I LOVE Monday holidays. They're such a great way to start out the week. Since I've been working partly full-time it was so great for a little R&R. I'm soin love with wedding blogs and party planning blogs I've been DYING to have a few festivities of my own. Monday provided the perfect opportunity to par-tay. Our decorations were simple and cheap. Cheap as in practically zero dollars. Here's how I decorated:

• I refinished the green table (more on that later)
• drilled some holes in the fence
• draped some old curtains over the fence
• hung some old cabinets
• put up the bunting (in reverse) from Penelope's birthday
• draped a yellow table cloth over my craft desk

All these things I had just lying around. I think what made it all unique was that I brought the inside, out. I think it worked really well. Dinner was really simple, too. We don't have a grill (yet), so we did buffet-style burritos. I took care of the black beans (recipe courtesy of Cafe Johnsonia--Thank you!!), meat, drinks and dessert while everyone else chipped in with the rest. I cooked the black beans overnight and the chicken cooked all day in the crockpot. Basically, my work was all done for me. I also made Fraiche frozen yogurt with fresh peaches and Blackberry Lemon water (recipe to come). All of the fresh food was delicious and very easy to make. In addition to dying to throw a party, I'd been wanting to use my new stainless steel vintage lunch trays. They were perfect for eating outside and on the ground. Did I mention each tray weighs as much as a toddler? They're only for serious eaters. We had a lot of fun. It was so great to socialize with my new friends Alma & Allison and their families. Blog stalking is the new way to make friends these days. Serious.