Black and White and the Kardashians

Please bear with me fellow hip hostess’ and allow me to vent about something that has been on my mind, Kim Kardashian’s wedding. I have started this post a couple of times only to stop and say to myself, “leave well enough alone.” But I don’t seem to be able to let that happen.

I watch “Keeping up with the Kardashian’s” and quite enjoy the show. There is nothing I love more than good, entertaining, and easy on the brain television after a harsh day of too much thinking. That being said, I was really excited to see all the details of the wedding.

Am I the only one who was severely let down? For instance, black and white theme…I get the old Hollywood theme and blah, blah, blah but you had a team of wedding coordinators and you couldn’t come up with anything a little more original. To play devil’s advocate, maybe she had been dreaming of this style of wedding for years, so at least give us some details that make us say “wow”. I see amazing weddings shown by our lovely wedding blog friends daily and never fail to be blown away by people’s creativity. Where was the creativity Kim? A 6 foot black and white wedding cake…c’mon!

Also, I think the fact that they were paid for their wedding cheapened it to just another episode of their realty show. Some things are sacred and I don’t think your wedding should be about swag bags and monetary gain. Are we really going to start making a business out of weddings?

Needless to say, my DVR line up just got a little lighter after last week.

Packaging Inspiration.

Packaging.

I peruse Dieline on a regular basis just to see what the graphic genius’ of the world have been up to. Packaging is a huge source of inspiration in so many ways, typography, color pallettes, shapes and sizes. I was very excited when I ran across the new branding for an ice cream shop called Honey and Mackie’s. The branding is hip, fun and modern all wrapped into one. Oh how the wheels are turning now! Check out the whole layout here.

Disposable Gelato Cups

Serveware.

There are few things that I like better on a hot day that a scoop of ice cream or gelato. It just always hits the spot.

The next time I have a get-together, I think I might use these adorable disposable gelato dishes from Williams-Sonoma to serve a frozen treat. It's a presentation for a delicious treat that is just as delightful to the eye. Perfect.

Real Parties: Baby Shower

Party Details.

Well it’s official. I can finally admit that I’ve entered the time in my life when I’m no longer going to bridal showers and weddings every summer weekend. Instead…it’s a baby boom amongst my friends. And when I found out that my best friend and her husband were expecting a baby, I think that it took me all of 30 seconds to say, “Now that I’m in Chicago, I’ll throw you a shower at my place!”

We had the shower this past weekend, and I’m happy to say that everyone had a wonderful time. And my ignorance on most things baby-related ended up being less of a hindrance than I thought. Here are some of the details that I thought you might like.



Clockwise from top left:
1. Invite: I designed a shower invite using an umbrella theme and creating simple graphics to represent typical baby gifts.

2. Dessert: I opted for a variation on whoopie pies. Orange creamsicle – vanilla cakes, orange cream cheese filling, a slim layer of orange marmalade, and colored sprinkles to fit the theme.

3. Baby bingo: Inspired by a product made by Knock Knock, I created custom bingo cards for our guests. It kept everyone engaged in the gift opening…including the guys.

4. Flower buckets: I found these adorable orange tin buckets at Target for $1 each. Because I didn’t trust that they were leak-proof, I used a clear plastic glass as a liner and then filled them with white chrysanthemums. I was able to make 4 arrangements for a total of $10. What a deal!



Clockwise from top left:
1&2: Gift/Activity: I designed a set of alphabet flashcards that matched the nursery color scheme. Each guest wrote a little note to the baby on the back. I’ll have them laminated so that the parents can use them in a photo mobile as décor…and then as a learning tool as the baby grows older. I like the idea that as she learns to read, she’ll have little notes from family and friends.

3: Flowers: My motto is to stay monochromatic. It’s hard to go wrong and you can easily put together flowers yourself that way.

4&5: Signature cocktail/bar presentation: Over the last couple of weeks, I’ve been keeping any neat looking clear glass bottles (from wine, sparkling lemonade, etc). I designed new labels to coordinate with our theme and filled them with a Hip Hostess favorite – Cranberry Ginger Jazz. I like the idea of keeping the bottles non-alcoholic and allowing guests to add a little zing if they wanted. Our liquor of choice was Rosangel hibiscus-infused tequila.

We all had a lot of fun and we were so happy to celebrate such an exciting new step in the lives of our friends, Jade and Zoran. Congrats to you both. We love ya!

Ice Cream out of the Box

Food Presentation.

Not only is ice cream delicious and refreshing it is also an easy dessert to serve when having a few people over for a backyard BBQ. This photo from Sweet Paul shows that you don’t have to give up on presentation when breaking out the carton of vanilla.


Next time people stop by on a summer’s night don’t forget to check out your cabinets for an assortment of coffee or tea cups, ramekins, vases or even bowls. You are sure to find something interesting for serving a scoop of ice cream. I have egg cups that I couldn’t resist buying on sale because they were so cute, a couple melon ball scoops of sorbet should be perfect!

Modern Cupcake Designs

Custom Cupcake Designs.

To get these great looking cupcakes all you have to do is peel and place. This is thanks to Ticing.com which has created a number of modern, hip designs to help you put the finishing touches on your cakes or cupcakes.


If you have a specific design that you are trying to tie into your décor, no problem, just send Ticing an image and they can create a custom edible icing sheet for you.

A picture is worth a thousand words….

Details.

I was having trouble expressing the importance of hiring a professional with a fine eye for detail when writing my latest blog entry. I couldn’t seem to make the prose strong enough without sounding preachy or pushy. That is when I came across the perfect photo, supplied by one of my favorite bloggers, Michele Humes of Fine Furious Life. I think this speaks for itself…look closely. --b