Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Spaces at Belle Meade


Anne and Glenn from Music City Tents and Events took Anna and I on a tour of Spaces at Belle Meade. It has been turned into a fabulous new venue for parties and events.
Here are some pictures from our tour.

This is what a guest would see as he or she enters. The stained concrete floors, the cool ceiling treatment and its modern feel make it an awesome choice for Nashville parties and events. This is one of several bar areas. I love the exposed brick and the stone on this bar.



This ceiling treatment is amazing! A fun gobo pattern and it will pop at nightime at any event.









This is the area where the restrooms are located; off the soon-to-be coat check.



I love the chandelier over this bar!


If you're looking for a cool venue in the Belle Meade area, make sure to check out Spaces!
-Stephanie

Saturday, March 27, 2010

Birthday Girl: show & tell: real party highlights

Will's 2nd Birthday was featured on Birthdaygirlblog.com! Make sure to check out the other fabulous parties she featured.
Happy Saturday...Stephanie

Birthday Girl: show & tell: real party highlights

Friday, March 26, 2010

A Quick Easter Tablescape

Here's an example of a quick Easter tablescape I put together using my box of Easter stuff from my attic.  I used my Creative Co-Op 3-tiered display (it has so many uses!).  I also used inexpensive Easter grass (in pink and green) along with fun eggs, ceramic bunnies and some polka-dot placemats (which I have a ton of in my party cabinet).  The easter egg fabric is from my Nana, and I use it every year.  I also have to make my family kitchen table centerpiece kid friendly.  They love moving all the eggs around!
This centerpiece took less than 10 minutes to put together, but really brightens up our kitchen table.






























Saturday, March 20, 2010

Spring has Sprung!

























Well, here in Nashville, we got a taste of spring on Friday and Saturday! The sun was finally out and the warm weather had everyone around here almost giddy. Since Spring is unofficially here, I thought I'd highlight some fun Easter items at the store. These are perfect entertaining pieces, especially for an Easter brunch or an Easter egg hunt for the kids!

How adorable are these little Tag lambs? I could see them at each place setting at an Easter table or as an adorable favor for an Easter egg hunt.



















I love this set of plates from Tag as well. What a fun addition to a place setting-don't you just love the egg shape?



This bunny is one of my favorites this year. You may remember the Snowmen that Anna had in the store at Christmas that I blogged about. This is from the same local designer-Jason Parker Counce. He uses antique materials and designs these bunnies. They truly are one-of-a-kind; not to mention, they're handmade by a local Nashvillian! He is so incredibly talented.
These would be the perfect addition to an Easter table, or a special gift for Easter.






Check out this Meri Meri cupcake liners and cupcake picks.  How easy that you can take a simple cupcake recipe and turn it into such as fabulous little creation.  It would be the perfect addition to any Easter dessert table.

Here are more Jason Parker Counce bunnies!  Look at how beautiful they are mixed in with everyday Beatriz Ball.  If you've never heard of Beatriz Ball, you have to check it out.  It is a collection of serving pieces that you never have to polish.  It really is an entertainer's best friend!

This fabulous beverage dispenser is a must have for spring and summer.  The color is the perfect accent to any tablescape-whether it be an Easter brunch, a Mother's Day lunch or a simple outdoor summer supper.  

Okay, I'm a sucker for anything hanging from the ceiling!  These fabulous paper eggs are no exception.  You can take a table from drab to fab in a few minutes by hanging these above your table from fishing line.  



This table has such fun items for a spring or summer luncheon.  Check out the ceramic bowls in a variety of shades of green, the linen towels (what a perfectly easy hostess gift) and the fun Easter cards!

Speaking of Easter cards...here's a close-up:
This little bunny would be perfect on your front door to welcome family and friends!

You can't forget table place cards.  These Caspari die-cut place cards are so fun-I'm totally digging the paisley print egg on them.  Each pack comes with 8.
For a no-fuss kid's table, these napkins and plates from Design Design are cute and colorful.

Can you tell Spring has Sprung at You're Invited?  Please come see visit Anna and the girls for fabulous Easter finds.  
Hoppy Easter table decorating-Steph

Thursday, March 18, 2010

Frogs and Dogs Party!

My son, Will, just turned 2 and we just celebrated his birthday. Since little boys are made of frogs, snails and puppy dog tails, we celebrated with a Frogs and Dogs party.
Here is the invitation we sent (of course it came from You're Invited).


My 3 year-old, Lillie Claire (who is quite the avid baker) helping me make the frog and dog cupcakes!

This is the sign on my front door that let guests know to come on in.


I had these frogs in each of the windows in my kitchen, and I even put one on the mirror in the guest bathroom. They said things like "Will is 2!", and "Thanks for hopping by!" I found the frogs in the $1 bin at Target. They are meant to be toothbrush holders, but I knew I could somehow use them at my party.

After deciding on a theme "Frogs and Dogs", I decided to stick with primary colors. I wanted to use lots of greens, blues and reds. As you can see from my dessert tablescape, I wanted to keep it simple but fun and festive.


I made a pennant flag banner (I found a DIY tutorial online) and kept with green, red and blue. I sewed the flags and hung them from twine and had my husband string them across our family room. Here's the result:
















Here is a picture of the "Frog Pops" I made. They are simply marshmallows on a lollipop stick, dipped in white chocolate and coated with sprinkles. This was probably the biggest hit at Will's party. I wrapped a box in a fun striped green paper and stuck the lollipops in the box.














Will totally digging his birthday cupcake. Check out his adorable dog applique shirt I had made for his party! Once I set a theme, I run with it!


Pictures of the children's table. I found frog princes and frog princesses on clearance from Orientaltrading.com (they were Valentine's Day frogs) and I used those on the tables. I also had melamine dog bowls to hold animal cookies throughout the table, which I found in the $1 bin at Michael's.









For a fun craft activity, we decorated dog tags with stickers. I covered a board in batting and red fabric and stapled gunned it to hold it taut (similar to reupholstering a seat cushion). I used the board to hang all the dog tags from gold tacks. I then took a fine point Sharpie and wrote each child's name on the dog tag. I covered the "craft station" in a fun dog print fabric I found at JoAnn's. As the children sat down, I handed each one their dog tag and passed around frog and dog stickers. They really seemed to enjoy getting to decorate their own necklace.








Here is a picture of the menu card I made.
It says "Will's Hoppy Birthday Menu "

I divided the menu into 2 sections. The first section is for the children, which I called "For the Tadpoles." You'll notice "Pup"cakes (instead of cupcakes) and Frog Pops. I always try to come up with fun, unique words to describe the party's theme.


Here's a picture of the adult section of the menu, which I called "For the Big Dogs." I also chose to make gourmet cupcakes for the adults. Kids love any kind of cupcake, but I like to offer adults a more grown-up version!

Pictures of the adult's table at the party:

Coffee chocolate cupcakes with peanut butter mousse icing and sprinkled with chopped peanuts with a chocolate drizzle sauce.





The adult cupcakes looked like the children's; however, these were a white wedding cake with a homemade vanilla buttercream frosting. They were delicious, if I do say so myself!

We were going to play some games outside, but due to the weather, we had to keep everything indoors. I had decided to do a duck game, where the ducks are floating in a pool and you have to choose a duck and see if it has a star on the bottom. Due to the weather, I had to change it up a little. Instead, I filled a small galvanized tub with raffia and "floated" the ducks on the raffia. I had all the kids sit in a circle in the floor and we played "Pass the Bucket" and choose a duck. You'll notice that the "ducks" for this game are actually dogs! How cute is that! Orientaltrading.com has some fun, inexpensive items for parties.





Here are the prizes for the "Pass the Bucket" game. All the prizes were found at Michael's, and were in the $1 bin. We gave away frog sunglasses, and wooden paint sets of frogs and dogs.




Picture of Lillie Claire, myself, Josh and Will (Will was over having his picture made by this point!)