ENGAGEMENT PARTY: FAVORS AND PHOTOBOOTH

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To make the party feel a little bit more special I decided to make some fun favors to send guests home with. After spying these adorable sets, I knew sending people home with a s'mores kit was the perfect way to cap off a start of summer party. My Mom and I were worried about keeping things fresh (living by the ocean, things get stale fast), so we put snack packs of graham crackers and mini individually wrapped chocolate bars in these clear plastic boxes and topped them off with marshmallows. Yum! I then closed up the boxes with stickers that featured our wedding logo and little thank you flags. Not surprisingly they were a bit hit!

(I may be snacking on some of the extra boxes this afternoon . . . )



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ENGAGEMENT PARTY PHOTO BOOTH


After reading this post by Jordan, I knew I wanted to jazz up the engagement party with a photo booth. Turns out they can be super simple to put together! I bought 6 rolls of crepe paper streamers from my local party store (all to match my blue theme, of course), cut different lengths and masking taped them above a window in our cottage. I then set my camera up on a tripod, testing it to make sure it was the right distance (and setting it to auto focus, obviously) and then hooked this remote release to it. The whole thing worked beautifully!



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And my friends and family loved it!



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Not to mention me. I just couldn't resist taking a photo of the delicious present my friend Rachel baked (from scratch!) for me: a loaf of challah bread with wheat and white dough braided together to symbolize our upcoming union. Wonderfully thoughtful and delicious! (See that bite at the end? Yeah, this loaf lasted about 15 minutes over breakfast the next day.)



(One more post tomorrow detailing the decorations!)


ENGAGEMENT PARTY: GOOD EATS

My Mom is a fabulous cook, I have known that for a while. But the menu she put together for the party was impressive, even for her prodigious talents. She did a lot of shopping at local farmer's markets and managed to make some side dishes that were simply too fresh and too delicious not to share with you. Please forgive the repeat photographs from yesterday . . . I was too busy eating to keep shooting photos!


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The key to this recipe is getting SUPER FRESH beets! From the can just won't do.

(this isn't the exact recipe that my Mom used, but it is pretty darn close)



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We made this without the goat cheese since we were already putting it on the beets, but I am sure it would be delicious either way!


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Quinoa and Parsley Salad (with apricots, celery and green onions)
If you are not familiar with quinoa, it is a very healthy cross between a grain and a seed and has the consistency of cous cous. It originated in South America but can now be found at most health food stores or in the organics section of your local grocery store. Trust me, it is totally worth trying.


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Easy Ice Cream Cake, topped with chopped Snickers bars
Seriously, way too good and too simple to make to pass up. Perfect for a summer cook out. I topped it with cute blue and green candles (to match my theme) and fun pennant flags on skewers. It looked pretty darn cute, if I do say so myself.



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As you can see, none of this food lasted very long and I may just have to make another batch of each recipe just to hoard all to myself.



WEEKEND UPDATE: ENGAGEMENT PARTY

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Did you have a good weekend? I certainly did! We had an amazing engagement party and, despite the weather reports, had awesome weather. Starting tomorrow I will be giving you more detailed updates about the decor, favors and food, but until then enjoy the preview!


(NOT SO) SECRET GARDEN (SHOP)

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TERRAIN GARDENTERRAIN GARDEN



I am pretty sure I am late to the party on this one, but have you seen the stunningly beautiful products on offer at Terrain? I had looked through their home goods section before, but this morning I discovered their gardening section. Wow! Their gardening goodies are almost too pretty to get all dirty and use.

Still, check it all out here.


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I am headed home today to start prepping for my engagement party this weekend which means no post tomorrow! Bear with me and I can promise you will be rewarded with lots of recaps of the party next week. Hope you have something to celebrate this weekend too!


FACEBOOK IN THE REAL WORLD




What would happen if we interacted with others in the real world the way we do on Facebook? One intrepid Brit set out to find out and hilariousness and awkwardness ensued. Also, an opera. Yes, an opera about social media.


Learn more about the 'Two Boys' opera here and set the other English National Opera promos here.


(Video originally found here.)


WED, WHITE AND BLUE

BLUES FOR SUMMER, IKEA


In preparing for my engagement party this weekend, I have been scouring the Ikea website for goodies that fit both my blue theme and my budget. Not surprisingly, I found a lot of great stuff! Here are some of my favorites:


(Please forgive me for the terrible pun of this blogpost. I couldn't help it . . . though I know it will make my wordsmith Mom smile. Mom, this pun's for you! Har, har, har.)



HAPPY DAY IN PARIS




Have you seen the crazy amazing give away that Jordan is organizing? It's a free trip to Paris! Holy cow! Today's the last day to enter, so get your butt over there now!

POLAROID PERFECTION

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GRANT HAMILTON COLORS
Riverside Drive
Neopolitan No 3


I have always loved polaroids. This is just a post to update you on my ongoing obsession.

Have you seen this polaroid iPhone app? I am completely in love with it—it perfectly captures the beautiful lighting seen in instant film.

Also, have you checked out Grant Hamilton's polaroid portfolio recently? I am hoping to add one of these beauties to my wedding registry, mostly because I have been drooling over his work for years and I think they would be a fabulous base to any art collection.



WESTLICHE POLAROID COLLECTION
WESTLICHE POLAROID COLLECTION



If you still need more polaroid-y goodness, check out this feature on the wonderful WestLiche Collection. My favorites are the works by Joan Fontcuberta (above) and Charles Eames (below).




SWEET PAUL SUMMER 2011

SWEET PAUL MAGAZINE
SWEET PAUL MAGAZINE


Have you seen the latest Sweet Paul magazine? I read it earlier this week and it had me completely drooling. The food features are to die for. And I would know because yesterday I made this Lemon and Feta Dip—pairing it with broiled tomatoes with rosemary and garlic, spreading it on toasted baguette slices—and it was absolutely delicious.

Also, the bonus is that you can download or print either the whole magazine or individual pages (to stash in your recipe file!).


Check out Sweet Paul's wonderful features here (including lots more than food!). Go straight to the Lemon and Feta dip here.



TECHNOLOGY IS AMAZING





As mentioned countless times before on this blog, I am obsessed with all of Apple's products. Normally when Steve Jobs hosts a developer's conference, I am giddy with anticipation to find out what cool new gadget they are launching next. Well this year's conference, though it did not feature a new product, did feature some super cool fabulously functional software upgrades. Seriously, I cannot wait to get my hands on this stuff!


Learn more here, here and here.





Also, swissmiss just pointed me towards the new image-based search feature on Google. Yes, you read that correctly! You can search with an image to find another image/other locations where that image is hosted. I tried searching my blog header and voila! Google presented me with a link to my blog. Brilliant!


Try it for yourself here.



THE WEDDING FILES: ENGAGEMENT PARTY INSPIRATION

My friend Elisabeth announced her engagement yesterday (congrats!) and I thought that maybe it might be fun to share some inspiration for an engagement party! My parents are throwing one for me and my hubby-to-be in a couple weeks (aka I am 'designing' it and my parents are hosting it!) by the beach in Connecticut. So I have been collecting some inspiration for the color palette, decor, and food.


SIMPLE WHITE CAKE

I love these pennant toppers for a simple white cake. I am going to add them (with some pretty blue candles) on top of this *delicious* cake that I have made over and over.



GRADUATION ANNOUNCEMENT

These graduation announcements are totally adorable and have a great color palette. I love the confetti!


LEMONADE BOTTLES WATERCOLOR SAVE THE DATES

I totally want to make some tasty lemonade and how fun would it be to serve them in bottles like these? Also, these watercolor 'save the dates' totally capture the elegance, freshness and whimsy of a party by the sea!



STRIPE GARLANDS

I am totally swooning over these stripey banners. So much so that over the Memorial Day weekend I made tons and tons of them in my color palette for the party: dark blue, turquoise, light blue, and kelly green. (I will share pictures after the party, I promise!)

Also, I am very excited to make my own photo booth, as outlined by Jordan. Not surprisingly, I will use my stripey garlands (and lots and lots of crepe paper) as a backdrop!


Do you guys have any inspiration of your own? How do you feel about my ideas? Let me know in the comments!