Hostess with the Mostess™

Get your Starbucks™ fix in a whole new way for the Holidays! Here are some yummy holiday cocktail recipes - and fun signature drink ideas for your next party - using Starbucks™ Coffee and Cream Liqueurs. I have to say the Coco Café sounds particularly good now that the cold weather is here! (yes - sometimes it even gets cold in San Diego!)

Frostini
1 part Starbucks Coffee Liqueur
1 part Starbucks Cream Liqueur
1/4 part DeKuyper Peppermint Schnapps
Shake and strain into martini glass.
Garnish with a sprig of mint.

The Candy Cane Martini
1 part Starbucks Cream Liqueur
1/2 part DeKuyper Peppermint Schnapps
1/2 part DeKuyper White Creme de Cacao
1/4 part Grenadine
Shake with ice, strain and serve in a martini glass rimmed with crushed peppermint

CoCo Café (Warm up!)
1 part Starbucks Coffee Liqueur
1/2 part DeKuyper Peppermint Schnapps
Hot Chocolate
Serve in an Irish coffee mug and top with whipped cream!

Funny-girl Funny-girl Amy Sedaris recently penned a much-publicized book on entertaining called I Like You (Hospitality Under the Influence)- which I finally got around to ordering last week and received in the mail yesterday. After less than 5 minutes of flipping through, it was obvious that Amy’s quirky (think “Strangers with Candy“) sense of humor is definitely not lost in this book It seems to be just as much about entertaining the reader as it is about instructing readers on how to entertain others.

With clever, tongue-in-cheek copywriting and kitschy 1970’s-looking imagery that is just about as un-Martha Stewart as you can possibly get – for example, Amy in a very yellow polyester jumpsuit and side ponytail, doing a toe-touch near a few potted plants - one of which is labeled “weed” – I Like Youdefinitely sets itself FAR apart from most entertaining books…so far apart it’s in it’s own genre - and I have to say I’m a fan Great holiday gift idea! For more info, check out the reader reviewson Amazon.

{images via {images via amysedarisrocks.com}

Shraga Landesman’s beautiful menorahs are truly works of modern art! Each piece is handmade and signed by the artist. Prices range from $78 - $175 for Pewter menorahs and $220+ for solid brass. Click here to check out the entire collection. {via thisnext}

Boxed wine has never looked so good! These adorably-packaged premium French wines by French Rabbit come in an eco-friendly Tetra Pak™ container - so they’re environmentally friendly too - I’ll toast to that!

{via {via fishtank}

Bold, cheery stockings are a must-have holiday treat for design-lovers! Here are a few favorites that I stumbled upon recently…with patterns so cute & modern, not even a lump of coal could ruin them! Pictured above: Bold, cheery stockings are a must-have holiday treat for design-lovers! Here are a few favorites that I stumbled upon recently…with patterns so cute & modern, not even a lump of coal could ruin them! Pictured above: Bull’s Eye Stockings and below: Hable Christmas Stockings - both available at Garnet Hill for $28/ea.

Sooooo cute from Sprout home (pictured below) –
Sooooo cute from Sprout home (pictured below) – Xmas Stocking Red/G/W & Xmas Stocking Brown/B/G. Don’t miss the white version either! ($40/ea)

Bring in some serious holiday sparkle with
Bring in some serious holiday sparkle with Chunky Sequin Stockings from West Elm ($19/ea)…

And last but not least, adorable stockings by
And last but not least, adorable stockings by Ahna Holder make me oh-so-happy! ($45 ea at 2modern)

Here’s the second official
Here’s the second official HWTM™ holiday tabletop! We just hosted Thanksgiving dinner at our house and this is the theme that I used…my family seemed to love it - hope you enjoy it too! This design works well for Christmas parties or non-denominational holiday celebrations too…click here to download the detailed pdf.

I just can’t get enough of all the cute bird designs out there right now - and these charming little
I just can’t get enough of all the cute bird designs out there right now - and these charming little bird measuring spoons are no exception! Everything is handmade using traditional metal smithing techniques - which makes for a beautiful gift… ($85/set - includes 4 pewter spoons and copper display rack)

Make lunchtime more fun with these adorable designer sandwich bags from Mobi! Ten fun patterns to choose from - including dots, pink camo, stars and more. (these would also be cute little wrappers for your party favors!) $5/pack of 20 at spoonsisters.com

How cute are these aprons from Delilah Crown?! I’m absolutely loving them…and if you love them too - you can pick one (or more!) up from The Curiosity Shoppe at 25% off thanks to Daily Candy Deals. Just enter DAILYDEAL06 at checkout to get 25% off your entire order!

Hi Everyone -
We’re still working away on the main hostesswiththemostess.com website…It’s proving to be more of a daunting task than I anticipated as the workload seems to just grow and grow - but the progress is exciting and can’t wait to share it with you when Phase 1 is ready!

In the meantime, I wanted to give you a sneak peek of what the site is all about, so I’m planning to post a few official Hostess with the Mostess™ holiday tabletop designs this week. The first design - featured today - is called "Berries & Branches " and is more of a playful design. I’ve posted a few images here, but you can get full details of how to create this tabletop by downloading the pdf (3.1 M) - which has some tabletop tips and more extensive imagery. The pdf actually follows the website template - so it should give you an idea of what’s in the works - and even more details will be available for each party theme when the website launches - including coordinating recipes & signature drink ideas for each theme.

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