"It's My Party and I'll Fry if I Want to!"

For my birthday dinner I did a good old fashioned Fish Fry! That is the one day of the year when it's okay to eat everything fried, right? I made up baskets (Dollar store) with brown paper lining, silverware wrapped in bandanas and twine, little vintage tart pans for the homemade tarter sauce,

fish in paper cups, wrapped in bandana paper and lined with parchment, with a lemon slice skewer,

Hush puppies...these are to die for and I make them gluten free and no one knows the difference,

I decorated the table with a scrap of plaid fabric from my bin, a vintage mason jar and flowers, and a vintage chocolate chip tin...and my favorite most unusual salad "Hot and Hot Salad" (recipe from restaurant of the same name),

We filled the vintage galvanized bucket with retro soda pops and teas...and ice...and then we ate and ate and ate until we were groaning in pain:) But it was good pain! I think!

Thanks to my girls and son-in-law we got the meal and decor done before everyone starved to death...it is a time consuming effort to be frying items, mixing many dressings and sauces and putting everything hot into baskets. I just love doing something really great though for my family on my special day, it multiplies my joy by 9:)

If anyone is interested in the recipes (which can all be made gluten free if you choose) let me know and I'll post them.

(They are posted above!)