Olympics Treats

Now that the 2012 Olympic Games have officially started I wanted to share some fun treats inspired by the olympics. 

1. Champion Chocolate Cake

2. My creation: Betty Crocker vanilla cake mix cupcakes, vanilla frosting and toothpicks with flags. 

3. Edible Olympic Torches 

4. Union Jack Fruit Pizza

Summer Party Menu

My parent's had friends over for dinner the other night and here is the menu I helped them develop. Everything turned out very well and looked pretty.

Appetizers: 
My parents served tortilla chips along with guacamole, regular salsa and corn and chile salsa from Trader Joe's (I have mentioned this salsa in previous blog posts). We also had pretzel crisps and carrots. Very simple, but the different types of salsa looked very pretty together. We also served Jose Cuervo Cranberry Margaritas with appetizers.


Entree:
 New York Strip Steaks: I found a marinade on all-recipes titled "best steak marinade in existence," which is what my dad ended up using on the steaks.

                                        

        Side Dishes:

 Chickpea and Tomato Salad with Fresh Basil

Fingerling Potatoes 

 

 

Dessert:

We served brownies, which we made from Trader Joe's Truffle Chocolate Chip Brownie Mix. We also had coconut ice cream, which we put alongside the brownies.

Lemonade Bar

I have been noticing a lot of pictures of lemonade "bars" and I think they are a wonderful idea for any outdoor party. Serving different types of lemonade in glass drink dispensers looks pretty and is an easy way to add a special touch to your party. Here are some pictures of well-done lemonade "bars" and also information about where you can buy nice looking glass drink dispensers.

Picture courtesy of: Lucy Dylan Weddings

Picture courtesy of: Ruffledblog.com



Glass Drink Dispensers:

Pottery Barn

Williams-Sonoma 

Breakfast bar Ideas

Breakfast bars have become a popular trend for baby showers, bridal showers and even weddings! Here are some beautifully executed breakfast bars.

Charming Farmhouse Brunch Baby Shower from Hostess With The Mostess

Pancake Bar from greenweddingshoes.com

                                               Mimosa Bar from ontobaby.com

Crepe Bar for onecharmingparty.com

4 Ways To Use Mason Jars As Part Of Your Party Decor

1. Strawberry Moonshine Julep from Saveur.com

2. Flowers in mason jars from allthingsgirlyandbeautiful.tumblr.com

3. Rainbow cake in mason jar from babble.com

4.Candle in mason jar from allsassandshag.tumblr.com

Where to buy Mason Jars:

Fishs Eddy ($1.80) 

Thank You Blogging Your Way 2.0

These past 4 weeks I have had the pleasure of taking blogging your way 2.0, an online class that discusses blog techniques. The class has been an absolute incredible experience. I have learned so much from Holly, Jeanette, Katrina, Thorsten & Nicole. Blogging Your Way has drastically improved my blog layouts. From Katrina I have learned how to create borders around  pictures and how to make cute photo labels, which are great ways to add visual interest to blog posts. While all the Blogging Your Way lectures were great the lesson that resonated with me the most was when Holly shared her story. I admire Holly's decision to leave her corporate life and follow her passion to write about interior design. Holly’s passion for interior design has served as the inspiration for her extremely successful blog décor 8 and she has also written a best selling book, which proves how important it is to do what makes you happy. Holly's message to follow your heart and listen to your gut seems obvious, but sometimes you need that message reiterated every now and again to motivate you to make necessary changes to your life.  

Holly's message really resonated with me because for the past few months I have been mulling over a concept for a blog geared towards people in their 20's. Before hearing Holly's lesson I had not taken any steps towards taking my concept and making an actual blog because I felt intimated.  I felt that my writing ability and graphic design skills were not strong enough to communicate my concept adequately. After hearing Holly's lesson I realized that as long as I had confidence in my self and was writing about things I was passionate about I could create wonderful content that I  could be proud of and hopefully inspire others. As a result of Holly's lesson I have now created a template for how I would like my blog  to look and I have also created layouts for three different blog posts. I am so happy with how everything is turning out and now I truly feel that my blog concept could become something truly special that would be a valuable resource for people in their 20’s. I am so happy Holly helped me get over my fears and inspired me to start making my blog dream  into a reality. 

4th of July Treats

With 4th of July coming up I wanted to share some fun and easy to make patriotic desserts

1.  Babble.com 

2.  Disney Family Fun

3.  Disney Family Fun

4.  Betty Crocker

Book Review: InStyle Parties

One of my favorite books is InStyle Parties. This book not only has beautiful pictures, but amazing tips for making entertaining stress-free. This book covers various categories such as, menu planning, tips for stocking a bar and pantry and also décor. I also love that each of the party menus has pre-made food alternatives, which is great for people who are not comfortable cooking or do not have the time to make home cooked food. I also love how the book showcases various themed parties and makes it easy to replicate the parties portrayed in the book. Another great component of book is the table of contents, which has great resources such as: rental companies, specialty food vendors and invitation sources. Whether you are an experienced party planner or entertaining for the first time this beautiful book is sure to provide you with useful information and will inspire your next entertaining endeavor. 

Top 5 Summer Cocktails

Now that it’s officially summer I wanted to share some of my

 favorite summer cocktails

1. Sangria (photo courtesy of: www.decouverterre.com)

2. Frozen Raspberry Margarita (photo courtesy of: coastalliving.com)

3. Mojito (photo courtesy of: seductionmeals.com)

4.Cucumber-Lemonade Chiller (photo courtesy of: delish.com)

5. Watermelon Gin Fizz (photo courtesy of: delish.com)

Cinco De Mayo Dinner Party

Mexican food, margaritas and the company of good friends are just some of the reasons why Cinco De Mayo is the perfect entertaining opportunity. Yesterday, I created a Cinco De Mayo dinner party, which entailed a taco bar and fun desserts.  Cinco De Mayo represents the beginning of summer and I wanted my menu and décor  to set the stage for the fabulous parties I will be putting together this upcoming summer.

Inspiration: When I was researching Cinco De Mayo décor online I came across pictures of red and green peppers being used as candles and thought they would work perfectly for a Cinco De Mayo party. I like to use food as decorative elements on my table because it’s inexpensive and makes a bold visual statement. I also wanted to incorporate red and green into my décor, as a way of representing the Mexican flag.

Décor: For my Cinco de Mayo table setting I wanted to utilize the wood table because it added a rustic element to the décor. I also liked how the bold colors I used, such as: red, yellow, green and orange popped against the wood.  I found the orange daises at Trader Joes and liked how they added some height to the table and they worked very nicely with the red runner. All of the other decorative items on the table went with my red, green and yellow color scheme. 

Menu:

I decided to keep the menu simple and to serve tacos, rice with saffron seasoning, black beans, tortilla chips and various types of salsa. Tacos are great to serve when you are entertaining because they are very  versatile, which makes it very easy to please all of your guests. 

Tacos: http://cinco-de-mayo.holidayscentral.com/food-and-recipes/how-to-throw-cinco-de-mayo-taco-party#.T6c9WO1BY8F

*I decided to serve chicken, carne asada and shrimp tacos, but the options for taco fillings are limitless. You can also choose to serve ground beef/turkey or have a vegetable filling for vegetarian guests. 

Margarita Cupcakes: Margaritas are an essential part of Cinco De Mayo, which makes these delicious cupcakes the ultimate Cinco De Mayo sweet treat. 

Cupcake Recipe: http://neycookbook.wordpress.com/2011/05/23/margarita-cupcakes/

Lime Buttercream Icing Recipe:

http://www.recipegirl.com/2007/05/01/margarita-cupcakes/

Corona Pops (not pictured on the table): http://www.bakersroyale.com/fast-and-easy/corona-beer-popsicles-cinco-de-mayo/

Photo Courtesy of: www.bakersroyale.com

Salsa: Corn & chile salsa, mango & lime salsa and traditional salsa. 

Margarita: 
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/margaritas/

Easter Dinner

With Easter fast approaching I wanted to put together an Easter dinner menu and table setting. Hopefully, this table setting and menu will help inspire those of you entertaining this upcoming Easter sunday.  As you can probably tell from looking at my previous blog posts I have a major sweet tooth and love to feature candy as part of my décor. Lucky for me, Easter baskets and the abundance of delicious candies such as; marshmallow peeps, jelly beans and cadbury eggs are some of the most beloved Easter traditions, which gave me the perfect excuse to prominently display candy on my table. I also used lots pastel colors such as pink, blue and green because Easter represents the beginning of spring. 

Inspiration: I saw these pastel colored buckets at B&J Florist Supply in New York City and knew that they would look great with Easter eggs in them! I wanted the little buckets to showcase the pretty blue, pink and yellow M&Ms.  I wanted tulips for the table, because they are the quintessential spring flower and I loved the beautiful shade of pink. I have always loved that polka dot bowl and for some reason Easter seemed like the perfect excuse to use polka dots.

Décor: What I love about the décor on this table is that a majority of the items such as; the plastic Easter eggs, jelly beans, pastel m&m's and bunny chocolates are all from Stop & Shop. This means that you get the food for your party and décor at one store, which is great for the busy hostess. I added touches of pastel colors to the table by using tiffany blue plastic plates and green, pink & purple tea light candles. 

Where I Bought Each Item: 
Jelly Beans, Pastel M&M's, chocolate bunnies & green easter grass:   Stop & Shop, www.stopandshop.com


Pastel Colored Big & Small Buckets: B&J Florist Supply, NYC (212)564-6086


Tiffany Blue Plastic Plates, Green, Pink & Purple Tea lights: Party City, www.partycity.com


Pink Tulips: Trader Joe's, www.traderjoes.com/index.asp

Menu:

I decided to make traditional Easter dishes such as lamb, potatoes, sweet pea & mint soup (which complimented the lamb nicely) and balsamic glazed carrots. I also decided to make fun easter bunny cupcakes  for dessert. 


Seasoned Rack of Lamb: Trader Joes, Pre-cooked
*Buying Trader Joe's seasoned rack of lamb, steaks, etc is a great tip for the busy hostess or the hostess who does not have much experience cooking and wants to put together a nice meal for their guests. The lamb had been cooked and just needed to heated in the oven for 30 minutes. The lamb looks beautiful, tastes delicious and buying the Trader Joe's pre-cooked lamb cuts a lot of cooking time. 


Sweet Pea & Mint Soup: http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/browse-all-recipes/sweet-pea-mint-soup-10000001046889/index.html


Balsamic Glazed Carrots: http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/recipefinder/balsamic-glazed-baby-carrots-recipe
* I used baby carrots without the tips 


Scalloped Potatoes With Green Onions: http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/recipefinder/scalloped-potatoes-green-onions-recipe


Easter Bunny Cupcakes: http://www.countryliving.com/recipefinder/easter-bunny-cupcakes-recipes
* so easy to make and look very impressive. I recommend using a toothpick to make the dollop of white frosting into a round bunny face. I also recommend using a toothpick to position the chocolate sprinkles. This is a fun activity for kids. The cupcakes can be baked before hand and then you can have the  pastel colored frosting, pink & blue m&ms, pre-cut marshmallows and brown sprinkles all ready for the kids to decorate the cupcakes with. 


Other Dessert Options (not pictured on my table setting): 
Nanny's Full o' Love Glazed Carrot Cake:http://www.countryliving.com/recipefinder/nannys-love-glazed-carrot-cake-3477
                            


Multicolored Meringues: http://family.go.com/food/recipe-ak-800799-multicolored-meringues-t/


















Cocktail(not pictured on my table setting): 
White Sparkling Sangria,http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/browse-all-recipes/sparkling-white-sangria-10000001692757/index.html

DIFFA Dining by Design

 On sunday I went with my parents to the Architectural Digest Home Design Show at Pier 94 in New York City. My favorite part of the show was DIFFA's Dining by Design. According to Diffa.org; "Dining By Design brings together internationally celebrated designers and local talent to create three dimensional dining installations." Diffa stands for Design Industries Foundation Fighting AIDS. The annual Dining By Design fundraising initiative, which is showcased at trade shows across the country  gives the general public an opportunity to see inspiring decor from talented designers and  has raised millions of dollars for HIV/AIDS programs in the United States.  I was very inspired by these outstanding table designs and wanted to share them with you.  Unfortunatly, my pictures didn't turn out very well so instead of using my pictures I am using pictures from two outstanding blogs: Habitually Chic (http://habituallychic.blogspot.com) & Through the French Eye of Design (http://thefrencheye.blogspot.com). 

To read Habitually Chic's extensive coverage of Diffa's Dining By Design go to:

 http://habituallychic.blogspot.com/2012/03/diffa-dining-by-design-2012-jonathan.html (Part 1)

http://habituallychic.blogspot.com/2012/03/diffa-dining-by-design-part-deux.html   (Part 2)

http://habituallychic.blogspot.com/2012/03/diffa-dining-by-design-part-iii.html   (Part 3)

Here's a look at most of the other tables at DIFFA Dining by Design. Enjoy!

Merchandise Mart Properties table above and below designed by DesignLush

Input Creative Studio

Domoore Designs 

I am in love with these chairs!!!! I am big Andy Warhol fan & would love to throw a party with pop art inspired graphics

Artistic Tile table designed by Thom Filicia

Tilton Fenwick

Nile Johnson for Philosophy Design Studio & Cheryl Umbles for Perspective Interiors

RDYC Interior Design + Architectural Development

Liebherr designed by Libby Langdon

jesGordon/properFun

I love the orange zebra print carpet & would love to do a party with colored ribbon hanging from the ceiling & walls. 

Shawn Henderson Interior Design

Dufner Heighes 

I love that photo wall! I think that is such a great decor idea for a birthday party, anniversary, Bar/Bat Mitzvah

Arpad Baksa

Such a cool outdoor party! Its a fantasy of mine to throw a party on a NYC rooftop (maybe I won't include the bird (pictured below) in my future decor set-up though, lol) 

Echo

David Ling

This is very modern & minimalist and I happen to enjoy that aesthetic. 

Eric Warner for Aesthete Ltd.

Marimekko with Studios

My absolute favorite table at the show! I love bright colors and big bold prints so this table was right up my alley!!!

Maya Romanoff designed by Roger Thomas

HBA

Herman Miller

Ethan Allen

Resource Furniture

Design Within Reach

Marchesa by Lenox

Marchesa is my favorite fashion label & I was super excited to see the tableware that they created in collaboration with Lenox and I of course loved the stunning  Marchesa dresses  in the corner

Goil Amornivat & Thomas Morbitzer & Tietz-Baccon

New York Design Center styled by Alexa Stevenson

 How cute is that Chanel bag  in the back of the chair! such a cool idea for a birthday  party for a fashionista. 

Fashion Institute of Technology

New York University - Mentors Isabel & Ruben Toledo

Loved this table! It reminded me of the secret garden 

Since Alfredo Parades of Ralph Lauren is being honored for his work with DIFFA, the Ralph Lauren team pulled out all the stops on their table within a cabin.

Benjamin Moore created an amazing book wall which set the tone for the table inside designed by David Stark Design. 

I thought having the pashminas on the back of each chair was a  very smart idea for a dinner  party. Its an easy & inexpensive way to add a pop of color to the room.  I was very excited   to see that David Stark collaborated on this table with Benjamin Moore. 

Jonathan Adler's design for the Kravet table which features his new fabric collection. I love this! the fabrics are gorgeous! 

 Photos by Heather Clawson for Habitually Chic

Photo Courtesy of:  Through the French Eye of Design 

(http://thefrencheye.blogspot.com/2012/03/diffa-2012.html)

I thought this table was amazing. The candle wax gave the table such cool texture!