Create My Event - Event & Party Ideas Blog

Quick De-cluttering Tips from Unclutterer!

Nobody has time to clean or organize anymore, but everyone knows that living in a cluttered home or office can often make life more stressful and your work even more unproductive! We came across this article on the fabulous website, Unclutterer on 10 tips to beat clutter in less than five minutes. It was written by Gretchen Rubin, the author of another fabulous website: The Happiness Project (more advice we could all use).

Check out my favorite tips, but don't forget to visit their website to see all 10 tips! Good luck de-cluttering today!

- Make your bed each morning.

- Follow the “one-minute rule” – push yourself to do any chore that takes less than one minute. Throw away the junk mail, close the cabinet door, put your dirty socks in the hamper, hang up your wet towel.

- Pause for a moment before you “store” something. Storing something means you don’t intend to use it much. Other than holiday decorations and seasonal clothes, you should strive to “store” as little as possible.

- Get rid of things if they break. When I went through our apartment, I was astonished by how many things I’d kept even though they didn’t work.

- Don’t keep any piece of paper unless you know that you actually need it. I have a friend who, for years, carefully filed away the stubs when she paid her gas bill. “Why?” I asked, mystified. “I have no idea,” she said. Along the same lines, don’t keep anything that would quickly become dated—like travel information. Remember the internet! If you can easily find information online, you don’t need to keep a hard copy.

Photo from Apartment Therapy.com

By Adrienne breaux for 2Modern Design Talk

My Challenge: a Great Wedding Under $5000

so, i am super excited about this post. i know i haven't posted in a while {thanks for reminding me!}, but i have been so busy getting ready for my newest challenge. a fabulous wedding under $5000.

a very good friend of mine got engaged to her long time boyfriend. my girlfriend recently decided to quit her job and go for her master's and PhD, and then she spent her savings on a big down payment for a beautiful old house. all her extra money is going into the new/old house, but she still wants to have a semi-traditional wedding.

so, she called me up to ask me if i could help her. she wants a 'real' wedding, but she only wants to spend about $5000. of course i eagerly accepted the challenge, and the wheels in my mind have not stopped spinning.

research, research, and more research!

so last weekend, laurel and i got inspired to play around with some pretty table-scapes.

she wants her colors to be inspired by the beach. yellow for the sun, blue for the water, and neutrals for the sand. the wedding and reception will be on the beach, so we have so much natural beauty to help us out.

here is what we came up with. i would love to know what you guys think.

allison@occasionsandstyle.com

this first table is more formal. we used plain white cotton tablecloths with a watery blue chiffon fabric layered over the top. white, dotted swiss napkin were placed on top of silver charger plates so the napkins could hang from the table giving the table drape and more volume. my girlfriend has asked if she can use my china, and i of course obliged that request.

the china is a limoges pattern from tiffany&co called moderne. we also used my grandmother's silver and my crystal. the silver is faneuil also by tiffany&co. the crystal is the hampton pattern, again, from tiffany. it's very pretty, but it's not terribly ornate or cut, but heavy enough to be warm and elegant.

we scattered small votive candles in white and pale green.

laurel did these centerpieces. she used floral frogs to create the centerpiece of hydrangea. i bought the flowers from costco for $9!

i think i spent about $12 on this table between the flowers and the candles.

this is the second table we created.

this table was much more casual, but super fun and quite lovely. using the same white tablecloth i found some really sweet seersucker and stripe table runners at Target! i crisscrossed the runners to create 'place mats' instead of charger plates.

laurel, aka miss crafty made napkin rings from seashells i bought while i was at the beach. i think i payed a quarter for each shell, maybe even less! she glued white ric-rac onto a wide tan grosgrain ribbon. she tied the ribbon/shell napkin ring around a plain white cotton napkin. these can be purchased anywhere for any price!

the dinnerware is from Sur la Table. the deep robin's egg blue dinner plates with the pale yellow salad plates really made this table come to life.

we scattered tea lights around the center of the table and under the centerpiece. the flowers, again, Costco!! for $16.

we just basically threw more seashells around the table. i bought these seashells for my daughter and i think i spent about $10 on all of them.

i didn't want to use my formal crystal on this table, so we used some of my everyday wine glasses i found at Pier 1. i think i payed $3-4 per glass.

the sterling champagne bucket was also my grandmother's, and the bottle of perrier jouet in the bucket probably helped give me my late night energy to get this all done! the champagne flutes are the hand painted flutes that come with the perrier jouet gift set. my mother loved perrier jouet, so i have a set of about 20 of these flutes. lucky me!

all in all, i spent maybe $30 on this table. and, i think it's my favorite. i love casual elegance, and this table just makes me feel happy and easy.

if you have pretty china, crystal, and silver or you know someone who does, you can borrow them. if you can't borrow, then you can rent plain white china, and simple flatware and stemware. or, you can opt for a more casual table and use some fun, pretty everyday stuff.

i'm really excited about these tables. i think we can easily create this wedding for $5000!

i can't wait to read your comments!

allison@ occasions&style

Real Life Entertaining

"Modern, casual, informal." These are the words that Jennifer Rubell uses to describe her entertaining style in her first book, REAL LIFE ENTERTAINING, Easy Recipes And Unconventional Wisdom.

Rubell is one of today's elite entertaining mavens. Her articles appear regularly in Domino and she has been featured in Vogue, Food and Wine and Bon Appetite. She writes "the old rules of entertaining just don't apply any more." This is good news to those leaving convention behind to find more creative and self expressive ways to entertain at home.

RLE is organized in 8 chapters with menus arranged by party theme. They are Drop In Dinners, Sit Down Dinners, Get-togethers, Brunch, Lunch Buffets, One Pot Meals, Dinner For A Crowd and Desserts. At the start of each chapter are The Essentials. The Basic Concept is a personal essay of Rubell's, expanding on the chapter's theme. The essay is followed by brief organizing categories: Ideal number of guests, Who to invite, Minimum acceptable advance notice, What to tell your friends to bring, Setting the mood, Drink of choice, Ultimate sign of success and Why I cook the meals in this chapter.

   

The menus are tasty and chic. The Miami Shrimp Grill is found in Drop In Dinners. Included are recipes for Grilled Shrimp with Garlic and Citrus, Buttered Corn Wheels and Papaya and Cilantro Salad. Other "long on style, short on fuss" menus include a New York Brunch, Middle Eastern Beauty and So South Of France.

Rubell's Party Tricks are shared in highlighted side bars. It is here that she instructs readers to thoroughly clean their tabletop and arrange hor d'oeuvres geometrically on the table, eliminating platters. As a conversation starter for more shy hosts and hostesses: walk around with a wine bottle in hand, offering refills.

Each chapter also features what Rubell calls Real Life Wisdom. For real life entertaining, forgo having an expensive full bar. Instead, serve water, wine and one specialty cocktail. Rubell lets readers off the hook by recommending they save their efforts for the main meal and put out some good roasted nuts or olives for the cocktail hour.

The Dessert chapter comes last but really isn't a chapter of menus at all. Rubell shares her real life wisdom to either bake something, buy something, have a friend bring something or forget it completely and serve some liqueurs. To keep things real, Rubell suggests readers "don't take on the task of playing both roles [baker and chef] for the same event in the limited time you have in your own kitchen."

Highly experienced party givers are not likely to find Rubell's recipes cutting edge gourmet. Yet, Rubell's book is worth adding to kitchen collections for those inspired to find more simplistic and stylish approaches to entertaining.

"What I craved was simplicity and intimacy."

“People are understanding that it’s about having people come to your house and enjoy spending time together. Not so much about having perfectly matching silver and perfectly matching plates."

“My idea of a great party is a party where people meet each other who did not know each other before, where there’s delicious food, and where the host has a good time.”

- Jennifer Rubell

The retro dinner party

After coming home from vacation, it's hard to get back into reality and sometimes we need a jolt of fun and energy to keep us going through the winter.  I received a great idea from one of my favorite websites that I just had to share - the Retro Dinner Party.  She Does the City is a funky, fresh, and hip website based on happenings and events in downtown Toronto that I read regularly.  Jen McNeely wrote a great article on how to throw a wildly hilarious Retro Dinner Party and I'm dying to try it out.  Jen is a funny and talented writer so instead of paraphrasing and taking all the fun out of her article, I will direct you to the website for you to discover and enjoy.

I am looking forward to having many dinner parties this winter, as it really is TOO cold to go outside much in January and February in Toronto, so I am looking for more ideas for themed dinner parties.  Does anyone have a recipe, theme, or music play list that is fail-proof in getting your parties started?  A funny story of past dinners with friends?  Let us know!

Tips for Apple Pies

As a citizen of Pennsylvania, one of the largest apple states in the nation, I'm happy to present a few tips for making your apple pie a main attraction at your event this autumn. While it's already difficult to pass up this gooey, cinnamon smothered, comfort food, here's a few resources to make your pie perfect.

1) Combine two different kinds of apples to get the most flavor. Try using tart and sweet apples together. If you can find local apples from a farmer's market, use those for the freshest results. Check this list for apples that do well in your area, or look for flavor combos that are appealing to you: Apple Varieties

2) Avoid apples that get mushy when cooked: MacIntosh and Courtland are two you should steer clear of for baking.

3) Mix just-sliced apples with a tablespoon of lemon juice to keep them from browning till you pour them into the pie.

4) Crust Lattice and edging can be very difficult to make. Try this easy-as-pie method of making faux lattice and edging from Martha Stewart.

5) Try dripping caramel sauce over your finished pie--it's more delicious than you can imagine!

Wee Itsy-Bitsy Halloween

Participating or throwing a Halloween party that include the wee ones? If you want everyone to have fun – you will need to think about your littlest members of your family. Though kids as young as 2 can enjoy dressing up, many a child gets freaked out at Halloween. Grasping what is “pretend” is a much older developmental skill. Here are a few ideas to get ready for the party, see more ideas at my blog-memorablegatherings.blogspot.com

Halloween Prep:
** Take some night-time walks in your neighborhood.
** Light a few candles the week before Halloween.
** Play games with turning lights on and off.
** Try costumes on and play in them.
** Try dressing up Fiddo in a fun costume- these always reveal the pet's face and can help kids start to understand fantasy and costumes... kids so identify with their beloved pets in powerful ways!
** Dress up a teddy bear for the holiday together, so that they can see a costume coming on and off beloved teddy.
** Read some books...non-scary books include:
- Dappled Apples, Froggy’s Halloween, Halloween Cats, Halloween Hats, It’s Pumpkin Time, Plumply, Dumply Pumpkin

Watch some non-scary holiday movies together:
- Monsters Inc., Incredibles, Pooh's Heffalump Halloween Movie, It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, Monster Squad, House of Mouse Halloween, Veggie Tales

Throwing the party?
Learn from the experts! You can attend or borrow ideas from hosted kid-friendly Halloween activities. They are good role models about what works well. These can be found at:
** Public Libraries
** Zoos
** Nature Centers
** Botanical Gardens
** Nature Hiking areas
** Pumpkin Patches
** Farms

Other ways to get in the “spirit”? Choose for the first couple years to Trick-or-Treat only at friends and family's houses or attend Harvest Festivals at local churches, where they will know you and adjust for your wee ones.

Party image from: Carolyne Roehm

Best Pumpkin Carving Patterns on the Net

After years of carving goofy, toothy, triangle-eyed pumpkins as a kid, I've carried my love of jack-o-lanterns into adulthood. These days, my love of all things spooky often inspires creepier carvings. But if the internet is any indicator of how many ways a pumpkin can be carved, the possibilities are endless. This list of sites offers tutorials, creative ideas, and printable patterns you can use to recreate styles that range from classic to outrageously hilarious.

Seed of the Zombie Pumpkins! -My favorite Tim Burton inspired patterns! Check out the Rock Gods and the Freakish Freebies Collections. For $2 you gain immediate access to 2 patterns of your choice; paying $5-$20 earns unlimited access to all 138 and entry into a random prize drawing.

Pumpkin Carving 101 -Details every step of the process: choosing your pumpkin, pumpkin carving tools, traditional carving, pattern trace carving, and lighting your jack-o-lantern.
Advice on photographing your creations, growing your own pumpkin patch, and giving your spooky sidekicks a proper burial after they've rotted past their prime.

The Pumpkin Wizard -400 Free patterns as well as a Members Only section.

The Pumpkin Lady -Browse the free patterns section for some great classic pumpkin faces.

Carving Simulator -Not sure how your idea for a carving will turn out? Test it on this free simulator. Hand draw what you'd like to cut out with your mouse. When you're finished, press Done to illuminate your pumpkin for a preview of your carving.

Virtual Jack-O-Lantern -Want to share your spooky spirit with distant friends and family? This simulator allows you to send email greetings to your loved ones.

Extreme Pumpkins -Jack-o-lanterns like you've never seen them before.

Here They Come - Those Notorious Office Parties!

Office and company parties seem to start with Halloween and roll all the way through the New Year. Some of us have to assist with planning early when it is a gala or complex event.

Here are a few often-missed planning questions for those organizing office parties to ensure a smooth, enjoyable event.

Is a daytime or evening party more convenient for attendees?

Are you trying to schedule the party to make sure everyone can attend?

Are you providing lots of non-alcoholic alternatives that are attractive and inticing?

Are you suggesting a level of dress or dress code to assist people in making tasteful choices?

Are you including ways for people to mingle with people from other departments and meet the president, CEO or VPs?

Are you trying to include spouses and significant others and children?

Are you trying to make it comfortable for those who arrive a bit early or on-the-dot?

Do you have an organized time in the schedule to thank those hosting the party?

Are you envisioning an event that reflects well on the company? Included here are issues of appropriate location, alcohol flow and taking your employees' interests seriously.  

Can you provide a babysitting service or kid's activities for the event?

Is there a need to give guidence related to gifts? What's been done in previous years? What kinds of gifts were given, and to whom? How about suggesting a shift in the corporate culture toward making charitable donations?

Here's to the office party season!

Unusual People Have Events Too

Not everyone is traditional. When a non-traditional person starts musing over hosting an event, and when they are not pressured to conform to societal mandates - often something new, insired and exciting can evolve. As an event planner, this can be the most challenging, yet rewarding work there is out there.

Pressure them to conform to the pre-programmed expectations of traditionalists... and you have eliminated the possibility to get something new out into the world.

There are few resources to help non-traditionalists, partly because of the infinate complexity of the subject - and the fact that there is little opportunity for profitability for niche markets. I have located a few resources, and anyone is invited to add to the arsenal. Just send in your comments, and I will be sure to review and post them here.

www.uniquevenues.com hosts basic searchable info on non-traditional venues such as colleges, universities, conference centers, theaters, mansions, dining and entertainment venues, museums and castles among others.

At ethicalweddings.com they boast: ”Local, fair trade, organic, eco-friendly, recycled… these are a few of our favourite things at ethicalweddings.com, a searchable database of ethical wedding services and products which give you the chance to celebrate your wedding the way you want while giving others something to celebrate too.”

Offbeat Bride offers inspiration for the “aisles less traveled.” Author Ariel Meadow Stallings shares her own experiences that of dozens of nontraditional brides. Offbeatbride.com is the companion website for the book, with such unconventional categories as “Wedding Porn”... and it does not hold back. Reoccurring themes are: tattooed brides, red wedding gowns, groomsmen as bandmembers and veil alternatives. Warning: she drops the “f-bomb” on her site a few times.

To quote Ariel … " For me, the scariest part of getting engaged was feeling as if I were suddenly buying into an identity that wasn’t my own. I was having a bridentity crisis. Suddenly I was supposed to care about floral arrangements and classical quartets. Suddenly I was supposed to like poufy white dresses and showing off jewelry. Suddenly I was supposed to buy five-hundred-page glossy magazines and take a strong interest in decorative bows for the backs of rented chairs. I was a bride, but I wasn’t that kind of bride. I didn’t care about any of these things. I just loved my partner, Andreas, and I wanted to have a big party to share that love with our family and friends."

As planners, we can reduce pressure and try to buffer the stress for our client when resistance from family, society and traditional vendors arises. It is rewarding to assist people in realizing something new, something not experienced before, and somehing that truly reflects the wonderful person hosting the event.

SIMPLE HINTS ABOUT FLOWERS FROM THE FLOWER DISTRICT

Pictured: "prairie gentian"

Flower districts or flower marts in large cities are the premier resource for growers, shippers, suppliers, wholesalers, distributors, floral designers, and retail florists. Though primarily a wholesale operation, they are open to the public during certain hours for retail purchases.

This is not your normal shopping experience. Do not expect salesclerks and glamour or overstuffed chairs. It is cold (for the flowers) industrial, busy and intense! But, you can get some spectacular flowers for you party or event for amazing prices.

Bring cash. You'll get better prices. Say "Paying cash, how much?" Don't haggle with people like a shark. Flower people are some of the nicest folks you'll meet.

Be nice. The nicer you are (asking people's names, etc.), the more "flexible" they will be with you.

Go early. There will be no selection left if you are showing up at 9 am. They have likely been going since an ungodly hour like 4 am! The start of your day is the end of their day.

Only touch / pick up flowers that you are strongly considering - excessive and needless handling of flowers can damage their stock. They will observe this and not appreciate you.

Use care. If you pick up a flower and there is water dripping from the stem onto their container of flowers will damage their stock. They will observe this and not appreciate you. Amateur alert!

Gentle examination. If the blossom is closed on a loose petal variety of flower, you can blow one blossom open gently with your breath to see the inside.

To get organized when decorating for an event, make a dress rehearsal run down to the mart to determine parking, growers that you like and seasonal selection the week before your event.