{Real Party} Meet the Puppy Party

I am such an avid dog lover, and the idea of throwing a party to welcome a new puppy to the family is one of the most creative and unique party ideas I have come across in a long time. Truly dogs are such loyal companions and become part of your family, so why not welcome them with a party much like you would shower any new baby!

I found this adorable party inspiration on Half-Baked, but the entire party, as well as links to all of Kristy's resources for the dog bone & paw print edible cupcake decorations, etc. can be found on the original hostess' blog Posh Pixel Designs Studio.

The decor featured a chocolate brown, baby blue and lime green color palette. Kristy's mom made gourmet doggie treats as favors, and filled apothecary jars with doggie treats and bones to keep with the theme. There were yummy treats for the human guests as well, and Kristy did a great job of labeling which treats were "for the puppy" to avoid confusion!

Let me know if you are "expecting" a new member of your family, or even want to celebrate a milestone birthday - I would love to put one of these charming parties!

FREE DIY Printable Invitation Templates

One word. SPLENDID

Ok, two words. FREE

I found these amazing printable invitation templates FREE that you can

personalize to your heart's content!

You can find the downloads for these invitations and so much more directly on

i-do-it-yourself.com. Have fun, enjoy and be sure to show me some of your finished projects!

My Love of Armoires

If you have ever been to my home, you would find an armoire in just about every room of the house. In fact, as I type this I am doing a mental survey of each room and with the exception of 2 bathrooms, there is indeed an armoire in every room of our home, and some rooms have 2.

The possibilities are endless. It's a very versatile piece of furniture that not only can serve as a focal decor piece but it can also serve as the main storage in that room - keeping an overall tidy appearance to any room once the armoire doors are closed.

It's fairly simple to take an old vintage armoire and customize it with fabulous colors and patterns. Try refurbishing an old one by painting it a new color and installing shelves, lining the shelves with patterned paper, hanging clothing rods, hooks, or chipboard, hanging mirrors, adding storage bins, or even cutting a hole out of the back so that computer or television wires can reach the outlets.

You can solve storage solutions in every room of the house.

In a bedroom use it for clothing storage, an out of season wardrobe closet, a place to

store your accessories (handbags, purses, scarves and jewelry), as a make-up counter,

or entertainment center.

In your family or living room you can also use it as an entertainment center, or store games and kid's activities, organize your hobby equipment or craft supplies, hide music and instruments, or archive your memories (scrapbooks, photo albums, etc.)

In the bathroom you can store your linens or keep cleaning supplies on hand.

Armoires make great virtual computer offices in a spare room or a teen's room, or provide extra storage in the kitchen for pantry items or pots & pans. In a laundry room you can have a ready-made laundry center for sorting & folding.

Use them as a liquor cabinet/bar, to house fancy china, or in a greenroom for

gardening supplies.

You can tell that I am just in love with armoires and the creative and unique ways to use them in non-traditional ways!

Here are some photos to inspire you to organize and de-clutter!

photo credits

images (1, 2) found on lily-gonline; image (3) found on All Pretty Little Things; images (4, 5) found on Morgan Moore; image (6) found on Little Loveables; image (7) found on Canberrasgotstyle; image (8) found on Paperjewels; image (9) found via Southern Living; image (10) found via Laura Ashley; image (11) found via Ladies Home Journal;image (12, 13) found via Better Homes and Gardens; image (14) found via Kitchenisms; image (15) found via The Furniture.Com; image (16) found via Martha Stewart; image (17, 18, 19) found via Pottery Barn; image (20) found via Anthropologie

Inspired by The Wizard of Oz

Ever since my daughter and I attended the Wizard of Oz ballet, I haven't stopped thinking about how that theme would be the perfect inspiration for a wedding or party. I love to use everyday experiences to ignite my imagination for new themes and creative ideas!

The party hostess, or the bride, whichever the case may be, would be compelled to spend the evening in "ruby red shoes" (slippers). I also found an adorable Kansas country twist inspiration board complete with "over the rainbow" cupcakes. For a wedding it would just beg a yellow aisle runner for the "yellow brick road" and a "green emerald city" themed reception. Oh the possibilities are endless, and fun to dream about!

Top 2 images found on The Wedding Decorator

Emerald green inspiration board found on Snippet & Ink

{Real Party} Fiesta Inspired Dinner Party

Last night my family had the pleasure of hosting an intimate dinner party at our home

with one of my former brides, who has also become a dear friend, and her family.

I met Andrea and her husband Jeremy in 2002 when they hired me to help plan their

wedding at The Ritz-Carlton, Laguna Niguel. Now, after all these years we are still close

and our kids enjoy playing together!

I wanted to share some of the fun decor details that I put together to set the mood for our fiesta inspired dinner party. First, I used a mexican blanket I already owned as a tablecloth - it was the perfect "linen" to use to drape the table and set the tone. Then I used some rattan chargers (that I already owned) and picked some bright color coordinated linen napkins to place on the plate. The red napkins I already owned and the orange ones I made from material from my local craft store. I actually dreamed up the napkin fold moments before our guests arrived. I was trying to create something that looked festive and knew that I wanted to use some colorful beads as a napkin tie. The final product came out looking like the skirt off a traditional mexican dress! I added 2 little maracas on each of the kid's place settings as a little gift.

Then I added a couple of inexpensive containers I found on the summer inspiration sale section on my local craft store and popped a couple of colorful daisies in the jars.

Finally, I incorporated some eclectic votive candle holders in coordinating reds, yellows and greens that were also already in my go-to decor storage.

My daughter also enjoyed getting into the theme and so we strung paper lanterns across her playhouse that we purchased at a local party store.

The result was a fiesta inspired theme dinner for less than $10 for all the decor!!

It's so easy once you have your theme to look around your house for things that you already have on hand to incorporate into the theme. Think outside the box and have fun with it!!

I'll post some pictures and recipes from the menu in a future post so check back soon!

Orange County's Taste of the Nation Benefit

Last night, my husband and I had the privilege of attending "The Garden of Everything Good", the Orange County Taste of the Nation Red Carpet Event at The Island Hotel's Palm Garden Terrace in Newport Beach, CA. The Taste of the Nation named Orange County's premier culinary event brought together OC's finest restaurants, chefs and mixologist who donated their time, talent and passion to presented the finest food, spirits and wine imaginable. Along with the fabulous food and drink, the event also featured a silent auction and live soul /rock entertainment by the acoustical band, and our good friends, OFFWHITE. One of the highlights for me, of course, is always the signature drink and last night it was a surprisingly refreshing Grapefruit Crush. I'll post pics and the mixologist recipe on a future blog post...so check back soon.

Participating restaurants last night included: Andrei's Conscious Cuisine, Bluefin Fin Japanese Cuisine, Brasserie Pascal and Tradition by Pascal, Break of Dawn, the Crow Bar, Golden Truffle, Il Barone Ristorante, Island Hotel's Palm Garden Terrace, K'ya Bar, Marbella Country Club, Montage Laguna Beach, Nirvana Grille, Pizzeria Ortica, Sage + Sage on the Coast, Sapphire Laguna, hush Restaurant and A Restaurant.

We have all experienced hunger at one time or another: We've all craved a midnight snack, wanted something salty or needed some chocolate. But there's a big difference between trying to satisfy a brief craving or stomach growl and wondering when or from where your next meal will come.

It's shocking to learn that more than 12.6 million—one in six—children in America are at risk of hunger, and these children will endure lifelong consequences as a result of having limited access to nutritious foods. In fact, they're more likely to suffer poorer health, fatigue, hospitalizations, behavioral difficulties and impaired performance at school.

And hunger doesn't discriminate. It can affect any child—even those you'd least expect.

Despite the good efforts of governments, private-sector institutions and everyday Americans, millions of our children still don't have daily access to the nutritious meals they need to live active, healthy lives.

Share Our Strength® is a national organization that works with the culinary industry to create engaging, pioneering programs like Taste of the Nation, Great American Bake Sale, A Tasteful Pursuit, Great American Dine Out, and Operation Frontline to make sure no kid in America grows us hungry. Through the strength of dedicated, committed volunteers who support their fundraising efforts and community organizations that put their resources to good use, Share Our Strength finds childhood hunger where it hides and works hard to end it.

Learn more about how you can get involved and help make a difference at Share Our Strength.

{Real Party} Vintage-Mod Bridal Shower

I discovered this beautiful green & black damask {real bridal shower} on

Hostess with the Mostess and just couldn't wait to share!

The tables were covered in green and then adorned with a beautiful damask-patterned

fabric runner and vases of white hydrangeas.

Custom menus with a matching vintage-mod pattern sat atop square black plates,

and black napkins were rolled and tied with sheer green ribbon.

Among the array of finger foods were bite-size globe grapes rimmed with

chopped pistachio nuts and stuffed with fresh goat cheese.

A mohito bar served up color coordinated drinks with DIY

hand-made black and white parasols.

Personal photos of the bride & her fiance were displayed in

pretty frames along a side table.

Tasty green and black monogrammed cookies made for a

sweet take-home favor treat!

Photography by Jennifer Skog