Yee-Haw! Saddle up, we're going West!

The phone rang, and the deep, raspy voice with a slow Texas drawl said, without hesitation, "heard you throw a mighty fine party".  I'm thinking, who is this?
Well, it was 2 minutes into the conversation that I met (by phone of course) Billy Roush...'Head Honcho', 'chief bottle washer', 'lead dog', as we like to say in Texas.  In other words, the President of the Board of a fairly  new non-profit.

To make a long story short, the Pink Party Girl is going to don her favorite jeans and a hat, to 'throwdown' the best ranch rodeo event in 30 years!  And I can't wait!
Watch as we take a brand new event to the next level in August - "TUFF TEAM XTREME RANCH RODEO"!

For those of you not living in the Great State, this one event will take you back to our old west, as these true working cowboys compete in different levels of competition.  From the Chuckwagon Cookoff, to the cowboy team roping event, and the 'mutton bustin',  you will witness everything that is part of a Texas tradition.

So, saddle up, and come along for the ride, ya'll!

50 and Fab - Revisited!

So, about that 50th birthday....
The 'birthday girl' was thrilled!  Decor was designed off of her cute little 'shoe' invitation....lots of gold and pink, with touches of black.

Gold table coverings, gold candle holders, gold tulle, gold champagne flutes, gold, gold, and more gold!
And then there were the pink - hot pink, fuschia and baby pink - candies filling the square vases on the dessert buffet.  Using my 3-tier, stacking cake stands, beautifully-decorated cake balls crowned each stacking plate, and you guessed it......gold-dusted white, hot pink with birthday girl's initial, and chocolate with the number '50' in gold!  Thanks to the 'Paper & Cake' girls for their beautiful paper designs, that coordinated with my tablescape in black damask with pink - so easy to download and utilize throughout the party!
A feast for the eyes, and the palate!. 

She's 50 & Fabulous!

This cute little invite says it all!...Turning 50 is no big deal (well, almost!), especially when the party invite looks like fun!  We'll be sharing all the party details on here shortly after this weekend, so stay tuned!

Top 5 Food Trends for 2010

2009 was the year of individually wrapped, ‘portion controlled’ products and sodas disguised as vitamin-enriched ‘waters’ and teas lending a false impression of health.  Will 2010 be another year of good intentions?

My predictions of the top five food trends for 2010 are all about action. We’ll see a call to eat more sustainably, an increase in scare campaigns, and a flurry of support for those ready to change but not sure how. 

TREND #1: Rethinking Fish

The boost in eating locally produced foods and reducing our overall packaging will continue into 2010, as we try new ways to reduce our carbon footprint.  This year we’ll start eating sustainable fish – currently most of us are not. Retailers including Loblaw’s will make it easier starting in 2010, labeling the source of fish at fish counters. Countries like Sweden have gone a step further, with food labels giving details of the carbon gas emissions associated with products.

TREND #2: The demise of soda

We’re all aware that trans fats are the enemy. The new targets of scare campaigns are sugar and sodium. The emphasis should be to choose foods that come from a farmer’s field, but instead health experts will call on consumers to check labels.  The American Heart Association released a statement on October 29, 2009 saying women should consume less than 6 teaspoons (30g) of added sugars per day. Sweetened drinks, sodas and pre-packaged foods will be blasted by health experts, and manufacturers will respond with claims of “natural” sugars. But remember, the 6 tsp/day includes all added sugars and syrups—even “natural”.

TREND #3: Lower Sodium

Not just for Grandmas!  Sodium is being added to foods at alarming rates. For a long time we’ve waited until blood pressure was high to ask people to toss the salt shaker, but we’ll see an increase of ‘sodium- reduced products’ marketed to all ages this year given new evidence of health impacts.

TREND #4: Hired help at cooking parties

Cooking at home and cooking from scratch will continue to gain in popularity with the support of professionals.  Expect to see an increase in Girls' Nights taking place in the kitchen, where dietitians and personal chefs come to teach you and the girls some tricks of the trade. 

TREND #5: “Home cooked” restaurant meals

Fact is, we aren’t always able to leave the office at 5 to make it home in time to cook a proper supper. Restaurants will start revealing more information about the sources of their ingredients and offering ‘sustainable’ options to help you feel good about take out.

Take action in 2010! Ask questions about what you are putting in your body, get help if you need it, and learn to love fresh locally grown food.

Article by Kate Comeau

Happy New Year!

If GOLD is your favorite color (it is mine!), then you'll love this tablescape with the Midas touch! A few splashes of copper and turquoise rang in the latest color combo for 2010.

The guests were seated at a table 'dressed for dinner' on New Year's Eve....

And at the hostess's request - lots of glitz, sparkle and shine which made the mirrored disco balls a perfect accent!

Happy New Year to you and yours...