Life has been filled with a few pinch me moments lately – including attending Lauren Kelp and Ashley Cooper’s Tablemakers dinner a few weeks back! Ever since I heard Lauren talk about the event {which lead me to stalk it for a good few weeks}, I’d been low key dying to go to one myself. So when Lauren invited me to attend the Chicago pop-up at her childhood home in Lake Forest, I basically fan-girled out, and of course said yes!

For those of you who haven’t seen Tablemakers dinner in action {you can find their incredible Instagram feed right here}, it’s a pop-up dinner series that Lauren and Ashley co-founded a few years ago, and they’ve hosted events in Illinois, Arizonia, NYC for fashion week, and beyond. It’s a beautiful dinner to break bread with friends, while meeting other inspiring creatives from around the area. I had the pleasure to chat with photographers, bloggers, crazy-talented chefs, floral arrangers, writers, calligraphers and everything in between! All between a few glasses of wine, and an insanely delicious 5-course dinner. Why can’t every Saturday be this pretty, right?

Here’s a little virtual tour of one of the best dinners ever. And if you’re wondering if it looked straight out of Pinterest in real life, it totally did – times 10!   If that’s not the most beautiful table I’ve ever had dinner on, I don’t know what is! The table was designed by Christine Janda, who I’m pretty sure has the ability to make any table or floral arrangement Pinterest worthy. I full on gasped when I walked into the backyard at how beautiful the spread and styling were.   Our beautiful and gracious host, the incredible Lauren Kelp, gave us the most touching and sweet toast before we dug into dinner. If you don’t know her {or her beyond gorgeous site right here} you are seriously missing out. She’s a real gem – and a beauty on the inside and out! I hope to one day be half as cool as she is…   And of course, no event is complete without a delicious spread – and this was one of the most delicious and beautiful dinners I’ve ever had! From gorgeous Spanish prawns to lamb with pearl onions, to a delicious grilled peach and honeycomb salad, everything was ah-mah-zing. Chef Brittany Ferrin & her Truffleberry wizards made the most delicious 5+ course meal that I’ve been dreaming about the last few weeks. But seriously though, how beautiful are these dishes? Please cater my life!Oh…and because I can’t get through anything without being goofy – I thought I’d share my favorite photo of the night…discovering that Lauren Kelp’s family had the CUTEST French Bulldog named Créme {as in Créme Brulée!}. You can see myself actually loosing my mind with the biggest goofy smile, and Tom saying “why hello there!” in a ridiculous voice that puppies think is the greatest thing ever. Needless to say, we had an amazing time. Thanks so much to Lauren for hosting us! And an extra special thank you to Aimée Mazzenga for the most gorgeous photos of the evening! She captured the magic of the event perfectly and even got a cute photo of Tom and I in the process. Thanks for helping us all remember such a beautiful night! xx