I’m absolutely in love with the October cover of Living this year… partially due to the fact that I’m in the midst of planning a Woodland Forest baby shower for a friend and loving all things toadstool right now, but this is also just such a clever idea – and something I personally haven’t seen done with pumpkins before. It would make such a cute tablescape for Thanksgiving, too – or really any sort of Fall party!

Here’s a peek at some more highlights from this issue of Living… starting with a few extremely crafty face masks:

This next shot is pretty clever… “incognito” birdwatchers!

Pressed-paper boxes dressed up like owls and jack-o-lantern faced acorns…

A few images from A Wicked Good Time: macabre banquet table (featuring Slithered Scream Beans, Cauldron Curry, and Squeamish Squash with Rice), Snake Cake with Venom Glaze, Poison Apples (LOVE the presentation on these!), and “Eyes of Newt” DIY party favors.

Last but not least, a festive party favor embellishment made from the orange, balloon-shaped calyxes of Chinese lantern plants (very clever!):

For more on Living, check out www.marthastewart.com/living.

In honor of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, which is right around the corner, we’ve got some new “Pink Party” ideas coming your way!

Maybe you know someone that’s walking in the 3-day & wants to celebrate afterwards, are planning some sort of fundraiser yourself, or want to host a little get together for a very deserving someone. Whatever the reason – this is obviously an important topic that affects the lives of so many people in one way or another, all throughout the year.

So, first up is this Pink Ribbon Tree Centerpiece. This was a really fun piece to put together, and you can definitely tailor this project to other occasions as well! (i.e. silver & white for a Winter Wonderland party, orange and black for Halloween, and so on…)

Read on for all the DIY details…

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You’ll Need:
Cube vase (approx 6-7″ wide)
Decorative pink papers in 2 different patterns
Pink Roses (approx 14 – 18)
Floral Foam Wet (2 bricks)
1-2 Manzanita branches (we used one 18″ and one 24″)
Pink spray paint
light pink ribbon (we used 1/8” &  1/4”)
Adhesive-backed pink rhinestones
Rhinestone word sticker (your choice)

Directions:
1. Spray-paint the Manzanita branch(es) pink and let dry thoroughly.

2. Soak the floral foam bricks, then trim them to a size that will fit securely within the vases. Add extra pieces to the vase if necessary to create a tight fit. (There should be a little extra space between the top of the vase and where the foam starts.)

3. Trim decorative paper to the same height as the cube vase, then cover the vase completely, securing with tape or another invisible adhesive. If you’re using 12″ scrapbook sheets, you may need to use 2 strips of paper. Cut a contrasting strip of paper for the top of the vase (approx 1.5” wide), and set it aside for later.

4. Insert the pink Manzanita branch(es) into the foam, making sure they are secure and can easily stand up on their own.

5. Trim rose stems to just a few inches long, and remove all leaves & visible greenery. Insert the roses into the foam, starting along the outer edge of the vase and working your way towards the center. Use remaining roses to fill in any gaps. Make sure that all of the floral foam is covered by roses.

6. Add the 1.5” strip of decorative paper to the top of the vase, positioned so that it covers the top edge of the vase and the bottom of the roses.

7. Tie short pink ribbons all over the branches. Decorate the ends of the skinnier 1/8” ribbons with rhinestones by adhering 2 same-sized rhinestones back-to-back on each ribbon end.

8. Finally, add rhinestone word sticker to the front of the arrangement. You can also use chipboard letters or feature a picture of the guest of honor in place of the rhinestones… personalize it however you wish!

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First of all… WOW! We had some truly amazing entries in the Facebook Summer Entertaining Contest… and WAY more than 5 stand-out parties, so let me tell you this was seriously a hard one to narrow down to just 5 finalists. We had several different people help with the process of narrowing it down though, and the top 5 picks of each person were often very different – so the finalists you see here are the parties that had the most overlap amongst everyone’s lists.

These 5 parties are an eclectic mix – from birthday parties to baby showers to 4th of July… but all of them show great creativity, originality, relevance to summer, & good old fashioned effort! Here they are, in random order:

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FINALIST #1: Circus/Carnival Birthday Party
by Kara Wilford Allen

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FINALIST #2: 4th of July Party
by Marcie Gastelum

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FINALIST #3: Nautical Themed Baby Shower
by Kalea Linn Harrison

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FINALIST #4: Purple Paradise 21st Birthday
by Colleen Kearns Sabo

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FINALIST #5: 16th Birthday
by Heather Williamson

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VOTE FOR YOUR FAVORITE!
We’ve compiled these 5 parties into a new album on Facebook to make voting easier. All you have to do to vote is comment on any ONE picture from your favorite party in the party finalists album. Give the hostess props, mention your favorite element, or simply say “vote!”.  The party with the most comments AND one randomly selected voter will both WIN home spa sets worth over $300. Voting ends Thursday, August 20th. Thanks so much for participating!

Note: Because this was our first contest was created specifically for our HWTM Facebook community, you will need to have a Facebook account in order to vote. If you don’t have an account but would still like to give props to one of the hostesses or pick your favorite finalist – please do so by posting a comment here. Thank you! =)

For my fellow wine lovers (and those of you good with a video camera!):
This summer Black Box Wines launched the “You Got Boxed” contest to challenge its fans to share boxed wines with their friends. For a chance to win, contestants secretly serve guests Black Box Wines (in lieu of traditional bottled wine) and capture their reaction on camera when the box is revealed. There is a monthly $2,000 prize and a final grand prize of a whopping $10,000!

The whole line of Black Box Wines, which includes 2 new varietals – a Columbia Valley Riesling and New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc – are perfect for summer parties, BBQs and picnics due to the larger quantities (one box = 4 bottles), good price, and longevity (and no risk of broken glass!).

For complete details on the contest, visit yougotboxed.com.

So… last week we launched our first-ever HWTM Facebook contest, and there are 2 ways to win: 1. by submitting party photos related to “summer entertaining” to the Fan Photos section, and 2. by simply voting for your favorite of the 5 finalists. Tomorrow (Thursday, 8/13) is the last day to submit photos for the contest and then the finalists will be announced and voting will start on Friday! Get more details here.

Both of the prizes up for grabs: home spa packages worth over $300 each! Each prize includes premium skincare products from MD Confidential, salon brand haircare products, and a light-weight adult coverup by Little Giraffe.

Last week, my husband and I attended the “Aloha Kitchen Challenge” at Roy’s Restaurant in La Jolla, which felt a little bit like experiencing an Iron Chef event first hand (or an episode of Hell’s Kitchen where the head chef is a whole lot nicer!).

The “Aloha Kitchen Challenge” is actually a gourmet competition that Internationally-acclaimed Chef Roy Yamaguchi has been hosting at different Roy’s locations throughout the country (and more are in the works if you’d like to attend one of them!).

3 culinary students local to the area are partnered with top chefs from local restaurants, who act as their mentors for the event, then they compete for the chance to win a year-long internship with Roy’s expert chefs. The students were all from the Art Institute of San Diego: Grant Toraason, Athena Gilson and Bruce Ricketts – and they were paired with top chefs: Jason Knibb of NINE-TEN; Bernard Guillas of Marine Room; Brian Malarkey, of Oceanaire; and Garrett Mukogawa of Roy’s.

Guests of the event are treated to a fun – and highly creative – 5-course meal, along with champagne and wine pairings for each course, if desired. The 2nd, 3rd, and 4th courses were created by the 3 students, and all of the dinner guests + some special local celebrity judges voted on their favorite dish at the end of the meal.

Here are the 3 contenders… how great is the presentation on each of these dishes?!

2nd Course:
Ceviche of Scallop and Octopus
Melon Salad, Tempura Shiso Leaf “Taco”, Mango Vinaigrette

3rd Course:
Pistachio Sanyo Crunch Tasmanian Steelhead
Red Quinoa Filled Squash Blossom, Heirloom Melon Nectar, Gooseberry Kalbi

4th Course:
Duo of Pork: Ginger Beer & Cider Braised Pork Belly, Smoked Pork Loin
Thai Bird Chili & Peach Relish, Ogo & Green Papaya Salad

I have to say that every single dish was fantastic, so it was a tough decision… but my personal favorite did end up winning! Drumroll, please… the Tasmanian Steelhead dish (course #2) – so congrats to Athena Gilson! I would definitely order this dish again if it makes it on the menu – and the presentation of it was so wonderfully creative:

Here’s Athena with her mentor, Chef Bernard Guillas and Chef Roy.

And a few more shots of the behind-the-scenes action:

Celebrity guest chef (and former San Diego Charger) Marcellus Wiley was more than happy to help serenade guests for the evening…

Chef Roy Yamaguchi actually sat down at the table and chatted with Sonny and I for a bit – and he was  incredibly nice and had such a calm, content spirit to him. (I’m thinking that living in Hawaii must make one extra happy, right?)  When asked about what the inspiration behind these event was, he said – quite matter of factly – that he simply wanted to inspire and encourage aspiring chefs, and that they really tried to make this a fun experience for the students, as opposed to a high-pressure situation. (Sorry – no Hell’s Kitchen-style drama here!)

“Teaching and mentoring aspiring chefs has always been a passion of mine,” said Chef Roy.

I also asked Roy if he had any tips for novice chefs at home… and he said the best thing is to just “keep it simple” and not stress out over the dish. And honestly, that’s just fine by me. When I want something exotic like Pistachio Sanyo Crunch Tasmanian Steelhead, I’m more than happy to go out and leave it to the professional chefs… or in this case, to the students!

Visit roysrestaurant.com to find a Roy’s location near you.

Photos by: Chaz Cruz

Here are some photos from the Sesame Street candy buffet that I created for Ashby O’Dell’s birthday party last month… which was so much fun to work on! You’ll find all the details below for this particular buffet, in case you want to create something similar for your own parties…

All of the candy is from Sweet Factory – you can buy in bulk on their website! I really wanted to play up the bright colors – just like you see in the Sesame Street characters. I was told that Ashby loves chocolate, so the first thing I ordered was candy-coated Decorator Sixlets in yellow, blue, lime green, red, and hot pink. You can buy them in 10-lb or 1-lb bags. (I used about 2-3 lbs per jar at a time, depending on the size.)

Other candies in the buffet included: Jolly Ranchers, boxes of Dots, Saf-T-Pops, Alphabet Gummis,  Smiley Happy Face Lollipops, Round Whirly Pops and Flower Lollipops (displayed in colorful Blumeboxes), Giggle Pops, Gummi Centipedes, Rock Candy Sticks, Red Swedish Fish, and individual buckets of Cotton Candy displayed in a pyramid. The final buffet was 12-ft long! There were favor bags on the table so that guests could make their own take-home “favor bag” with all of their personal favorites.

LOTS of candy, I know! But there were about 100 guests at this party – a little more than 1/2 of which were adults – so we needed quite the mass quantities. You can definitely do something similar to this on a much smaller scale though! (Here’s an example of a smaller candy buffet I did last weekend for a 16-person baby shower.)

Plush Sesame Street characters like Elmo, Grover, and Big Bird sat between some of the candy jars and helped to play up the theme. I also found some 3-D Sesame Street Stickers at a local scrapbook store, framed them in bright, inexpensive frames from IKEA, and set those throughout the buffet.

Balloon bouquets displayed in colorful Blumeboxes added a nice pop of color to the tables as well!

It’s fun to creative with lollipop displays! You can use white craft foam to make them stand up in trays and shallow containers like the white ceramic vase pictured above. Just cut the foam to size and make sure it’s a little bit shorter than the container. Stick the lollipops in, then pour on a a layer of candy or popcorn to hide the foam.

There were several of these types of displays (featuring both small & large lollipops) on the candy buffet and all throughout the party – they make great table centerpieces too!

All of the candy jars were purchased at Home Goods for around $7 – $20 each, depending on the size. (They were about 1/2 the price at Home Goods from other places I saw them!) Embellishing some of the jars with a simple band of color-contrasting ribbon is super easy to do and makes a big difference in the overall look!

The candy buffet was a hit with the adorable birthday girl too…

Here’s a fun shot of  The Jumpitz – the kids group that performed at the party (and did a great job!) – goofing around at the candy buffet.

For more pics from this party, check out the Facebook Album. {Complete details from the entire party will be available in the Party Themes section soon!}

Special thanks to Jayneoni Moore for asking me to style this party – and to photographer Gina Lee for the fabulous photos!

Jonathan Adler has been cranking out so much great new stuff this year, but these adorable salt & pepper shakers are probably at the top of my list. They’re like mini works of art for your table – complete with signature Adler style and fabulous coordinating gift boxes! Pictured above: Fish, Whale, and Penguin shaker sets.

Pictured below: Mr. & Mrs. Muse shakers (perfect gift idea for a wedding or engagement party!) and Lantern shakers, inspired by some of Adler’s most iconic pottery:

I’m just loving this gorgeous – and ultra-modern – Seaside Story wedding theme from the knot, so I was really excited to stumble on this knot tv video that gives a “behind the scenes” peek at the photo shoot for this theme!

The video gives great tips for recreating this look yourself and is great inspiration for all sorts of parties & occasions. (Hint – try swapping out the orange in this theme with red to create a fabulous, beach-inspired 4th of July dinner party!)

{Photos by: Andrew McCaul}

Winner Update: This giveaway is now closed. Thanks so much to Alice White Wines and to everyone that entered! And the lucky random winner is… Jennifer Irvin from Texas, who said, “YELLOW…….Bright summer sunshine, lemonade, chardonnay, grilled squash, sunflowers….. Nothing better!!!!!”  Congrats, Jennifer! Now you have a great excuse to throw a colorful summer party!

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Hope you’re ready for some summer fun, because Alice White Wines – one of the United States’ leading Australian wine brands – is here with an amazing giveaway full of all sorts of fabulous reasons to bring the party outdoors!

This “Colorful Summer Party” package makes me feel sunnier just looking at it… how about you?

Wait – there’s more…Yep, these fantastic, melamine Jonathan Adler dishes and colorful Alice White Wines beach tote and beach towel are included too!

In addition to the bold splashes of color, everything from the wine glasses to the serveware is shatterproof & outdoor friendly – just like Alice White Wines’ new Tetra Pak cartons, which are now available in its three most popular varietals: Chardonnay, Lexia and Shiraz. So, whether your party guests are lounging poolside or sipping Chardonnay on the patio, there’s no need to stress about spills and breaks! And that carefree attitude is what summer is all about, right?

Alice White Wines’ close association with color (check out the pretty “rainbow of labels” pictured at top) definitely shines through in this giveaway, which is valued at well over $250! Here’s a quick rundown of everything that’s included:

COLORFUL SUMMER PARTY SET:
• Alice White Wines branded beach towel and beach bag (Note: no wine is included in the prize.)
• 8 Veranda Acrylic Wine Glasses (Crate&Barrel)
• 8 Red Acrylic Rocks Glasses (Crate&Barrel)
• 1 Stripes Melamine Serving Tray (Jonathan Adler)
• 3 Stripes Melamine Bowls (Jonathan Adler)
• 2 Stripes Melamine Round Plates/Platters (Jonathan Adler)
• Fiesta Melamine Prep/Serv Bowls, Set of 4 (Crate&Barrel)
• Cool Bar and Beverage Tub (Frontgate)
• Flip Multi 10” Plates (PlatesandNapkins.com)
• Stripes Again Yellow & White Napkins (PlatesandNapkins.com)
• Preserve Flatware – (Crate&Barrel)
• 10” and 14” Paper Lanterns – 8 total (Luna Bazaar)

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HOW TO ENTER (It’s easy!):

Alice White Wines new Tetra Pak cartons come in three hot hues: Red (Shiraz), Yellow (Chardonnay), and Orange (Lexia). Which of these three colors MOST inspires you to host a summer bash? Post your answer in the comments section here and you’ll be entered to win!

Giveaway ends Monday, July 6th at midnight PST. Winner will be selected randomly and announced on Tuesday, July 7th. Limit one entry per email address. Good luck!

Note: Alice White Wines is not a sponsor and the company’s role is limited to supplying branded contest prizes.