YumSugar

Behind the Scenes: An Earth Hour Birthday Party

partysugar — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 05:50:25 -0700

Last Saturday night was my sister's birthday. To celebrate, she invited a group of people to her house at 8 p.m. At 8:30, we turned off the lights to observe Earth Hour. I catered the informal event. To find out what was on the menu and check out my sister's fabulous party favor idea, start clicking.

View Slideshow ›

My Favorite Invites

partysugar — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 12:03:31 -0800

You probably already know this, but I love the act of planning a party as much as the party itself! While Yum had 52 weeks of baking adventures this year, I planned 52 virtual parties! From the look to the drinks, I supplied you with inspiring ideas, tantalizing recipes, and crafty invitations. The invite sets the tone, atmosphere, and mood of an event so I always send handmade invitations. It also makes a lovely keepsake of the party. I've browsed all of the invites and picked out my top five. Pictured clockwise from the top right, they are:

How about you? What was your favorite invitation?

Behind the Scenes: My Halloween Party

partysugar — Wed, 31 Oct 2007 10:18:33 -0700

Last week I told you step-by-step how I was planning my Halloween party. I showed you the invitations, the menu, the drinks and the decor. The party took place this past Saturday and although it was a fabulous success and the majority of my guests had a glorious time, there are a few things to make note of for the next time.

Here are my after party reflections:

Leave the frozen berries out of the Dangerously Delicious Punch. Unless you want to spend the next day rubbing berry stains out of your carpet, it's best to not garnish punch at a large party.

I would have liked a picture of everyone who came in their costume. Next time I will set up a Halloween costume photo shoot area and ask guests to snap themselves with an old Polaroid when they arrive.
Don't offer Halloween candy that comes in wrappers. The house was littered with Kit Kat and Skittle wrappers by the end of the night.
Put a large towel under the keg. We put a small one underneath it, but the condensation was so bad that the floor ended up getting slippery and wet.

For more on my Halloween party, including a virtual tour of the space before the party began, read more

View 66 Photos ›

Share Your Party Pics With PartySugar

partysugar — Wed, 06 Jun 2007 01:08:31 -0700

Calling all you crazy partyers, hostesses with the mostess, and anyone else who loves to party as much as I do! Join my Super Special Occasions group on TeamSugar and share pictures of the parties you planned, hosted, or attended. There are tons of members but few are showing us their pictures, what's up with that? I started this group so we could all get inspiration from the parties we've been to. I love looking at party pics for new ideas on centerpieces, tablecloths, and food spreads. For example how chic is this for an invitation?? It's the invite that illogicaldee sent out for her sweet 16 birthday party! Browse the images of her bash in the Super Special Occasions group and share photos of your fabulous fetes.

Better Know a Group: Super Special Occasions

partysugar — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 09:58:57 -0700

A little while ago as I was browsing through the groups on TeamSugar I was surprised to see that there was no group devoted to highlighting images of your fabulous parties. Sure there are groups that discuss wedding party plans, recipes, and wines but what about one devoted to all things party? That's why I started the Super Special Occasions group! When I host a party I love to take tons of pictures of everything from the decorations to the food spreads to the floral centerpieces and beautifully lit candles. Now we can share our pictures with each other and get inspirations and ideas from parties that you've hosted in the past. If you're anything like me and have tons of photos of events you've hosted, attended, or seen, please share them with us in the Super Special Occasions. How adorable is this table setting for lickety split's daughter's 8th birthday? To check out more images of her party (and mine!) and to share your events with us, join the Super Special Occasions group.

Super Special Occasions: Join My Group!

partysugar — Fri, 02 Mar 2007 12:51:18 -0800

After I host an amazingly successful fete, I feel super proud of all my accomplishments and I like to share them with anybody who was unable to attend. I snap tons of pictures of the decor (before and during the event), the food spreads, the centerpieces, the flowers, the candles, I even like to show off the invitation! If you're anything like me and have tons of photos of events you've hosted, attended, or seen, please share them with us. Upload them to my new group, Super Special Occasions, on TeamSugar. Checking out images of other parties is an excellent way to get inspiration for your next party... so if you want to see more pics like this interior shot of a recent Dom Perignon dinner, come party with me by browsing through the images of Super Special Occasions and post your own while you're there!

Join My Group To Share Your Super Special Occasions

partysugar — Thu, 22 Feb 2007 13:58:19 -0800

Just in time for the biggest party in Hollywood, I'm officially launching my group on TeamSugar, Super Special Occasions. Super Special Occasions is your place to post all pictures of the parties you've attended and hosted. Decorating details, fabulous florals, cool centerpieces, scrumptious dinner spreads, and anything awesome that has to do with your super special occasions should be put on display here. To come party with me, check out some of my super special occasions like the candle centerpiece at my vacation house in the mountains, and to share yours with all of us, join the Super Special Occasions group.

Chat with Yum and Party

YumSugar — Tue, 09 Jan 2007 10:00:51 -0800

Hey everyone!
Thanks to all who joined us in the SugarChat Room. If you missed out, you can join us every Tuesday and Thursday at 11am Pacific / 2pm Eastern in the SugarChat Room. We'll have themed discussions on all sorts of food related topics (recipes, tips, and Top Chef to name a few). So come on and stop by!

Come Say Hi!

YumSugar — Tue, 09 Jan 2007 00:13:11 -0800

You may have noticed that the posts on YumSugar now say "by yumsugar" or "by partysugar". Yep that's right, there are two of us, partysugar AND yumsugar. We've both been writing these posts, but from now on, you'll be able to see who writes what. She's the gal who's been posting all the great party ideas, as well as other kitchen tips and recipes, and I'm the gal with the latest news, gadgets, 52 weeks of baking and more. We're pretty different people, but we see eye to eye when it comes to all things tasty.

Come get to know us today at 10am Pacific / 1pm Eastern in the SugarLive Chat Room. We'd love to meet you and discuss the site so far. Is there anything you'd like to see more of or wish we covered? Come let us know!

And after today, join us every Thursday at 11am Pacific / 2pm Eastern in the SugarLive Chat Room. We'll be discussing all sorts of food related topics (recipes, tips, and Top Chef to name a few), so stop by and say hi!

PartySugar Behind The Bash: Gen Arts @ SF Fashion Week

partysugar — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 08:08:31 -0700

During San Francisco Fashion Week, I was lucky enough to attend Gen Art's premiere show Fresh Faces In Fashion. Gen Art is all about supporting and promoting upcoming talents in the fashion, film, music, and art worlds, and their fashion show is always a hot ticket. The room was packed, the decor was lush, and the drinks were flowing at both the pre and post show parties.

Two days before the show, I was lucky enough to speak with event producer Dana Castro. Despite having been up since 3 am, she was friendly, fresh faced, and focused.

PartySugar: What is your outlook when you plan a party?
Dana Castro: It depends. The first thing I always do is book the venue right away. I started planning this show at the beginning of June. I outline the show, outline the party and think of the elements of the party. I find the people to sponsor and the designers for the lounges. This year I've contracted SillaPere, who I've worked with in the past, to create a lounge and do the flowers. It's all about Spring 08 fashion with an all white background.

PS: What trends are emerging in event planning?
DS: Going green. Eco-events. For example, in weddings people are doing invites on seed paper. It may put them over their budget, but people are doing it.

To see what else she had to say about planning a party this size, plus pictures of the event, read more

PS: What do you like about event planning?
DS: I used to be a film producer, so I really like the immediate outcome of event planning. I have a template formula that I follow for most of my events and after two and a half months of planning, the final product is there.

PS: What's the most important part of an event?
DS: The flow is very important. You have to make sure everyone checks in and gets to their seats. You have to figure out how to get 1000 people all to their seats at the same time. You ask yourself, how long will this take? How many seats? And plan accordingly.

PS: How do you set up for an event?
DS: We set up the day before. We build the runway and back drops. The lounges for the parties are installed the day of. Everything is built and we roll it in on wheels. I have the entire day scheduled out minute by minute, so I know where everyone and everything should be going.

PS: What was your most memorable party?
DS: An Ignite event I threw a few years ago. It was an multi-media art exhibit and the Fire Marshall came in and told me I couldn't have the party inside, so I had to take the entire event and set it up in an parking lot next to the original venue. It was Burning Man style - I worked with what I had and made it work.

PS:What's your advice to the everyday hostess?
DS: Keep it simple, less is more. You need to be able to socialize with guests. Make everything the day before or get it catered.

PS: What is your favorite flower?
DS: Big fluffy French roses. I can't remember their name right now. Those and dahlias.

PS: What is your guilty pleasure food?
DS: Potato chips.

PS: A successful party is…
DS: Where everyone has fun.

PS: What are you inspired by?
DS: People's reactions to what you do.

View 38 Photos ›