DIY Girls’ Night Out - Life at Bella Terra

My friend and neighbor, Dawn, invited me to a spontaneous DIY Girls’ Night Out at Porter Barn Wood in Phoenix. I have to chuckle because I don’t believe I’ve ever gone on a Girls’ Night Out. I am so swamped that when I do have a moment, I tend to spend it here at Bella Terra. But, Dawn is such a spectacular person with a large heart and the event, which included making a sign, sounded quite fun.

Here is the adorable young family behind Porter Barn Wood. Thomas is a woodworker, metalworker, and plays in a Bluegrass band. They provide reclaimed wood, slab lumber, antiques, and many other things as well as provide woodworking, milling, blacksmithing and just about anything you need. Plus they have classes that include creating a barn wood wall to dinner and bluegrass concerts ( events calendar).

With the popularity of barn wood doors and the farm house style, this is the place to go. They own this facility in downtown Phoenix and the event was held here last Friday night.

When we arrive, The Coronado, a restaurant located on N. 7th Street, was serving wine and appetizers while we made our signs. This restaurant specializes in vegetarian and vegan dishes but with a Cordon Bleu spin.

In typical “barn” like fashion, the wine was served in mason jars….love that! The roasted veggies, hummus and homemade tortilla chips were delicious (and healthy)!

Porter Barn Wood made the frames and the background wood was painted white. We sat at picnic tables awaiting instruction.

After peeling off the back side of the stencil, we carefully centered it on our frames.

We then peeled off the front clear material, exposing the stencil to be painted. We were able to choose the colors we wanted and applied the acrylic paint with foam brushes.

Dawn chose a gray paint for part of her stencil and then gold for the rest.

While our signs dried, dinner was served. Instead of renting long tables with white table cloths, Thomas decided that morning (!) to plane down large reclaimed trees and created 3 16 foot lengths of wood to make the tables. The smell of fresh cut wood and the beauty of the tree-tables made dinner extra special (and I believe these tables are for sale!).

Dinner was amazing. Liam Murtagh, one of the owners of The Coronado, introduced each course and gave the history behind all the ingredients. The first course was a beautifully presented Farm Salad utilizing ingredients from local farms (arugula from Blue Sky Organic Farms; radishes from Agave Farms, tangelos from FarmYard) with a black pepper agave vinaigrette.

The main course was Mashed Garlic Potatoes under a Tepary (heirloom) Bean Croquette with Rosemary Roasted Tomatoes and a Vegan Demi Glas.

Of course we had a different wine with each course while listening to a fabulous solo artist Hannah Risley, a talented 18-year old singer and guitarist.

I am still dreaming about dessert. Who knew that vegan/vegetarian food could be so delicious? We had a Mesquite Flour Snickerdoodle with dark chocolate with Aqua Faba meringue (this was so delicious I wanted to lick my plate) with Candied Hibiscus.

During dinner we had the chance to sit near and chat with two wonderful young women~~~all in all, it was a spectacular way to spend a Friday night with a sweet friend. Also, I was so impressed with Thomas and Liam, as young business owners who are so passionate about what they are doing. They are such a great addition to our growing downtown area.

Plus I got to take home my very own sign! Maybe this Girls’ Night Out thing is worth pursuing!!!!

Thank you, Dawn, for inviting me!

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