Fabulous Finds

Cocktail Hour
If you're hosting a cocktail hour, here are some great accessories to help your party go off without a hitch!

Wine Lines




Misplaced your merlot? Don't fret. Wine Lines are here to save the soiree. Insert the band through the slot and tighten around the stem of your glass. Voila - your rosé is recognizable!

Wine Lines are soft, flexible, stretchable, washable synthetic rubber. Easy to slip onto a wineglass, and unobtrusive once in place.

Available in four styles: toasts, comments, euphenisms, and reviews.


Shop for it at Perpetual Kid
$5.99

Bodum® ‘Cool’ Double-Walled Glass Ice Bucket



Keep ice frozen longer—sleek, rubber-trimmed buckets are insulated with air trapped between two walls of tempered glass. Includes stainless-steel tongs. Plastic handle for easy transport. 51-oz capacity.


Shop for it at Sur la Table
$39.95


Moc Croc Mini Cocktail Shaker


Shake things up in style with this super-chic Moc Croc Mini Cocktail Shaker! This cocktail shaker is perfect for mixing up some swanky drinks. The stainless steel shaker holds 8 ounces of liquids and features faux crocodile leather to keep your hands from the chill.

Each shaker sold separately. Gift boxed.

* 8 oz.
* Stainless Steel


Shop for it at Wrapables
$29.95 each

Fabulous Finds

Sweet Pockets Cupcakes
**Voted Atlanta’s Best Cupcakes by Creative Loafing!**




Atlanta’s first cupcake shop where all things revolve around the little bundles of sweet goodness! Cupcakes are made from scratch everyday!

1 cupcake? 700 cupcakes? 5000 cupcakes? weddings? showers? corporate events? birthdays? we’ll take care of you!

Visit us in Vinings or call us at 770-431-6611 to place an order - pick and choose as many flavors as you’d like! Open Monday-Saturday,11a-6p.

Visit Sweet Pockets online here

Host A Cookie Decorating Party

Pick Up the Provisions
Here's everything you need for the party:


Bakery boxes:
Buy them from a local bakery, or order from New York Cake Supplies(from $1.30 each, 800-942-2539).

Butcher paper:
Available at craft stores.

Cookie cutters:
To find both traditional and unique shapes, go to Cincinnati Cake & Candy Supplies, cincicakeandcandy.com; coppergifts.com; and H.O. Foose Tinsmithing Co., foosecookiecutters.com. Most cutters sell for less than $2, except those made of copper, which cost about $13 each.
Cookies: At least three dozen medium-size gingerbread or sugar cookies (see Make the Cookies, or buy them at a bakery).

Decorations:
Stock up on confectioners' sugar and such favorites as chocolate-covered sunflower seeds, gumdrops, licorice laces, and M&M's. Order colored sanding sugars, specialty sprinkles, and unusual candies from economycandy.com, fancyflours.com, and indiatree.com.

Flavored milk

Icing:
Wilton makes ready-to-use Cookie Icing ($4.50) and Icing Writer ($2.50) in convenient squeeze bottles, as well as Color Mist food-color spray ($3). All are available at wilton.com/store.
Wax paper


Make the Cookies



If you'd like to make the batter from scratch, try these recipes:
Gingerbread Cookies
Sugar Cookies


Prepare Beverages



Sweeten a classic pairing. Skip plain milk in favor of chocolate, vanilla, or strawberry milk. For a bit of old-fashioned flavor, serve it up in retro milk or soda bottles, or even Mason jars.

Set Up

Before everyone arrives:


Cover your tabletop with white butcher paper so cleanup is a piece of cake.
Set out your spread of delicious trimmings and colorful icing.
Calculate three to six cookies for each child to decorate however he or she chooses. (You'll pack up the extras for them to enjoy later.)


Help Kids Decorate



Use the icing to "glue" on the candy and the sprinkles (as in the photo).
Or completely outline the cookie with Wilton Icing Writer, then flood the center with white icing, heated in the microwave briefly to soften. Follow up by spraying the iced cookie with Wilton Color Mist food coloring to achieve an allover hue.
You can also adorn the cookies with polka dots or stripes by sprinkling confectioners' sugar through a spatula.

Package the Cookies



Once the edible masterpieces are complete, send each child home with a batch of treats. Let the icing set for about 45 minutes, then pack the cookies in bakery boxes, taking care to layer the cookies with wax paper so they don't stick together.

courtesy of Real Simple

Fabulous Finds

'bridal shower' candy mail yum box-set of 10: regular price $64.00, now 50% off

When the gals are going through the bridal shower circuit, another bridal shower can feel like, well, just another bridal shower. If you're playing host, why not think inside the box? This imaginative invite tempts potential guests with delicious goodies that makes them go yum! jill smith design is all about sending fun, fine things through the mail, so that's why they came up with candy mail Yum Boxes(TM). Everything you need is included! What you do:
1) Have a baby, or decide to host a shower or party,
2) Buy Yum Boxes,
3) Fill in the details of your event,
4) Pack the card/invitation and candy back in the box,
5) Tape the box securely shut with the fashionable paper strip,
6) Address the adhesive mailing label using a permanent ink pen, and stick it to the box lid, over the paper strip,
7) It is ready-to-drop-in-the-mail, so take it to the post office and add $1.30 postage! (You can use stamps or have it metered) Your recipients are sure to be pleased! Each box includes 1 box, 1 card/invitation, 1 mailing label, 1 adhesive paper strip, and small wrapped candies. Box: 3.5" square. Invitation: 3" square. Set of 10.

Price: $32.00
Plum Party

Tailgating Time

It's that wonderful time of the year again. . . football season!!!!! Over at Real Simple, I found these great tips for a tailgating party.

There are three kinds of tailgating, and only one of them is fun (the other two involve road rage and shady financial transactions). The football and NASCAR kind takes its name from the tailgates of cars and trucks, which make an ideal place to stage an impromptu picnic in a parking lot. According to tailgating aficionados, if there's no game or race involved, it's not a tailgate―it's just a picnic.


Bring Along…
Besides the basics―grill, cooler, grub―pack up a box of the most commonly forgotten items:

Bottle opener and corkscrew.

Water to douse the hot coals or an ashcan to discard them in.

Trash bags (not cleaning up after yourself is considered bad form).

Paper towels or napkins, and moist towelettes if you serve something messy.

A slicing knife.

A tablecloth, to make sure your tailgate is civilized.

Frozen bottles of water in the cooler instead of ice, so you'll have cold drinks when the game is over.

Invitation Goodies

I was over at the Hello Lucky website and found some great invitation designs. . .


Woodland Damask


Poppy Stripe


Sweetheart


Chandelier