Monthly Archives: October 2010

Product Picks: Last Minute Halloween Entertaining

October 29, 2010

Well, it’s the Friday before Halloween and you’ve decided that yes you DO want to throw a party for the occasion. But is there enough time to plan and decorate something fabulous? Why yes, of course.

To make quick decor decisions, I focused on one color, orange, and also chose products from national chains. That way you can just walk into any store and find exactly what you need. Happy Halloween!

Halloween Assorted Paper Lanterns from Party City. Imagine buying 8-10 packages of these, and covering the entire ceiling of your party room.

Orange Dessert Bowl from Target. For blood-orange punch perhaps?

Orange Harvest Vase from Crate and Barrel. Imagine filling this vase with dried flowers…

Orange Vinyl Floral Sheeting from Party City. Perfect as a backdrop for a photo booth. Or as a quirky tablecloth.

How do you decorate for Halloween? Share your tricks and tips below.

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Read It: Adult Halloween Parties

October 27, 2010

Who says kids get to have all the fun on Halloween?

I spotted Mary T. McCarthy’s Adult Halloween Parties at my local bookstore. The self-published book weighs in at just under sixty pages and is jam-packed with party ideas, creative decorations, and over 100 costume ideas.

Written in an informal, conversational way, I knew I had found my guide and muse in McCarthy who has thrown Halloween parties for years and showcases all the best of what she has learned while entertaining.

She does not hesitate to reveal all of her ghoulish secrets and her creativity is inspiring.

Whether you are hosting a Halloween blow-out or just celebrating on your own, this little book has some helpful ideas that are sure to impress.

How do you celebrate Halloween? Do you have any quick and easy tips or ideas that could make the day horrifyingly fabulous?

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Adam’s Masquerade Dinner Party

October 25, 2010

Who: Adam Aleksander and friends
Where: East Village Loft
How many guests: 70 per night
What time of year: July 2009
Reason: Carnivale of Ascension Masquerade Dinner party

For Halloween week, we have a special party to feature– a masquerade dinner party held three nights in a row.

Entertaining for one evening can seem daunting, so entertaining for three nights straight can seem nearly impossible. Luckily, Adam Aleksander and his friends were up to the challenge.

Through some impressive collaboration and hard work, the group created an insane masquerade dinner party known as the Carnivale of Ascension. Done out of sheer passion, I could not believe the epic nature and madness of the affair. Check it out.

Adam says:

The event was a three night masked dinner party chronicling the transition from life to death.

Everything was themed; from the food and bar to the decorations to the staff and performances that guide the guests throughout the entire evening.

I did this event for my friends. At that time, I was in charge of making the Christmas windows for Macy’s, Saks, and L&T.

We were all laid off for the summer and down on our luck, so we decided to get together and create a dinner party.

We dined on a succulent feast laced with ritual.

The meal came in three parts: hors d’oeuvres, whole roasted animals and vegetarian delights, and desserts like the sponge cake that were ritualistically devoured off doily clad nudes.

We also had a wide selection of cocktails but the favorite by far was made up of jalapeno infused sauza hornitos plata, fresh watermelon juice, brandy, all served in a sea salt rim.

Wine and beer were also provided of course.

We decorated the entire place to look like the bridge between life & death. We painted all the walls, added flowing french curtains to the windows, and built twelve long, low lying tables.

Everyone sat on the ground for a more rustic feel (and because we ran out of money, time and resources).

Each night, the guests were to arrive masked, some as the Living, some as the Dead.

The masks were then removed and the Living dined with the Dead and the Dead welcomed the Living into the afterlife.

I couldn’t have done this without a lot of unpaid help from some really great people. In addition to donating our time and materials to make it happen, we needed to sell tickets to fund it and pay for the chef.

They only started selling four days in advance of the event and it was the most terrifying thing ever for everyone involved. Thankfully, in the end, we pretty much broke even.

While I was not a professional at the time, this event led to me to want to do events professionally. We were all amateurs, but realized we could pursue this as a career, because of how the public reacted. For me, it is truly a triumph story.

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Product Picks: Black Magic

October 22, 2010

To continue with Halloween themed products that are not too Halloween-y, let’s focus on the darker side of things.

Here are six products I loved that had a little black magic…(I strayed from the normal four because there were too many to choose from!)

Black Candlestick from Anthropologie. This one of a kind candlestick is made of cardboard, can you believe it?

Black Orchid Candle Snuffer from Nordstrom

Slate Coasters from Crate and Barrel

Black Kitchen Broom from BroomChick. This has the added value of being functional after the holiday is over…

Ebony Lace Wallpaper from Anthropologie

Black Star Scrying Mirror from SecretWindow

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Read It: Cake Pops

October 20, 2010

Cake on a stick might be one of the best inventions in the history of the culinary world.

And, if you have read our other book reviews, you might know that we are not the savviest connoisseurs of the kitchen.

So what better way to morph our love for simple do-it-yourself recipes and food on a stick, than with the famous blogger Bakerella’s Cake Pops?

A cake pop is a ball of cake held together by frosting and covered in liquid candy. They are fun and pretty easy to create.

The best part about this project is that you can make a special dessert without the messy frosting bags, sticky fingers, and bloated guests.

With the holidays coming up, I know I’ll be making some pumpkin cake pops.

What’s your favorite cake flavor?

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Joanna’s Tea Party Eggs-travaganza

October 18, 2010

Who: Joanna Gordon
Where: Her House in Brunswick, NJ
How many guests: 10
What time of year: Spring (weekend before Easter)
Reason: Tea Party Eggs-travaganza for her daughter’s 7th birthday

A springtime tea party is always a treat but when you’re seven years old it is a fairy tale. That is exactly the way Joanna wanted her daughter to feel as she celebrated another special birthday so she pulled out all the stops for the event.

When I heard that even the sandwiches were cut into fun springtime shapes, I knew this had to be quite the party. Check it out!

Joanna says:

My daughter’s birthday lands just before Easter so when she asked for a tea party themed party this year it just made sense to incorporate the holiday into what we later deemed a “Tea Party Eggs-travagenza.”

I was working on a budget so most of the decor was do-it-yourself. By using old flowerpots, basket filling, and plastic flowers I found at the dollar store, I created decorative centerpieces that added color and playfulness to the room. The treat baskets, menus, and place cards were all made by hand as well. This was all arranged on a polka dot table cloth along with china pieces that created an authentic tea party experience.

On the invitation we asked that the guests come in their “Sunday Best.” The array of springtime dresses and tea time accessories such as gloves, purses, and hats that filled the room added to the overall ambience. Once they each received their boa, pearls, lip gloss and rings (which they took home) they were a precious sight to see.

I tried to keep the foods simple and age appropriate for the girls that were attending. To start we had Easter deviled eggs, fresh fruit and mini croissants. We also had bowls of chips, pretzels and mini donut holes. The main course was a choice between Bologna and Cheese Tulips, Peanut Butter and Jelly Butterflies, and Mini Hot Dogs. I used cookie cutters to shape the sandwiches and they were a huge hit.

Continuing the theme into dessert, we had birthday cupcakes, Springtime Sugar Cookies, and Flower Pot Ice Cream. These were my favorite; I bought small flower pot holders and filled them with chocolate or vanilla ice cream and then added sprinkles on top.

For games, I decorated the sidewalk with springtime colored chalk. We had hopscotch, tic tac toe and other outdoor games. My favorite part of Easter is the easter egg hunt, so of course it needed to be incorporated in the party. My husband hid candy-filled eggs all around the house then each guest was given an easter egg basket and set off to collect their goodies.

Before the girls left, I took the basket centerpieces and did a photo shoot against the garden backdrop. Later I used the pictures from the shoot on the thank you cards. It was a really special day and I was glad everyone had a keepsake from it.

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Product Picks: Blood Red

October 15, 2010

I wanted to do a Halloween-esque product picks, but I didn’t want to go the obvious route of pumpkin-shaped decor, toilet-paper mummies and hanging ghosts.

I thought I’d focus more on what I associate with Halloween–dark colors, a certain kind of mood…perhaps blood? So, the following are some products in a deep, sexy, blood-red. Some of them are moody, and some of them are just meant for fun.

Check it out.

Red Masquerade Mask from Party Mask. Imagine greeting your guests with a basketful of these masks. Bring a touch of mystery…

Kosta Boda Tattoo Vase from Nordstrom. Imagine this filled with Black Baccara roses.

Giant Red Gummi Bear on a Stick from Fred Flare. Add some fun and surprise to your party with oversized gummi bears for the kids.

Red Wrought Iron Candleholder from BootsNGus. Imagine how much moodier this would look with melted candles.

How do you like to decorate for Halloween parties? Share your tips in the comments!

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Read It: Elegant Napkin Folding

October 13, 2010

Growing up, every holiday dinner I was given the job of putting out the napkins. This may seem like a lame task for many but for me I adored folding the colorful cloth in different ways to accent the table.

Now, years later, I have finally found people who understand my young fascination.

Their names are Joanne O’Sullivan and Terry Taylor and they have recently come out with the book Elegant Napkin Folding: Creative Ideas for a Beautiful Table.

The pages are full of suggestions and step-by-step instructions on how to do varying styles of folding that range from elegant to playful.

The gorgeous photography depicts the diversity, charm and ease of each fold. It’s amazing what such a small addition to the table can do!

What do you use to accent your table? And what do you do to make a table setting go from ordinary to extraordinary?

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Jungle Baby Shower

October 11, 2010

Who: Sharon Dalton
Where: Her backyard in Simi Valley, California
How many guests: 40
What time of year: January 2010
Reason: Her sister-in-law Elizabeth and brother Derek’s baby shower

After collecting stuffed animals for an entire year to decorate, Sharon threw her brother and sister-in-law an epic party that was hard to forget.

All I can say is this is one baby shower that is definitely on the wild side. Check it out!

Sharon says:

The jungle themed baby shower came about when my brother Derek and my sister-in-law Elizabeth were trying to have a baby. Elizabeth told her family that she wanted me to decorate their baby shower.

I have backyard events for my family on occasion and when I do, I try to make it an over the top event.I am usually on an extremely low budget and have learned over the years to frequent yard sales and dollar stores. (I actually learned this from Preston.)

I am not a professional but I have this huge imagination for decoration and a passion to create beautiful events for my family and friends.

I immediately began collecting “jungle” themed stuffed animals and beanie babies: anacondas, lions, tigers, etc… Elizabeth, wanted a jungle themed nursery so I thought it would be fun to incorporate this theme into the baby shower. Much of the greenery was collected from a neighbor who was trimming his palm tree and weeding his garden.

We also have an abundance of ivy growing in our backyard.

I love to mix up colors, and for the jungle it was easy, because I could mix so many different colors of green with the oranges, yellows, and reds within my centerpieces and throughout the theme. Moreover, the beanie babies were added into the stemware for height and to continue the visual jungle effect.

Moss trees were made out of yarn, which hung throughout the tent.

I also had over a hundred votive candles on the tables and hanging above that added a level of sophistication to the wild array.

Everyone had a great time and I had so much fun decorating for this event.

I am happy to report that Elizabeth and Derek gave birth to a healthy baby boy, Lukas, on February 24th. Such great memories and many more to follow!

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Product Picks: Gold

October 8, 2010

For today’s Product Picks, I wanted to go with a theme based around color, but the only color I seem to be digging right now is gold. (Maybe it’s because I’m secretly excited about these new ATM machines that will supposedly be dispensing gold bars? Yeah, right.)

Add a touch of gold.

Michael Aram Dandelion Serving Set from Nordstrom