A new theme to obsess over
February 18th, 2011 § Leave a Comment
What do you get when you take the whimsical eccentricity of Alice in Wonderland and twist it with the dark romance of Twilight?
… another reason to host a girls night. Here are some event ideas for you to bring to your hood.
Sorry, I couldn’t help myself.
I’m in love with this Snow White themed dessert table (or “sweet table” as she calls it- so cute!) from UK’s Belle Amour. The whole look and feel of it makes you feel like you’re in a snowy fairytale forest. To help you create your own I scourged the internet and found these deer cupcake toppers, this stitched heart button, instead of white dwarves- find some mismatched wolf statues from Goodwill and spray paint them white a few coats to get a nice opaque finish.
This fairy event had amazing detail- I loved the cake stands made from tree trunks and the topiary pops to add to a forest theme. I would do the topiaries with red velvet cake pops instead of lollipops- lucky you there is a tutorial posted here.
Birch candleholders- $24 for the set
What to do with the big bad wolf now that grandmother has escaped? He dined on her- now dine on him. Faux Fur table runner inspired by this wedding in Atlanta.
Moss accents gives the feel of an old-growth forest- moss balls- $4.95 each, moss runner- $10.00, and mossy rocks- $7.99.
Love it. Moss and bamboo, burlap and grapevine, and apparently eight hours to kill. Props to Katie Grace. Consider swapping the bird for a black wolf or red hooded silhouette.
I’m really hoping to execute on this one but for the time being I’m helping a friend throw a Tinker Bell party for her daughter. First hurdle is to get the birthday girl away from the request of a cake that has the potential to be the target of a Cakewrecks joke. Wish me luck.
“Bride to Bee” Bridal Shower
November 21st, 2010 § 1 Comment
Let me start by saying I know, it’s been far too long! I got a new job. This will also explain why I’m posting in November about a bridal shower that I threw last August. 
The lowdown on the bride- Shiloh, super cool hip cousin of mine. Gave me complete creative control- YESSSSS! I knew I wanted to throw her a brunch bridal shower since breakfast has probably the best food of any meal- you’ve got your sweet, you’ve got your savory, something for everyone. Add a Mimosa bar and BAM! You’ve got yourself a nice little party.
SO because brunch=yellow colors and I heart black and white stripes, and that’s what sparked the Bee theme. Everything was sunshine yellow, white, and black and white striped.
Recognize the DIY cake stands from this post? Well they got a little costume change 
Actually at this moment they are black (halloween party)
The food and drink stations were adorned with “Bee Treated” and “Bee Refreshed” banners.
The menu: bagel bites with salmon spread, potato pancakes with sour cream, yogurt/honey/strawberry parfaits, and assorted mini-quiches
I thought I’d be clever and have a “Pan Cake” that guests could cut into like a cake- I think I ended up making it too tall so it was an issue- not to mention my horrid altercation with a certain can of whipped cream. Too bad because they were FANTASTIC- I topped regular pancakes with grilled pineapple slices, and a sauce made from melted butter and brown sugar- a pineapple upside-down pancake!
Deviled eggs! As you can see, frosting dispensers are not just for cupcakes!
Cherry-vanilla granola in cute black/white striped cones lined with parchment, nestled in a bed of Honeycomb cereal [nudge, nudge]
A brunch-y alternative to cake pops- donut holes!
A fabulous brunch wouldn’t be complete without mimosas.
For the mimosa bar I had a giant ice bucket with three kinds of champagne and carafes of orange, cranberry, and grapefruit juice. Sliced strawberries for garnish; next time I want to also include blueberries and raspberries as an option. You can also have cranberries for a holiday party.
The invitations and all of the decorations were either handmade or vintage with a little facelift, I’ll post with instructions soon!
Port-a-Party! OrigAudio Fold-up Speakers
June 4th, 2010 § Leave a Comment
In response to yesterday’s Glamping post my friend Holly sent info on these awesome OrigAudio speakers ($19.99 each) which I will definitely pick up before the next trip.
They’re made from recycled materials, fold-up onto themselves, AND run off your device power so you don’t have to worry about running out of batteries.
This one would have been the most glamping-esqe BUT it looks like they are customizable so I came up with this one
A little retro wood grain action if you want to go classy MadMen style…
…but denim is the hot look of the season so I couldn’t help myself. I am imaging blasting some MGMT on these hotties. Hope everyone has a fantastic weekend!
My First Glamping Excursion
June 3rd, 2010 § 1 Comment
After pouring over the blogs I finally ventured out to have my own glamping adventure and boy was it a lot of work!! Granted most of my supplies had to be bought and I learned some good lessons, the next time around should go much smoother.
Vintage candelabra- check. Tea lights in vintage mason jars- check. New oilcloth tablecloth- check.
Vintage wine goblets- check. And this genius invention they sit in was created for the sole purpose of staking wine glasses and a bottle into the ground for picnics and camping- Picnic Stix-$12.95 They were well used over the weekend.
My favorite part of the glamping had to be the morning mimosas.
Who wouldn’t want to wake up to this?
And I can’t leave out all of the amazing meals we had- caramelized onions cooked on the propane stove (my secret to to-die-for onions: fry them in equal amounts of butter and vegetable oil)
combined with grilled peppers, avocado, and crema (sour cream mixed with lime juice) made the best brunch fajitas.
Those onions combined with a little thinly sliced pear, thickly sliced brie, and chewy rustic bread made the perfect panini.
Grilled on the skillet (a giant non-stick frying pan and a propane stove were my BFF’s all weekend)
The panini’s came out even better than expected. We gave most of these away to our neighbors so we wouldn’t eat them all. Then we kicked ourselves for it.
Dried figs, sliced in half then topped with goat cheese and shredded fresh basil. This snack was really easy to make and didn’t dirty too many dishes.
Some of the lessons I learned- planning the menu beforehand is key but next time I will try to plan meals that use the same ingredients or use all of the ingredients. MOST of my little car was filled with groceries- 70% of which came back with us because I only used a little bit of everything. Another option would have been to measure out what I needed beforehand- only packing what I needed.
Also- check in on your campgrounds to see if it will be a good spot for glamping. Our spot had a building with flush toilets, electrical plugs, and showers but last year all we had was a honeybucket. Make sure your site is plenty secluded from the others- we had to buy earplugs due to our rowdy (and potty-mouthed) neighbors that sat a mere four feet from our tent- not cool!
Most important- music! As much as I loved listening to my neighbor’s country music it would have been great to have our own soundtrack to the weekend. I will definitely be sure to pick up some good portable mp3 speakers before we go again.
Thanks so much to my friend Mandy for being such a good sport and going along with everything. Man we sure got some stares from the neighbors!
Memorial Day Glamping (Glam+Camping)
May 10th, 2010 § Leave a Comment
This year will be year two of the annual Memorial Day weekend camping trip with my two best friends from high school Myra and Mandy.
Last year was my first time ever camping without my dad running the show so obviously being the resident chef I demanded to make all of the food and was pleased to find out if you bring a frying pan you can pretty much make anything you want.
I am obsessed with the UK phenomenon of Glamping (which is glam camping)- so this year we’re going to do the Memorial Day camping trip a little differently.
Cute decor. Candles everywhere. Couture clothes and heels. Fondue and red wine night. Gourmet meals. Mani-pedis by the fire. I just can’t wait for an even better weekend with my girlfriends than last year if that’s even possible. The best part of all this is I was mentioning it to another friend and she said “um… can you go glamping again this summer and can I come?!?”
I will definitely be posting photos but until then- fellow glampers-here are some links to help guide you to your first glamping excursion and maybe help you prep for the big trip:
Glamping Girl’s Ultimate Glamping Checklist
Wine glasses that travel great and can withstand any weather. Set of 2 stainless steel wine goblets- $24.00
Just say NO to beans and wieners! Seriously- some of us want to avoid sitting in the outhouse all night. You can pretty much cook anything you would cook on a normal stove over the fireplace with a sturdy skillet but if you’re looking for some inspiration here’s Robin Donovan’s Campfire Cuisine: Gourmet Recipes for the Great Outdoors- $10.85
Or just bring the kitchen to you! Camp Chef Camping Outdoor Oven- $183
Sleep away in style and be way ahead of the trend. Shoot you can’t even find this booty in the states. Ric Rac Striped Teepee from UK designer Cath Kidston- £65.00
Juicy’s jumping on the bandwagon so it must be cool. Juicy Couture Sleeping Bag + Pillow Set – $178
For the weekend I plan to sew us a super-cute canopy to hang over our picnic table with fresh linens and grosgrain ribbon, utilize my parents’ toastite maker, in addition to plushy pillows and candelabras. Can’t wait to post the pictures!
Cinco de Mayo- two invites for Evite
April 16th, 2010 § Leave a Comment
I was thinking about some ideas for Cinco de Mayo parties and I was torn between my memories from college swinging at a Pinata filled with tiny liquor bottles (lesson learned: the host thought it would be a good idea to suspend the Pinata over a tiled floor- only half the bottles survived the fall) and the thoughts of the summer barbecues I love so much so I just had to create two different invites with two different attitudes- one classy, one sassy.
Just looking at this one makes me envision a deck after sunset with sundresses and flip flops, guacamole, and good friends. Click here to download the Evite/web friendly image.
Another party I’m itching to throw would be very different- tequila galore, bright colors, pinata centerpieces, and best of all a Mexican wrestling theme (perhaps involving a Twister tournament complete with brackets and wrestling mask decorating?) Click here to download this bad boy.
Birthday party with a twist of citrus
April 11th, 2010 § 1 Comment
Ok I have definitely been reading Amy Atlas’s blog too much- it’s official. Regardless, the display I created for my friend Vivian’s birthday party turned out awesome. I learned a couple of tricks too which I’ll share.
This was for a cocktail party so I centered the color theme around the lemon and lime centerpiece- it truly felt like a Spring party. Here are the details and how to:
- The cute flag banner was made from some damask scrapbook paper from Michael’s (trust me it so hard to find chic paper at Michael’s among all the cutesy baseball and stick figure children prints {gag} but I was persistent) and thin yellow satin ribbon I picked up for $0.50 a spool. Just cut the paper into triangles, and using an exacto knife and a cutting board, I cut 1/4 inch long slices near the top corners to thread the ribbon through.
- The lemon lime centerpiece was made by taping a thick satin ribbon along the edge of a glass cake stand.
Now you want to know how I made these glitter letters look so good- no I don’t own a special printer that prints everything in glitter but that would be awesome. I found the right font in Word and printed out all the letters and then placed a clean sheet of printer paper over it and traced the letters with my glue pen, followed by glitter. I used a cup and my ribbon spool to trace the circles.
I used Photoshop to create Vivian’s birthday tea recipe. I simply found a pattern I liked online, then selected and used the paint bucket tool to change all of the colors to match the theme. Then I made a transparent green box to set the stage for the text. I bought the frame a few months back on sale from Urban Outfitters for only $5!! Still kicking myself for just buying one. It makes a great display for party menus, recipes, etc.
I found all the mismatched bottles for drinks, the mason jars for the flowers and the yellow scarf on the table at the Goodwill. To make sure all the color shades were exact I cut off small pieces of the flag paper, yellow paper, and green ribbon, and taped them all together to create a swatch which a I held up against my choices. The Goodwill is my favorite place to look for party props and supplies because it’s cheap, it’s recycling, the money goes to a fantastic cause and…….
…who knows you might find that one thing you’ve been looking for ever since you moved into your apartment! I couldn’t believe my luck.
Alice in Wonderland Theme Parties and Tea Parties- best on the web
March 11th, 2010 § 2 Comments
Earlier this year I posted on my Mad Dinner Party with an Alice in Wonderland Theme which was an unbirthday for my real birthday. Now that the genius Tim Burton has taken the magical story into his own hands everyone seems to be throwing unbirthday parties and Mad Hatter tea parties and royal croquet tournaments. I have compiled my favorite ideas and saved the best for last (seriously it will knock your mismatched socks off)
Cute hand-painted oversized teacup tower makes a big statement- this is something you can make from teacups from the thrift store, some paint and a glue gun. This post came from a kids party featured on Party Wishes complete with a white-roses-painted red bush and a croquet court.
This rose wreath is adorable. Way to stay on theme. This one is from a toddler Alice party on Lark and Lola Idea Blog- even better they have detailed how-to instructions (with pictures!) here.
Classic Sir John Tennian style cupcake toppers from Fancy Flours
http://www.cupcake-decorating-ideas.com/mushroom-cupcakes.html
“One side will make you grow taller, the other side will make you grow shorter”- The Caterpillar. Mushroom cupcake how-to featured on Cupcake Decorating Ideas.
Seriously? You people and your darn creativity. See the full details on the birdcage bird at The Mama Dreamalogues.
“A” for authenticity! Alice in Wonderland decorating ideas from Instructables
The Queen of Class Amy Atlas had to join in on the fun. See the full posting here- love it!
Another darling kids’ party featured on Hostess with the Mostess, Japanese lanterns are key.
Ok here’s my all-time favorite and you’ll see why…
I couldn’t just pick one picture so I have a few
This was from a teenager’s coming out party
If this party wasn’t featured on MTV’s “My Super Sweet Sixteen” it should have been!
I don’t even want to know how much this cost but it leaves for fantastic ideas. See the full article at Trendhunter.
And of course we can’t forget the fabulous Miss Gwen Stefani’s take on the tale- so what you waiting for? (skip ahead to 3:30 to bypass the intro)
Grown-up Disney Princess Party
March 5th, 2010 § Leave a Comment
For my last birthday I thought I’d combine my three favorite things: Disney, theme parties, and great friends.
I started with the Disney Scene Setter; two plastic rolls that turned my apartment into an illustrated Disney wonderland. The rolls combined came up to be eight feet wide and covered twenty-three feet of wall. The five-ft castle and princesses were add-ons that I simply taped to the background you can find an entire party package here. Its not just for kids- all of my friends loved it!
Here’s my Snow White theme bathroom. I cut the mirror frame out of a large sheet of gold poster board and used a sharpie and acrylic paint to make it look just like the one in Snow White. Using an exacto-knife and a cutting board made cutting out the center a breeze.
“Mirror Mirror on the Wall” was written with a glass market bought at Michael’s
Glittery “poison” apples were placed on the sink to complete the scene. Click here for full instructions to make your own.
A pink-themed dessert bar was set up featuring chocolate covered strawberries and other sweets. The cake stands I made from candle holders and glass plates I picked up at a thrift store. See how-to instructions here.
I made “Princess____” drink tags- guests put their real name and princess names on the tags before tying to the glass stem with the ribbon.
Activities included coloring (I found Disney Princess printable coloring pages here)Princess crown making (I used the Princess Tiana Tiara cutout for my pattern) as well as a Disney Princess Trivia game- the prize was a Snow White DVD.
Other party elements:
- I served champagne with strawberries and Snow White’s Apple Potion (Absolut Pear, Absolut Peach, Cranberry juice, Apple juice, and lemon-lime soda)
- White tissue paper poufs hung from the ceiling to look like puffy clouds (click here for the how-to)
- Pop-up tiara invitations were sent to the guests (click here for the how-to)
All of the guests came dressed as their favorite Disney Princess would have if she lived in 2010 (this was my Snow White costume)
One of my girl friends Holly was so sweet and made cupcakes just for the party. I wish I had thought to take pictures before they were gobbled up! She put in the cutest Princess cupcake toppers she found at Williams-Sonoma. The party was so great- an excuse for a bunch of almost grown-ups to have the dream princess party.
Tissue Paper Poufs
March 4th, 2010 § 1 Comment
It’s the new, cheap Japanese lantern! And much more eco-friendly as you can recycle these when you’re finished or simply disassemble them for gift wrapping or packing. I would love to re-use this idea using newspaper, maybe for a black and white party, a New York party or a 20′s era party.
I hung about a dozen of these from the ceiling at my Disney Princess Party to create the feeling of puffy clouds. You will need eight sheets of tissue paper in the color of your choice and string or floral wire. Idea inspired by Martha Stewart’s Tissue Paper Pom-Poms.
- stack all eight sheets on top of one another
- fold lengthwise back and forth accordion-style until you have one small long stack
- tie around the middle with the string or wire
- turn the stack on its side and begin pulling the sheets apart and to the center until you have one giant sphere of paper
- tie around the middle and hang from the ceiling
