Hello October.

need these*

We got some really generous gifts for our engagement party, thank you!

We got some really sweet serving ware, that I haven't posted pictures of yet because, trust me readers, you'll be seeing them quite a bit. 

It's decided we need to host a monthly dinner.  I don't know about you, but we never get invited to dinner parties, do people even have them anymore?  What ever happened to that?  We need to start that one up.

What better time than October to start?  Always the planner, I am already looking forward to having a Halloween party complete with spiked apple cider and our fire pit (that I need to rebuid this weekend) with some good hearty food, stew, yum.

Have you ever made spiked cider, it's simple and oh so delicious?  Here's my simple recipe.  I think I need to get a gallon of cider and a bottle of jack, it's supposed to be chilly this weekend.  YES!

Per Serving.
1 cup of cider (per person)
2 shots of jack daniels
1 Cinnamon stick

Heat cider (most likely you'll make a few cups) until hot.
Add your Jack Daniels and a Cinnamon stick in your favorite mug.
Stir, serve, drink, repeat.  This drink will get you and keep you quite toasty.

*DO NOT, i repeat DO NOT!!! add your jack while you are heating your cider, it will lower your alcohol content... and that my lovlies, would be a terrible thing to do.

happy fall!

chocolate covered pretzels

This was fun task... just not for me.  Going off of directions found online (that my mom was iffy about from the get go) I messed up the first batch of chocolate.  Stressed out with a trillion other things to do, I relinquished the job to my mom.

According to the other blog (which I won't name) all you had to do was put the chocolate in a Pyrex dish and heat it every 30 seconds until it melted it, stirring it between heating.  DON'T and I mean DON'T do this.  It will burn your chocolate, it will suck, it will not liquify, do not pass go, do one collect $200.00.

My mom decided to add a drop of milk and a tad of butter... little by little, heating the chocolate in water in the Pyrex measuring cup.  As it gradually heated she stirred and added a drop of milk and a bit of butter until it was a liquid, but not too runny.  I'm sorry about the quantities of butter, milk, and chocolate... with most moms they just use their mom-given instincts that makes it impossible to get an exact measurement. 

"L: How much butter and milk did you add?
M: Ummm, I dunno, just until it was liquid-y.
L: Okay? Cool, as long as we get this done, but how am I going to blog about it?
M: Just tell them a little bit at a time.  Don't take any pictures, I look like shit.
L: I have to Mom, I need pics for the blog, we all look like shit right now, tough.
M: Ooo, take a picture of my boobs."

True story.

Next Jeremy, my mom's bf was on dunking patrol.  Two hours, two bags of chocolate, one package of sprinkles, and three bags of pretzels later, we had favors for 80 people.  The chocolate hardened better with the sprinkle topping opposed to just chocolate.  NOTE if it's hot/humid cure the finished pretzels in the fridge or freezer, but not for too long or they won't be as crunchy.

After forming an assembly line of my MOH Lucy, BM (haha) Claire, Mom, and Jeremy (I was cutting paper), we had the completed favors that of course I don't have a snapped pic of.  I will upload one later as more pics come in.

These favors were time consuming, but well worth it. 

Favors (80 people with 4 per bag is 320 minis)
Pretzels      $3.00 

Ribbon        $1.00

Chocolate   $6.00

Sprinkles     $2.00

________________

Total  12.00  (that's a sweet deal at $0.15 per person!)

DIY decor instructions

Here are some of the DIYs.  The ones that are linked are from other fun sites, since I followed their instructions I'll let you visit them.

Flag Line

Poms

Foraged Flowers can be found here.  Note, all left overs I put as a back drop behind the guest book table with white lights intertwined, you can see it here in the top left picture.

Table Cloth art is simple: To save time on the hectic day we pre-measured and cut the brown paper to size.  When we arrived to set up we used tape to keep the paper in place.  Using stamps to add interest we stamped a small bird pattern on the tables.  To encouraged fun doodles we put a handful of crayons ($1.00 for 48 at the dollar tree) on the tables.  Clean up was easy, and the paper is recyclable as opposed to plastic table cloths.  We also used 3 cloth table cloths for the bar, food, and dessert tables (not pictured).

Please see here for all associated prices.

...coming up next is how my mom and her boyfriend saved the day in terms of the pretzel favors.

Crafting

VERY VERY little got thrown away at the party, I have listed what and how I will be reusing

I will be reusing the:

Jars for the wedding (just dying them blue, I'll show you in the future).

Brown Paper for misc. crafts and parties.

Flag Paper for scrap booking and crafts

Poms for gift wrap

Balloons for shower and wedding, let alone parties (I had to order 72 of them)

Floral wire for home made wedding boutonnieres and corsages

Tea lights for shower and wedding

String for everything... and the kitties!

The only thing I was bummed about was not getting to use the decorated table clothes (we put crayons on them for fun) in the scrap book, they got too messy with food.

Here's a financial run down of what I spent on crafts:

Jars________________________.70ea     (24)     $16.80     AC MOORE

Flag Paper ________________$12.00                                      AC MOORE

Flag String ________________$2.00                                        DOLLAR TREE

Tissure Paper______________$1.00            (5)    $5.00          DOLLAR TREE

Brown Table Paper _________ $13.99                                        HOME DEPOT

Round Ballons_____________$24.00                                        BALLOON WAREHOUSE

3 Battery Powered Tealights___$1.00           (14)   $14.00       DOLLAR TREE

Pretzles___________________$1.00           (3)                       DOLLAR TREE

Sprinkles and Chocolate Chips__ $8.00                                       PATHMARK

Balloon Ribbon_____________$1.00                                       DOLLAR TREE

Pretzel Ribbon______________$1.00                                     DOLLAR TREE

Floral Wire________________ $1.00                                      DOLLAR TREE

Fishing Line HAD

Heart and White Lights HAD

Misc Bottles HAD

Decorative Tray HAD

Stamps  HAD

(3)Cloth Table Clothes HAD


Hanging Decor 
POMS  6.00 (there were 14 that we later clustered to make big colorful ones)
Flags     14.00  (there were (2) 25' and (1) 20')
______________
Total 20.00   (.42 per pom 4.60 per flag line!)

(14) Table Decor
Brown Paper 13.99
Jars                16.80
Flowers          FR.EE
TLights          14.00
__________________
Total  44.79 (that's 3.19 per table!)

Favors (80 people with 4 per bag is 320 minis)
Pretzels      3.00

Ribbon        1.00

Chocolate   6.00

Sprinkles     2.00

________________

Total  12.00  (that's .15 per person!)

I apologize for the small amount of pictures, I really just wanted to enjoy the day and the people so I wasn't my usual shutter bug self.

As far as food and booze, that's a different story, we spent around 2000.00 on the entire party (which is pretty good considering the amount of people and freedom we had.)

The Party

My mom says I should take up event planning after this engagement party... who knows.

First and for most, I wouldn't have been able to make the quanit personal touches such as chocolate covered pretzels, poms, flag-lines, wildflower arrangements, etc... it it wasn't for the crew.

One thing I don't mention about DIY is that sometimes you can't do it all by yourself, for a large party of 80, you'll need more hands and help than you think.  So thank you to all who tied ribbon, dunked pretzels, hung decorations, and helped me keep my sanity.

Now for the recap.  I will be posting a craft everyday until I cover them.  For the first time ever I will also be including what I spent to achieve the look to prove that you do save money (not so much sanity) when you roll up your sleeves and make more than just plans... it's fun too, and good for your creativity.

Here's a list of what's to come.

Poms
Wildflower mason jars
Chocolate covered pretzels
Flag line

None of these things are hard or expensive, time consuming yes, worth it, for sure.  It meant so much for people to tell us how lovely and festive it looked.

i love this website....

It's not often that I get excited about another person's blog... but OMG this is the post that sold me... Pie on a stick, the photographs are amazing... please visit it!

Luxirare ...  go there!



Courtesy of Luxirare




Courtesy of Luxirare



Pesto Cubes

i

love

pesto

The stuff in the jar doesn't do it for me, I love FRESH!

Enter: Basil from the garden.

I use it in salads and sauce, but nothing beats a fresh pesto pasta.

For enjoyment year round (or as long as they last) make pesto cubes for a quick and easy meal.

How To Make Pesto

• 4 cups fresh basil
• one clove garlic (okay, if you really love garlic, add more!)
• the juice from half of a lemon (this helps to prevent the darkening that will occur if you put it into the freezer)
• 2/3 cup walnuts, pine nut, or even pistachios *pine nuts are the traditional way, I'll be using pistachios however- keep in mind if your nuts are salted, to not add salt, the cheese will have enough in it combined with the already salted nuts.
• one cup of grated Pecorina Romano Cheese
• 2/3 cup olive oil
• 1/3 cup water
• salt and pepper to taste

1. Put the walnuts into a dry skillet and put onto medium heat. Turn them with a spatula every few minutes until they're fragrant and toasted. This only takes a few minutes.
2. Into a food processor, pour in your walnuts and garlic. Pulse for about 20 seconds, then put in your basil.
3. Pulse several times, then use your spatula to push the leaves down toward the blades.
4. Add in the water, then squeeze in the half of a lemon (sans seeds) then the olive oil, then process until  blended.
5. Add in the cheese, salt and pepper then process.
6. Taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper, if necessary. Don't forget that cheese is salty too, so season to taste.
7. Dump all the pesto into a large gallon bag and cut a corner off, squeeze into ice cube trays.
8. After frozen pop them out and store in a freezer safe gallon bag.

Let's get cooking

4 cubes per 1 ILB of pasta... or more according to your taste. 
Heat them on a skillet on a low heat with a little bit of butter to thaw. 
Add to cooked pasta....sprinkle of cheese, mangia!

Side note: I made two batches one with regular basil and one with lemon basil.  Lemon basil I plan to use with chicken and seafood.  While the regular basil will be used as is.

Cape May



Adore the colorful details, such as the rainbow chairs, iron flower fence, and the "ever-blooming" tulip fence.
That's a lot of work painting those "gingerbread" detailing, but so worth it.



The best way to say farewell to summer is visiting a little shore town.  It's bustling with the summer-home people moving out, last tours being given (the trolley we went on was the last ride of the season), and partaking in the last hurrah of what the seasonal shops have to offer before locking up.

We ventured to Cape May, NJ to ride the trolley on a Victorian Homes tour.  Later we meandered through the the neighborhoods.  I love historic neighborhoods, I like to think about the people there then, and now, what the houses have seen, and how a block can go from aristocrat, to ghetto, to abandoned, to beautiful again.  We enjoyed seeing folks porch-dwelling.  Next time we need to make a weekend of it and stay in one of those houses.

 I LOVE it when people take pride in their surroundings.  Houses are painted in bright, fun colors, and oh-the-attention-to detail; such as the ever-blooming-tulip fence in the top photo collage, the rainbow assorted chairs, or the adorable flower fencing.

*fun trolley tour fact: 
In the Victorian era, most porches or verandas were rounded to accommodate the rounded parlor furniture brought outside for large parties.

I also adore the quaint businesses, like the hot dog shop pictured above, the Ugly Mug bar, and the pizza parlor where we saw some great old pictures.

Love the font choice on the street signs. 

Cape May is officially one of my happy places.

.

Take PRIDE in your surroundings, it makes for a better world.

 

Top: From me with a "pin hole effect".
Bottom: A picture of a picture in a local pizza parlor of
victorian Washington St.



foraged flowers

Don't laugh... OK, do if you must...

when i was little i used to forage for flowers to make arrangements for my mom... when i mean forage i mean going into people's yards (i was little) and picking their flowers, and also going to edge of a small airport field (when i lived in Nashville) and picking wildflowers, there was also woods that i would explore and forage too.  then using whatever container i could, i would cut and arrange the flowers for mom.

Driving on Sunday with my fiancé we saw a vacant lot a few blocks away from our house, with TONS of wildflowers.  It’s not a neighborhood garden, it's not some one's garden, it's just rubble of old foundation and lots of flowers that took over, most would be considered "weeds" by the home gardener... not me!  I love "weeds".  "BABY LOOK, STOP, I HAVE TOO...)

My fiancé parked the car with a shake of his head, and I got picking, making myself a nice kitchen table bouquet, that I later added basil flowers (from my harvested garden basil -tutorial coming soon), grass cat-tails, and a rose from the garden, then I added water into a vase, and then later changed into my vintage pitcher *took the picture before the change and set it on my table, it’s now been a few days and my lovelies still holding up just fine.

My mother and I will be foraging for some wildflower elements for the engagement party flowers… that’s going to be quite a sight on Undercliff Ave. that day.

I'm hoping that she'll know what we're picking, I'd love to plant them for next year.

(Don’t you love when you get to do childhood things unexpectedly?)

Baked Ziti

Here's a filling and man loving Sunday recipe.  Enjoy!

• 1 (16 ounce) package ziti pasta
•   1.5 cups ricotta cheese
• 2 Huge handfuls (technical measurements here)
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 (32 ounce) jar spaghetti sauce
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add ziti and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain and rinse.
2. In a medium bowl, mix ziti, ricotta cheese, mozzarella cheese, egg and 1 1/2 cups spaghetti sauce.
3. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. 
4. Lightly grease a 9x13 inch baking dish and spoon in ziti mixture. Top with remaining spaghetti sauce, followed by a layer of mozzarella and Parmesan cheese.
5. Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes; let stand for 15 minutes before serving.

Fresh Ricotta

Courtesy of the magazine: Bon appétit...

 

This recipe for this quick, fresh cheese only takes 4 ingredients and 30 minutes.

 

Fresh Ricotta

1. 4 cups whole milk*
2. 1 cup cream
3. 2 Tbsp. lemon juice**
4. 1.5 tsp kosher salt
5. cheese cloth, strainer, bowl, spoon.

1. Combine 4 cups of whole milk, 1 cup cream, 1.5 tsp kosher salt, 2 Tbsp. lemon juice in a sauce pan and bring just to a boil, without stirring.  Immediately remove pan from heat.
2. 2. Let mixture stand for 15 minutes at room temp.  As time passes the curds will begin to separate from the whey.  If only a few curds form your lemon may not be acidic enough.  Add another 1 Tbsp. gently stir as to not break of the curds.  Let stand an additional 5 minutes.
3. Using a large spoon (not slotted) or measuring cup, spoon curds into cheesecloth lined strainer, set over a large bowl.  The longer you drain the ricotta, the denser and more flavorful the cheese will be.  I would recommend putting a paper towel over the open bowl so nothing can land in your cheese (dust, cat hair, etc...) it will take a while to sift through the curds.  After curds are separated keep your ricotta in a air tight container for no more than 3 days.

*I used whole milk and light cream, I've heard that 2% milk works too.  I also

**I didn't use fresh lemon juice, I used the concentrate and ended up using 3 TBS to get the curds to form.

 

bon appétit!

 

I'm making baked ziti with it, which will be the next post.

four things

here's four visuals that are making me get excited about our engagement party!

courtesy of "didn't i tell you that"

courtesy of love.ol.o.gy



H&M

This is a wedding at the Alpine Pavilion where we're having our EP.
Courtesy of Juliet Events



Recap for FNO

one/two/three/four/five*/six/seven**/eight***/nine/

*mural in subway.

** towers of light for 9/11 memorial

***dj calcutta

Sorry it took so long to get these posted, engagement party planning is in full swing and there are so many things to do!



Me Pictured @ Diane von Furstenberg (best drinks of the night)



We did go to several other places but some (:cough:Ralph Lauren, Diane von Furstenberg) didn't want pictures to be taken by anyone other than their photogs.  We enjoyed the sights and drinks regardless, and did take pictures, also regardless.

My friend Lucy snapped this of me, I do love that vintage hat my fiance picked out in VA when we were there for the weekend for a wedding last year.

retro ads

Working in Manhattan, I look at advertisements all the time.  Some I really like, (aesthetic wise), some are ehh.  For a new business venture, to be revealed, I have been studying old ads for inspiration on my new logo. 

I was inspired by all the fashion houses at FNO, a brand and a logo are so important... almost as important as the product. 

I cannot go into detail yet, but soon enough I will.

Along my interweb travels I found these painted advertisements with the actual models used.  Neat, right?

PS I promise I'll post FNO pics!

Fashion's Night Out - Wear To?

September 8th my bestie Lucy and I are going around and about to NYC's Fashion Night Out.  This will be my first FNO event.  If you are in the area I would suggest going, stores serve you champagne and hors d'oeuvres , along with special promotions and deals.  I will take a ton of pictures for the non-locals, it will be just like you were there, minus the free tote, hors d'oeuvres and champagne.

Not in the NYC area, don't cry go here, there are events in other cities as well as E-vents online.

Here's some basic information.  To see a map click on the highlighted links.  Or go here to plan your adventure.  * I used this and the NY Post for this information.

Meatpacking District 

Bond No. 9 863 Washington St.

Christian Louboutin 59 Horatio St.

Theory 40 Gansevoort St.

Jeffery 449 W. 14th St.

Ports1961 3 Ninth Ave.

Alexander McQueen 414 W. 14th
Stella McCartney 429 W. 14th St.
Carlos Miele 408 W. 14th
Moschino 401 W. 14th
Intermix 812 Washington St.
Diane von Furstenberg 874 Washington St.
Vince 833 Washington St.
Tory Burch 38 Little West 12th St.
Trina Turk 67 Gansevoort St.
Rebecco Taylor 34 Ganesvoort St.
Z Spoke Zac Posen 874 Washington St.
Catherine Malandrino 652 Hudson St.
Tracy Reese 641 Hudson St.

34th Street
Sephora 130 W. 34th St
Fossil 38 W. 34th St
Macy's 151 W. 24th St
Levi's 45 W. 34th
Bebe 1 W. 34th St
Forever 21 34th BTW 7th and 6th
HM 34th and 7th

Williamsburg
Scosha 64 Grand St.
Antoinette 119 Grand St.
Bird 203 Grand St.
Pop 310 Grand St.
Artists and Fleas 70 N Seventh St.
Life:Curated 186 Grand St.

 Upper West Side
*Cache
*J. Crew
*Esprit
*Stone Rose Lounge
*Aveda
*Montmartre
*indicates that they are in the shops at Time Warner Center 10 Columbus Circle
Ricky's NYC 2387 Broadway
WiNK 188 Columbus Ave
The Shop at Equinox 344 Amsterdam Ave and 2465 Broadway

Flatiron
Opening Ceremony 1190 Broadway
Loft 126 Fifth Ave.
Kenneth Cole 95 Fifth Ave
Donno Distefano 37 W. 20th
Cole Haan 141 Fifth Ave.
Buffalo Exchange 114 W. 26th St.
Fishs Eddy 889 19th St.
7 For All Mankind 73 Fifth Ave.

Lexington
True Religion Brand Jeans 1122 Third Ave.
Dylan's Candy Bar 1011 Third Ave.
J. McLaughlin 1004 Lexington Ave.
New York & Co. 715 Lexington Ave.
Bloomingdales Lexington and 59th

Fifth Ave.
Bergdorf Goodman 754 Fifth Ave.
Salvatore Ferragamo 655 Fifth Ave.
H&M 640 Fifth Ave.
Cynthia Rowley Glambulance 52nd and 5th
Manolo Blahnik 21 W. 54th St.
Juicy Couture 650 Fifth Ave.
Tommy Hilfiger 681 Fifth Ave.
Henri Bendel 712 Fifth Ave.
Michael Kors 610 Fifth Ave.
Forever 21 693 Fifth Ave.
Lord & Taylor 424 Fifth Ave.
Fendi 677 Fifth Ave.
Zara 689 Fifth Ave.
Banana Republic 626 Fifth Ave.
Saks Fifth Ave 611 Fifth Ave.

Madison Ave.
Missoni 1009 Madison Ave.
Dolce & Gabbana 825 Madison Ave.
Donna Karan 819 Madison Ave.
Roger Viver 750 Madison Ave.
Chistian Dior 21 E. 57th St.
Hermes 691 Madison Ave.
Nonette Lepore 958 Madison Ave.
J. Mendel 723 Madison Ave.
Carolina Herrera 954 Madison Ave.
Ann Taylor 645 Madison Ave.
Chloe 850 Madison Ave.
David Yurman 712 Madison Ave.
Alice + Olivia 755 Madison Ave.
Barneys NY 660 Madison Ave.
Oscar de la Renta 772 Madison Ave.
Calvin Klein 654 Madison Ave.
Lanvin 815 Madison Ave.
Stuart Weitzman 625 Madison Ave.
Coach 595 Madison Ave.

BLEECKER STREET
Lulu Guinness 394 Bleecker St.
Reiss 309-313 Bleecker St.
Arleen Bowman Boutique 353 Bleecker St.
Brooks Brothers 351 Bleecker St.
Cynthia Rowley 376 Bleecker St.
Jimmy Choo 407 Bleecker St.
Marc by Marc Jacobs 403 Bleecker St.
Satya Jewlery 330 Bleecker St.

SOHO
Ralph Lauren 109 Prince St.
American Eagle Outfitters 599 Broadway
Jill Stuart 100 Greene St.
Ash Footwear 44 Mercer St.
Scout Vintage T-shirts 227 Mulberry St.
Longchamp 132 Spring St.
Custo Barcelona 474 Broome St.
Atrium 644 Braodway
Betsey Johnson 138 Wooster St.
Chanel 139 Spring St.
Express 584 Braodway
Rag & Bone 119 Mercer St.
Helmut Lang 93 Mercer St.
llori 138 Spring St.
Kirna Zabete 96 Greene St.

i-deally

Who doesn't love a deal!?
For all my savvy-sisters (and maybe brothers) out there I made a list of all the sites that you can sign up to get deals in your area.  It's also in the above tabs under idealies.

Just today I got a sweet deal on a 20 page custom hardcover album, usually $35.00 but discounted to $10.00 courtesy of  Tippr.  If you want to get this deal today 9/7/11 until midnight tonight go to Tippr here, and I'll get 5 bucks for referring you, everyone wins...

*Most of the sites will pay you or give you points for referrals to use on your next purchase, so let people know about it through your blog or facebook.

I was thinking of making an album for people to look at and sign at the engagement party.  What better keepsake?  Your limit to buy is 4, 2 for yourself and 2 for gifts. 

FUN Fact: I made a special email address just for all my deals.  If I don't have extra cash then I don't even go into that email account, thus sparing myself the torture.  BUT if I do feel like treating myself, or am on the look out for a certain deal (like a spa day), or have someone's birthday coming... the savings world is my oyster.

DISCLAIMER: As of now, I (sadly) don't work for any of the sites listed here, I simply compiled them for people (like me) who live on a (shoestring) budget, all my Sunday morning coupon queens and kings, and thrifty nifty beings... this is for you, you money-saving-machines.  :rolls eyes at self:

smoke signals

Sometimes all we can do is try, right?  After trying to reconcile with a family member, the only thing left to do was shake my head, pat myself on the back, and carry on.  Driving in the car home we came to the conclusion that...

It doesn't really matter if 50 people show up to wedding festivities or 5. Better to have the 5 super-positive-awesome-lovely-fun-celebratory people, than 50 who dragged themselves there to seemingly bitch and moan about everything that we as a couple chose, loved, and worked hard on...

Should I be angry, sad, disappointed...nope!  If you're not happy to be there, please take your negative energy out of our space that we worked hard on, and do us a favor, don't be there. 
Please and Thank you.

For those who have already decided they want nothing to do with this and most importantly us... GOOD.

*the feeling is mutual at this point.