{our moving announcements + free printable}

When we moved to Chicago I had every intention to send out some fun snail mail moving announcements, but my good intentions got overtaken by the moving process, busy schedules and lots of travel.  I promised myself I would find the time to get some simple address change announcements out to our friends and family this time around.  Inspired my obsession with palm prints (evidence here & here) and wanting another reason to use color seams envelopes, I designed these simple 4 bar sized moving announcements.  I absolutely love how the color palette of stark black and white with pale peach and the punchy palm print work off each other.  I have also removed my personal text and made this simple design available for free download!  Scroll down to the bottom of the post for sources and download links.

SOURCES:

envelopes:  black color seams in 4 bar size
paper: 120lb cardstock uncoated printed at Columbia Printing
liners: DIY using this template kit
fonts:  Sackers Gothic & Engravers MT

Free template downloads for FRONT & BACK.  

{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

{2013: top paper goods + printables}

 There is nothing more enjoyable to me than taking a little bit extra time to design and print my own paper goods for parties or events- especially invitations!  Here is a round up of my favorites from 2013 - most of which include downloads for a printable file of the design!

 {Kentucky Derby viewing party jersey drink stirrers}

 {beer tasting party invites}

{oscar viewing party invitations}

 {oscar viewing party ballots & bingo}

 {terra's bridal shower invites}

 {cocktail recipe booklet}

{ashlee + stephen's wedding invite suite}

{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.

{2013 Printable Emmy Ballots}

The Emmys really snuck up on me this year.  I can't believe they are coming up this weekend!  While we aren't planning on going all out like we did for last year's Oscars Party, I still plan on filling out my ballot, enjoying some champagne cocktails & watching the primetime Emmy awards this Sunday (and judging people's dress choices...obviously).   I really loved the booklet format we used for our Oscars ballot so I decided to repeat that idea for the Emmy ballot printable. I really hope you have a chance to print and enjoy these!! I also hope I don't embarrass myself horribly with my ballot choices like I have in the past....

Links to all the free printable pages for the ballots are at the bottom of this post!

{In addition to the friendly competition of the ballot selections, I also included this amazing drinking game that Gotham News put together in this year's ballot.  Let's face it...if you aren't turning an awards ceremony into a drinking game then you aren't doing it right.}

 {I realize not everyone has the time to put together booklets so I also created a simple 4 page pdf that you can print directly onto regular copy paper with no assembly required!}

PRINTABLE PAGES TO ASSEMBLE BOOKLET FORMAT BALLOT (requires assembly)

assembly instructions:

print "page one-front" then flip page over and run it through your printer again when you print "page-back."  Repeat this process with the files "page two-front" & "page two-back."  I assembled my booklets by placing two hole punches in the middle of the book along the folded seam then I ran a piece of gold twine through them and tied it in a knot to secure.  For faster assembly you can place two staples on the outside seam as close to the folded edge as possible. 

PRINTABLE FULL COPY PAGE PDF (no assembly)

{easy dinner party menu}

You're busy, I'm busy....everyone is busy right now, but that doesn't mean you can't still have friends over for dinner and cook them an amazing meal in a short amount of prep time! We whipped up this simple menu last night for a group of 4 in almost no time at all by using fresh available ingredients and straightforward unfussy recipes.  A platter of charcuterie accompanied by fresh bread and a quick ricotta spread to start the meal followed by an easy watermelon feta salad and a marinated flank steak on a bed of arugula with sliced heirloom tomatoes.  Rather than make a dessert from scratch, I opted to pick up a selection of mochi ice cream flavors from our local Trader Joe's and skewer them for easy serving.  Scroll down to the bottom of the post for links to all the recipes and a download for the menu printable!

Honey Lemon Thyme Ricotta Spread served with fresh bread & selection of charcuterie

Watermelon Feta Salad

Pan Seared Rib Eye Steak served on bed of fresh arugula with Lemon Vinaigrette and heirloom tomatoes

Mochi Ice Cream in Mango, Strawberry & Chocolate

MENU PRINTABLE

{charity cocktail class video + printables}

A few months ago, I helped out on the committee for Kellogg's annual Charity Auction Ball which is the annual charity formal that Chris' MBA program puts on (check us out at the event here, here, & here).  This year they raised over 70K for three different local charities through silent auctions.  The auctions are made up of typical items like sports tickets and vacations as well as the very popular "student donations" where students "donate" social events or outings that fellow students can bid on.  Chris and Josh donated a cocktail class in our home for 6 lucky students to enjoy.  We hosted the lucky winners a few weeks ago and had such a great time (although it didn't feel too terribly different than a regular Saturday night around our place!)

Chris and Josh created a menu of 6 different cocktails for our guests including classic recipes (like this one), a fabulous punch, and one original recipe the guys came up with.  I designed a small booklet for each of the guests to take home with all of the recipes from the evening because quite honestly after 6 cocktails, I dont expect anyone to remember cocktail recipe proportions!  Inspired by this amazing wedding program, I placed the recipe instructions on top of fun summer-inspired images that I altered into almost transparent backgrounds.  I then printed the recipes four up on a regular letter sized page, cut them out and assembled them together with a simple gold brad in the corner.  You can download the full files for these cocktail recipes at the bottom of this post!

After having so much fun creating the video from our anniversary weekend, I decided to try out making a short video from the cocktail class and I am equally pleased with how this one turned out!  I hope you enjoy taking part in the evening through this video as much as I do.

{download the files for these recipe booklets right here}