I planned a girls night with some of my friends so they could see our new place before the renovations and also just to be able to catch up and hang out! After the date was set to get together our friend got engaged so we made it into a little surprise engagement celebration!
I made my favorite Mexican chili in the Insta pot and doubled the recipe so there would be plenty for everyone. I made it for my family a few weeks ago and it was a hit so I knew I had to make it again! It is so easy, just throw everything in the pot and let it cook for 8 minutes! I had yogurt, avocado, and hot sauce for on top. Everyone brought something different – an appetizer, salsa, guac, chips, a side salad, and dessert! It is a great way to have a fun night together!
We all chipped in and put together a little basket for her which was so fun! I do not have a picture of it completed but we got a basket, shredded filler, a bridal magazine, a hanger that says “Bride”, a bottle of champagne, a little pouch that says “bride” with a gift card to their favorite restaurant in it, a wine glass that says “do not disturb I am planning a wedding” and a ring dish. It is a great way for everyone to give a gift together without spending a ton of money and she loved it! Highly recommend it if you have a friend that just got engaged and a group of people wants to do something together.
I could not help myself so I decorated the house a little bit, it is my favorite thing to do! I did not go overboard and just had two little areas that I focused on along with 3 different hydrangea flower arrangements because that is the soon to be brides favorite flower!
First area: in the kitchen, I had a table set up with all of the utensils, cups, plates, bowls, and “love” napkins! I made it festive with a framed picture of the day they got engaged, heart confetti and engagement ring confetti, a cursive love balloon and some paper flowers! Because I love decorating for parties I had a lot of this stuff from our NYE party so I suggest buying in bulk and keeping a bin of party supplies. I like to keep most of the stuff neutral so everything can be used over and over and then the themed pieces can be a pop of color to customize it a little bit! I will be using lots of it to decorate my bar cart for Valentine’s Day too!
Second area: I love to decorate my bar cart (it is 25% off right now!) for holidays and fun events when I am having people over, it is a great focal area to play with and customize. I knew I wanted a banner that said “engaged AF” but I didn’t have time to get it shipped to me so I made it, I just bought a banner and glitter letters! You could write out anything you want and really customize it for what you are celebrating! I will keep it and use the other side for another event! CLICK HERE to buy a similar one if making it is not your thing! I got gold and white balloons from party city along with the circular balloon tails to add a fun touch! I also picked up wooden letters of their initials to add a personalized touch to it. I used the same, heart and engagement ring confetti and napkins as on the other display and found a string of white paper garland that I draped on the bar cart! I utilized a few things I always have on my bar cart: geode board, my polaroid camera, hobnob vase, gold pineapple shot glasses, gold scalloped lid jar with ring pops in it, a circular mirrored tray, and gold ice bucket. I added enough wine glasses for everyone and I put a bunch of wine on the tray!
We had such a fun night and the bride to be was over the moon! It is so fun to be able to celebrate friends during exciting milestones in their lives! Getting together with my girlfriends is always so fun because we get to catch up on each other’s lives, there is always so much going on with all of us so we just chat all night long!
Let me know what you think!