Hostess Jo at Home

Simplified Cinco de Mayo

Cinco de Mayo is on a Friday this year!  Yay!  I could eat Mexican food everyday.  Could you?  It's my favorite.  Along with margaritas, sangria, Corona...you get the idea!

Why not have a few friends over this year?  Below is a super easy way to make your table look more festive.  All I did was grab a few empty Corona bottles and fill them with Carnations!  Ole!

(excuse the photo quality, this was years ago!)

Grab some brightly colored serving ware, plates and napkins and you're set. 

Chips and salsa, quacamole, mini tacos, quesadillas and a batch of margaritas or sangria... 

Check out this recipe  for Frozen Sangria!  Yum

For a sweet treat try these Mini Key Lime or Lemon Pies.  They are super simple and NO BAKE!

You can see I used regular pie crusts but they would be better with graham cracker crusts.  Either way they are super tasty.

I found the same recipe I used here.  I just did a mini version.  That way you aren't slicing pie.  Everyone can serve themselves.

Well I'm ready to celebrate!  How about you?

 

XOXO,

Jo

What happened to April?

April has flown by!  Sorry I have not posted in awhile!  I do have some pretty exciting updates for you.

Yesterday I attended a creative women's brunch.  It was for creatives like bloggers, artists, shop owners, photographers and many other female entrepreneurs. 

The venue was right up my alley.  Exposed brick and old chippy walls!  It was held at The Nest in Birmingham.  The perfect spot for a gathering like this.  The wood table tops with the white metal chairs made my heart skip a beat.

The brunch was hosted by Natalie from 11th Thread and the name of the group is Dream Catchers South.  So cool that dream catchers are so popular in décor right now too!  She put this whole thing together to help and inspire creative women to chase their dreams!

She did a beautiful job on the table settings!  The greenery just popped against the natural wood and white with a little sparkle from the mercury glass candle holders.

We each received our own mason jar of delicious Piper and Leaf tea that we got to take home with us.  I love mason jars and they fit right in with the décor.  Even better we got to sample from a local company.

There were so many incredible sponsors and creative women all pursuing their own small business goals (I'll have a list at the bottom of this post for you to check them out)!  They filled our goody bags with awesome samples and coupons.  We also had a great speaker named Bill Todd, President of o2 Ideas.  He really taught us a lot about marketing and stepping out with our ideas.  Which leads me to a few updates for Hostessjo.com!

I've been wanting an updated design for the blog and I think its time to move over to Wordpress.  I keep hearing great things about it and I think it will be great for both you and I.  So, I'm in the process of doing that.  Hopefully everything will be good to go in May.  I've also started my photography classes and really enjoying them.  Reese's room redo is complete so please check back for that! 

Also, my husband and I have purchased a lot and will be building a spec home this summer!  I'm so excited to pick out paint, flooring, lighting etc.!  I'll be blogging about all of our choices along the way and answering any questions you may have.

I'd love to hear from you about what you'd like to see more of on our new blog!  More diy?  Home décor?  Crafts?  Styling?  Please send me an email or leave me a comment here!

xoxo,

Jo

Check out these cool small businesses and sponsors from our brunch: 

Naughty but Nice Kettlecorn,

Wholesome Soda Co.,

Dixie Fresh,

See Jane Write

Harp of Birmingham,

Piper Vine,

Baby Cakes Birmingham,

House Peace,

Down in the Ham,

Nikki Blakes 

Elizabeth Jaimes Boutique and Salon

If I left anyone off, please leave me a message and I'll be happy to add you!

Spring Home Tour

I've got good news!  I got a new camera!  Now I just need to learn how to use it.  Soon I will be bringing you lots of pretty eye candy!  For now, I'm sharing the rest of our home decorated for Spring.

I added touches of green throughout which is my favorite.  Greenery can also last all the way through summer.  Most of mine is faux.  I cannot seem to keep an indoor plant alive!  What is it about bringing plants inside that make them so easy to kill?  

The addition of this simple fern wreath adds life to our mudroom...

I love styling trays.  Its like a hobby to me.  This is a tray I styled with items I already had.  You could place a tray anywhere.  Dining room, coffee table, kitchen, etc.

Yep, that succulent is already a goner. 

I played around with some new décor on my sideboard and I love how the natural wood tray looks against the white background.

I scored the metal three tiered tray for $15 from Hobby Lobby!

You'll also notice the moss bird and nest from the other tray.  Shop your house!  Moving things around can totally change the look.  I just had to have those moss eggs.  They are from Hobby Lobby too.

Here is our Resurrection Garden on our entry table.  Click the link to find the how to!

Moving on into the dining room and kitchen I used Easter decorations.  Do you remember our Easter mantle?

I decorated our dining table with items from Target Dollar Spot!  The pallet trough is so easy to change for the seasons or occasion. 

In the kitchen I decorated our chicken wire stand with moss, pastel eggs and moss bunnies..

I love how the eggs bring out the yellow and aqua accent colors in the kitchen.

Hope you enjoyed our little Spring Tour!  Try adding seasonal touches throughout your house.  It doesn't take much to bring a lot of joy!

For more spring décor ideas check out my In Bloom Pinterest board.  For more pictures of our home join me on Instagram. 

 

Happy Spring!

Jo

 

 

 

Happy Spring and Fairy Gardens

Well it's officially Spring!  Is it warm where you live?  It is feeling more like Spring here in Alabama.  In honor of the first day of Spring I thought I'd share with you the fairy gardens we made last year!

These were so fun to make!  Don't you just love miniature anything?  Fairies are surrounded with whimsy and imagination.  Watching my girls light up as we placed the furniture around and secret door by the tree was awesome.  I wish they really did exist!  Or maybe they do?

You can purchase all kinds of sets for your fairy gardens.  This set by the tree came with a fence, wheelbarrow, table and chairs, swing, and watering can.  Two fairies were also included.  I purchased the door to the tree at Home Depot.  I think it is my favorite part!

Oh yeah, the girls liked it too ha! 

I've seen great sets online too.  Most garden or craft stores will carry them.  Hobby Lobby has some cute ones too.  Just find a special spot and layout your garden.  I planted a few flowers in with these but you don't have to.  I made a little pebble path so the fairies could find the secret door. 

For the next one, we used a shallow flower bowl so we could put it on a table.  This set was from Home Depot and it had a bridge so we used blue gem stones to look like water.

See the tiny hedgehogs?! 

It was so much fun listening to the girls tell their tales about the fairies coming at night and swinging and playing.  It would be so neat to scatter glitter around your gardens one night and tell the kids it was fairy dust!  You can really get elaborate with these.  I've even seen campers and accessories for fairies ha! 

I can't wait to get started on ours for this year!  Have you made fairy gardens before?  I'd love to see them! 

XOXO,

Jo

 

 

 

DIY Moss Wreath

I love moss!  You love moss!  Everyone loves moss! 

I've been using moss in my spring and summer décor for years.  I'm noticing now that a lot of people are enjoying the bright green stuff in their homes.  It adds a ton of fresh color and texture to centerpieces, vases, bowls, fillers, just about anything.  Last year I made a super simple moss wreath for our mantle.  I apologize that there aren't more pictures but I wasn't blogging then.  Its so easy you won't need them!

As you can see my little helpers are always close by! 

All you need is a

Styrofoam wreath form,

hot glue gun,

glue sticks and

a few bags of Reindeer Moss.  Reindeer moss is my favorite because it is super green and bright.  You can find all of this at Michael's or Hobby Lobby.  I've also seen others who use a grapevine wreath and it looks great too. 

Warm up your glue gun and start gluing!  I put the glue directly on the Styrofoam.  I've also read you can use a spray adhesive which may be easier. 

Grab your favorite ribbon and place it where you like.  I'm not sure how this would hold up outside.  For sure would need to be in a covered area as some of the moss will shed. 

There you go!  A super simple wreath for the warmer months!

I'm still thinking about what kind of wreath I want to make this year.  Is there anything you'd like to see?

 

XOXO,

Jo

 

 

Our Easter Mantle

With Easter being later this year I felt like I had more time to decorate for the holiday.  Plus my girls love helping!  As much as I love neutrals, Spring is a time to bring in color.  I start missing color this time of year so it helps to have cheerful décor around the house.  Don't be afraid to incorporate a little color in your surroundings!

I like adding little touches all over the house but the mantle is what we see most often.  Its really fun to decorate.  A few items stay year round and a couple I've moved from other places in the house. 
You don't have to spend a fortune to decorate for the holidays.  Look around your house, you may have something that looks totally different when you place it somewhere else.

The happy place sign used to be in our mudroom, but I liked how it brought in more color for the mantle.  The bunnies were my grandmother's so they have a special place in my heart.  I ordered the chocolate bunny banner this year from Etsy.  I just loved that it was chocolate bunnies!

My mom surprised me with the carrot wreath! I love that it has a rustic feel to go with our fireplace. 

 

I didn't totally put away my antlers.  I changed from the wintry stag pillow to a colored antler pillow!

 

This sign is so true!  Being at home truly is our happy place.

 

Any décor with sentimental value is so special..

 

I love the colored bows on the bunnies!

 

I hope you enjoyed our Easter Mantle!  Do you decorate your home for Easter or Spring? 

Check back soon to see our kitchen and dining room!

XOXO,

Jo

 

An Easter Garden

To celebrate Ash Wednesday the girls stayed home from school and after Mass we created our own Easter Garden!  I've seen several versions of these on Pinterest and always wanted to make one.  They are also called Resurrection Gardens.  It's a great hands on way to tell your children about Jesus' resurrection. 

First you will need a clay saucer and small pot.

Turn your small pot on its side.  This will be your tomb.

Next you will need some potting soil.  Fill your saucer with soil and mound it up around your tomb.  Sorry for the messy pictures!  3 and 6 year olds and dirt!

In the meantime, my 6 year old was finding us twigs and rocks. 

We tried gluing the twigs to make the Crosses but they didn't stick so we ended up using twine.  A hot glue gun would probably work too.

 

We used moss to cover our garden.  I've seen people plant grass too.  We are instant gratification types.

Glue your moss all over to cover the soil.  Then add your large rock to the side of your tomb.  We added little pebbles to make a path too.

I decided the moss looked a little sloppy so I gave it a haircut. 

Tada!

We stuck our crosses through the moss along the backside.

I decided to display it on our entry table so everyone can see it coming and going. 

I just love the fresh green it adds and of course the meaning!

 

Blogging again has really got my creative juices flowing.  I hope I'm inspiring you to try a few new things also!  I've got a lot more coming for Spring!

 

XOXO,

Jo

Fruity Cups

As promised, here is the recipe for the fruit cups from the "Love in Bloom" shower.  They have such pretty color and taste great too.  Perfect for your Mother's Day brunches this weekend.

Fruity Cups

1 can peach pie filling

1 can mandarin oranges-drained

1 large can of pineapple chunks-drained

1 large container of frozen, sliced, sweetened strawberries thawed

1 green grapes

2-3 red delicious apples chopped

2-3 bananas chopped

Mix everything together the night before except for the apples and bananas.  Mix those in before serving.  You can also substitute any fruit you like.  
 

Nesting Details

My dear friend Ashley sent me a couple of pics of the decorations she is working on for my Nesting Baby Shower in June.  I just had to share them with you- of course!

These birds are just spectacular!  I love all of the plumes.

You know how I love butterflies!  So cute.

These are already so adorable I can only imagine what everything will look like that day-beautiful! 

I am a lucky girl. 

Stay tuned...
  

Love in Bloom

This weekend we celebrated the upcoming wedding of our two friends, Bonnie and Paul, with a lovely cherry blossom themed bridal shower.  My friend Ashley styled the event-I was in charge of drinks this time ;) 

This theme was light and airy with spring blooms and shades of pink.  Perfect for spring and perfect for LOVE.

Enjoy some pics from Saturday....

 

The pretty invitations that gave a sneak peek to guests of what was to come.

The all important food table with a pink cherry blossom centerpiece and pink accents.

Adorable cupcakes Nicole made.  She also made the circles-I keep telling her she needs to start selling these!  The "B" was for the bride's soon-to-be last name, and of course more cherry blossoms.

Delicious fruit cups that not only taste great but look so pretty displayed.  Recipe to come in a later post-they are so EASY.

  

A close up of the coordinating pink cherry blossom ribbon that added a special touch.

More cherry blossom accents for outside. 

Hope this shower will inspire you to try something new for your next celebration!  This is a great example of how carrying through a color or item can really tie everything together!  This theme would also work well for Mother's Day or a spring party.