Friendsgiving 2025 Tablescape

In 2025, I developed a brand-new hobby: tablescaping! I have LOVED sharing my Tablescapes this year for my 26th Birthday Brunch (here), 1st Annual Harvest Dinner Party (here), and Fall Family Dinner Party (here). It has been SO much fun putting together Tablescapes throughout 2025 and especially this Fall 2025, and I am excited to share ALL of the details behind my Friendsgiving 2025 Tablescape.

Every year, I host a Friendsgiving gathering to bring together my friends. I LOVE how Friendsgiving is a wonderful time to come together and feel gratitude for the friendships that we have in our lives. Just like family, I feel that friends are such a vital part of our well-being and our chosen family. I feel SOOO lucky to have so many great friendships in my life, and I find Friendsgiving just one special time that I can spoil my friends! This Friendsgiving 2025, I had a smaller group as I scheduled it closer to Thanksgiving and many of my friends were tied up, however, we had a wonderful time and I enjoyed having a smaller group this time around (although others were missed!).

*Disclaimer: Please note that this post contains affiliate links, which means that if you purchase through one of my links, then I will receive a small commission. This commission is at no extra cost to you. Additionally, this post is not sponsored, and all opinions are my own.*

For more preppy style & grand millennial home content, check out my Preppy Fashion & Grand Millennial Home page.

One of the unique things that I did for this year’s Friendsgiving Tablescape is that I used things that I had on-hand. From previous Home Goods runs during likely the August/September time frame, I found some ultra-fun turkey-themed party poppers and turkey-themed slogan napkins. While at home, I used some of my Fall decorations (aka my mini pumpkins which are linked at the end of this post!) and a ceramic turkey that I thrifted earlier this year. For cups and glasses, I used my newly purchased gold accented glasses that I got at the Old Lucketts Store’s Holiday House 2025 (see my experience there in 2025 here and my guide to the Holiday House here). As for linens, I used my Draper James table runner, which is floral and I find it to be PERFECT for the cooler months (!!!) and my satin light blue curtain that I thrifted and repurposed as a tablecloth a few years back. And, for just about every occasion, I use my antique tray that used to be my Grandma’s to display the table’s centerpiece.

Til 2026 for the next Friendsgiving!!!

XOXO – Katie <3

Fall Family Dinner Party 2025 Tablescape

This Fall, I decided that I wanted to start hosting a quarterly Family Dinner Parties to bring my family together. Another reason I wanted to start hosting Family Dinner Parties was to put my hobby of tablescaping to use! Over on my Instagram (let’s be friends @_thepinkchickadee), I shared a bit about my 1st Annual Harvest Dinner Party (see my Tablescape here) that I’ll be hosting with friends moving forward each September. So, I’m excited I got to host a dinner party for my family so soon after my Harvest Dinner Party! Nevertheless, the Fall Family Dinner Party was such a success that my family wants me to host them quarterly each year!!

*Disclaimer: Please note that this post contains affiliate links, which means that if you purchase through one of my links, then I will receive a small commission. This commission is at no extra cost to you. Additionally, this post is not sponsored, and all opinions are my own.*

For more preppy style & grand millennial home content, check out my Preppy Fashion & Grand Millennial Home page.

I have taken after my Grandma when it comes to my love for using paper plates and napkins over fancy china plates (for the most part!) when hosting as it makes the clean-up process much easier to handle. I did the same thing for utensils and grabbed some plastic utensils and napkin sets from Home Goods, alongside my paper plates and napkins. I, then, mixed in some family crystal glasses for wine with my Kate Spade cups for water. To add some Fall fun into the mix, I added my decorative pumpkins and chicken pitchers which were all a big hit from my guests! Nevertheless, I have linked what I could find for your own Fall hosting desires!

Happy hosting!!!

XOXO – Katie <3

My 1st Annual Harvest Dinner Party Tablescape!

To kick off the Fall 2025 season this year, I wanted to start a brand-new tradition given my mega passion for cooking which I do regularly for me and my Papa: an annual Harvest Dinner Party! This year was the first of many dinner parties that I plan to host for my close friends and it was a HIT!!! I had an incredible time hosting my Harvest Dinner Party and putting together my Harvest Dinner Party Tablescape.

For my Harvest Dinner Party, I opted for a colorful sort of Lilly Pulitzer (see my post all about predicting the brand’s Sunshine Sale here!) color palette with pink and green as the mega statement colors alongside some touches of white and blue. Nevertheless, my Tablescape was a super fun grand millennial and Lilly Pulitzer-coded setting! Scroll to the end of this blog post to shop some of my Harvest Dinner Party Tablescape!

*Disclaimer: Please note that this post contains affiliate links, which means that if you purchase through one of my links, then I will receive a small commission. This commission is at no extra cost to you. Additionally, this post is not sponsored, and all opinions are my own.*

For more preppy style & grand millennial home content, check out my Preppy Fashion & Grand Millennial Home page.

Currently, my heart and stomach are full with so much gratitude and excitement. I also cannot wait for next year’s Harvest Dinner Party!

XOXO – Katie <3

My 26th Birthday Brunch Tablescape!

For my 26th Birthday, I wanted to celebrate with friends in a way that brought us together and didn’t compel us all to spend a ton of money (and gas/Metro worries!) on an experience dining out together. Given my newfound passion and 2025 goal of hosting more at home, I opted to host a simple 26th Birthday Brunch at my apartment with an elaborate tablescape to celebrate. That way, my love for hosting and bringing people together worry-free and *of course* celebrating another trip around the sun was the reason for us all coming together. Overall, my 26th Birthday Brunch was a lovely time that my friends and I all spent together and I am so grateful that I decided to host my celebratory occasion with friends within the comfort of my own home!

At the same time, I want to mention that so many people choose to celebrate their Birthdays with friends, whether it be on a trip, dinner/brunch on the town, or a unique experience such as Tea on the Town (see more on my friend Briana’s Birthday experience there and my fully transparent review on the experience here). Just know that whatever you choose to do for your birthday should be right for you, however that may look.

While I won’t spend too much time sharing much about the menu for my 26th Birthday Brunch (and hence don’t have any photos of the food either – LOLLL!), I will share a few details of what I chose. I opted to go for a simple menu that required less preparation on anyone’s parts. I had two celebratory dinners on the town with family members and was a bit tired from those late nights with 9-5 work days and wanted something on the simpler side. For the menu, I went with a nice bagel display with plain and everything bagels as well as plain and strawberry cream cheeses to choose from alongside a blueberry and cantaloupe with a few sprinkles of fresh mint fruit salad. For drinks, I had coffee/tea, Mimosas (alongside orange juice only for those who don’t drink), and water to keep us all hydrated. For dessert, we had Georgetown Cupcake which was my biggest splurge! I pick up a dozen Georgetown Cupcakes every year for my Birthday in lieu of a cake and have found it to be the best and most special way to commemorate another trip around the sun.

*Disclaimer: Please note that this post contains affiliate links, which means that if you purchase through one of my links, then I will receive a small commission. This commission is at no extra cost to you. Additionally, this post is not sponsored, and all opinions are my own.*

For more preppy style & grand millennial home content, check out my Preppy Fashion & Grand Millennial Home page.

& NOW for my tablescape details…

China – I used dinner plates that I *surprise* normally use around my house for meals and dressed them up with bread plates, and tea cup/saucers that are from my Great-Grandmother, Nana Martha Seaton’s, China collection! I inherited my Nana Martha Seaton’s China collection a few years ago and am proud to have currently used and will continue to use her gorgeous collection for years and generations to come.

Water Cups – My water cups are from Kate Spade and I’ve had them for a few years via a FabFitFun box when I was a member.

Wine Flutes – For a table of 6, I opted to mix and match given what I have! For the wine flutes on the sides, I used my newly purchased Kate Spade X Target wine flutes that happen to be plastic and are SO FUN! As for the heads of the table, I used my gold wine flutes that I got earlier this year at Target and regularly use for lazy wine nights/dinners in.

Tablecloths and Napkins – I have been on THE HUNT for some elegant cloth napkins for hosting! When the Kate Spade X Target collection launched, I snagged some of the 4-pack cloth napkins sets for hosting purposes. They are uniquely embroidered and ADORABLE!! I got the matching table runner from the Kate Spade X Target collection and paired it with an aqua sheer thrifted curtain that I repurposed as a tablecloth.

Party Poppers – I wanted to invest in something unique for my 26th Birthday Brunch Tablescape. I actually got these party poppers first when visioning for my tablescape! On an April solo date to my happy place aka Old Town Alexandria, Virginia, I popped into Boxwood – a gorgeous boutique on King Street focused on home and hosting goods – and happened to chat about my 26th Birthday Brunch with the lady working there (whose name I wish I remembered!). She graciously showed me a few things storefront to get my inspiration going to which these beautiful party poppers were then shown to me. I *knew* that they would be the perfect touch to my tablescape and am SO excited that I got them, after memories of using party poppers as a kid during the holidays. Needless to say, they were a hit at the table!!

Flowers – Last but not least, my Papa graciously gifted me a bouquet of flowers that coincidentally paired SO well with my tablescape. I put them in my Lilly Pulitzer-inspired painted vase that I thrifted from Goodwill a couple of years ago for the perfect finishing tablescape touch.

Shop my tablescape here!

XOXO – Katie <3

Yes, We Need to Party More in 2025!

Freshly baked cookies on platters, beautifully made table settings with name cards at every seat for every guest, and an array of cocktails and beautiful food displays were my holiday norms. My family and friends all came together, sometimes 25+ people for one holiday or gathering all sitting around laughing, eating, drinking, and just being together. Truly, it was a magical time for me! Growing up, I always felt the magic of a house party thanks to my Mom and late Grandma. Over on my Instagram (let’s be friends @_thepinkchickadee) during the December/January timeframe, I came across an Instagram Story that essentially had a headline saying “Americans need to party more.” And, simply put, I think we do too.

And, before I get into the meat of this post, I want to share my thoughts on the definition of the word “party”. To me, a party or house party is a get together at someone’s house, whatever it may look like.

Many of us over the years are less likely to be invited to a house party or social gathering of any kind at someone’s house in 2024 and into 2025. Less and less people are hosting house parties and gatherings of any kinds at their homes. Over on YouTube, I have found myself coming across several video essays on my feed about how lonely Gen Z is and how Gen Z prefers to spend more of their spare time resting at home than past generations. At the same time, the so-called “third place” is gone, e.g. the cafes, hangout spots, etc. where people would frequent and regularly interact with others beyond the home and school/the workplace. In our current state of the world, a lot of chaos is happening and we are also in the post-COVID years where the world essentially shut down and went fully remote. Nevertheless, a lot of what we are experiencing is a result of the rapid adaptation of technology, current state of our world, and the post-effects of the pandemic. Anddddd, ALL of us are feeling the effects of loneliness into the early months of 2025.

2025 has been a year of chaos and change in the world of current events. I feel like EVERY time I turn on the news, something new and pretty chaotic is happening in our world and I know I’m not alone in feeling this way. The same concept goes for social media platforms, too. There’s a lot of change and stress and uncertainty during this time for many people. Given ALL the chaos and stress and uncertainty in our world right now, a lot of us need that time to be alone to just process it all mentally. A lot of people simply want that time that they have after work to be peaceful and quiet. And guess what?!?! I truly understand the need to simply decompress and be chaos-free in a world currently full of lots of chaos. There’s SO MUCH going on in our world right now which can leave people feeling extremely overwhelmed and less likely to want to put themselves in situations where their peacefulness which can be rather limited is in jeopardy.

Humans are social beings at the end of the day. And, while we need the time to rest, rejuvenate, and recharge, we also need time with others (no matter HOW introverted you may be!). While a pretty chaotic year 2025 has been so far, I think that we need to come together now more than ever before. I am SO excited and honored to be invited to a social gathering at a friend’s house on the upcoming weekend – something that feels far and few in between since my childhood days but does happen on occasion. I think planning more house parties and social gatherings is truly a way that we can make a positive change in 2025. Not only do house parties bring people together and facilitate community, but they also bring a positive boast to our mental and physical wellbeing. And, at the end of the day, it reduces loneliness, depression, anxiety, and so much more. We need to be together more often than not, and put on a good party.

Truly, I miss the days when social gatherings that my late Grandma put on were the norm. I feel very fortunate that my Mom and Step Dad still host lovely dinners and social gatherings for our family from time to time. There is something truly so magical about a lovely table display full of delicious food and drinks to enjoy together. The time together is truly special and makes it the party of a lifetime that we can have again and again and again!

Nevertheless, I am excited to be apart of the change in bringing parties back, alongside some of my dear friends who have hosted me in the past and will continue to. It only takes one person to make a difference in somebody’s life and in these days that difference can be an invitation to a house party to meet others. The magical moments that my Mom and late Grandma gave me during my childhood are things that I am looking forward to bringing to others in my life and to the future generations. I thank them everyday for the love and magic that they showed me through their house parties and I’m excited to bring them back in 2025 (and beyond!).

XOXO – Katie <3

I Hosted my First-Ever Galentine’s Party!

Just about 2 years ago, I moved back to the Washington, DC area to start my post-college life. I had a GREAT job at an incredible company working with some pretty incredible people on some pretty incredible things, a GREAT place to live with my Papa and dog Rosie, and a GREAT city to live in. The months leading up to my move, I was SO excited to move back to the big city filled with so much excitement yet reside in the suburbs where it’s peaceful and I can hear the peace of birds chirping in the morning. However, my move to the Washington, DC area was anything like what I thought it’d be when I first moved. I was starting all over in a brand-new place. And, well, ALL I wanted to do was host a gathering with others.

Flash forward to Winter 2023 aka now and I have plenty of great friends to invite for a gathering based in the Washington, DC area. Though this wasn’t my very first social gathering inside my apartment, as I had a few high school friends whom I invited over during Summer 2021 for a Housewarming Party after I moved in and am lucky to still have to this day. Nowadays, I feel beyond lucky. The best part?! I got to host my first-ever social gathering in my apartment since 2021 (which is constantly being redecorated with what I have LOL!): my Galentine’s Party!!!

In the meantime, read more about my Housewarming Party back in Summer 2021 here: https://pinkchickadee.com/2021/07/20/my-housewarming-party/#/

Now, onto the fun stuff …. the details of my Galentine’s Party!!

I sent out my invitations through my favorite site for YEARS to invite others: Evite. Via Evite, I can get a free account, and I use the option to enter in my guest’s phone numbers, so they get a little text to brighten their day with something to look forward to. Your guests do not have to have an Evite account themselves, either in order to receive your invite. Since adulthood requires lots of advanced planning, I usually send out my invitations through Evite at least 4-6 weeks in advance. At the same time, I always ask a few of my friends that I plan to invite whether or not certain dates I have in mind work for them. It helps to have a few sets of eyes looking over my proposed gathering dates when it comes to date selection. My calendar always fills up fast at least 2-4 months in advance, so it is nice to have something sent out to give others a heads up, too.

For my party, I decided to invite ALL of my best gals in the Washington, DC area. I asked that everyone bring a dish (or two!) if they wanted to for a potluck and a friend. At the same time, I provided some La Marca prosecco, lemonade (which goes AMAZINGLY with prosecco!), popcorn, Crumbl Cookies *of course*, and frosted animal crackers. My Kate Spade green and blue tumbler sets of 2 (got 3 of them!) from FabFitFun were PERFECT for my guests to enjoy a drink of their choosing. My Rae Dunn “Heart” plate and antique stainless steel tray both served as the perfect platters for my gathering. I also used my pink flamingo pitcher to serve some delicious butter popcorn (courtesy of Wegman’s!) for my guests. And, as for my plates, napkins, and cups, they all came from *none other than* …. Target! Last but not least, my balloons came from Target and were purchased and saved in previous years. Everything that came together, whether it be the decorations on my end or the time together or the food from everyone including myself, was all done so so so perfectly.

The BEST part of my Galentine’s Party?! Getting to hang out with each of my friends and watch them interact and become acquainted with one another!! It is such a blessing to be able to have each of these incredible women as friends and some of my many Galentine’s this year in my life. I LOVED watching my friends connect with one another. I have a few other gatherings that I plan to host this Spring and I’m excited that many of my friends are looking forward to hanging out with others again (including those who weren’t able to come over the weekend to my Galentine’s gathering) soon, too. It is nothing short of a blessing!

Here’s to many more gatherings in 2023 and beyond!

XOXO – Katie <3

Throwing My Best Friend a Lilly Pulitzer-Themed Birthday Party!

This past weekend, I went to my college town of Raleigh, North Carolina to celebrate my good friend Alanna’s 25th Birthday – YAY!! Alanna has been one of my best friends made via my college experience and she is ALSO a fellow Lilly Pulitzer lover. One of Alanna’s dreams was to have someone throw her a Lilly Pulitzer-themed Birthday Party, so our mutual best friend Hannah and I decided to make just that happen. Today, I am going to be sharing ALLL the tea on Alanna’s Lilly Pulitzer-themed Birthday Party!!

So, for Alanna’s Birthday party, I wanted to start by planning out my outfit. I asked Alanna what her favorite Lilly Pulitzer prints were and discovered that we share one of the same favorites – Seaing Things! Y’ALL, I own 6-7 (I lost track haha!) things in this specific print. So, I decided to wear my maxi dress that I purchased during the Lilly Pulitzer Sunshine Sale back in January 2022 along with my Lilly Pulitzer x Lele Saudoughi headband in that exact print, too.

NOW, onto the decorations!! Personally, I ALWAYS choose a few base colors based off of a print and/or theme. Fun fact: for my college dorm room Freshmen year, I based it off of Lilly Pulitzer’s Peel N’ Eat print and chose the colors: aqua, gold, coral/hot pink, white, and gold. SO, I *had* to do the same base color planning for Alanna which happened to be: hot pink, white, and aqua with pops of gold. I went to The Dollar Tree *surprise* for pretty much all of it. I made out a list via my vision for Alanna’s Birthday Party, in order to make it ALLLL happen. I made a list and checked it twice while at The Dollar Tree. Some of the items on that list included: pink and white balloons, B-DAY balloon, pink tablecloths, pink utensils, ribbon, and a Birthday banner. I also allowed some room for myself to simply be creative and see what I could find via my creative soul that could go with the theme. The items that I picked up included: a “Happy Birthday” banner, a gold foil garland, ribbon, gold glittered hand lettered cake topper, a white “Birthday Girl” sash, hot pink utensils, pink and white balloons, and a gold “B-DAY” balloon. As for the Lilly Pulitzer prints, unfortunately, my printer was not working to print out images of Alanna’s favorite prints, so I went through my crafting supply bin and luckily found some old Lilly Pulitzer planner sheets. All in all, my mind was EVERYWHERE when planning Alanna’s Birthday Party decorations, but in the end, it definitely all came together beautifully.

ONTO the execution!! We hosted Alanna’s 25th Birthday Party at Hannah’s place. Hannah and I started decorating a few hours before Alanna arrived and essentially went through ALL of the decorations (which, by the way, fit beautifully into my carry-on luggage) and put them all up together before Alanna arrived. Alanna is a holy grail Chick Fil-A fan and she brought over a heart-shaped tray of 30-count nuggets. Once Alanna arrived to Hannah’s place, we all went to Publix (it was actually my first time there – yay me!!) and we picked out two cakes, cotton candy-flavored wine courtesy of Alanna’s choosing, actual cotton candy, and some chips. It was such a fun memory with some of my best friends and simply catching up with all of ours’s mutual friend Jasmine.

Through it all, I felt oh so blessed to be able to give Alanna the Lilly Pulitzer Birthday Party of her dreams. It was the first time ever that I planned a Birthday Party and it all was such a blast!

XOXO – Katie <3

My Housewarming Party!

Love me a great party!!! I have always had a passion for hosting. In fact, I hosted quite a few parties at my college apartment. However, unfortunately, due to COVID-19, I was not able to host there much during the final year and a half of college. So, given that COVID-19 has subsided and I have moved into the Washington, DC area, I decided to host my very own Housewarming Party! Today, I am giving you ALLL the details on it!

For my Housewarming Party, I decided to host it out on my patio (you can check out my Patio Reveal here!), especially since I was dog sitting. For food, I served chips, crab dip, queso, soft-serve pretzels, shrimp, and *of course* strawberry margaritas. As for decor, I got the majority of it at The Dollar Tree, unless I had it from before. Below, I will list where I purchased ALL the items used.

Where I Got My Decor!

  • Bar Cart: Home Goods
  • Luau Banner: The Dollar Tree
  • Gold Scalloped Ice Bucket: Kate Spade
  • Miniature Flamingo: The Dollar Tree
  • Flamingo Pink Cups: Home Goods
  • Silver Duck Ice Bucket: Family Antique
  • Aqua Bucket: The Dollar Tree
  • Pink Tablecloth: The Dollar Tree
  • Aqua Serving Bowl: The Dollar Tree
  • Pink Bowl: Home Goods
  • Pineapple Plates: The Dollar Tree
  • Luau Straws: The Dollar Tree
  • Flamingo “Welcome” Sign: NC State Farmers Market

Here’s to hosting many more gatherings very soon!!!

XOXO – Katie <3

The Perfect Patriotic Picnic

Love me a patriotic picnic! Long time NO chat!!! Life has been crazy busy recently with setting everything up in my apartment and moving things in there. Luckily for me, I am set up fully and am ready to get back on my blogging game aka one of my favorite things to do. Today, I am sharing my perfect patriotic picnic that was easy to set up AND only costed me under $10.

A few days ago, my friends and I had a patriotic-themed picnic. Initially, we were planning to go to a local park. However, plans can and will change. The day was rainy, so we ended up meeting at my friend’s house in her backyard with a canopy, instead. Her backyard had a beautiful atmosphere so it worked out beautifully. Before that, I had never thought about hosting a picnic in a backyard, so it was nice to switch it up a bit. Other picnic suggestions include – a local park, a garden, a lake, a museum park/garden, or even on benches in a town square. Whatever is close by can be made to be pretty great!

As for the food, each of us brought a few different things to share. I brought Vanilla cupcakes with all things patriotic – aka red, white, and blue colors only! On food only, I spent $5 on the cupcake mix and frosting. The sprinkles were already on hand.

When it came to the plates and decor, I had already had the picnic basket. Fun fact: it was a wedding gift to my Mom and Step Dad and they never used it, so they gave it to me. The plates and napkins were actually from The Dollar Tree and I purchased 1 set of plates and 1 set of napkins. So, I spent $2 on the serving ware and decor.

Overall, I spent:

  • Food: $5
  • Serving ware & Decor: $2
  • Picnic Basket: Free
  • Total: $7

My Look is From

It is always nice to be able to find effective ways to save and still have a great time. A picnic is such a great way to either explore a new place and save some money while doing it. Day trips and social outings can add up, especially when you want to do it all. BUT, we CAN do it all and on a budget!!! Hopefully, my perfect patriotic picnic has provided you with some inspiration on how to still have a fun time, yet do it all on a dime.

XOXO – Katie <3

Halloween Goodie Bags for Under $10

Will you accept this rose? Aka a quote that all of us Bachelor/Bachelorette fans LOVE to use! Last Tuesday night was the premiere of Claire Crowley’s season of the Bachelorette. Unlike any other season, Crowley’s season was filmed in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic tucked away at a private resort in Palm Springs, California. If we were living in a non-coronavirus world at the moment, I would have had a massive viewing party with snacks and goody bags. However, Covid-19 is still with us and my plans have shifted. So, in lieu of a party and in order to keep our social distance, I decided to make my own Bachelorette premiere goody bags!

Since I could not invite all of my friends over to my apartment, I decided to essentially make an RSVP list for those who wanted to receive a goody bag. That way, I could make a precise number and personalize them accordingly. Just as if we were having a party!

As for the goody bags, I tried to keep them consistent yet personalized. Inside each goody bag, I gave everyone a tiny slice of pumpkin bread. The pumpkin bread is an AMAZING box recipe which is super easy to bake that I got while at Trader Joe’s. As for the look of the bag, I purchased a pack of 20 clear goody bags from Target along with pipe cleaners in various colors. In order to customize everyone’s goodies, I typed up and printed out a little note with each person’s name asking them whether or not they would accept “this rose”. *Bachelor Nation fans rejoice!!!*

Although I could not have an actual Bachelorette celebration this year, I am still grateful that I got to do something with friends to celebrate it as we each socially distanced to watch the season premiere. One of the most important things about this pandemic is that is has allowed for us all to become creative and still make our own fun. As my Aunt Sherri always says, “there is always room for laughter.” Indeed, My Aunt Sherri is not wrong!

XOXO – Katie <3