There are oodles of fabulous party blogs out there these days. Between these blogs and Pinterest, inspiration has no limits.

I look at some of these blogs and gush over these parties and celebrations and immediately want MY next shindig to rival what I see. I guess you could say that the pressure is there to {compete} with all these magazine worthy festivities.

Yes, I do feel the pressure, but I know that I cannot, single handedly pull off the equivalent of these parties. I have no idea what the hosts budgets are, but I know that when I do parties, I must stick to my budget regardless of what other people’s financial situations may be.

I am OK with this, of course. I would rather throw a modest celebration that is perfectly thought out, carefully planned and executed rather than nothing at all.

I remember Ina Garten mentioning on her show once that all you need is simple, cohesive decor and not a huge, over the top tablescape. That school of thought has stuck with me.

Normally I hunt for party goodies year round and stumble upon trinkets here and there when I see them on clearance or reasonably priced. However, while planning my mom’s upcoming milestone birthday celebration, I have come up with a theme and the date is less than a couple weeks away!

That puts me in panic mode.

Last night Jay got home early and I headed out after dinner to fetch invitations to get them printed and in the mail by tomorrow. I headed to Home Goods, Party City, Joann’s, Target, Pier One and Ross. NOTHING to my liking. I had several options in-hand ready to pay, but was not 100% happy with any of them. I came home empty handed and knew that I had to make my 2.5 hours of alone time this morning fruitful.

{Pinterest via}

I decided to start at Michael’s and work my way down the strip mall until I found something that matched my vision.

I immediately found darling blank seashell note cards and coordinating ribbon for half off.

Went down to Ross and scored some gorgeous pieces, also on clearance.

I now have a solidified color scheme, invitations, menu and a head start on the decor.

Simple.

Classy.

Affordable.

That’s always my {vision} and I’m stickin’ to it.

*****

Happy Thursday, all!