Monday, May 12, 2014

South Beach Inspired Party

This surprise birthday party for my husband was inspired by the club spirit of SoBe. In an effort to transcend the ambiance of Nikki Beach and the neon lights of Ocean Drive, this is the byproduct.

 I set up a Pit Bull station on Pandora and that's what played the whole night off our computer. It doesn't get more Miami Club then Pit Bull!

 
 Centerpiece on the hors d'oeuvres table. Made of river rocks, grass and floating candles.


 Food was kept light at this event with a variety of sushi, fruit platter, veggie tray, chips & salsa and carrot cake cupcakes for dessert. The red packages contain detailed chopsticks.


Sheer curtains found at Target for $5/panel were hung using a piece of corner wood trim from Home Depot. 3m hooks are supporting the "rod" on each end. The palm and rattan pot were picked up from Home Depot to add to the tropical flavor of the space.


I hired a bartender to mix an array of drinks with a Miami spin. The top drinks for the evening were  a classic mojito and a cucumber mojito. The beer selection was Corona, Pacifico and Dos Equis. The ice actually had glow sticks in it and lit up purple when the evening fell.


Delicate high top centerpiece


These tables made the party. They really provided that Miami club vibe and even changed colors throughout the night on a setting that spun through an array of neon lights. Very cool when the evening turned dark.(I unfortunately forgot to have them on for my previous pics. oops)


Our kitchen island also served as a hangout spot for guest to sit and have a drink, so I wanted to tie it to the main party space by incorporating the same floating candles, river rocks and flowers.



Friday, March 28, 2014

Gold & Silver New Year's Eve Party

Happy 2014! Yes, I know it's March, but it's never too late to post pictures of a fabulous New Year's Eve party, right?

To ring in 2014, I threw a Gold & Silver themed party. I kept it simple, pulled the details together over one weekend and only invited one family to join us. The party combined party store staples with elegant, one-of-a kind touches. When you have kids, its important to make the holidays special for all involved. We still wanted to celebrate New Year's Eve with our son, but also wanted to have a good time as an adult. We combined both goals in one night and had a great time. This evening was filled with special touches for the kids like being able to color their table top to enjoying a special new drink for dessert. Once bedtime came for the children, we were still able to enjoy an adult evening of Cards Against Humanities (hilarious), signature cocktail drinks and a champagne toast at midnight. The family we invited lived a couple doors down, so better yet no worrying about them having to drive home either. Pretty much a win, win for all involved and perhaps a new annual tradition!

Gold fringe across the walkways was just a party store find. Balloons dangled from the ceiling with a few loose on the floor to serve as entertainment for the kiddos.

The Gold runner was a cheap Marshall's find. The votive candles were plain, so I glued glitter ribbon around them for added flair. The tiaras and horns were a party store find. Silver candle stick holders were a lucky find from a thrift store months prior. 

Here's a close up of the centerpiece I whipped up the evening of. It contained gold Christmas decorations I found on clearance at Michael's.

Bows tied from Glitter Ribbon. (I hit Michaels after Christmas...and they had major sales on "Christmas" ribbon!) Men got the top hats from the party store, girls the tiaras.

Kid's Table. I just taped postal paper to cover the top. Voila, coloring surface!

Closer view of the ceiling. It was literally balloons on string taped to the ceiling. They hung at different heights for added dimension. The white balloon string just blended into the ceiling.

Each adult received a champagne glass for the midnight toast. The rims were just dipped in water then gold sprinkles. For the kiddos special dessert drink, I dipped the rim of the shorter glasses in Nutella and then the same gold sprinkles. Filled them to the rim with milk. Needless-to-say they downed them and were asking for seconds!

The spread.