About a year ago, I connected with two other entertaining bloggers, Home with Holliday and Home with Holly J, through social media and had our first conversation via phone shortly thereafter. We became fast friends and realized we had so much more in common that just our love for hosting. Our dream of meeting in person became a reality in May, when they traveled to Phoenix, from Denver and Utah, to participate in our own blogger retreat.

party flowers — Creating floral arrangements for our joint summer table!

We combined our talent to create this fun backyard party. What we were able to learn from each other was absolutely amazing – from ideas on content creation to photography tips to social media pearls, it was really invaluable. We laughed through dinners, met other bloggers at a luncheon we hosted, shopped our way through Old Town Scottsdale, and marveled at table top items like only entertaining enthusiasts like us could.

I invited both Hollys to my home in North Central Phoenix for dinner one night with my family. We all decided that it would be a blast to harness our hosting enthusiasm and design a table that was a culmination of all our styles.

The Linens

When we all first went into Anthropologie home decor section for inspiration, nothing really sparked our interest. Until we went into the bedding section – that’s where we found this throw blanket that was literally the foundation for our table!

Table throw — Three hands are better than one!

napkin rings — Our hardest decision all night was what napkin ring to use – not a bad thing to worry about!

Shop the linens here:

Place Setting

Once again, everything for the place setting was from Anthropologie. Their selection of tabletop decor was right on the spot for our theme!!

rattan chargers — Rattan placemats with a whimsical looped edge gave a natural element to our backyard table

rattan charger — Oh, here you go friend!

These aqua plates with an inlaid pattern instantly jumped out as us and we knew they’d pick up the blue threads in the table throw harmoniously

napkin folding — It’s a shock we got anything done, we were talking non-stop!

outside dining — Next step was to select and set the flatware . . .

We chose gold flatware for this table setting

dining al fresco — Time for a quick Instastory chat!

Shop the place setting here:

Flower Time

Of course, we couldn’t forget about the florals! We re-purposed some of the arrangements that my friend Jennifer from Petals designed for a blogger luncheon we hosted earlier in the day. I had picked up the others from Trader Joe’s the day before, hoping they would match our table, and they did!

pink peach flowers — These were made for a luncheon we hosted earlier in the day – and just happened to fit in with our color scheme like a tee!

white hydrangeas — White hydrangeas may just be the perfect tabletop flower – they fill up a lot of space in a vase and are low enough to see over at a dining table!

pink blue vases — Petite vases made from iridescent soda lime glass in pink and blue were standouts for the table!

flower arranging — The three of us crowded into my laundry room to put the flower centerpieces together – so much fun!

floral arranging — Arranging flowers is so much better with friends!

flower arrangement — Putting the finishing touches on our beautiful table!

Shop the vases here:

Finishing Touches

flower centerpieces — Figuring out where to put all of the floral arrangments

pink centerpiece — The pop of color from the pink and peach florals is such a great contrast

Putting together a table with my blogging buddies was so much fun

What I Wore

I always get asked about the best clothes to wear while entertaining, and my answer is always the same – whatever makes you comfortable. If you’re not comfortable and confident with what you’re wearing, you can’t be at your best self, which is so important when entertaining. That’s why I look for pieces that allow me to move and walk easily, are flattering and compliment my tables, rather than clash with them.

Shop my outfit here:

Backyard Party Ideas Accomplished!

summer tablescape — Another tablescape in the books!

Valentino heels — Finally! Putting our feet up after an amazing dinner

Spending some time with these two very creative and lovely people gave me a new found energy and inspiration to have more retreats in the future. I loved hosting them in my backyard and designing this table – the weather cooperated perfectly and showcased our beautiful climate here in Arizona. Here are their sites for more inspiration on entertaining, complete with delicious recipes, stunning table decor ideas and creative party themes: