Browsing all posts in October, 2009.
Very Last Minute Halloween Ideas
Boo! Halloween is here. Yep, today is the day. Are you ready? Well, if not we have a few last minute ideas for you. The good news is that it sort of pays to procrastinate as most of the Halloween costumes and candy are now on sale. The bad news is its slim pickings out there for costumes!
If you are looking for last minute costume ideas, you must check out the New York Times City Room Blog for the political inspired look, Halloween.com for the more traditional and for family friendly ideas go to About.com.
Harried for Halloween treat ideas? Then check out these sites for tasty treats:
- The FoodNetwork
- Disney Family Fun (featuring 15 healthy treats)
- CooksRecipes.com
- Drink of the Week (featuring tons of Halloween cocktails that’ll be sure to make you happy)
Oh, and here’s on last just for fun Halloween site hosted by Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream. Have a happy and safe Halloween!!!
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Cookie of the Day by Martha Stewart
Just when you think Martha can’t out Martha herself. She does it. She can actually out Maratha’s herself. On her website, MarthaStewart.com she features the Cookie of the Day. The cookie of the day!!! How she does it, we know not, but we’re glad she does!!!
Today’s cookie is the Dulce De Leche Bat with chocolate goodness and a super duper cute bat cut out. It’s over the top for sure, but would be so perfect for this weekend’s Halloween Parties.
Ingredients:
Makes 18 cookies
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
- 1/4 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa
- 3/4 teaspoon coarse salt
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup packed light-brown sugar
- 1 large egg plus 1 large egg yolk
- 4 ounces semisweet chocolate, melted and cooled
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons dulce de leche
Directions:
- Whisk together flour, cocoa, salt, and baking powder. Beat butter and sugars with a mixer on medium speed until pale and fluffy. Beat in egg, yolk, chocolate, and vanilla. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture, and beat until just combined. Shape into a disk, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate 1 hour.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to 1/8 inch thick. Cut out 36 rounds with a 2-inch cutter, and space 1 inch apart on parchment-lined baking sheets. Using an aspic cutter set, cut a triangle, point side up, in the center of half the cookies, and then use the half-moon cutter to make one “wing” on each side of the triangle. Refrigerate 30 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 375. Bake until set, 7 to 9 minutes. Let cool. Top each uncut cookie with 1 teaspoon dulce de leche and a cutout cookie.
You will need an aspic cutter set to make the bat shape.
From the October 2007 issue of Martha Stewart Living.
For more fabulous ideas, be sure to check out Martha’s Halloween Party Workshop. The site features spooky treats and festive food ideas.
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Make Hot Chocolate from Scratch
We live in this instant gratification type society. And on some days there is nothing wrong with that! But on other days, you just want a nourishing cup of home made hot chocolate to sustain you through a cold winter’s day. And why not? It’s so super duper easy!!!
Here’s what you’ll need:
- 4 cups of chocolate chips
- 2 cups of milk
Optional Ingredients:
- Cream
- Pinch of salt (believe it or not the salt brings out the chocolate even more…yum!!!)
- Flavorings, such as herbs, spices, liquor, mint etc
Here’s how you prepare it:
- Get your hands on some chocolate — milk, dark, white whatever strikes your fancy!
- Chop the chocolate on a wooden board with a serrated knife — you’ll need 1 ounce of chocolate per cup.
- Warm your milk on a medium to low setting ( you can also use a double boiler) and gently add your chocolate. For super chocolaty chocolate milk use 4 ounces of milk for thinner use 8 ounces of milk. This is the point where you can add your spices or liquor.
- Stir completely with a whisk (vigorously if necessary) until the chocolate completely disappears.
- Viola! Turn off the heat, pour into cups, and garnish with cinnamon sticks or whipped cream. Enjoy!!!
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Hot Color Trends for Weddings
Color Me Beautiful
What are the hot, hot, hot wedding color trends??? For the last few years monochrome colors like black, white and gray have been the go to colors for weddings. The new color trends are infusing the monochromes with a punch of color like a muted plums and yellows.
Eye on Patterns
But the color story doesn’t end there… patterns are tres chic. According to Lori Stephenson, owner and senior event consultant with LOLA Event Productions, “Vintage brocades have been really popular in the last few years, but there are many other fabulous patterns with a contemporary edge from the 1960’s and 70’s that are great mixed with some of the mod elements that are so popular right now with décor like mirrors and Lucite.”
Tone On Tones
Unify your wedding by allowing bridesmaids to choose their dress in a different shade of your “chosen” color. Brides can also add a splash of color to their gowns too.
Color can color your wedding beautiful. So follow the trends, use a punch of colors and add patterns and have fun!
I Take This Engagement Ring
We wait our entire lives for that perfect guy to get down on one knee and ask “Will you marry me?” Then we cry, we laugh, we hug, and we stare at our ring for days and days. But why a ring? Why not a bracelet? Or a necklace? Or a toe ring? What’s the deal with engagement rings anyway? This is a tradition we kinda take for granted. Believe it or not it wasn’t some marketing ploy drummed up by the jewelry industry. Or was it? Actually that sparkly diamond gracing your ring finger is more than just a ring, it’s a symbol of love, commitment, fidelity, eternity and honor. Pretty neat.
The history of engagement rings, goes all the way back to the ancient Greeks. Those Greeks gave out rings as a token of care and affection as well as betrothal rings. But, a girl couldn’t bet her toga that the ring was a sign of marriage, they were also given out as friendship rings too. Too bad Socrates didn’t write, “Sorry, Athena, He’s Just Not that Into You.”
The Romans were a sentimental bunch, that’s a big NOT! They carved keys onto their engagement rings to symbolize the woman’s right to half of everything the man owned. Or we could go the Hollywood route and say it was to symbolize that she had the key to his heart. Whatever works for you.
Flash forward to the fourteenth century, the royals and the rich folks started exchanging what we now consider engagement rings. The deal was only the super wealthy could afford to exchange rings. That was because several centuries before the Pope instituted a mandatory waiting period or engagement before couples could get married.
Like most of our modern day traditions, the Victorian Era marked the time when the masses started giving and receiving engagement rings. During this period, engagement rings included precious stones.
It wasn’t until the 1940′s when De Beers launched an advertising campaign targeting the US that the diamond became the stone of choice for the engagement ring. And that’s why modern brides have a diamonds on their fingers as a symbol of love and commitment.
Are U Wired for Wine?
Good wine is a good familiar creature if it be well used.
William Shakespeare (1564-1616)
Times are tough. So you want to get the most wine, er, bang for your buck. Right? Well, then you must check out WiredforWine.com. Each day this website features ONE unbeatable deal until it sells out. Wired for Wine also features free shipping offers and a best price guarantee.
Like today, for instance, the featured wine is a 2005 60-40 Cabernet Merlot blend by Santa Ema Barrel Select. Listed at $9.97 per bottle (retails for $15.99), Wine Spectator designated Santa Ema as one of the “Top 20 World’s Finest Value Brands”.
According to Wired for Wine, this Cab-Merlot blend pair best ,”With slightly more than half Cabernet, this wine will start the meal like a pro next to a full flavored cheese like Cashel Blue. Ever had it with lavender honey drizzled on it? We did and almost had to pass on dinner we ate so much. If you make it past the cheese, your options are almost endless. The Merlot side of this delicious blend allows it to work well with less powerful but still hearty meats. Duck and pork are good options, along with the tried-and-true lamb, beef and steak which traditionally accompany a Cabernet. Because of the lovely fruit, vanilla and cinnamon tones of this wine, we suggest grilling your meat. The sharp hit of that charred edge of grilled steak or duck will balance these fruity notes beautifully. Does anybody else keep a jacket in the kitchen for grilling outside when it’s below 40 degrees? Those of you closer to the equator, wear some shorts for us!”
Along with great deals and quality wine, this site also provides helpful information about the winery, the different wine rating systems and foods to pair with each deletable wine. If price is a sticking point with you, this site allows you to compare prices and will even tell you the lowest price the bottle is listed for on the web. Also if you are wondering what all the different wine rating systems mean, the site provides an easy to read resource list for you.
Fab Fall Wedding Favors Under $2
Just because you are budget conscious doesn’t mean that you can’t have one elegant wedding. Moment of Elegance features fab fall favors for under $2! Yep, under $2. You know you really can’t get much for under $2 these days. You can’t get your favorite double whip, tall cappuccino that’s for sure!
Here are just a few of the fall wedding favors featured:
“Autumn Elegance” Laser-Cut Fall Leaf Favor Box (starting at $1.30) these elegant boxes are just the right size to fill with your favorite candies.
“Fall for Love” Personalized Wildflower Seed Favors (starting at $1.60) featuring eco-friendly seeds that 
are just perfect for the environment conscious bride and groom.
Fall Leaf Place card Holder (starting at $1.99) your guests will love these festive fall place card holders.
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Event Planning Top 10 Mistakes
Whether you are a professional event planner or a novice planning an event, here are the top ten mistakes that you can make.
- Failure to budget properly or uncover hidden costs such as travel, audio visual, labor and shipping.
- Hiring entertainment based on price. Along with food, entertainment is the most important element in your event…have you been at an event with a bad DJ? What was that like?
- Not obtaining and checking references when using a new vendor or facility. In the event planning industry everything is done by word of mouth or on a referral basis. If you are using a vendor you never used before ask for and check references.
- Knowing and understanding the “objectives” of the event. Are you launching a new product? Trying to woo new customers? Build corporate morale? You should always have a clear idea of what your company or client is trying to achieve before you create the event.
- Not trouble shooting audio visual issues. Before any event in which any kind of audio visual presentation is happening, you must do at least two dry runs.
- Not setting and hitting time lines. You must create a time line in which you lay out all your time lines for ordering, payments, etc.
- Selecting the wrong venue for the event. This goes back to your objective, do you need a massive space equipped with audio visuals for a multi-media presentation or do you need a quiet cozy space to woo clients?
- Poor planning. You must create a day of itinerary that outlines EVERYTHING that is too happen on the day of the event from the delivery of the flowers to the break down of the table and chairs.
- No water for the speakers. This is a rookie mistake. You must have water available for your speakers.
- No access to your contact list. On the day of the event, you better have the names and numbers of every single one of your vendors, so you can quickly call them if. Also, you must have a main point person at your venue to help you trouble shoot any issues that can and will come up. This person will be your best friend the day of the event.
The most important rule of event planning is that no matter how much you plan, something can and will go wrong at your event. It’s the law of events. Keep a clear head, do what you can to rectify the situation and then let it go. Your job is to create the right kind of environment so your guests can enjoy themselves.
So don’t sweat the small stuff. At the end of the day, no one will remember if they were served tap water verses sparkling water, but if the venue is too small, the entertainment was bad or the food was cold that’ll stick with ‘em!
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Bridal Showers Do’s & Don’t's
Here are bridal showers do’s & don’t's taken from the book Wedding Etiquette by Peggy Post. According to Ms. Post, here are some helpful tips for the bride and the host:
Bridal Shower Do’s & Don’ts
- Do send thank-you notes to all shower guests—even if you thanked them in person at the shower. And don’t forget those who couldn’t attend but did send a gift.
- Don’t ask guests to address their own thank-you notes.
- Do send a thank-you note and a gift to anyone who hosts a shower for you.
- Don’t coerce anyone—especially bridesmaids—to host a shower. It’s a financial burden that many aren’t able to take on.
- Do include registry information on a separate sheet in the envelope with the shower invitation, but not on the invitation itself. The theme of the shower (Kitchen, bath, lingerie) may be noted on the invitation, but color preferences or sizes should be noted on a separate insert.
- Don’t invite anyone to a shower who won’t be invited to the wedding. Showers are intimate gatherings for people you know very well—not excuses to haul in more gifts. The only exception is a workplace shower to which a large number of coworkers contribute. (If an office shower involves only a few coworkers, thoughtful couples will probably include these colleagues in the wedding guest list.)
If you’re looking for some fun ideas for bridal shower favors and gifts, be sure to check out Moments of Elegance Bridal Shower Favors.
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Chili Madness
Will Rogers (1879-1935), popular actor, cattleman, banker, and journalist, called chili “bowl of blessedness.” It is said that Will Rogers judge a town by the quality of its chili. He sampled chili in hundreds of towns, especially in Texas and Oklahoma and kept a box score.
Chili. It can inspire madness in some. Those searching for the perfect bowl. There’s a rich history and legends surrounding it. As the stories go, the first bowl was whipped up around 1850, by Texan adventurers and cowboys who were traveling from Texas to California looking for gold. They added chilies to the stew to protect it from foraging cattle.
There are websites dedicated to chili recipes. There’s even the Chili Appreciation Society International. Whether you’re looking to make a traditional chili or a seafood chili, here are some sites you’ll definitely want to check out.
Here’s a fun and easy chili recipe that is featured on Recipe Zaar.
Serves 8
Ingredients:
Garnishes
- chopped onion
- chopped fresh jalapenos
- grated cheddar cheese
- sour cream
Directions
- Sauté onion in oil until nearly translucent; add ground beef and brown, breaking it up as it cooks.
- Add seasonings and cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring frequently.
- Add tomato sauce, ketchup, tomatoes, water and kidney beans. Bring to a boil and simmer, uncovered, for at least a half hour, adding additional water if necessary.
- Serve with onions, jalapenos, cheese and sour cream.