{Real Parties} Annual Glam Christmas Brunch

My girlfriends of, dare I say, 20 years have been doing a Christmas get together on and off for the last 10 years.  Last year I decided to do a "glam" brunch because it fits this group to a "T".  This year it was requested that I host it again. I think we have officially declared it an annual event.

Last year I used hot pink, black, silver and white.  This year, I tried to keep it a little more traditional with the red.

I apologize for the lack of pics but hopefully you get the feel:



glam table setting

 

 

 

 

 

favor: mini martini shaker filled with ingredients & recipe for a peppermint martini

 

 

our signature drink: the peppermint martini

 

 

 

 

 

 

the gals

 

 

Stay tuned for next years "glam" brunch...

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all!!



{Free Printables} Apple Cake Pops: The Perfect Teacher's Gift

I recently had a friend/neighbor ask me to come up with an edible gift for her son's teachers. It happened to be for teacher appreciation week but I have since received orders as teachers 'holiday' gifts.  I chose one chocolate and one vanilla in each bag with a printable that reads:

 

If teachers were APPLES...

I'd pick you!

 

 

For Printable:  Save picture as then print out as 8.5 x 11

 

Enjoy!

 

 

{Real Parties} Tea Party

I'm so excited to share this tea party with you!  Having two boys, I really rely on my clients parties to give me my girly party fix.

My friend/neighbor/client Lynda came to me with the theme that her precious daughter Gabriela selected.  She didn't really want to have the party at home so I suggested using the formal dining room of our country club and it was perfect for this tea party.

Each girl was greeted by Gabby and invited to decorate their tea hat

 

Then of course, they had an opportunity to play dress up and have their photo taken

 

The girls dined on tea sandwiches, fresh fruit, tea cookies, hot chocolate & pink lemonade

 

 

 

Sparkling cider

 

tea bag sugar cookie dipped in chocolate 

 

tea hat birthday cake

 

 

 

 

The girls played a game of telephone...it was quite entertaining to say the least

 

With poise and grace, Gabby toasted to her friends and thanked them for coming to her tea party.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

each guest left with their own tea cup and saucer (demitasse cup) filled with a mini cupcake

 

and their decorated tea hats!

 

Thank you to the Goodfriend family for allowing me to plan this special event!

Happy 8th Birthday Gabby!

 

 

photography: Jonathan Hill

 

 

Trick or Treat!

Happy Halloween!

I thought I'd share a quick savory treat for anyone looking to make something to add to their Halloween table tonight...eerie eyeballs on edible spoons (that's a tongue twister)!

I found these spoon molds at Fran's a local cake and candy supply store here in northern Virginia. My first thought was to use them for cookies in a tea themed party and then my mind started going crazy with all the things I could use them for.

If you can't find spoon molds in your local craft or cake supply store, this recipe is great for spoon shapes cut out free handed using a real spoon as your guide.  Just remember to add some width at the neck to prevent breakage.

Cheesy Crackers:

1 cup all-purpose flour

• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon ground white pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon dry mustard
• 1/4 cup and 2 tablespoons butter, chilled
• 1/4 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
• 3 tablespoons cold water, or as needed
  
  
  1. In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, salt, white pepper and mustard. Cut in butter with a fork until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in Cheddar cheese. Stir in water one tablespoon at a time, until the dough is able to hold together. Press the mixture into a ball, wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
  2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
  3. If you're using the molds, lighty oil them and press enough dough to fill each mold. Poke holes with a fork in the dough to avoid rising.
  4. If you're going free hand. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out to a rectangle. The dough should be about 1/4 inch thick. Using a spoon as your guide, cut around the spoon adding a little width to the neck of the spoon. Place the spoons onto the prepared baking sheets spaced about 1 inch apart.
  5. Bake the free handed crackers for 10-15 mins.  Bake the molded crackers for 18-22 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden and crispy. Cool completely.
• To assemble:  mix equal parts softened goat cheese and cream cheese.  Place the mixture in a piping bag fitted with a round tip and pipe balls atop each spoon cracker. Then top each ball with a slice of green olives stuffed with pimento.

 

Enjoy!

 

BOO!

About 6 years ago, a friend of mine introduced me to my first 'boo-ing'.  It wasn't a traditional boo since it wasn't anonymous but nonetheless I thought it was a fun and creative way to treat your friends and neighbors at Halloween.

For those of you that are not familiar and would like to start this Halloween tradition, here are the rules that I follow, or you can get creative and change it up a bit:

• Start by typing up some simple instructions or using this one found on the tomkat studio

 

• Make or purchase your favorite Halloween treats.  I made a few of my favorite fall treats as well as a couple that I found on Pinterest.  I tend to use edible treats but I have received Halloween stickers, pencils, notepads and even bakeware.  I decided to incorporate some wine in one boo package for a wine lover in our neighborhood...I think I'm going to have to make it an annual addition to my boo packages

• Plan to 'boo'  at least 2 families, I couldn't narrow it down, so I did 5
• Secretly deliver your 'boos' and watch all the 'We've been booed' signs pop up in the neighborhood!

Happy Halloween!

Fall is here!

Fall is without a doubt, my favorite season.  I'm not sure if it's the crisp days and chilly nights, the smell in the air, the amazing fall colors? Or maybe it's knowing all the fun holidays are right around the corner...

Normally I try to plan a fall gathering of some kind but being so busy this month, the only fall gatherings I'm planning this year are those of clients. Although I'm blessed to be able to plan fun gatherings for a living (because I wouldn't trade it for anything) having a fall event of my own kind of forced me to decorate and get into the spirit of the season.

So this year, I looked around on pinterest and found a quick, easy and festive way to add fall to my doorstep:

 It worked out perfectly because I had quite a few lanterns hanging around from my son's train party.

 

This is another one of my favorite ways to decorate the front door:

 

 

I just used my planters as a base and stacked pumpkins atop (held together by hammering a dowel through them) and added some fall leaf garland.  This was from last year and I took the picture before the whole porch was complete.  Eventually, they were moved up towards the door and mums were placed in front of them.

 

Happy Fall everyone! 

Introducing: Mobile Party Packages

Fabulous Fetes is proud to introduce our new children's mobile party packages!!

Over the last year I have had numerous requests for party packages so I have decided to offer mobile party packages.  Fabulous Fetes brings the party to you or your venue of choice. We set up, clean up and facilitate the party!  Its designed for the busy family looking for a unique, creative and memorable party without sacrificing the time it takes to plan and the energy it takes to facilitate.

We offer 16 budget friendly themes!  Don't forget, we also offer cakes, cupcakes, cake pops and more, to fit the theme you choose.

We have a number of themes to choose from

Girls Themes:

• Pretty Princess
• Ballerina
• Little Lady Bug
• Teddy Bear Picnic
• Garden Tea
• Fashion Show Diva

 

Boys Themes:

• Knights
• Vintage Train
• Construction
• Ninja
• Cars

 

Unisex Themes:

• Western/Down on the Farm
• Movie Party
• Camp Out
• Doggies
• Cupcake/Cake Decorating

Watch for for our website relaunch soon! In the meantime, please feel free to email me donna.fabulousfetes@yahoo.com or call 571.439.6224

 

 



Happy Labor Day!

I can't believe it's labor day!  For me labor day has always marked the end of summer and beginning of fall.  Growing up in San Diego, I never really experienced the change of seasons (we only had spring and summer) so I've developed an affinity for the change in seasons.

 

When we first moved to east coast, my family started a tradition of holding our last picnic of the season combined with apple picking and this year was no different.  If you live in the Washington DC area, I highly recommend checking out Stribing Orchard.  They are family owned and operated and they have plenty of picnic areas with incredible views.

 

 

 



fresh apple cider served in ball jars

 Happy Labor Day to all!

 

Stay tuned, I plan to share some of the fun recipes for apple...everything!

 

 

Photos by Jonathan Hill

{Real Parties} Red & Aqua 40th Birthday Bash

In February I got to go back to beautiful Kansas City because my best friend Susan turned the big 4-0!!  I know it sounds trite but I can seriously remember our high school years like it was just yesterday...ugh!

In keeping with true 'Susan tradition', this party was elegant and oh so fun! It was great to see all the KC blondes and the Colorado brunettes that flew in for the event.

Initially, it was supposed to be a surprise party.  Susan's husband Johnny tried so hard to keep it a surprise but in the end, I'm glad that she figured us out because it would have been a nightmare to try to coordinate. So when Susan and I spoke party, she said she really didn't want a specific theme, just for it to be a gender friendly, red and aqua cocktail party.

Antipasti Island:  I used her full kitchen
island as the 'cheese board display'.  Since it
was a cocktail party with hors d'oeuvres only,
I wanted to try to make a big impact. 

goat cheese lollipop &, prosciutto wrapped asparagus

Some of the other hors d'oeuvres that were catered in from a
local restaurant...sooo yummy!

tortellini skewers with pesto dipping sauce

The cake made by a very beautiful &
talented gal, Rachel Sexton... this girl can
do it everything!  I gave her the colors and style
and she worked her magic!

Susan & Johnny

Happy 40th Suz!  Love you always!

A special thank you to Melanie of Scout for taking all these magnificent pictures...if not for you, all I'd have is my iPhone pics! (I seriously need to learn how to operate my big fancy camera)