Alert The Media - Quick Sale Post

As you know, I LOVE paper lanterns and the million things you can do with them. My favorite source for them, Luna Bazaar not only has the best assortment and prices, but also has a LOT of other fabulous items for your next event as well.

Right now they are offering 25% off of your entire order but the last day is tomorrow, December 1st. (It's December??? That's insane.)

Just use discount code: 2008THANKS and enjoy all of your new goodies for your "party closet." You do have a party closet, don't you? Well then it's a good thing it's almost time for New Year's Resolutions. Trust me, it's much easier to make a party closet than to lose weight and the gym is much less crowded by March anyway.

Happy Thanksgiving {Week}

We leave bright and early, and I mean eaaaaaaaaaarly tomorrow morning for Boston for the holiday week, so I'm going to be offline for the rest of the week. I am also going to be very unattractive when we land in Boston after getting up at 3:30am. Lucky you only know me online and not in person!



I'll leave you with this for the week...

You know that "Followers" feature in the sidebar on Blogger? Well, who would have guessed that the stalkee would become the stalker? I'm thankful this week for all of you that have chosen to follow my blog and want to highlight just a few before I head off to pack the last few things in my suitcase.

Without further delay, I bring you:

Thanksgiving Table Setting ideas at Celebrations at Home
Thanksgiving Napkin Ideas at The Style Sisters
Cute and Easy Crafts for placecards for the kids' table at My Insanity
Gorgeous Real Wedding by Beth Helmstetter via Hostess With The Mostess

Sincere thanks to everyone for stopping by and look for some fun new pictures from real events and more holiday party inspiration soon!

Be Thankful

Be Thankful. That's just a good motto to live by every day of the year but often we get busy and forget to stop and do just that.

Now you have one more reason to be thankful and one less excuse to having the time to slow down and do so. How so? Paper and Cake is here just in time to help set your Thanksgiving Table. In style. In minutes. In free. (Sometimes those just don't work like you hope...oh well.)




Each Paper & Cake Downloadable Party Design includes everything from place cards to invitations, napkin rings, wine glass tags and more. The girls from tangarang and Piece of Cake Parties have just started Paper and Cake and while future downloads are on the way, the first one is here now for Thanksgiving and is yours for free. Download, print and you're set.

Best of luck to Kira and Abigail with their new venture. I'm thankful for your creativity and inspiration now and all year long!

Holiday Cocktail Party With A Twist {Part Two}

If picking the right invitation made you a little thirsty then you've come to the right place.

Pick your poison.

Candy Cane Hot Chocolate

4 cups milk
2-3 (1 ounce) squares semisweet chocolate, chopped
4 peppermint candy canes, crushed to powder
1 cup whipped cream
4 small peppermint candy canes

In a saucepan, heat milk until hot, but not boiling. Whisk in the chocolate and the crushed peppermint candies until melted and smooth. Pour hot cocoa into four mugs, and garnish with whipped cream. Serve each with a candy cane stirring stick. (or add peppermint liqueur for a kick!)

via allrecipes.com

Peppermint Martini

5 oz vanilla vodka
2 oz white creme de menthe
1/2 oz peppermint schnapps
mini candy canes

Awesome photo and recipe thanks to Jaime M. Avon aka Carcharzel on Flickr.

Party Trifecta

I love parties.

I love games.

I love things with fun names.
("Francisco...that's fun to say." Name that movie.)

Just in time for all of your holiday parties come this little gem of a game that is guaranteed to get your guests interacting and having a great time. Your job just got a little bit easier!

Holiday Cocktail Party With A Twist {Part One}

A peppermint twist that is.

Want to host a Holiday get-together but don't know where to start? Just pick one element and go with it. Don't let yourself get caught up in serving a million people a million different things at a sit-down meal. You need to enjoy yourself, too! A simple "come and go" cocktail or dessert party is perfect for this busy season.

Who am I kidding here though, right? I think we all know that a "simple" cocktail party would still be reason to go into full-on POD (Party Obsessive Disorder) at the Stem house. So, in the words of wise, wise woman, "Just pick one element and go with it." (Heyyyyyyyyyy, who said that?)

In this case...peppermint. It's simple. It's graphic. It's cute yet chic. It's not tied to any one religion. Perfect.

Where should we start? With the invitations, of course. Everyone knows the party really starts the moment you get the invitation, right?

Tiny Prints is without question one of THE ultimate invitation sites out there. Choosing just one is the hard part. So I won't. I'll choose four. Trust me, four was hard.

So what's your mood?

I love the simplicity of this confetti invitation by Julia Tuohy. It makes me merry just looking at it.

If you lean a little more on the traditional side, then this chocolate and lime green invitation is an instant way to add a modern twist to your red and white night.

This simple peppermint martini invitation lets your guests know they are in for a soiree with style. That's a party I want to attend.

Finally, if polka dots and reindeer are your thing then you're in luck because Tiny Prints has the perfect invitation for you, too. This is just the right amount of playful and yet completely mature.

Now go pick your invitations and come back and join me for more peppermintapalooza soon.

St. Louis Just Got A Little More Stylish

I am so excited to be able to finally say that hostesses in St. Louis now have a great new option when they entertain.



The blog that is Head Of The Table is now so much more. Blogger, Kim Mower, is now Business Owner, Kim Mower. Not just any business either. Kim has started Head of The Table Rental, a tableware rental boutique just in time for all of your holiday entertaining! You can now rent plates, stemware and flatware from Head of the Table, and completely change the look of what you already own from, "Oh, that again..." to "Oh, that is FABULOUS!"



These are just a couple of lovelies from Kim. Check out her site for so much more.

Congrats and Good Luck, Kim! The hostesses of St. Louis thank you!

CB2 - Get 'Em While They Last

These planters from CB2 are marked down to a ridiculous $2.95!

How great would they look filled with pinecones running down the center of your Thanksgiving table? Let your guests take one home as a favor when they leave.

Or go ahead and plant some fall flowers in them and let them take home a ready-made plant.

Or....set them aside on a separate table just for favors and fill them with bags of spiced cider and cinammon sticks.

Or....okay, I am going to stop now because the possibilites are endless. They are $2.95, people. TWO NINETY FIVE. GO!

Moroccan Dinner Party

Looking through some old photos and realized the colors of this Moroccan-inspired dinner party we threw some time ago would make for a good twist for your parties this Autumn. The rich jewel tones would work well with natural branches and twigs, or branches gone glam with some gold spray paint.

Don't forget the little touches that go a long way.

• Gift bags of goodies (lined up here before they were filled and finished!) for your guests to take home. I find that most people don't mind taking home some freshly baked cookies for the road!
• A menu so guests know what's in store.
• Simple vases wrapped in scrapbook paper and ribbon as candle holders.
• Easy garnishes to store bought appetizers and desserts. Here: cayenne and red bell pepper on store bought hummus or the wafer cookies on end and lemon zest and fresh mint atop store bought lemon sorbet.
• Jeweled buckles and ribbon used as napkin rings with the flatware rolled up into the napkin.
  

The florals are simply blocks of Oasis floral foam on long gold platters and packed tightly with coral roses and garnet carnations, peacock feathers and woven with gold cording. The one for the buffet has three votive candles in the center for an extra touch. I promise, ANYONE can do these. I find if you "scoop" out random portions of the Oasis it helps give a really free-flowing pattern to your arrangement. Try it - you'll look like a pro!


This party wouldn't have been a party without the fabulous meal cooked by my husband, so I had to add those pictures, too. Moroccan tuna, Portuguese peppers (delish) and saffron rice. Our friends joke that they will have to hire caterers when they have us over for dinner! I have to agree that between my insane need to decorate and my husband's amazing work in the kitchen, we do make quite a team! Now taking RSVPs for the next dinner party at the Belle Isle House!

Game. Set. Match.

How completely appropriate that "love" is a term used in tennis, because that is exactly how I feel about this tennis-themed bat mitzvah created by Jamee of Setting the Mood. I love every little detail about this. I have no doubt you'll agree!


Visit Setting the Mood for more scoop on the details. Just looking at her logo lets you know you're in store for something amazing!

I'm Baaaaaaaaack

Thanks for your lack of posting patience with me the last week or so! I had a good reason. Honest.

I had the pleasure of working on a gorgeous wedding this weekend that I can't completely show you just yet. A local St. Louis magazine gets first dibs, so until I can spill all the details, here's a sneak peek of two of the elements created by the fabulous Ginger O'Hara of Serendipity. She's as cute as she is talented. How's that even fair?

I'll be sure and post more pictures and details of the day as soon as I'm allowed!

Cecily Ink

cecily ink's got it going on.

Need stylish invitations for you next party? Need fresh coordinating table items for your next party? Need gorgeous gift wrap to wrap presents to take to a party? Need a great hostess gift to take to said party? Need me to stop this line of questioning? Consider it done. You are now free to head on over to Cecily Ink and look at all of the above items mentioned and much more.

Did I mention Free Shipping for a limited time? What are you waiting for?

My Friend Etsy

In search of a unique gift for your Thanksgiving or Autumn party hostesses? Then allow me introduce to you Amber of Bijoutiful. This self-taught creative wonder uses recycled and reclaimed metals and zero harsh chemicals during the fabrication process of her works of art.

There are many more designs for you to see at her Etsy Store,but these are just a few that I think would be delightfully appropriate to give your next party hostess this season.

Looking at Amber's work, you can actually see her words reflected: "It brings me such pleasure to bring beauty into other people's lives by way of my little creations. I try to reflect this through my work, and it ends up that a bit of my heart goes out with each piece I create."

You've definitely succeeded in bringing beautiful work to Etsy, Amber. Thanks for sharing it with us!