{birthday inspiration: 29th birthday toga party}

Every year I go back on forth on whether I want something low key or something bigger for our birthday party (Chris and my birthdays are three days apart so we have always done a joint party).  You can see our 26th birthday dinner here and here, 27th birthday cocktail party here & a more intimate dinner we did for our 28th here.   This year we turn 29 and I decided to use that as the perfect excuse to do something a little cheesy (it is the last year of our 20s after all!) - we decided to throw a toga party at our new place in a few weeks to celebrate!  Complete with flower crowns and gold laurel wreaths, lots of wine and champagne (plus our party staple whiskey punch!) and of course a photobooth.  Toga attire is strictly required from guests and I can't wait to see how people deal with that!  Here's a little inspiration board I put together for the evening:

{party inspiration: bocce + bro-sé}

One day back when we were in Paris, we were sitting around with a few friends of ours and one of our male friends jokingly referring to his glass of rosé wine as "bro-sé" in an attempt to make the pink liquid seem more manly.  We all thought this was hilarious and joked around about for a little bit until it occurred to me that this idea of "bro-sé" could make for a really fun party in the summer.  Since alliteration makes everything sounds better, I thought a little outdoor get together of bocce + brosé would be the perfect party to throw once the weather warms up.  Similar to the cocktails + croquet party inspiration from here this party would be a simple set up of outdoor games, small fresh bites and lots of rosé (this bottle is one of my all time favorites and you can find it at Whole Foods!)

  Ask all your guy friends to round up their most masculine bottle of rosé to share and you'll whip up a batch of these or these for guests to munch on.  Since you will be outdoors, keep the decor simple with colorful blankets and a handful of signs like this one for the game area.  Even though it's a simple outdoor party, I would still want to don a glamorous summer dress like this one!  Also this image would absolutely have to be used somewhere in relation to the party- perhaps on the invite?

{pinnacle cocktail club party in NYC}

Instead of the normal Friday Cocktail post, I've got a fun recap for you today from the Pinnacle Vodka party I attended during a quick 24 hour trip to NYC last week (you might have seen some shots from the party here & here!).   In addition to flying me out for the party, Pinnacle insisted I bring along a friend so chose to have one of my besties Kay come out all the way from California!  The party was held in the amazing indoor/outdoor cabanas at The Maritime Hotel and we spent the evening mingling among the other bloggers, sampling the abundant spread of treats and mixing up cocktails alongside an experienced mixologist.

One of the best parts of the evening is that the experienced mixologist who was helping us mix up all those recipes turned out to be Brian Van Flandern, the author of one of my favorite cocktail books which I blogged about right here.  In addition to geeking out on him about my love for his books, I got some insider info about his new book coming out soon and some pointers for a few of his recipes I have yet to try!  If you don't own his book yet, you should definitely pick it up plus it makes a great gift (ahem....Fathers Day coming up next month!).

{picking Instagram filters with Kay - serious decisions.}

Unsurprisingly my favorite cocktail we mixed up that evening was titled "Paris Escape" using Pinnacle's original vodka.  It's a refreshing mix of tart from the raspberries and sweet from the pineapple juice reminiscent of one of my favorite cocktail recipes.  This recipe would be the perfect pink cocktail to mix up for a girl's night in this summer:

This summer I'll be partnering with Pinnacle Vodka and I'll be bringing you original cocktail recipes along the way as well as posting fun updates to my Instagram account under the hashtag #PinnacleCocktailClub so be sure to follow along right here! 

Pinnacle Vodka shakes things up with unexpected experiences and delightful discoveries.  Explore with other fun flavors at http://www.pinnaclevodka.com”. Also, check us out at www.facebook.com/pinnaclevodkas and https://twitter.com/PinnacleVodka or find more fun entertaining and drink ideas on our Pinterest page at http://www.pinterest.com/pinnaclevodka/

Pinnacle® is a registered trademark of Jim Beam Brands Co. and is used with permission.  This is a sponsored partnership, with Pinnacle® Vodka, via Mode Media.  The information, comments, and ideas expressed on this website are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions or positions of Jim Beam Brands Co., its affiliated companies, or any of their directors or employees.

{kentucky derby drink flag printable}

Last year we hosted a little Kentucky Derby viewing party (it was actually my first time watching the race!) complete with mint juleps and custom drink stirrers.  I loved how the drink flags turned out so I knew I would have to whip up a batch for the derby this year.  The stirrer set for last year had each horse's name on it and their corresponding jockey's jersey.  Guests selected a stirrer based on their pick for the race's winner which made for a little friendly competition (something that always makes a party a little more fun in my opinion!).

This year I created two options for you: one has only the jerseys on the flag with a corresponding key to what horse that jersey belongs and the other has both the jersey as well as the horse name.   Unless your friends have memorized every jockey's jersey design then you can use the set that has no horse names on it to play a more random game where guests simply pick up a flag.  Click the photo below for access to the free printable downloads.  Simply cut out the flags, adhere them to a small bamboo stick or paper straw, pop it into your mint julep and enjoy!

For Kentucky Derby viewing party inspiration check out the board I put together last year right here!

CLICK HERE for free printable Kentucky Derby drink flag downloads

{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!

{party inspiration: winter blues indoor campout}

The holidays are over and besides Valentine's day next month there doesn't seem to be much to celebrate other than cold winter weather (unless you are in California where it is currently 80 degrees!).  Even though we are lucky to be missing the worst part of Chicago winter while living in Paris, the weather here is still chilly and a bit rainy on most days which prevents us from having any fabulous Parisian picnics under the Eiffel Tower.  So why not host a cozy party to bring the outdoors in and combat the inevitable winter blues with a little indoor campout complete with spiked hot chocolate and tasty s'mores!?!?  All you need to do is move your furniture back, toss out a few warm blankets, light a fire (or create a fake one!) and put out all the fixings for your guests to whip up a warm glass of hot chocolate (with adult mix-ins of course!).   The best part is this party works just as well for both a larger party as it does for a intimate surprise date night!

{2013: top party posts}

Although the cocktail posts are my favorite the write for this blog (for obvious reasons), the very very close runner up is blogging about parties and dinner parties.  This year was a bit quieter on the party front in our place compared with last year due to us traveling a lot in the past 8 months and our space it smaller than the loft, but it didn't stop of from throwing some great get togethers and dinner parties.  While it wasn't at our home and technically took place on December 31st 2012, the NYE party we threw to ring in 2013 (pictured above) was by far my favorite party of this past year.

 {Oscars Viewing Party}

 {our glitzy 28th Birthday dinner}

 {a traditional Thanksgiving dinner for 13!}

 {an autumn tablescape for a fall dinner party}

{a girl's night in spread}

 {blind wine tasting party inspiration}

 {a gold & silver dinner party tablescape}

{ringing in NYE 2013 one year ago today!}

up next- my favorite paper goods & printables of 2013!

{holiday party idea: blind wine tasting}

A couple years ago, our friends hosted a super fun wine tasting party at their place that I have been dying to recreate.  So when Target asked me to put together a little holiday party inspiration using some of their new products,  I immediately thought the wine tasting idea would be perfect for a quick and easy holiday party!

The way this party works is you will ask each guest or couple to bring a bottle of wine under $25 - you can even specify a varietal like Pinot Noir. When the guests enter have them hand you the bottle so that you can wrap it in kraft paper or a brown bag and then assign their bottle a number without anyone else seeing (as the host you will be the only one who knows all the different bottles and their corresponding numbers).  Ideally you will have one glass per bottle per guest so that guests can try the different wines and refer back to them rather than emptying out their glass.  We have a shocking amount of wine glasses in our house, but if you don't own enough wine glasses to make this possible then you can easily rent some.

Serve appetizers as well as some sweets and let guests mingle while trying the different wines then reporting their thoughts on printed "notes" cards.  Tally up the favorite bottle selections at the end of the night (this bottle of Pinot Noir won the year we did this) and give the guest who brought the winning bottle a nice bottle of wine or another fun gift!  Links to items used for this party are under each photo and the download links to the printables are at the bottom of this post!

{gold Nate Berkus vase, gold prism tray, wine glasses}

 {wine tag printable}

 {wine bottle number printable}

 {gold rimmed decanters}

 {leftover florals from our Thanksgiving dinner which I will be sharing later this week}

 {gold rimmed agate tray, white ceramic trophy vase from older Target collection but find a similar one here, wine notes printables}

 {vintage black milk glass cake stands - find similar here}

 {gold prism tray by Nate Berkus, gold/black wrapping paper from holiday dept at Target}

  {I like the idea of setting up a spot for each guest to keep their glasses so that they aren't trying to roam your party holding 3 or 4 in one hand- I used simple place cards to designate an area for each person}

{free download link for wine tasting party printables}

Disclosure: Compensation was provided by Target via Glam Media.  The 

opinions expressed herein are those of the author and are not indicative of 

the opinions or positions of Target.