{oscar party supplies}

This is the first time in years that I haven't been home to host an Oscars viewing party.  I'm not even sure I'll be able to find a way to watch the awards ceremony in Paris which I realize is pretty ridiculous to be complaining about, but it's one of my favorite tv nights of the year!  You can check out last year's Oscar party we had at our house as well as an inspiration board here.  Since I can't gather my own party supplies for the event, I thought it would be fun to link to some of the perfect components to host your own party!

Printable Ballots:  This is an absolute must for Oscars viewing (I generally score horribly on these).  I love this booklet type one from Studio DIY, but if you are looking for a little less time intensive printing then opt for this one-pager from Almost Makes Perfect.

Printable Bingo:  How About Orange's blog has been creating free printable bingo (as well as a matching ballot) forever and I love how much fun having a bingo card adds to watching the awards ceremony- plus it's a good activity for guests who don't really care as much about the show as others (ahem, my husband).

Festive Decor:  Obviously my first choice for Oscars party decor would be to go all out gold & silver with sequin tablcloths, adorable printables, and festive garland, but a little packet of gold confetti is really all you need.

Gourmet Popcorn:  Pick up a packet of these mini popcorn containers and fill with gourmet flavored popcorn like this or this.  Another option is setting up a DIY popcorn toppings bar like this one to put the work on your guests!

Fancy Mini Bites:  Tv viewing parties are never about sitting down to a full on meal, but your guests are going to need more than popcorn to get through the night.  I love to serve fancy mini bites- especially recipes that can be made before guests arrive like crostini or sliders.

Signature Cocktail:  No party of mine would complete without a special cocktail for the evening (I have really been wanting to make this one for a party)- bonus points if you whip a batch ahead of time so you aren't mixing cocktails all night long.

Lots of Champagne:  No explanation needed here.  This one is my favorites for under $15 a bottle!

{glitter banners in the etsy shop}

After getting multiple requests to sell the gold glitter Happy Birthday Banner from this post, I decided to add a few for sale in my Etsy shop.  

See the selection of phrases in the Etsy shop right here 

Here are a few of my personal favorites!

 {cheers banner}

 {cocktails banner}

{mr. & mrs. banner}

{champagne & desserts party inspiration}

Moving to Chicago was and still is a big transition for me, but one thing that makes the whole situation a million times easier is that we were lucky to move here along with two of our best friends, Josh & Heather,  who happened to get into the same MBA program as Chris!  Heather's birthday is coming up in a few weeks and being that she is one of the girliest girls that I know, I thought a champagne and desserts themed ladies night would be the perfect way to celebrate.  

Here's a little inspiration board I put together for the upcoming fete:

More details from the party to follow- including some yummy champagne cocktail recipes!

{DIY triangle fringe garland}

In case you missed it last week on Green Wedding Shoes, head over there right now to get the full tutorial on how to make the fringed triangle garland we hung over our dance floor at the wedding.  This garland is basically the same process as the photobooth backdrop.

Right now we are currently living in moving box world (looks something like this) as we prepare to move to Chicago on Saturday morning.  We will be driving a moving truck along with these good friends for four days so posting might be a little light next week.  As soon as we are up and running at our new place I promise to share all the details!

{sequins & bow ties party recap}

The weekend before last, we hosted our "sequins & bow ties" themed going away party.  I absolutely loved this theme from the very beginning and was so excited to see what our friends would wear.  Who doesnt want an excuse to break out some sequins?!?!  We started this party later in the evening and served all our favorite party snacks like our burnt habanero crema salsa and sausage bites (both of which are always picked clean by the night's end) along with some new additions like a gourmet popcorn spread.  For drinks, we kept it simple with everyone's favorite whiskey punch recipe and various champagne cocktail supplies along with the usual selections of wine and beer.

In lieu of a photobooth, we picked up 10 packs of Fuji Instax film and let all of guests capture the night as well as display the shots on our kitchen chalkboard.  Nothing can really replace a photobooth in my heart, but this set up came really close especially since guests could check out all the snapshots up on the board as the night progressed.

Although I did not take as many photos as I normally do since I was trying to spend time saying our goodbyes, I was able to capture some of the little details from the party including all the party food and decor to share with you along with some instagram shots near the bottom...

{champagne cocktail supplies}

{glitzy bar set up}

{simple snacks sprinkled around the loft}

{all the savory party staples: burnt habanero crema, bacon wrapped dates & sausage bites}

{gourment popcorn bar including parmesan seaweed popcorn, funfetti popcorn & sriracha

 lime popcorn (the hands down favorite of the evening)}

{red velvet whoopie pies- same ones we served at our housewarming party for the loft so it seemed fitting to pick them up for our going away bash}

{so much sparkle!}

{some of the guests' instagram shots}

{all the instax shots from the evening}

{easy and inexpensive decor for the deck: alternating metallic gold and white fringe drape}

This party was an amazing send off and a great way to get in some quality time with our closest friends while forcing them to dress up!  We are truly lucky to have had the new and old friends we were surrounded with in our 4 years in LA and I can't wait to see what Chicago holds for us!

{breakfast for dinner birthday party}

 
As promised, I am back with the full recap from the breakfast for dinner birthday party we hosted for our dear friend Kay.  With Kay's direction for the color scheme and food, we set out to create a breakfast themed cocktail party rather than do a sit down dinner.  We made everything in mini form like mini egg Mcmuffin sandwiches, french toast bites,  mini donuts and a cereal bar so that guests could mingle and snack throughout the evening.  To make sure people didn't go hungry, we also cooked up some chicken and waffles which were served later in the evening.  We purchased Trader Joe's frozen belgium waffles and topped each one with a fried chicken strip from KFC.  

Although we had beer and wine available, the main drinks for the party were a do it yourself Bloody Mary Bar and a Bellini Bar.  Besides the McMuffin sandwiches, bacon skewers & snickerdoodle birthday cake, everything was purchased ready made (most items were frozen) to make the party a quick and easy set up.  We also tried to pick breakfast items that are just as yummy cold as they are hot out of the oven since we knew there would be no way to keep everything at the perfect temperature.  My favorites from the night were the individual servings of french toast with maple syrup and the cereal bar!

For the decor, we kept everything pretty simple with a few printed labels in the color scheme and some festive drink garnishes.  Using a roll of kraft paper and some sheets of cardstock in our desired colors, Kay & I created a huge paper chain to serve as the statement decoration above the main table.  This was by far the easiest party decor I have ever created and although it doesn't photograph well, it really makes an impact in person.  We simply cut the strips of the paper into 2 inch wide strips about 12 inches long for the colored cardstock and 20 inches long for the kraft paper and then stapled each loop onto the next.  I really loved the result and think this could make an awesome photobooth backdrop or canopy over a dinner party table.

 {the birthday girl}

 {chalkboard instructions}

 {bloody mary fixings}

 {bellini fixings}

 {cereal and champagne for the win}

{pancakes and bloody marys}

{bridal shower floral guide}

 
As promised in the recap from my bridal shower, Heather from Bourbon & Bleu is back today to guest blog with a little bit more information about the beautiful floral arrangements she put together for the event. Take it away Heather.... 

 Making the floral arrangements for Natalie's bridal shower was such a blast!  I met with Kay a few weeks before to discuss the look she was going for - feminine and organic arrangements in pink, white and peach colors.  Based on the table set-up, we decided on 4 main arrangements (1 for each table's centerpiece) and a large floral piece for the mimosa table.  Kay had also been saving up beer bottles and mason jars to add to the centerpieces.  I put single long stems of white and pink ranunculus in the beer bottles and mason jars. I knew that the dessert table would already have a lot going on with Kay's amazing chevron paper background and the various desserts, so I went simple. I purchased two bunches of ivory hydrangea and placed them in white ceramic vases.

{image via Sarah Roach Photography}

 

 

For the table arrangements, I headed down to the LA Flower Mart and picked up the following:

• 2 dozen ivory roses
• 2 dozen peach roses
• 3 bunches white stock
• 2 bunches peach stock
• 1 bunch wax flowers
• 1 bunch sweet william
• 1 bunch flowering spurge

I used green floral foam in the base of the arrangements so that I could more easily structure the arrangements.  I started with the roses - as they were the main focus of the arrangements - and placed about 4 white and 4 peach roses in each arrangements.  Next I added in about 2 white and and 2 peach stems of stock. After this I just added in the remaining wild flowers at different locations and heights to give it an organic look. 

 

 {image via Sarah Roach Photography}

  {image via Sarah Roach Photography}

  {image via Sarah Roach Photography}

Later this week, I'll be back with Kay guest blogging in more detail about some of the DIY projects she created for the bridal shower including some free printable downloads!

{plaid party: the decor}

{muji in his bowtie}

This past Saturday, we hosted our plaid themed holiday party!! I had so much fun and I loved how all our guests really got into the theme.  Overall, we were definitely going for more of a "tacky plaid" look for the decorations.  I would say the end result was basically an complete onslaught of plaid.  Once again, the downtown LA fabric district and Moskatel's were an incredible resource for craft supplies for the decorations 

 {champagne flutes with plaid fabric scraps}

 {vintage festive cocktail napkins}

 {mistletoe hanging}

 {supplies for cupcake toppers}

{tinsel pom cupcake toppers}

{view from the living room}

The biggest DIY we did for this party was the fabric strip garland that my good friend Kay helped out with.  This is by far one of the easiest garlands I have made, although it can be a little time consuming (especially if you don't own a rotary cutter).  After cutting up five or six different plaid and solid fabrics into 20 inch long strips (about 1 inch wide), you simply attach them in a random pattern to a piece of ribbon by typing them in a loop knot.  Click here to check out a more detailed tutorial.

 {sometimes we can even convince chris to help with the crafts}

{garland placed on the deck}

Here is a sneak peek of tomorrow's post about the photobooth set up:

Be sure to check back all this week for additional posts about the food and drinks we served.