I hope you had a wonderful Mother’s Day, either giving love to your mom or getting love from your kids– or both if you are lucky!
I saw this waffle wedding cake– and was intrigued! What a fun idea for a brunch wedding– or any kind of brunch party. 
It could be followed with a waffle bar for guests to customize their own– which is awesome any time of day or night. 
Yum! Waffles! I could have one right now…
Do you follow the traditional gifts for anniversaries? We do, although often with our own take; for example, the first year we decided “paper” meant plane tickets, so we flew to Paris. This past Friday marked 4 years married for my husband and me. We weren’t going to travel, so I was trying to come up with a thoughtful gift that showed how much the past 4 years have meant to me.
We decided on fruit and flowers was the traditional gift for this year, and I started brainstorming {translation: looking on pinterest}. I saw a picture of a fruit pie and it clicked immediately. My husband loves pie {even over cake!} especially mixed berry. I found Pretty Please Pies to custom make one in Hong Kong and my man couldn’t have been happier. It might be the best gift I have ever given him. {side note: this awesome baker made sure I had my pie for my anniversary, even as she was on her way to the hospital with appendicitis!}
This is how we celebrated our every day {or year, as the case may be}. What did you do for your 4th anniversary?
I brought some girl scout cookies back with me from the US. While eating a samoa I started thinking about Troop Beverly Hills, so watching it is on the list for this weekend. Not only does it allow me to indulge my cookie eating, but it’s the original “glamping.”
What are you up to this weekend?
{images and layout by Design*Sponge}
1. Yellow and White Striped Tent, $1400; 2. Glow in the Dark Compass, $5; 3. J.Crew Satin Jumpsuit, $300; 4. Girl Scout Cookies, $4; 5. Desert Sleeping Bag, $84; 6. Giorgio Body Powder, $2; 7. Louis Vuitton Agenda Book, $535; 8. Pocket Corkscrew, $54; 9. Champagne Stand, $30; 10. Marshmallow Skewers, $34/set of 9
I’m thinking this will be happening this weekend. {Recipe}
One of my dear friends in NYC {who was also one of my brides} is pregnant and I couldn’t be more excited for her. I think I am more disappointed than she is that I am not in town to plan her shower. She’s got tons of style, and she’s started her own bakery, with a focus on healthy treats out of her home, one of the ideas I’d consider for her would be a cooking themed baby shower. This is what I can’t decide– to cook sweet or savory! I think the “Bun in the Oven” could be sweet (haha) and fun, but this gorgeous, healthy vegetable cooking themed would be great for her summer baby– maybe something like “Freshly Picked.”
Take a look at these pictures and let me know what you think!
Guests received mix and match aprons!!
One of my favorite clients is working on a birthday party for her little girl. She told me the colors and the theme– Pink Power Ranger. I need to do some research on this character, but I was so inspired by the color scheme of pink, gold, black and white that I started with a mood board. I’m still working on adding in the Power Ranger, but this inspiration was too pretty not to share. 
Wouldn’t these polka dots be a great backdrop for food?
I love the pale pink candy bar here with black accents.
More polka dots, and color appropriate cakesters.
Hot pink and gold wrapping.
I love how the runner here matches the Power Range belt. With black chevron? Get out of here!
Cute black and white straws.
Awesome striped table cloths. Oh yeah.
I love these invites— and the gold and pink tinsel back drop. I’d love to see some ninja poses in front of that!
This weekend we had my Hong Kong BF over for dinner. She checked out my place the day I moved in— my things were still in bags (!)– so I wanted to treat her to a better experience.
We thought we would expand our entertainment area by using our entire terrace, so I added a bit comfort and color to make it more inviting.
We mixed up some cocktails {hibiscus tea, vodka and soda water with a little bit of ice} …
Then enjoyed them in the lounge area. 
For dinner, we moved to the dining area…
I arranged the flowers to match the napkins, and created the candle votives to give more light{more on this tomorrow!}.
For dinner my awesome hubby made prawn and avocado salad with lemon dressing, moroccan lamb with couscous {a warm dish, since there is still a chill in the air!} and s’mores for dessert. 
All and all, a great night!
What are your plans for New Year’s Eve? I’m thinking all I need is some yummy desserts, champagne, a bit of gold & polka dots, and my honey.
Polka dot glasses/ gold s’mores/gold cotton candy/gold fortune cookies
‘Tis the season to eat cookies in all kinds of shapes. From gingerbread men to christmas trees, reindeer to snowmen, there is a bit of same old, same old.
But not here! A couple of my favorite cookie related ideas…
Advent calendars are all the rage, but gingerbread and a cool font? Nice.
For those of us with silhouettes, crickets, or YUDUs, we understand the need for make your own cookie shape.
Sure, we’ve all seen gingerbread houses, even crazy modern ones. But I love these gingerbread townhouses.
We are getting a lot of questions about Christmas menu planning— and we love it! Certainly a holiday gathering is party planning that we can all relate! This week’s question is from Will in Washington, DC via Facebook.
Dear Sara,
I have guests coming to our small DC condo after Christmas. We would like to host a dinner-type function, but do not have a dining table and/or chairs. The total number of guests is five. Any creative thoughts on how we plan a successful finger food dinner that would be filling and flexible enough for the space limitations?
Thank you,
Will
Dear Will,
What a great question! This is one of those issues that so many people deal with, from those in urban areas, to newlyweds, to senior citizens.
The key to making a finger food meals successful isn’t necessarily in the menu choices, but in being creative in how to serve it. Want to serve soup? Put it in a shot glass or small cup. Want to serve a traditional holiday meal? Put it in a sandwich or a stack (turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce) and cut it into bite size pieces. Want to serve french fries? Put them in a cone. You get the idea.
Next tip is to have a lot of variety. When you are having a sit down meal it’s easier to keep things simple. With little bites, variety is key. Also, don’t put everything out at once. Still keep up your “courses” so everyone is excited to see what will come out next (like a tapas restaurant!)
I did put together some menu ideas (because it’s fun!) — see what you think! 
Top row: shrimp and sausage, the cutest salads ever, brie on a stick
Second row: quinoa stuffed cucumber, chicken’n'waffles, mac & cheese
Third row: sweet potato rounds, beets and toast, individual berry tarts
Another good idea? Small plates. By using smaller plates that we have to refill more often, we get full faster. Seriously.
Good luck! And let us know how it goes!
xoxo
Sara
