Party – Halloween party

Tags

cupcakes, dessert, halloween, halloween party, halloween peeps, ice cream, ice cream cones, mini caramel apples, not quite nigella, oreo, pudding, radko shiny brite fraidy cat platters, s'mores, vintage

Well kids, it’s not just a wish anymore – we’re having a Halloween Party! Yup, the invitations are sent, the games are drawn up, and the dessert menu is prepped (P’s got some work ahead of him!).

For now I’ll post some inspiration for the dessert details, as well as an item I have my eyes on.

I’m trying to make the party more of a vintage-Halloween vibe – I don’t want bloody arms and legs all over the food, nor do I want a corpse in my bed a la Not Quite Nigella, who throws INCREDIBLE Halloween parties with great ideas for entertainment that I might possibly need to borrow, by the way! No, I’m looking to keep it really shiny and bright, orange and black and simple. I’m one of those people who can get bogged down in the details because I want to find the perfect dessert and the perfect game and the perfect decorations. But I’m limiting myself to (approximately) five of each type of party planning necessity (games, entertainment, desserts, drinks), except for decor which I allowed myself to choose 7 projects. I decided that if I could reuse a project in a subsequent year that it really didn’t count. Haha, at least I’m starting the planning early!

So here are the desserts so far, in no particular order, from pinterest:

1. Blood-filled cupcakes

These were P’s idea. I like these ones in particular because they have lots of brainy/icing goodness.

2. Tombstone pudding

Literally, any excuse to mix pudding with oreo crumbs I’ll take. I could see putting gummy bones in the pudding too, but I’m not sure if their existence is a figment of my imagination!

3. Halloween peep s’mores

Peeps are cool – last Easter we played trivia and my team’s name was “The Peeps”. We won because of our awesome name. Anyway, s’mores are amazing, and I think this idea is genius!

4. Dipped ice cream cones and oreo ice cream

P’s making his famous ice cream – this time with oreos! I already know this’ll be a hit. I want to make festive dipped cones too, just so people don’t forget it’s Halloween-y.

5. Mini caramel apples

I really had my heart set on making caramel apples for the party, but I had two dilemmas: a) I didn’t think people would sit there and eat an entire apple and b) I got these really cute Martha Stewart dessert wrappers at Homesense and I wanted these to fit in them. I’m such a fusspot! Anyway, I found a recipe where they used a melon baller to make miniature apple spheres, so they were both bite-sized and would fit in the wrappers – perfect!

There you go – it’ll probably be some work, but nothing that P and I can’t handle!

I’ve been ogling these Radko Shiny Brite Fraidy Cat platters for a couple weeks. If I’m going to invest in some Halloween decor, I’m going to make darn sure I’ll like it in a few years, and I think their vintage vibe assures that.

Plus I love cats! I think they look really sweet and cheeky, not scary at all. What do you think of them? And what do you think of the recipe ideas?

AFC

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Party – My sister’s birthday

Tags

anthropologie, birthday, cb2, celebracious, drinking chocolate, gold pig bookends, grass letter holder, green, high tea chocolate bar, mink chocolates, moleskine, Paris, paris in color, sister, soda-lime tumbler, square hi-gloss tray, the cross design, UBC, valentina

My sister L is turning 21, so did a round-up of potential gifts for her. Then I found out she wanted a nice purse, so I had to do something else. Oh well, here’s the original post and then what I got her!

She’s just gone back to school at UBC but she’ll be moving to Paris for exchange come January, so I’m using both of those facts as a jumping off points for her birthday. I started with a much larger round-up but pared it down when I saw the cost (eek!). So here is the pared-down version (you might recognize some of these from my September covets):

1. CB2 – Gold pig bookends: So pretty and golden! L has lots of books and this would be a great way to display some of them.

2. CB2 – Square hi-gloss white tray: Everyone needs a good sturdy tray, especially in university when you spend so much time sitting on your bed doing homework.

3. Anthropologie – Soda-Lime tumbler in clear: These are so pretty, with just a hint of green and a subtle cross-hatch indentation on the glass. Some nice glasses are wonderful when you live in residence and everything else in your kitchen cabinets is your parents’ trash. (I can’t be the only one who lived like that in university…)

4. The Cross Design – Paris in Color: The Cross is a local design studio and shop that totally eminates French chic. This book would be perfect for L to catch up on her Parisian locales before heading off next year.

5. Mink Chocolates – High Tea Dark Chocolate Bar: L only likes dark chocolate, and she’s a huge tea fan – so what better gift than dark chocolate ganache infused with Earl Grey Tea? Mink is a local chocolate place that has THE BEST drinking chocolate I have ever tasted – including against the best drinking chocolate in Paris. I have thought about it repeatedly since my one encounter with the drink, and I’m looking forward to buying some of their make-at-home variety (stocking stuffer, anyone?).

6. CB2 – Grass letter holder: I want this! Haha of course I do – it’s green! A letter holder is so important to have, and can serve double duty as both a repository for homework but also for all the handouts you receive on campus.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY L!!

Then…I found out that she wants a purse so I got her this stuff instead:

1 – Valentina purse in dark green leather

2 – Moleskine weekly planner for 2012-2013

3 – Mink Celebracious dark chocolate with champagne infusion

I think she’ll like all of these. I think I’ll also get her some uniballs in green and black – she loves those things.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY L – TIMES 2!!!

AFC

Party – Candle inspiration

Tags

bhldn, birthday, blue, candles, confetti systems, diamond paper hanging decoration, dollar store, glorious treats, hot house foliage backdrop, kelowna, lemon-themed party, lowe's creative ideas, ombre, oriental trading, pink, pink ombre swirl cake, pom-pom number birthday decoration, quartzite cake stand, rifle paper company, spiralled shoppe straws, tassel garlands, white, white tissue balls

Today I’m introducing a new entry highlighting parties and party planning.

Sigh. I was trying to plan a lemon-themed dessert party for my sister’s birthday this September, but, alas, she was wants to go for Japanese food. The place sounds good and I’m looking forward to it, but I’m still thinking about PARTIES!

When I went to Kelowna last weekend we stopped by the dollar store in West Bank (Kelowna, I swear, is the dollar store capital of the province) and I bought some really pretty pink, blue and white candles – which inspired me to design a party along the same lines. I swear, I pulled those candles out of the bag 10 times in the next half an hour – they were so pretty and dainty and inexpensive, I was revelling in my purchase. For the rest of the trip my mind was swirling with all the party possibilities, so I’ve put my inspiration into reality (well, blogging reality) below:

1. BHLDN – Quartzite Cake Stand: These look like they’re from Bountiful in Venice, California. So beautiful – I love milk glass.

2. BHLDN – Spiralled Shoppe Straws: Gotta have some pretty straws for our drinks!

3. Confetti Systems – Tassel Garlands Blue/Mint: Frankly, if you haven’t seen Confetti Systems’ tassel garlands then you’ve been living under a rock – they’ve been EVERYWHERE over the past two years. Beautiful and celebratory, I think I spent an entire week during wedding planning trying to figure out where to get the shiny paper. Makes the $130 price tag not seem so outrageous.

4. Lowe’s Creative Ideas – Pom-Pom Number Birthday Decoration: Love the ombre effect, and it’s easier than it looks – attach as many coffee filters as looks good to a foam board. Using spray paint, take the entire number outside and spray it all down with one coat; afterwards, spray only about half, then less than that to get more paint on the bottom and more on the top. Genius. Makes those people who dye and drip-dry their coffee filters for projects look like time wasters!

5. Glorious Treats – Pink Ombre Swirl Cake: Loving the ombre effect on this, and it’s on the inside of the cake as well. Would look pretty on the BHLDN cake stand.

6. BHLDN – Hot House Foliage Backdrop: Urgh! Rifle Paper Company, why, WHY did you have to come out with this AFTER MY WEDDING?! And it’s affordable too, at only $118.00. Phooey. I’d put this behind the dessert table. But phooey!

7. Confetti Systems – Confetti-Multi: I love confetti, and, if you’re so inclined, I recommend making it yourself. It’s a perfect way to ensure the theme colours of the day are spread everywhere, even if you don’t have time to make something larger. I made confetti for our wedding and I think it was well worth it – not only did it use up all the scraps from my other projects, but it added colour to otherwise boring white tablecloths. These pretty colours from Confetti Systems would be great to spread on the dessert table or even thrown at the birthday boy or girl if it was a surprise party.

8. Confetti Systems – Diamond Hanging Paper Decoration: Ah, this takes me back to the eighties – reminds me of She-Ra, Trolls and My Little Ponies. I’d hang these from the ceiling all around the room.

9. Oriental Trading – White Tissue Balls: I’d also hang these white tissue balls interspersed with the hanging diamonds. So pretty!

I love the blue, pink and white theme. What do you think?

AFC