Margaritaville 2015

I decided to kill two birds with one stone by having the office's annual Margaritaville party as a nautical theme and my niece's wedding the same theme.   I found this adorable fishing boat and docks on Etsy.  I already had the large wooden tray, So I added crab shaped cookies.  Neither party had left-overs.  They are just a sugar cookie recipe.

I found this shelf at an antiques shop and the ferry boat on Etsy.  I painted them with white chalk paint.  I wanted small life preservers and could not find any.  I came up with idea of using wooden curtain rings, which I spray painted.  Then I used red duck tape for the stripes.  I printed out different cliparts of cars and glued them onto toothpicks.  The dessert for this was brownie bowls filled with Oreo stuffing.  I found the recipe on Pinterest.  I added some Cool Whip so that the filling wasn't too sweet.  I sprinkled chocolate chips on top.  These were decadent.

 I really wanted lighthouses in my display, but they are REALLY expensive.  So I made mine with white 4" pvc pipe pieces and connector pieces I had sprayed red.  Rustoleum has a new paint that covers plastic.  It is fantastic for projects like this.  My hubby helped me fill the bottom plumbing fixture with cement to hold it up.  I found the top tiny lantern on Amazon.com.  But it wasn't big enough to add to the piece, so I glued it to the bottom of a clear acrylic tumbler.  This piece fit snugly over another plumbing piece, so that I could put a battery operated candle inside.  When I found the bendable fencing at Michael's, I was elated.  I made two lighthouses, so that I could stretch the signal flags between the two.  People love strawberry shortcakes.  I am always looking for portable ways to share them.  I found the cooler boat and the turquoise buckets at Home Goods ON SALE.  The two containers from the Container Store were filled with strawberries and whipped cream respectively.  I made sheet cakes of a mixture of pound cake and vanilla cake mixes, using only butter.  I put chunks of it into 8oz wide mouthed canning jars.  The boats from Etsy came just in time for the party.  I built the dock from my son's building blocks.

The fourth dessert was mini apple pies.  In the past I have baked the mini pie shells and filled them with cheesecakes.  But, I used a diced apple pie recipe and baked the filling in the shells.  No left-overs here either.  People were using the whipped cream on these also.

 Here is my large cooler boat, which has now gone to many parties.  It held water bottles, out on the patio.  Yes, I said OUTSIDE.  Tradition holds that it will rain on the day of this party.  This is only the second time in 25 years that it didn't rain.  The little chalkboard tells everyone the name of the live band.

 I raised the tables again using bed risers and ordered bar stools. The band was in the back by last year's surfer dude.

In the foreground is the Margaritaville sign I had made up 4 years ago.  Behind it is my captain and his first mate. At the wedding, they were props in the photo booth area. They are welcoming everyone aboard.  I used this same cruise ship graphic that I had created for my niece's bridal shower.  After MANY years, people are just beginning to ask me about where all the graphic posters are created.  When I tell them that I make them myself, they are starting to admire them.  I guess I should be grateful that everyone is having such a good time at the parties in the past that they never noticed them in detail.

I made the pole from another pvc plumbing piece filled with cement.  Using a connector and 2" pipe sprayed black, I bought the chalkboard arrows at JoAnn Fabrics.  I attached them with black velcro.  (For the wedding they pointed out directions for photographer, games, etc.)

 With leis, lots of people (around 200), and electric palm trees, Chipolte Restaurant food, and FOUR margarita machines running, the party was a success.

 Here is yours truly with a client and two of my husband's partners.

For those of you following me, you will recognize the mailing tube and burlap palm tree with the umbrella leaves in the background.  Behind the lady in pink, is my new addition of the hula dancer.  

Here is a shot of the office patio with the tent.  On the far left are two of the margarita machines.  There are high tops in the tent and in the kitchen area.  The dessert table was in the tent.

 You have seen my tiki bar in the past, but I bought this 5' long wooden fish at Bethany Beach this summer.  I saw him and just had to have him.  The parrots were centerpieces last year.  I love rearranging all my props for the different themes.  The food is ready to go.

This lovely couple is my hubby's brother and his wife.  Lois went to high school with me.  We met her later at a reunion party and fell in love with her.  We knew she HAD to marry Buzz's brother.  He DID!!  Great decision.  But, she is a WHIZ in the kitchen.  She watches over the food platters, washes dishes, refills, and is just the best helper ever.

If we are using the garden, the fire pit is going.  We have supplies for s'mores ready to go.

Above are two of the high top tables with their sailboats floating in water fabric over plastic water fabric I found on Amazon.

I believe the staff has as much fun as the clients.

Practically Einstein Band

Selfie with a best friend

FAVORS

 My Hula Girl is in the kitchen by the food table.  I got this wooden fish at the same shop as the big fish on Tiki Bar.

The above photos were all taken by Rachel Bruch, on of Architecture Inc.'s architects.

It isn't even crowded yet, but getting to use the beautiful weather outdoors will help with crowd dispersal.   click here to see last year's party

Below are a few photos I took with my iphone.

 As you can see the beach rug we painted last year, with fun foam accessorites, made it outside this year.  The wind blew the waves, but we straightened them before band arrived.  They played in front of the waves.

Tortilla Shell molds on Amazon.com

The brownie bowls empty.  I bought the pie shell pans at Sur la Table.