invitations

• A first look at Anthony Bourdain's soon-to-be-released book, Medium Raw. — Grub Street NY
• Announcing the winner of the Food52 and Cook's Illustrated recipe-off. — Slate
• How to date a chef without getting fat. — iVillage
• An all-encompassing guide to paprika. — Serious Eats
• Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto is launching a Summer booze cruise in New York City. — Eater NY
• Rick Bayless's menu for the recent state dinner at the White House sounds amazing. — Huffington Post Food
• Learn how to make pad Thai at home. — Chow
• Entertaining pros provide their advice for the perfect party invitations. — The Epi-Log
• Find out why the liqueur Curaçao tastes like oranges, but is blue in color.— The Atlantic

FabSugar and I are at it again. Our Apples to Apples game night was such a success that we've decided to invite friends over for another evening of fun. This time we'll be getting active playing the childhood favorite Twister! I'm doing the planning and cooking, while Fab is offering her wonderful apartment up for the night. Before we can discuss the menu, I have to send the invite. To learn how I made the cute, email-able invitation seen here, read more

Although they’re sent out months before you say “I do,” wedding invitations and save the dates are an important part of your big day. They set the tone for your nuptials — casual? black tie? beach wedding? — hint at your wedding colors and décor, and of course, give guests crucial info about when and where the good times are taking place.

But like everything else wedding-related, all those little pieces of paper can easily cost a small fortune — unless you know where to look. No matter your budget, there’s an invite option to fit. To choose the right one for you, read on.

Tomorrow is my half birthday, and if you are a long-time YumSugar reader, you'll know that I always celebrate my half birthday! After consulting CasaSugar on when is the appropriate time to host a housewarming, I've decided to throw myself a half birthday housewarming party. I'll invite my friends over and serve up a delectable spread of appetizers and drinks. Before I can think about the menu, I've got to get the invites sent. To learn how I made the invite pictured here, read more

This holiday season, go green, go cheap, and go beautiful! Instead of sending out a tree's worth of paper invitations for your holiday soiree, consider using creative and gorgeous online invitations. While e-vitations have been around a while, few are as sassy, simple, pretty, and well-organized as the custom stationery from the Paperless Post.

A cinch to figure out, and party queens can choose between traditional, contemporary, modern, and casual templates and add the perfect touch with an embossed design, colorful trims, a grosgrain ribbon, or even their own photos. New members get 25 free virtual stamps (good for 25 email addresses) when they sign up and pay an additional fee when they want to send out their notice to more guests. If a hostess wants to blast the invitation out to 100 people, she would only pay the $8 fee for 100 e-stamps as opposed to a $44 bill at the post office. For an extra $5, mama can make the envelope fancy and add a liner. In the end, an $8 stamp fee and $5 envelope liner are peanuts compared to the snail mail option, and she never has to wait in that dreaded line! The bonus is it makes managing the party details as easy as one, two, three. Mommy can tell who has opened the invite, replied to it, and made comments on it.

So the next time mum's throwing a bash — holiday or otherwise — she should consider Paperless Post. The guests will be impressed by her fabulous and savvy eco-friendly ways, and it will give her the opportunity to spend the money on wine and music, 'cause that's what will make her party legendary.

To celebrate my birthday, I invited everyone I know to join me for happy hour. I took the time to make and send a special invite. However, I was shocked by how many friends didn't read it. One person thought the party was the day I sent the invite, another went to the wrong bar, and two people showed up four hours after the specified time. Not reading an invitation is my biggest party planning pet peeve. I made it a point to provide all the necessary details, so why can't my guests take five seconds to read the text? Since we all host parties in some form or another, I'm sure you have party planning pet peeves, too.

So whether it's a guest that shows up empty handed or your roommate's uninvited friends crashing, do tell: When planning a party, what behavior bugs you?