Tiffany & Co. Themed Baby Shower!

Hello everyone!

You may (or may not, because you also have been busy) be wondering why I have been absent from my blog lately. Well, I started working full-time in the Private Events Department at Porter Valley Country Club this summer, so I have been quite busy there while still planning events for my own company, but mainly I have been blogging so much for the Club I haven't given my own blog much attention. You can keep up with my musings the last few months by following http://www.portervalleyprivateevents.blogspot.com/ but I do hope to spend more time with you all on my personal blog from now on because, well, I can be more personal here :)

So let's start back with this wonderful little baby shower I designed for my coworker, Stacy, who is having her baby boy in a few short weeks... The shower was hosted by our club so we had a fabulous catered lunch & yummy cake from La Creme, one of our favorite preferred vendors because they never make the cake too sweet. But the decor & games were all left up to me, so here's what I came up with using her Tiffany & Co. (or in this case, Stacy & Co.) theme...Hope you like!

For the favors, I thought, what better treat for Stacy's guests than homemade sugar cookies (pregnant women love sugar right?) with teal frosting & marshmallow fondant bows, which I managed to make the night before & had to finish in the wee hours of the morning because I was out for my best friend's bachelorette (which I was also coordinating) that night. It was definitely difficult to do after a night out, but I managed to finish in the nick of time & still got 30 mins. of sleep! Phew! But totally worth it to see this smile from Stacy...

Next, for the decor of the tables, we used white linen with a teal napkin in the center & teal napkins faned out in the water glasses.

I also made these centerpieces to resemble a Tiffany's box using teal wrapping paper I found at Target which I wrapped a square vase in & some white ribbon from Michaels that I taped to the sides, plus the "bow" on top was white hydrangeas that I placed in the vases, & wala! You have a Tiffany's inspired centerpiece!


My good friend, Mars, from Flowers on Mars, stopped by to provide his lighting skills & uplit the entire room with teal lighting as well as spotlighting the cake to make it stand out. I cannot stress enough how important lighting is for events. There is no easier way to transform a room & add a lot of bang for your buck than with lighting effects.


That was pretty much it on the design side, simple but chic. For the games, we played a little Baby Scrabble, Guess the Size of Mommy's Belly (with yarn), & Figure Out How Many Kisses (Hershey's) In the Baby Bottle...Nothing too crazy, because we had a mix of ages of women & I didn't want to grose anyone out with the Guess What's In the Diaper type games. ;) It was definitely a fun time & yes, Stacy, made out really well with tons of useful things on her registry plus a lot of cute clothes! Now, I can't wait to help her plan the 1st Birthday! If only, that little baby would hurry up & be born already! Hehe. Oh well, it's almost time for his grand entrance & I am sure we will enjoy many more parties before his first.

Until the next party, have a fabulous day!

Eco-Friendly Table Decor

I was very pleased to see these table settings at Bloomingdales using recycled materials just in time for Earth Day. Maybe you can incorporate their creative ideas into your next party or picnic?



Doesn't it look polished? And hardly none of it is actual linen, mostly recycled paper.



The detailed place settings; Names written on leaf shaped recycled paper are perfect.



Cool, modern earthy centerpieces. Very Earth Day appropriate.



Hope these photos inspire you to create your own Eco-chic event! Remember to be kind to this planet; the 40th Anniversary of Earth Day is April 22nd!

Design Inspiration

Mad Hater Tea Party

Now that I finally watched the new Alice in Wonderland movie (very fun and fantastical by the way), I thought I should post these pictures I took at Bloomingdales of their marvellous Mad Hatter's tea party table setting.


You can use this theme as inspiration for a bridal shower, birthday party, baby shower or even just a fun summer tea party.


The graphic black and white printed linens are a fun contrast with the bright pop of color on the napkins and mismatched floral china. I also love the clear glass apothecary jars with cake displayed inside like a specimen under examination-Tim Burton would approve.


Hanging tea cup, stacked tea pots and cups as centerpieces, along with a house of cards and a topiary plant with a Cheshire cat cutout...the possibilities are endless with this event theme.

My favorite lines from the film, "I like to think six impossible things before breakfast" and "The very best people are (mad)" should incourage you to try to incorporate some of these unique, whimsical ideas into your next event, and feel free to take your guests down the rabbit hole even further wherever your creativity leads you. Anything goes for a Mad Hatter's tea party inspired event; The wilder and weirder, the better!

Signature LA Direct Magazine release parties

We gladly accepted an invitation to attend Signature Magazine's latest issue release party (for the Sex Issue) on February 5th with the promise in the invitation that it would be the "sexiest event of the year". How can we say no to that?


Me with former coworker/current Smaknews Editor, Gina Mom.

Unfortunately, all it offered was an entrance into a club and an excuse to go out with your friends. No magazines to be found or special event elements such as lingerie clad dancers/servers or even anything as simple as sensual imagery projected on walls. But we made the best of it and danced for a while before heading out.


Us leaving the mirror like hall that you pass coming in and out of the club.

A bit of a dissapointment production-wise (Signature's crowd is always pretty cool), but we were glad to see an invitation for another release party February 20th at Delux which was being produced by Vita Luna Group.


I was glad to see this bookcase with copies of the new issue as soon as we walked in. Also there was a hosted vodka bar the first hour and horderves passed from time to time. Definitely an improvement from the last party. Maybe the first really was just an excuse to go out?


Me joined by Seng, designer of the super chic women's wear line Georgie, Mel the mastermind behind many websites, and Leila from Laga Handbags (beautiful, unique handbags for a great cause, please support them).


For more info on Laga's cause go to www.laga-handbags.com


Me with a group of friends, including Vera designer and owner of Verameat jewelry (holding the magazine). Her stuff is amazing! Must see: www.verameat.com (You will love her smart, ironic designs like Paint the Town Red, below.)


All in all, a fun night of friends and fashion (though I still have yet to meet the editor of the magazine, Hellen Kay). Hopefully for the next event we can meet the people responsible for this beautifully photographed and well edited fashion and luxury lifestyle magazine. Maybe a little more formality, such as a short speech from the editor to introduce the new issue and concepts they worked on would be a welcome addition to the next event? Just a thought. Us event planners never turn our brains off party planning mode! You all should definitely pick up this issue; it's extremely sexy as promised!

Bizbash's Winter Bicoastal Issue Party

We were invited to the Winter Bicoastal Issue Party and had a fabulous time! Look out for me and fellow wedding planner Katie Lee in the upcoming Bizbash magazine ;)



On the computer, of course, Gina Mom, Editrix of Smaknews.com came with me to enjoy the festivities and mingle with the event industry's best including the fabulous President of Bizbash, Richard Aaron. Check her site out for some great gossip, celebrity news, and important women's issues- www.smaknews.com and stay in the loop by joining her legion of fans on Twitter- follow Smaknews!


Gina and I in the cool, color changing Igloos from Town & Country rentals.





Us in the 360 photo sphere pictures: a fun, new take on the photo booth concept where a group of people are photographed at once inside a room.

The flowing drinks, appetizers, live music and aerial performance all added to the festive flair of the night. Another job well done for Richard! Thanks again for the invitation and amazing time.

Don't forget to visit the next Bizbash trade show if you are in the industry or looking to be inspired for your next event! Details for the Bizbash Expo can be found at www.bizbash.com.

MasterChef audition in LA

So my lovely followers, I have been away from my blog for a while being busy working on my audition for a new cooking reality show, working full-time, and the madness of buying our first house (with my first big kitchen; finally I'll have some space to cook!). But I promise to be in touch more often!

Here I am with two of my "fans"/good friends who came out to support me at the MasterChef audition, which I decided to try out for to share my passion for cooking with the world.


And for those of you curious about the dish I cooked up, here's the picture of my dish (minus the extra cilantro I placed on the albondigas soup spoon and on top of my jimaca slaw when I presented it to the judges, which I left off when I quickly took this picture before the audition).


Pictured Above: My Abuelita Ceci's albondigas soup, mom's pork tamales with salsa verde, and a colorful, refreshing jicama slaw to balance the taste of all the spicy flavors of the soup and tamales. Hope you like my presentation!

I'll make sure to share our secret family recipes in the next post, so you can prepare these amazing, authentic Mexican favorites from scratch for your familia.

Also, keep you posted on what happens with the audition if I get any news. Wish me luck!

Thanks so much to all my friends, family and husband for supporting me on this journey.

Designer spotlight

1. Jobyna's Bridal by Ines Di Santo

I was thrilled to be invited to attend the unveiling of the new Ines Di Santo bridal boutique at the Americana yesterday evening. An opportunity to meet the fabulous designer, gorgeous gowns on display, a rooftop candlelit after party, poolside fashion show, and champagne flowing-what more can you ask for? Brides-to-be, this is a boutique you will definitely want to visit!

Feathers on the train and detailed bodice-Divine!

So romantic, elegant, and sexy. Ines knocked this one out of the park!

I hope you enjoy shopping for the most important day of your life at Jobyna's Bridal and get inspired browsing through the jaw dropping dresses by Ines Di Santo. Check out their websites to see more for yourself!

http://www.jobynas.com/

http://www.inesdisanto.com/