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Behind the Scenes: Black and White Luau

partysugar — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 05:30:58 -0700

On Saturday night FabSugar hosted her annual summer luau. Instead of throwing a regular luau, Fab's party had a sophisticated, chic black and white theme. While Fab created the look of the luau, I was in charge of the snacks and specialty cocktail. To take a look at the food and decor of our memorable party, click the "Start" button.

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Off to Market: Fab Apron

partysugar — Fri, 16 May 2008 03:00:06 -0700

When I was prepping and cooking the food for our Sex and the City Marathon at Fab's house, I expected her to offer me a glamorously stylish apron. However, I was shocked to see that an apron is the one article of clothing that she does NOT own. Let's help Fab by heading off to market in search of a fashionable apron. Look for aprons that are pretty, fun, and Fab-worthy like this lovely leopard print apron by Haute Hostess. Avoid aprons that are tacky or season specific. Save the aprons in the Yum Market on TeamSugar with the keyword tag, Fab Apron. I'm excited to check out your finds!

To learn more about the bookmarking feature please read geeksugar's explanation.
Don't know where to start searching? Check out a list of my favorite online stores when you, read more.

Bed Bath & Beyond
CB2
Cooking.com
Crate & Barrel
Ikea
Linens and Things
NapaStyle
Pier 1
Plum Party
Pottery Barn
Sur La Table
Target
Restoration Hardware
Williams Sonoma
Wishing Fish
World Market

Happy Hour: Happy Apple Rum Twist

partysugar — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 16:00:43 -0700

This October, instead of being bummed about Summer's departure, I've decided to get excited for Fall. I've changed the background on my phone to an image of autumnal flowers, I've searched FabSugar for Fall-look inspiration, I've decorated my house with white pumpkins, and most importantly, I've starting sipping this apple cocktail.

Apples are a quintessential ingredient at this time of year, thus a stimulating concoction made with apple cider and dark rum seems seasonally appropriate. Although the recipe is very easy, the resulting drink is complex, refreshing, and delicious. I recommend using a dark, rich rum like Jamaica's Appleton; it adds a welcoming depth of flavor. To embrace Fall, mix this cocktail!

Come Party With Me: My Birthday Party - Invite

partysugar — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 12:50:55 -0700

Well folks, it's time for me to plan my favorite event of the year - my birthday party! Since I threw a blow-out bash at a bar for 27 and a big picnic at an oyster farm for 27.5, I've decided that, for 28, things should be more subdued. Thus, I'm hosting an intimate dinner party for me and my 20 closest friends. The dinner will be served in my grandfather's gorgeous backyard, but before I can think about the menu, I have to send invitations. To learn how I made the ones seen here, read more.

I wanted an invite that looks clean, fun, and is representative of my personality. After searching several paper stores in San Francisco, I decided on a navy, cream, and turquoise theme. I purchased the majority of my supplies at Paper Source. Here's what I used:

Dark blue cardstock
Decorative paper
Glittery paper
Satin ribbon
Single hole punch
Sequins
Glue
Cream printer paper
computer
printer

Here's how I made the invite:

First, I decided on the long rectangular shape (4 1/8x9 1/2 inch) of the envelope. Next I cut the navy cardstock down to 4-x-9 inches. This would be the base of the invite.
I created a stencil of the word party by opening a blank workbook sized at 4-x-9 inches in Photoshop. I made the font as large as it could be (to fit in the space) and printed on regular paper. Using a pencil, I carefully connected the letters and cut out the word. I traced it onto a thick piece of cardstock and cut out again to create a stencil.
I traced the stencil onto the glittery paper and cut out 20.

Next I focused on the text. I opened another blank workbook, this time sized at 3-x-8 inches. Then I wrote the following message:

Your presence is requested at a birthday dinner to honor PartySugar

Saturday, September 19, 2009
Cocktails begin at 6:45

Al Hogan's House
Alamo, California 94507

Dress your best!
Regrets only: 415.444.4444

I printed this out and had FabSugar check for spelling and grammatical errors. When I was satisfied with the text, I printed it with a thin border on 23 sheets of nice paper. I cut these down to size.

To create a border for the back of the invite, I cut the decorative paper into 1-inch strips.
Next I cut the satin ribbon down to 3-4 inch pieces. I needed 4 ribbons for each invite, in total 80 ribbons.

Once I had all of the elements ready, it was time to assemble. I punched a whole in the glittery word Party and the base navy cardstock in four places: at the bottom and top of the P and the bottom and top of the Y. I used the ribbon to tie the glittery party stencil to the navy-blue cardstock, and repeated until all the invites were complete.

Then I turned the invite over and glued the decorative paper strips onto the edge of the navy cardstock to create a border. I trimmed off the excess and used this to fill in the remaining sides, repeating until each invite back had a border.

I glued the text to the middle of the back of the invite and repeated until all the invite backs were finished.

To give the invites some sparkle, I glued several sequins to the front (the side with the word party) of each invite. Then I set all of the invites aside to dry for several hours.

I slide the completed invites into the envelopes, addressed them with a nice navy pen, and sent!

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Know Your Ingredients: Pimm's

partysugar — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 16:15:37 -0700

A couple of weekends ago, for FabSugar's technicolor luau, I made a batch of Pineapple Pimm's Cup. Created by Duggan McDonnell of Cantina, this punch recipe consisted of pineapple vodka, Pimm's No. 1, ginger beer, ginger syrup, and fresh-squeezed lemon and lime juice.

The refreshing and unexpected cocktail was a major hit and everyone was inquiring about the ingredients. While I was able to tell them what was in the drink, I wasn't able to answer when they asked, "What's Pimm's?" My lame reply, "Oh it's a liquor popular in England." But really, I had no clue what it was!

Until now. Pimm's, an aperitif, is a brand of alcoholic beverages that was created in London in 1840, with the most popular being Pimm's No. 1 Cup. Each number of Pimm's has a different base spirit; No. 1 is a gin-based, No. 2 is scotch-based, and No. 3 is brandy-based (only No.1 still exists). Other elements (spices, citrus, etc.) are added to the base spirit to achieve a characteristic floral flavor and rich tea color. Pimm's is often mixed with soft drinks or as in the classic Pimm's Cup, with lemonade, cucumber, and fresh fruit. Do you enjoy Pimm's?

Come Party With Me: Technicolor Luau - Invite

partysugar — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 11:39:01 -0700

Every Summer FabSugar hosts a luau. Since Fab is so fashion-forward, the theme is not your typical Hawaiian-shirt extravaganza; each year she picks a different style for the luau. Last July she threw a sophisticated black-and-white soirée, and next month, she's going vibrant with a technicolor luau. Fab and I often collaborate on parties and this time will be no different. I'm doing the planning and cooking, she's doing the hosting. To get things started, I had to make Fab an invite. Learn how I made the one seen here and read more.

After spending some time in Costa Rica, Fab was totally inspired by aquatic life, so we browsed pictures of jellyfish and came across these amazing images.

Once I had several pics, I dragged and dropped them into Photoshop. I flipped one of the images upside down and copied it into a blank file three times. Then I took another image (one with plenty of room to write the text) and pasted this on top of the jellyfish. Next I inserted the following text:

Surf's Up...at FabSugar's Technicolor Luau
You're invited to have a tropical blast!

Saturday, August 15
9 p.m.
Fab's Grotto
San Francisco

Wear your loudest, freshest, hottest gear.
Neon encouraged.

Bring your preferred poison

I sent the invitation to Fab and she helped make several edits. Once we were both satisfied with the look, I saved it as a JPEG. Fab can upload the image to Evite or pingg, or simply send attached to an email.

Have you ever hosted a luau? How did you invite your friends?

Come Party With Me: Technicolor Luau - The Look

partysugar — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 10:40:58 -0700

The look of FabSugar's technicolor luau is eclectic but fun. Since some of the decorations - surfboard-shaped party lights, tiki-face napkins, neon plastic glasses - are loud, the food will be plated on simple white platters. Instead of serving the drinks in a stereotypical punch bowl, let guests help themselves to the cocktails from a beverage dispenser. Place a bowl with paper umbrellas near the glasses. The night may get wild, so skip expensive floral arrangements and opt for lush, green potted palm trees. After the party, Fab can put them on her balcony. Finally, when guests arrive, they'll expect to get leis, but surprise them with neon glow necklaces!

Come Party With Me: Annabelle's Birthday - Invite

partysugar — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 10:15:55 -0700

Meet Annabelle Buffy Durbin, FabSugar's cutie-pie, social butterfly Frenchie. Always the adorable center of attention, Annabelle's fourth birthday is on July 14 and Fab's throwing her a paw-ty next weekend.

She asked me to help with the the planning, so all this week I'm sharing the details with you. Consider hosting a party for your pet! Before we can talk doggie cupcakes, Fab has to send the invite.

To learn how I turned this picture of Annabelle into an emailable invitation, read more.

I started by dropping and dragging the image into Photoshop. Then, I cropped the image, cutting out the excess top and bottom. I copied and pasted it into a new larger window. From there, I added this text:

Annabelle Is Turning 4!

To celebrate she wants to give you a kiss at her birthday pawty!

Sunday, July 25, 2009, 3:00 p.m.
The Durbin Domaine, Oaktown

Please RSVP to FabSugar. Doggie BFs welcome!

With the eyedropper tool, I was able to change the color of the text to match Annabelle's lei. After getting Fab's stamp of approval, I saved the image as a jpeg, attached in an email, and sent. Have you ever hosted a birthday party for a pet?

What's Yummy This Week - YumSugar Weekly Recap

YumSugar — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 09:30:59 -0700

Seriously, make this cherry pie: it's the best you'll ever have.
Party plans a "birthday paw-ty" for FabSugar's cutie-pie French bulldog.
Starbucks is changing the names of several of its stores.
Check out Summer's collection of cool, creamy ice cream cakes.
We conducted a side-by-side test of two European raisin-and-nut chocolate bars.
Find out why Texans love the soft filled pastries known as kolaches.
An inside look at the food at a rustic wedding hosted on the banks of Northern California's Russian River.

Come Party With Me: Annabelle's Birthday - The Look

partysugar — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 09:15:03 -0700

Since Annabelle's favorite colors are purple, black, and white, FabSugar will use these to decorate her birthday party. Fab will start by placing purple balloons on her parent's mailbox. Guests who have never been there will know where the party is. In the backyard, she'll cover the buffet table with a printed black and white tablecloth. Purple platters hold the food, while a stylish pitcher is perfect for pouring margaritas.

Before the party, Fab's mom will plate the toppings for the gelato bar in hors d'oeuvre serving trays. Annabelle's friends are dogs, so there will be plenty of water bowls. A pretty bouquet of fresh flowers finishes the look.