Make it a Moment: Vision Board Party
Want to feel inspired in 2025? Hosting a vision board party is a great way to start! I had my sister over for dinner and we had fun visualizing where we want to focus this year while our kids were in the living room eating happy meals and watching a movie. We were all living our best lives!
I wanted our dinner to reflect what I’m leaning into to help me bring my motivation to life. I’m always inspired by Ina Garten, Nancy Meyers, traveling, and Lilly Pulitzer, so naturally this is where I’m gravitating in 2025.
My Vision Board Inspiration:
Ina Garten: Ina has a simple elegance to her and a way of making people feel welcomed. Her cook books are some of my go-tos and it’s a dream of mine to be a guest at one of Ina’s dinner parties at her home in the Hamptons. A girl can dream, right?! With Something to Host, I want to foster Ina’s approachability by helping you host with ease. I love leaning into simple and fresh ingredients to make hosting easier. There’s something special about the simple things in life and there’s nothing better than a chocolate chip cookie to help your guests feel welcomed. It has always been a goal of mine to make the best chocolate chip cookie, even before I had kids. One of our dear family friends has a delicious recipe and I thought it was the perfect way to lean into Ina’s simple elegance for my vision board dinner with my sister.
Nancy Meyers: All of my favorite movies are directed by Nancy Meyers and I’ve seen the holiday too many times to count. What I love about Nancy Meyers is her style and vision she creates in all of her movies. From the interior design to the wardrobes to the music, everything in Nancy Meyer’s movies is perfection in my eyes. Similar to Ina, she has a classic, simple, and inviting style. I dream about making my home feel like a Nancy Meyer’s movie. With Something to Host, I want to lean into Nancy Meyer’s classic and inviting asethetic when I’m creating tablescapes and party ideas. For my vision board dinner tablescape, I picked a classic hydrangea centerpiece, simple table linens, and natural textures.
Traveling: One thing I live for is travel. What’s funny is that my entire life (before I met Andrew), I traveled to the same places each year with my family. I don’t take for granted how lucky we are my grandparents have family homes we can enjoy. My grandpa was big on investing in things that brought family together to make memories and I’m forever grateful. I think that’s why quality time is so important to me. I fell in love with Europe on our honeymoon and since then, my husband and I celebrate big moments in Europe. Every time we go I feel so energized and inspired. There’s a simplicity and a slowness about the lifestyle in Europe that I admire. People take time to enjoy meals, walking outside in fresh air, soaking up the beautiful scenery and architecture, and most importantly time with their loved ones. As you’re probably picking up, there’s a theme of simplicity that inspires Something to Host. We visited London over the holidays and I love the tradition of afternoon tea. Fun fact, I’ve never had a cup of coffee, but I have green tea everyday. Going to London reminded me about the ritual of afternoon tea. There’s something about a warm cup of tea that makes your guests feel cozy, so of course I had to have my favorite lemon green tea from London at my vision board party to enjoy after dinner.
Lilly Pulitzer: A Lilly shift is classic and the icon of preppy style, loved by Jackie O and a summer closet staple for me. Summer is also my favorite season and I’m a July baby so it makes sense I’m drawn to a brand that embodies sunshine and endless summer. We also had our rehearsal dinner on June 21st, which is National Wear Your Lilly Day and the first day of summer! Lilly’s style reminds me to have fun and there’s always a reason to celebrate. Their colorful prints inspire me to bring in pops of color to my tablescapes and to celebrate more, which led me to Something to Host. For my vision board dinner party, I added pops of color to my tablescape with my Lilly teacups.
My 2025 Goals:
Something to Host: In 2025, I’m hosting 1 dinner party per month! I love to host, which is why I started Something to Host. This year, I’ve planned a dinner party theme each month and I can’t to share them with you!
Daily Routine: In 2025, I’m romanticizing my daily life! Whether it’s a walk to soak up sunshine, drinking my daily tea out of the tea cup I got in London, snuggling with my kids, buying fresh bread from the bakery, always having fresh flowers, doing TSS to move my body, getting 8 hours of sleep, reading before bed or celebrating more, the options are endless to remind me to focus on the joy in our day to day. Every day, I’m going to pick 1 thing to romanticize my life and I’m excited to see how these become habits throughout the year.
Relationship: Kiss my husband more! This might sound silly, but it’s a simple thing to foster our connection. It’s easy to get caught up in the day to day grind and I want to be more intentional about connecting with Andrew. In the summer we plan weekly date nights where we play tennis and have dinner every Friday. I’m trying to make our date nights a habit throughout the year. While summer is slower and it’s easier for us to dedicate time to spend together, my goal is to have 1-2 date nights per month during the school year. And the best thing about a kiss, there’s no excuse you don’t have time!
Vision Board Party Checklist:
Theme: Pick a theme that supports your goals for 2025 or lean into inspiration that energizes you. For me, that’s Ina Garten, Nancy Meyers, Travel, and Lilly Pulitzer.
Menu: Plan your menu around your theme and keep it simple! My menu for inspiration: fresh bread with good olive oil and flaky sea salt, harvest salad, chocolate chip cookies, Italian red wine, and tea from London.
Tablescape: I always start with fresh flowers as my centerpiece and frame with taper candles to add soft light. Grab placemats, table linens, dinner plates, glasses, and serving pieces that go with your theme. I like to start with my hosting essentials I have on hand and then go from there. Since Nancy Meyers is part of my inspiration, I had to get blue, white, and green hydrangeas. I paired that with classic blue napkins and woven placemats to add a natural texture. I had food set up on one end, our place settings in the middle, and then our vision board station at the other end of the table. This way we could eat dinner and do our vision boards all in one spot.
Supplies: vision board book, glue sticks, scissors, card stock paper, magazines
Mood: Light your favorite candle and turn on your favorite playlist. I always gravitate to Capri Blue Volcano and we were listening to our favorite Taylor Swift songs.
Group Size: 2-6 people. I chose to keep mine small so we could enjoy conversation and chat about our goals.
Happy hosting!