bride to be- bachelorette sash

*featurette- christina marie karr of kenilworth


in a successful attempt to avoid the cliche store bought "bachelorette" sash, christina crafted one of her own using leather scraps, silk fabrics braided together & a sharpie.

christina's gorgeous sewing machine

baby shower in napa...

*featurette: alex caratachea & amy baxter watson of the napa valley

for my sister's baby shower, her two friends co-hosted a baby blessing and shower in amy's back yard.

midwife friend brooke casey led a blessing for the baby in which we formed a circle with a ribbon draped around each person's wrist. we went around the circle and stated who we were, who our parents were, what qualities in the baby's parents would promote a happy baby and what we were willing to give to the baby (i.e. baby sitting, music lessons, shopping spree's, etc... at the end we each tied a piece of the ribbon around our wrist and vowed to wear it or keep it in a safe place until the baby was born. 

baby clothes hanging on a clothes line...
alex stuffed wheat grass into birch bark
'vases' & made paper baby clothes which
 by printing templates he found online 

center pieces are wheat grass
stuffed into small silver vases

home-made invites using gold
dust/stamp set from papyrus.

ice cream served in 'tea light' candle holders and topped with fresh figs & edible flowers

      

halloween pumpkin carving party...

*featurette: glynn connolly of menlo park
for some fall day-time fun, glynn invited friends over to carve pumpkins and munch on a fall friendly foods...

doo doo doo doo doo
inspector gadget 

"pick me up" orange parisian punch
glynn picked up this recipe on her recent trip to paris. recipe for single drink: 1 ounce cognac, 1 ounce dubonnet, 1/2 ounce anisette, 1 lemon peel, 1 egg white
shake ingredients well with cracked ice.

turkey chili

...with all the fixins

 

home-made carmel apples

lauren and keith's engagement fiesta...

*featurette- nicole cari & jacob soboroff of los angeles
in the garden of their LA home, nic & jake hosted an engagement party in honor of their close friends', lauren & keith malloy.
              (fotos courtesy of lauren ross, photographer.)

"we wanted to create a little country in the city, because lauren + keith live at hollister ranch & a lot of their friends traveled down for the party."  -- nicole

self serve bar
with all the fixins

taco spread
nicole hired a taco lady to cater
the event. a perfect solution so the
hosts dont spend all nite in the kitchen.

 hand stamped cards attached to old milk jugs to designate different liquors at the bar

    

the future mr & mrs malloy

 use simple stamps to create a personal touch.
nicole used string and mini clothes pins to
make the welcome banner.

 

apple season...

my mother sent me this poem today. she has an old apple orchard in her garden and while we never manage to eat even a fraction of the apples, she uses the fruit and branches to decorate her september tables. with apple season just around the corner, start brainstorming table decorations you can make using apples or their branches.

fruit wreaths can be held together with
thin wire & toothpicks or take a very
thick needle and 'sew' them together
using thick string and wrap them
around until they form a wreath.

pile apples in a basket
of any kind: an old wooden
box or even just a bowl

breakfast LA style...

*featurette: lauren cerré of los angeles 

lauren, a producer for current tv, allows us a peek into her los feliz kitchen on a lazy saturday morning for a breakfast gathering. 

(fotos compliments of sister lee cerré,fellow blogger) 

lauren served LA's breakie enchiladas & a plum galette made by sister lee and her mother using yellow plums from their garden in san francisco 

scramble eggs in a pan. add some salsa verde &
cook on low. dip tortilla in the salsa & let soak
for 1 min. fill tortillas with eggs & shredded
 jack cheese. roll & place in baking dish. cover
 with salsa verde so its soaking in an inch of
the salsa. bake till warm & broil for the last
minute to get the cheese crisp. for sides add
pico de gallo, sour cream & green onions. 

     

bachelorette brunch...

for my big sister's bachelorette weekend, we rented a house in ojai valley and kicked off the weekend with a lovely brunch on the outside terrace...

sprinkle generic paper confetti on any table to create a fun, girly ambiance

bachelorette sophie esser of the napa valley made the ace 
hotel's ricotta hotcakes with orange syrup.
*recipe

morning punch:
oj, vodka, seltzer, lemon,
lime, strawberries,blueberries
and finely chopped fresh mint

another birthday garden luncheon...

sangria served in a silver punch bowl
is perfect for a day-time fest.
whip out the old silver or head to
the flea market and pick some up. 

the chandelier is made of
christmas ornaments & mesh
ribbon hung on the old
skeleton of a run-down chandelier.

colorful silly cupcakes with plastic figurines.

 here i served candied ginger and colorful chocolates with fresh fruit.

the point of the chandelier was to create an 'indoor' space outside. for this luncheon, i served tri-colored bell peppers stuffed with lemon & asparagus risotto , a garden salad and roasted chicken skewers.