Party Invitations, Party Planning & Event Ideas

Break Up Party

Patty was looking forward to her upcoming fall wedding the day before Valentine's Day. She and her betrothed had been having a long distance romance for many months. Just as she was packing to jump on the Texas bus, Southwest Airlines, she got a call: don't come, I'm breaking up with you.

It was Friday, the 13th. What fool breaks up with his fiance the day before Valentine's, which also falls on such a superstitious date? Apparently, the fool Patty was engaged to.

After a couple of weeks of crying and hiding, we were able to pry Patty out for an evening out. The Cielo Boutique was hosting an evening of art and jazz. The Cielo Boutique just happens to owned by the wife of a member of the NBA Spurs so the celebrity factor was certainly draw enough to get her out of the house. Dressed to kill, she found herself having fun and we knew just what we could do for her: throw a break up party and soon.

Guest list. Send-o-matic online invite. Champange and break up cake. Pin The Tail On The Jackass. Tarot Reader. Lip balm party favor in Dirty Bastard (see below). Patty back to laughing with her friends. Wah-lah.

 

Shannon Moakler with her break up cake  photo: Denise Truscello

Christine Gallager shared an idea we are co-opting for Patty's party - serve food proven to boost sexual energy. Things like oysters and shrimp and of course, chocolate. 

Ciopinno from Simply Recipes.

Our signature libation for the evening...

Dirty Bastard

1 1/2 oz vodka
1/2 oz blackberry brandy
cranberry juice
1 squeeze limes

Pour vodka, brandy and cranberry juice (to taste) into an ice-filled highball glass. Add one squeeze of lime, and serve. Cocktail.com

Nzgirl.com come recommends this playlist for the Ultimate Break Up CD

1. Gloria Gaynor- I Will Survive!
2. Amiel- Lovesong
3. Blink 182- Dammit
4. Tyrese- How you Gonna Act Like That?
5. Mariah Carey- Always be my Baby
6. Bonnie Tyler- Total Eclipse of the Heart
7. Daniel Beddingfield- Gotta Get Through This
8. Goldfinger- Counting the Days
9. No Doubt- Don’t Speak
10. Amanda Perez- Angel
11. Christina Aguilera- Fighter
12. Dido- See You When You’re 40
13. Michelle Branch- Goodbye to You.
14. Toni Braxton- He Wasn’t Man Enough for Me
15. Sozzi- Letting Go
16. Dashboard Confessionals- Screaming Infidelities
17. Incubus-I Miss You
18. Three Days Grace – I Hate Everything About You
19. Dido- Whiteflag
20. Brooke Fraser- Reverie
21. Pink- There You Go
22. Isyss- Single for the Rest of my Life
23. Greenday- Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)
24. Tracey Chapman- Promise

"Bury the past and move on to a new tomorrow." WeddingRingCoffin.com

"You start a marriage with champagne and cake. Finish it that way, too." Patti to Frances in Under A Tuscan Sun.

Resources:
Plum Party
GCDSpa
Divorce Party Planner

St Patrick's Day Contest - Win Modern Art!

 

St Patrick's Day contest from 2Modern - win a Availisa Print. To win, give us a St Patrick's Day party idea, recipe or tradition. Remember to use either your blogger login or first name and last name so that we can identify you if you win. We will post the winner's name with instructions for collecting your prize, please check back Mar 17, 2009 to see if you won!

Giveaway ends Mar 17, 2009 at midnight PST (and sorry, prizes can only be sent to locations in the US). Good Luck!

Cheers,  2Modern.

Caipirinha

The national cocktail of Brazil, the Caipirinha, is a mod substitute for your usual Carnivale libations. Made from cachaca, sugar and lime, it is as beautiful as a Mojito. I find it a bit more smooth, although the alcohol content is about 40%. Like Margaritas, recipes multiply well to pitchers. 

Caipirinha

2 tsp granulated sugar 8 limes wedges 2 1/2 oz cachaca

Muddle the sugar into the lime wedges in an old-fashioned glass. Fill the glass with ice cubes. Pour the cachaca into the glass. Stir well. Recipe from Cocktail.com

Resource:
www.cachacastore.com
Leblon cachaca 

Baby Bird Blue

The creative diva that is Tanya at Munchkins and Mayhem did a super, super-cute shower for a friend expecting twins by a surrogate. I'm so over pastel pinks and blues and fluffy bears for baby showers. They seem so generic, but you can tell how personal this shower was, down to the twins' initials incorporated on the birdhouse place settings. A fun shower theme if you want to focus on mommy, especially for a spring shower.

Check out these other sources of inspiration: Bluebird invitations from tiny prints and PaperStyle. JannyPie's fab birdhouses and cupcakes make a beautiful tabletop, Flickr user bebe's beautiful blue setting, and creativity running rampant at Renovating a Brooklyn Limestone, I'm crazy over all the feathers! Lalalaurie's too hip color combo of blue and orange. Not Just a Mommy!

Flip Flop Kids Birthday Cake

Your kids will love this flip flop birthday cake made of pre-made pound cake. Thanks Better Homes & Gardens!

Better Blog

Thanks to Better Blog for the Create My Event shout out!

Valentine's Day Contest Winner Announced

Congratualtions! The winner of the 2Modern.com Valentine's Day Contest is Alysa!:

"My husband and I are taking the train to visit my sick mom. It is cheaper (and a green alternative) than driving, plus it will be romantic to just relax and read magazines. We are packing a bottle of wine and some cheese/cracker snacks to eat when the stars come out. They have a portion of the train with a glass walls and you can watch the landscape melt away with a glass of wine. So this year, our valentine is my mother. My husband and I are going make a healthy dinner for her and watch movies at home."

Winner please respond to this post with your full name, shipping address, email address and telephone number by March 1, 2009. This information will not be published and will be kept private.

Thank you to everyone who participated! Check back often to Create My Event for more giveaways!

Congratualtions! The winner of the 2Modern.com Valentine's Day Contest is Alysa!:

"My husband and I are taking the train to visit my sick mom. It is cheaper (and a green alternative) than driving, plus it will be romantic to just relax and read magazines. We are packing a bottle of wine and some cheese/cracker snacks to eat when the stars come out. They have a portion of the train with a glass walls and you can watch the landscape melt away with a glass of wine. So this year, our valentine is my mother. My husband and I are going make a healthy dinner for her and watch movies at home."

Winner please respond to this post with your full name, shipping address, email address and telephone number by March 1, 2009. This information will not be published and will be kept private.

Thank you to everyone who participated! Check back often to Create My Event for more giveaways!

"My husband and I are taking the train to visit my sick mom. It is cheaper (and a green alternative) than driving, plus it will be romantic to just relax and read magazines. We are packing a bottle of wine and some cheese/cracker snacks to eat when the stars come out. They have a portion of the train with a glass walls and you can watch the landscape melt away with a glass of wine. So this year, our valentine is my mother. My husband and I are going make a healthy dinner for her and watch movies at home."

Winner please respond to this post with your full name, shipping address, email address and telephone number by March 1, 2009. This information will not be published and will be kept private.

Thank you to everyone who participated! Check back often to Create My Event for more giveaways!

Caricature Artist at a Birthday Party

My friend Monique's 40th Birthday Party last night at Town Hall in San Francisco had a Caricature Artist making drawings of guests all night. What a great idea! Everyone left with a fun memento.

Valentine Day Treasure Hunt

Several weeks ago I posted an idea for a Valentine’s Day activity.  The activity was a treasure hunt.  Now, before I go any further, I discovered that many mistake scavenger hunt for treasure hunt...which is a BIG difference.

A scavenger hunt is where you give the participant(s) a list and they must either go door to door or around their neighborhood scavenging for what is on the list.  The first to return with all the items, wins.  Now, a treasure hunt is where you give the participant a clue, which leads them to the next clue, and ultimately the clues lead them to the final result or “treasure”. 

Needless to say, I find treasure hunts a lot more fun and this is what I ultimately did for my husband  this year for Valentine ’s Day.  I did it early so that all of you could copy the idea if you are struggling to come up with something a little unique.  J Below are my clues and how I set everything up.

To start off the hunt, I wrapped his first clue in a gift bag with tissue paper. 

 

Roses are red,
violets are blue
a challenging treasure hunt
now awaits you…

If you’re ready, ask for your first clue.

So, of course, he was interested and asked for his first clue, which read:              

1. It’s edible, it can be milk, dark or white and it’s incredibly popular as a gift for Valentine’s Day.  In fact, many books have been written on the subject…learn more at the nearest Library.

Hint:  You’ll have to do some searching

I made sure that I gave him the first clue around the time the library opened.  I actually went the day before and hid the clue inside a book titled “Chocolate, chocolate.”

His next clue (which was hidden inside the book) read:

2. It’s one of the most romantic movies of all time (according to moviefone.com), it’s quite funny and from time to time you like to quote from it.  Head to the nearest Smith’s and ask for the movie department manager to see if you know the answer.

Hint:  “As you wish.”

 

For this clue, I actually went to Smith’s the day before and explained what I wanted to do.  I purchased the movie, talked with the manager (who was fortunately working the next day) and left the manager with the purchased movie and next clue.  My husband told me after the hunt that he was so glad that I included the website of where I found the top list in clue #2.  He stayed at the library and researched the answer before he headed off to Smith’s. 

 

After he successfully told the store manager what the title of the movie was (it was Princess Bride), he was off to his next destination which include a pharmacy in search of M&M’s.  The clue only made sense to him, so that is why I omitted it here, but he knew that he needed to go to a specific location and find M&M’s in the Valentine isle.

 

To plant the M&M clue, I went the day of.  After my husband left in search of his second clue, I headed straight to the pharmacy, purchased the bag of M&M’s and talked with the cashier.  I wrote on the receipt for my husband to ask for “Tina” (the woman who sold me the M&M’s), tucked the receipt inside the clue (that was then taped to the M&M’s bag) and hid the bag back on the shelf.

 

 

My husband’s last clue led him to a nearby park that our dog absolutely loves.  In the middle of the field where we throw the Frisbee for my dog, was a bunch of balloons and his last clue.  This was also a clue that I planted while my husband was on the treasure hunt.   

 

His last clue read:

    It isn’t far from here and more than anything, I love spending time with you in this spot. 

 

The answer was home, where I had prepared a fun lunch and decorated the table with rose petals.

 

I gave him a total of 5 clues where he had to drive to each destination.  It took him a little less than an hour to complete the hunt…just enough time for me to run to the pharmacy, plant the balloons and get back home to prepare lunch.  If I wouldn’t have been organized, however, it wouldn’t have worked.  So, if you are going to do this, I recommend the following:

 

         

• Plant as many clues as you can the day before and do so in the reverse intended order.  So, for example, going to Smith’s first and talking with the store manager allowed me to edit the clue that led my husband to Smith’s.   For those places that have high traffic or where the clue won’t last long (i.e. the balloons) make those destinations toward the end of the hunt, giving you plenty of time to head out and place the clues after your hunter leaves.

I have to say this was so much fun to put together.  My husband also said he had a great time and really enjoyed going from place to place because he didn’t know what to expect.  If you decide to do a treasure hunt this Saturday, best of luck and  have fun.  Happy Valentine’s Day.

Love this stuff! Perfectly couture bridal fashions!!

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Girl Extraordinaire designs whatever you want, in whatever sizes you need, whatever colors, etc... The stuff is so well made and absolutely adorable! 

Designers Tiffany Bressan-Corbett and Courtney Noelle have created a fabulous product that serves the needs of any bride and her wedding party. Their designs have been worn by Tori Spelling, Adrienne Curry and the designs have been featured in The Knot, OK, Rachel Ray, etc...

 

LOVE this bikini! (and wishing I could wear it as well is this girl!)

Tiffany and Courtney have also published a book! I just ordered 4 copies for myself, my daughter and my friend who just had twins. It is the sweetest book and so inspirational.

So, if you are looking for some really cute, not at all cheesy personalized bridal tees and shorts, etc... Check out Girl Extraordinaire! to find out where you can buy this great line.

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