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Party

Birthday Bar

January 23, 2014

When celebrating Kendall’s birthday this past weekend, we wanted to make a special space to truly honor her and act as a “party hub” for our group. I wanted to share some of our set-up ideas, as well as some 21st birthday gift suggestions (I’m always trying to figure out fun gift ideas)…

For the “birthday bar” area, we went with a pink theme and bought some cans of Sofia Blanc de Blanc for sipping, Kendall’s favorite pink sugar cookies (and a birthday cupcake) from Icing on the Cake, and Rose Macarons from Miette in the city. We had some waters on hand to help with some necessary rehydrating, and had other snacks and treats available for late night munching.

I made this banner using this sweet template from MarthaStewart.com and colored string.

My mom had M&Ms custom made with “Happy Birthday” and “Happy 21st” phrases on them… as well as HER FACE!!! I couldn’t get over how amazing they were!

We also framed one of our favorite pictures of the birthday girl to adorn our birthday set up! It was a nice little keepsake for her to take home at the end of the weekend.

We also framed the weeks itinerary (so everyone knew what was going on/when they needed to be ready). We also had to have some crowns available to properly kick off the birthday celebration! 🙂

For her birthday gift, I put together a little “drinking kit” with a fun little poem that explained the contents. Here are some fun things to include:

A beautiful tray to set up a bar area in her home from Home Goods
Some great martini glasses from Cost Plus World Market
A gorgeous decanter from TJ Maxx
Homemade pomegranate infused vodka (to put in the decanter)
YSL lip gloss (to wear downtown)
Taco Bell gift cards (a favorite late night stop for Cal Poly college students)
Bottle of water (to hydrate after a night of drinking)
Card games/drinking games
Cab money
Fun cocktail napkins for entertaining
A cute monogrammed clutch to carry for a night out

What are some other fun 21st birthday gift ideas?!

Party

Bunco Party

October 14, 2013

One of my college roommates started a Bunco group and I was excited to host this month!

First I had to give our house a little Halloween flair (orange colored bottles in the bar, pumpkins, orange and black books) and tweak our furniture layout. With a 900 square foot house, and our living room being pretty much the only accessible room in the house, I had to get creative with seating, but it all worked out!

This week was a little crazy (helped coordinating my boss’s major house move, planned two parties and worked a normal work week), so prep was VERY important. Here was my menu:

Cornbread
Turkey, Four Bean and Sweet Potato Chili*
Chili Toppings: Avocado, Shredded Cheddar Cheese, Cilantro, Sliced Jalapenos, Corn Tortilla Chips
Bread Bowls (for the chili)
Brownies
Snacks: Guacamole, Salsa and Chips; Edamame Hummus and Rice Crackers, various crackers/chips/treats

* I subbed their beans with 2 cans black, 1 kidney and 1 white bean. I prepped everything the night before and stored in a crock pot (sans chicken stock and water) in the fridge overnight, and then added the stock/water the morning of and cooked on low for 8 hours while at work.

The key is prepping as much as you can ahead of time (you never know when your last meeting is going to run late), and to serve food that requires as little of your attention the day of (ie you don’t want to be frying chicken or plating food last minute). A party like this needs food that can be served at any time and at your guests leisure. Also little snacks at each table doesn’t hurt! Competition can make a person hungry!

For a bunco “How To Guide” check out this link. My friend Sarah has also created a “Bunco box” filled with all of the necessary forms, pens, dice (or die?!), bell, etc. It’s a great thing to have if you plan on mixing up the host home. You also will need a fun item (something small – usually a mini stuffed animal), for those that roll 3 of a kind. I went a festive route and used a small pumpkin (not the safest thing in retrospect, because it will be tossed around from table to table – not ideal with wine glasses around 🙂 ).

Overall it was a blast and such a fun night! I highly recommend you start your own Bunco night if you don’t play in one already! Thank you Sarz for starting the fun!

Tasty

Nacho Party

August 19, 2013

We were looking for a fun way to mix up Sunday night dinners… so after a morning at the lake and an afternoon in the pool no one was in the mood to slave in the kitchen… so was born – a Nacho Party!

I spread chips on a baking sheet and sprinkled beans and shredded cheese on top. A baked them in a preheated oven at 375 degrees for about 5 minutes (or until cheese is melted).

Tips:

Chips should be medium thickness – greasy or super thin/thick chips will not make for great nachos. Tostitos Simply Natural or the Organic Trader Joe’s chips are great options.
Cheese that melts well is critical. I made three separate baking sheets of chips – 1. Monterey Jack/Pepper Jack Blend, 2. Mild Cheddar, 3. Combination of 1 & 2

Prepare toppings in separate bowls for your guests to choose their own toppings.

Suggestions:

Meat (I bought pre-marinated Carne Asada and Pollo Asada at TJ’s)
Guacamole/Salsa/Sour Cream
Cilantro
Radishes
Avocado
Diced Tomatoes

Fiesta time!!! Stay tuned Friday for a great cocktail recipe to make for your Nacho Party 🙂

Domestic

Anniversary Party – Planning and Prep

August 8, 2013

I believe preparation is key. My sisters and I were fully able to enjoy the day and even spent the afternoon poolside – and not running around doing last minute errands (for the most part :)!

This is the first event where I delegated more tasks, and although financially it may not be the most sound choice, I HIGHLY recommend it for special events (ie. a cleaning lady, a caterer). But we did take on a lot of tasks ourselves, but with 3 helping hands and months to prep we were happy with the turnout.

Here was our checklist and preparation schedule:

To Do List

Prep Timeline

I also created a binder for this event (surprise! surprise!) with tabs for the following:

Menus (contained dinner menu, appetizer menu and grocery/shopping lists)
Rentals (contained contracts, rental invoice for tables, flatware, linens, etc.)
Invitations (contained invitation, guest/RSVP list)
Timeline (contained to-do lists, timeline, schedules, checklists, etc.)
Inspiration (contained Pintrested images of ideas we wanted to implement)
Layout (contained backyard layout of stations, tables, etc. and seating chart options)

Having everything in one place (contracts, images, lists, etc.) is super helpful to me and something I REALLY recommend. Plus after your party is complete you have a guide on how to replicate your event!

I also wanted to share some little details that we were proud of!

Place Cards – we searched long and hard for a clever, fun idea on place cards and couldn’t find one we liked! I had read in Lisa Vanderpump’s entertaining book (don’t judge) that she uses little framed photos of her friends for place cards and I thought wouldn’t Polaroids be a fun, contemporary spin on this!? When each guest arrived we had them pose for a quick photo and then we added the image to their seat before dinner. It made for an amazing conversation starter and a great keepsake! (I recommend letting guests grab a cocktail or two before… makes for better pictures 🙂

Personalized Details – I love the idea of a few personalized details at an event and I felt for this party, a modern, metallic monogram would be just the thing. I found a website called Society Social which makes very high quality, custom items and we were excited to grab up the matchboxes and napkins for the party!

Menus: I’m also a huge fan of printed menus. Whether that is a large sign, or individual settings, it makes it much easier than explaining which each course is. I downloaded a fun font via DaFont.com and printed the menu on some gorgeous, heavy stock. I cut it down to plate size and used it as part of our table setting. Menus: I’m also a huge fan of printed menus. Whether that is a large sign, or individual settings, it makes it much easier than explaining which each course is. I downloaded a fun font via DaFont.com and printed the menu on some gorgeous, heavy stock. I cut it down to plate size and used it as part of our table setting. Flowers: I will go to my grave repping Costco flowers… all it requires is a little planning and you will save oodles on gorgeous blooms! For the party I bought 200 white roses, 100 calla lillies and 100 hydrangeas for under $400! I mean you can easily spend $200 for a couple dozen roses at Valentine’s Day! Such a joke. Anyway… You have to order them precisely a week and a half before your event date, but you can pick which date you’d like them delivered in a two day window and once the blooms arrive channel your inner Martha and get to designing. I have been collecting glass vases the past few months, so I made sure to follow my flower prep guide and make arrangements accordingly!

With a little planning, some preparation and a few little details I believe you will have a slam dunk party every time! Entertaining is a love language, and what better way to share the love than going the extra mile? Happy planning!

Party

30th Anniversary Party

August 5, 2013

My parents will be celebrating their 30th Anniversary this week, so we thought what better way to mark this major milestone than with a party?! My sisters and I have been working on this for quite a while… so I wanted to share it with you all!

Throughout the week I’ll be highlighting some of our favorite parts of the planning process – what to wear, what to serve, details not to miss! But today I wanted to focus on food and the menu… and better yet a great new company for those of you who live in the Bay Area or LA – Kitchit! The company provides private chefs that can accommodate any event type – anything from a 5 course menu for 2, to a causal family style feast for 30. Another feature I found really cool is you can split the bill online, so you can book as a group!

We were lucky enough to have Chef Anne help us out – her food is amazing, she’s super nice/professional/fun/accommodating and we definitely are looking forward to hosting another event that she can help us with! Here is her fabulous family-style menu for us (my mom is gluten-free, she created a menu that would reflect that… and make my dad happy at the same time!):

Heirloom Tomatoes, Burrata & Basil with Cornbread Croutons

Arugula Salad with Grilled Peaches, Marcona Almonds, Ricotta Salata and Shallot Vinaigrette

Tuscan Dry-Rubbed Chicken with Chimichurri

Summer Fruit Shortcakes with Whipped Creme Fraiche

Recapping the event today, my sisters and I couldn’t have been happier with the party – from great wine and food, to some memorable toasts and stories, and finishing with Fireball and a dance party, it definitely was one for the books… looking forward to the 50th anniversary party! Love you Mom and Dad!

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