{party inspiration: love hangover brunch}

Valentine's conveniently falls on a Friday this year which is great for those brave enough to venture out into the battlefield of restaurant reservations battles and fixed price menus, but it also allows the opportunity for a fun day after party on Saturday!!  While we usually celebrate Valentine's with an intimate home-cooked dinner, I have always thought it would be fun to host a big Valentine's party for all our friends.  If we were home I would definitely be throwing a boozy day after brunch complete with red/pink/purple decor, brightly colored flowers, an overflowing bloody mary bar, and a DIY waffle bar.  This party would also be the perfect time to make two of my party wishlist items a reality: getting to wear the dream outfit of a glam sequin skirt/white t-shirt and snacking on a cake stand tower of delicious donuts!

Check back next week for a little Valentine's gift guide or browse the one from last year here!

{our holiday cards}

Last year I used Minted to create our holiday cards and I was conveniently able to use one of our wedding photos since it was the Christmas following our April wedding.  This year I went the complete DIY route by designing the cards myself having them printed locally in Chicago.  I knew I wanted to take our holiday photo in front of the Chicago skyline so we opted to get a little dressed up and use North Avenue Beach for a quick photoshoot.

My handwriting is horrible so I always chose to fully print our return and recipient addresses since it doesn't take that much longer than handwriting them all.  I used the same envelopes from last year opted for the red version which I ordered from right here.  I am really happy with how simple this design turned out- especially the mix of the light mint green with the stark bright red seams on the envelopes.  Plus DIY-ing the whole thing saved money and allowed me to get exactly what I had in mind!

{diy boho holiday garland}

If you haven't downloaded it already then you must go check out the newest edition of the Glam Style Ipad app- partly because it's full of inspiration for the holidays from fashion to food, but also because I have contributed three articles to this edition!  One of which is this fabulous bohemian inspired DIY holiday garland.  Check out some photos here and then download the app right here to get the full instructions as well as materials needed for this fun project!

{gift guide: for the guys}

1. Bespoke Box subscription - especially love this edition.

2.  Shinola Watch - I love the hunter green face one!

3. Therma Pen Meat Thermometer - the Rolls Royce of meat thermometers

4.  J Crew Secret Wash Shirts

5. Nice Bourbon or Whiskey - like this one or this one

6. Bose QuietComfort Headphones in limited edition brown leather

7. Energy Reservoirs: hold enough charge to power up electronics for a whole week!

8. Bamboo bluetooth keyboard - it looks like its made entirely of wood- thats masculine. 

9. Private Blend Tom Ford Cologne 

10.  Helmut Newton Print

11.  14 in 1 Hammer tool guys love tools.

12. Allen Edmonds McAllister Oxfords

13.  Horn Handled Razor  - uses regular cartridges!

{video: easy holiday decor projects}

           

A few weeks ago, Glam asked me to come out to NYC and shoot some fun holiday DIY projects for their Haute Hostess video series (you can see more of their fun videos right here).  This video shows you how to make a few different easy DIY projects for the holidays- my personal fave is the floral table runner adorned with gold antlers! This was the first time I have ever done something like this on camera (so don't judge too hard!) and while it was a bit awkward at first by the end I was having a total blast.  We also shot another fun video all about holiday cocktails that I can't wait to share with you in a few weeks- see a sneak peek here.

{gift guide: for the mixologist}

Next up in the gift guide series for the holidays- a fun variety of items for the cocktail enthusiast in your life.  Links to all gifts below and on this pinterest board along with the past guides! 

1. Sphere Ice molds  |  2. A traveling cocktail Bar  |  3. Champagne Print (also my life motto  |  4. Set of copper Moscow Mule Cups  |  5. Festive versions of the MR & MRS glasses  |  6. Sugar Paper LA coasters  |  7. Gourmet Cocktail syrups  |  8. Vintage glassware from Etsy  |  9. Gold Monogram bottle stopper & gold cocktail accessories  |  10. Society Social Bar Cart  |  11. Cut crystal Decanters - ON SALE!  |  12. Monogrammed Drink Stirrers

{floral guide: thanksgiving table arrangement}

Not having access to the flower mart in downtown LA has been a big adjustment for me, but luckily I was able to find a cute flower shop around the corner from our new place that was able to order some amazing cut flowers for me this Thanksgiving.  Here is the flower guide for the two arrangements I put together for our Thanksgiving table this Thursday.  Note that I did end up adding some craspedia to the arrangements that I already had at the house so it didn't end up getting photographed above.

{amaryllis & paperwhite bulbs for the holidays}

Growing up I always remember my mother putting together amaryllis and paper white bulbs around late October/early November to display around our house for the holiday season.   When I moved out into my first place in San Francisco, my mother sent me care package filled with bulbs and all the supplies needed to plant some for my new home.  Every year since then, she sends along all the supplies for what has grown to become a long time holiday tradition.  Today I wanted to share with you the very simple yet rewarding process of planting these bulbs for the upcoming holidays.  The cost of these bulbs is low and you should be able to find them at your local garden supply or Home Depot- I have also spotted them in "kits" at Target or Trader Joes.  The ease of putting these together makes them a great hostess gift throughout the holiday season as well!

The process for planting either paper white or amaryllis bulbs is basically the same.  You can use practically any ceramic pot or glass vase you might have around so long as the bulb/bulbs can fit their width in it.  The key with bulb success is making sure not to completely submerge the bulb in water or dirt, but to plant it so that the majority of the bulb is visible above the moss in your container.  If need be place rocks or pebbles in the bottom of your container to get the bulb as high as you would like.  Use moss to anchor the bulb in your container.  Fill the entire container with water, let it sit for a few minutes and then drain all the water out by holding the bulb/moss/pebbles while tipping the container to its side.  This should be the extent of watering your bulb will require.  These potted bulbs can be placed anywhere in your home- they do not require a specific amount of sunlight!  You may want to add water and drain it once more in a few weeks if your home is very dry from air conditioning or weather.

Paperwhites and amaryllis make for great hostess gifts since they are pretty and require little effort on the part of the person you are gifting them to!  Simply plant the bulb into a nice ceramic container following the directions above and attach a cute tag like this sticker tag from Rifle Paper I recently picked up on a trip to Paper Source:

While normally I would show you the end result of planting these bulbs, if I waited that long to share it with you then you wouldn't have time to plant some for yourself!  So here are some photos of what you can hope to achieve.  While the amaryllis is my favorite because it is so dramatically beautiful, I also thoroughly enjoy the strong scent that paperwhites will fill your rooms with:

 {amaryllis}

{paperwhites}

{happy halloween}

I hope you are all enjoying a very happy halloween!! We ventured out for a Halloween party with friends last night and I put together this last minute Troop Beverly Hills (one of my favorite movies!). I created this outfit using fabric I had around the house, some logos printed on cardstock, a lot of hot glue and a girl's school uniform skirt from Target!

{is there anything better than forcing your dog to wear a hotdog costume?!?!}

{pumpkin mousse}

This past weekend we took a little trip to a cute town a bit north of us to check out the Highwood Pumpkin Festival which is basically a celebration of all things pumpkin-most notably the over 30,000 carved pumpkins on display!  After the festival we headed back to a friend's place to carve our own pumpkins and eat some authentic Texas queso cooked by the hosts (a first for me!).   I offered to bring over the dessert which would give me an excuse to make up a batch of this amazing looking Pumpkin Mousse recipe.  This recipe delivered on all my expectations: it's got that wonderful seasonal flavor of pumpkin mixed with an incredibly decadent creamy consistency yet light texture.  On top of all that, this recipe is very quick to make, requires a short ingredient list and very little technical ability (unless folding whipped cream into the mousse intimidates you like it does for me- it shouldn't, but it does. everyone has fears. this is mine.)  Plus, you can make this mousse up a day or two before your event and simply place the whipped cream and cookie topping directly before serving.  And don't forget about the other great pumpkin dessert option I cooked up last year around Halloween right here. 

 {ginger cookies for the crumbled cookie topping- make sure to sprinkle plenty of this on the top of the dessert as it adds a wonderful crunch and interesting flavor component}

Here are a few photos from our pumpkin related activities this weekend:

 {at the highwood pumpkin festival}

{our entry into the pumpkin carving contest which was 100% chris' idea for a big

 pumpkin with a really little face which turned out pretty hilarious looking}

{easter apothecary jars}

Since we are almost halfway through March, it was becoming embarrassing for us to still have our Valentine's themed candy in the apothecary jars on our coffee table.   For most holidays, filling the jars with appropriately themed candy is the extent of the decorating that Chris will allow me to do- you can see some previous variations on our apothecary jars here and here. 

I absolutely love candy so when I shop for sweets to fill the jars I always look for something that looks pretty, but doesn't actually taste good to me so that the candy actually lasts throughout that holiday.  Luckily for me, Peeps, the holy grail of Easter Candy is pretty much my least favorite sweet ever.  For the other two jars, I picked up some "robin's egg" malt balls and mini pastel plastic Easter eggs- all of which I found at our local Rite Aid.
 

{preparing for valentine's}

You may think it is a little early to start talking about Valentine's Day, but it just so happens to be my second favorite holiday to decorate for (behind Halloween).  The best thing about Valentine's is the decorations are always so girly, there just is no such thing as masculine pink glittery hearts. 

Aside from completing a bunch of wedding related crafts this past week (which I promise to share in May!),  I have a lot of DIY Valentine's projects planned to share with you in the coming weeks....

{some of my valentine's inspiration from Pinterest}

{gift wrapping with Rue La La}

 {image via Rue La La}

The lovely bloggers over on the Rue La La blog asked me if I would like to contribute a creative gift wrapping idea for their readers who are getting all their holiday shopping wrapped up in the final moments before Christmas!  You can see my gift wrap along with a quirky wrap idea from Elsie of A Beautiful Mess over on the Rue La LA blog right here.


Here is the full tutorial on the wrap idea I created: