Wedding Wednesday: Bridal Bootcamp

Tonight I went to a bridal bootcamp event and pretended to be engaged (don't ask.) Some things I learned:

1. If you have a very round face, don't wear a scoop neck dress.
2. If you don't usually wear a lot of makeup, fake eyelashes can give you some ooph and still allow you to look like yourself on your wedding day.
3. Michael C. Fina suggests you order your wedding bands three months in advance.
4. If a DJ company tells you they will give you a deal so you can have a DJ and an MC, you will probably end up with a professional DJ/MC and a kid from the record store.
5. Red lips and cat eyes are very trendy for makeup right now.

Toast the Holidays

Holiday parties are just not complete with fun drinks.

As we are finally in the midst of the “official” holiday season, here is a fabulous cocktail recipe from our friend, Lindsey:

Flaming Mandarin Martini
serrano pepper
mandarin vodka
lemon juice
OJ
splash of cranberry juice
fine sugar

Muddle the serrano first and then add the liquids. Mix 1 part vodka to 1 part non-alcoholic liquid combination (can be modified depending on your strength/taste preference). Shake all the ingredients with ice and then strain into glass with fine-sugar coated rim. Garnish with sliced serrano.
Enjoy!

Most Wonderful Day of the Year!

Today was my favorite day of the year.
Some people love Thanksgiving, Valentine’s Day, Christmas. I love the day each fall that Oprah airs her Favorite Things show.
It is fabulous.
I love to watch to get gift ideas for others, see the reactions of the audience as they find out what fabulous prizes they are getting! Although some of the gifts are a little out of my reach (I mean, is a stainless fridge with a built-in LCD TV on your wish list this year?), it is fun to check them all out. The Blood Orange Sorbetto was already one of my favorites (and great to serve as a summer dessert), so I was glad to see it hit the list!
flj

Scent of Summer

This weekend I went to the 7th on Sale sample sale in New York. If anyone is in town in November next year, I highly recommend attending. Once item I picked up was this fantastic India Hicks-Island Living candle. I am normally sensitive to powerful smells, but I love the fresh scent and cool packaging. Purchase one at Crabtree & Evelyn for yourself or as an easy Christmas gift! It will be a great reminder of spring as we head in to the cold months ahead.

Wedding Wednesday: Fork, Anyone?

So, I was at a wedding in Richmond, VA this past weekend. Following is an interesting situation I encountered…

At the reception, when it came time to cut the cake, I happened to be standing next to the wedding coordinator. The happy couple cut the traditional slice of cake, put it on a small plate, and then paused while they looked at it for a moment, presumably pondering if they were to serve it to each other with their fingers. I nonchalantly turned to the wedding coordinator and said quietly “Do you have forks for them to use?” She looked at me a frankly said rather loudly “You don’t use forks for this, you use your fingers.” Not being able to help myself, as usual, I said “Oh, when I got married (5 months ago), we used forks.” Without skipping a beat, she responded with “Well, I have never seen anyone use a utensil to feed each other cake, but it MUST be a Southern thing. Where in the world did you get married?” Again, I couldn’t help myself and let her know that I, in fact, also got married in Virginia (apparently in the part where it is okay to use utensils). She just looked at me and walked away. My friends and I just couldn’t help ourselves and dissolved into silent giggles – apparently in her world, Southerners don’t use forks.
Too funny.
flj

Small Spaces, Few Solutions

New York apartments are notoriously small. I am helping a friend decorate, but am having a hard time finding ANYTHING that will fit into the spaces. Because of time constraints, I need to find items on the internet that I can present to the person- they can then easily purchase the items and have them delivered. So far I have found a double hamper from Bed Bath & Beyond for just $40 and a very cute corner shelf from Pottery Barn for...well, too much. If anyone has suggestions about where to shop, please let me know!! - LG

Fall Dining

My friend Emily shared this recipe with me for her fabulous Fig and Blue Cheese-Stuffed Pork Tenderloin. It is a fabulous (and impressive, but easy) fall meal:

1 lb pork tenderloin, trimmed
1/2 cup dried figs, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
cooking spray
1 tablespoon apple jelly

Preheat oven to 450.
Slice pork in half lengthwise, cutting to, but not through the other side. Open the halves, laying the pork flat. Place pork between 2 sheets of heavy-duty plastic wrap and pound to 1/2 inch thickness using a meat mallet. Sprinkle figs and blue cheese over pork leaving a 1/2 inch margin around the outside edges. Roll up the pork, jelly-roll fashion, starting with long side. Secure at 2-in intervals with twine. Sprinkle pork with salt and pepper and place on a foil-lined jelly roll pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 450 for 20 minutes. Brush jelly over pork. Bake an additional 5 -10 minutes or until a thermometer registers 160. Let stand for 10 minutes. Discard twine; cut pork into 12 (1-inch) slices.

I have made it a few times, and it is great. Enjoy!
flj

Wedding Wednesday: The Perfect Dress

I have discovered the elusive bridesmaids dress that will look good on all of your girls. TwoBirds Bridesmaids makes a dress that is one size fits all and it can be worn in at least eight different ways. I was so unconvinced of this concept when it was first emailed to me by Daily Candy. However, my co-workers are all wearing them to one of our shows, and they literally looked great on everyone, from the 5'0", 100 pound girl to the one with a DD chest. I was amazed. Additionally, the designer/owner couldn't be nicer. Unfortunately, I cannot download any pictures from the website, so you will have to go to it to see and believe. These are definitely worth looking into for any wedding!!

You Can't Make This Up

Last night I worked my first huge event- a 1250 person corporate gala. The theme was "Brazilian Carnivale"- lots of orange and red. The centerpieces were a mix of flowers and fruit. They were so creative and beautiful.

We did everything we could to handle meal requests, but there were some last minute issues. One man in particular had some dietary needs that could not be accommodated. The next time my co-worker walked by his table, she saw a lot of banana peels on his plate. Well, he had just eaten the centerpiece!

I guess you really never know what might happen at an event!

Wonderful Decor Idea

One of my clients introduced me to this fabulous décor company, Wonderful Graffiti.

They produce all types of design typography. Everything from cute sayings to monograms (so cute) that are printed on a very thin, matte adhesive vinyl. Once placed on your wall (or wherever) they look as though they were professionally painted on. The ones that I saw in person were great – monograms in bedrooms and some of the Wonderful! Designs in the kitchen and children’s playroom.

Wonderful Graffiti gets great reviews and is definitely worth checking out!
flj