Hostess with the Mostess®

If you’re in the L.A. area and looking for something fun to do this weekend, there’s a great event on Sunday centered around food & wine and happening at a pretty outdoor setting (and the weather forecast looks great)!

We’ll review it on the blog soon, but if you want to come check it out for yourself, click here for more info or to buy tickets. Enter FOODEVENT08 in the discount code to save $10!

…emphasis on the “treat“! Here’s some inspirational Halloween eye-candy for you from the fabulous Amy Atlas Events… How genius is the huge “tree” they created using branches, tons of *Orange Paper Daisies ($1.99 - $2.15 each at *luna bazaar), and Haribo Black Licorice Wheels as “ornaments”?!

These cute little ghost pops remind me of something that Bakerella might whip up…

I’m also loving these candy-filled paper pumpkins (below), which look pretty easy to replicate using small orange paper bags and black tape - or you could purchase Martha Stewart’s Pumpkin Favor Bags kit for a similar look that’s ready to go!

*Tips & Ideas:
• Luna Bazaar (which carries the Orange Paper Daisies used for the “tree”) is currently offering HWTM  readers a 20% discount on all purchases with the code “HB1031“.
• Candywarehouse.com has a huge selection of bulk Halloween Candy available.
• Check the produce section of your local grocery store for DIY caramel apple kits, which are available seasonally. Drizzle or pipe melted chocolate onto the apples to give them the same look as the apples pictured above.

Jennifer here from Create My Event, bringing you some ideas for a fun & fuss-free Halloween get-together!

Hard to believe, but in less than 2 weeks it’ll be Halloween - and what better and excuse to have a little soiree? (Especially since it’s on a Friday this year!) I’m not talking about a full on costume extravaganza, but rather a festive & chic Halloween-themed dinner party for all your favorite friends who still want to enjoy a little merriment on the spookiest night of the year- without feeling juvenile.

To start, the invites. Sendomatic has spooky Halloween Party Invitations – most including scary howls, boos and screams. And, ask everyone to wear a favorite, fun wig instead of full on costume! Read More »

I’m getting so excited for the Hip Hostess Halloween event in Dallas this Thursday! The last of the boxes just shipped out to the venue today, and Sonny and I head out tomorrow, so the countdown is officially on…

For those of you that can’t join us for the party, I’m still going to cover several of the tips & ideas from the event’s “Ghoulish Glam Halloween” theme on the blog & website all week long, starting… right now!

Ghoulish Glam Halloween - Topic #1: Go for an ultra-glamorous, flapper-inspired look with a creepy twist.

• Look for accessories that combine an element of glam + an element of ghoul - like this rhinestone studded Black Widow Necklace ($5.99) from buy-costumes.com. Display the pieces on ornament stands or jewelry trees, or use them to decorate skeletons, Halloween sculptural figures, centerpieces, etc.

• Dress up vases or glass cylinders with inexpensive costume jewelry - like the Vintage Choker Necklace ($5.99) pictured below, which is simply wrapped around the vase and fastened in back.  Read More »

Winner Update: 10/29:
This giveaway is now closed. Thanks so much to everyone that entered! The lucky random winners are: Comment #42 - Tori, who said: “I love the Stella Stationary but would want to convert it to a birth announcement…I just found out I’m having a girl on March 7!! Wahoo!”, and Comment #135 - Shauna, who said “Are you kidding? How to choose? I loooove the bumble bees =)”. Congrats to you both!

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During the late nights that Roopal Shah spent creating unique invitations and announcements for her sister’s shower, her brother’s wedding, her son’s birth, and so on… she also discovered her genuine passion for the process of getting creative with paper and ink! Cut to 4 years later, and Roopal is still busy cranking out creative custom designs - through her very own design studio: 1st Comes Love.

At 1st Comes Love – as Roopal explains – “We focus on creating designs for wedding invitations, birth announcements, and just about any piece of stationery you could need!”

Speaking of “things we need” - I could really use some spending money for holiday gifts like cute personalized notecard sets… how ’bout you?!

Well, we’re in luck, because 1st Comes Love is generously offering up $50 Shopping Sprees for TWO lucky HWTM readers! Winners can spend the $ however they like - personalized holiday cards, personalized stationery, towards a custom wedding invitation design, etc.

(Details for how to enter after the jump…) Read More »

but it’s worth finding out…promise! Solve the mystery the answer after the jump!

Read More »

I feel like I great advice from people all the time - but I wish I was better at implementing it!

A while back, blogging guru Grace Bonney from design*sponge (just a wee little blog… perhaps you’ve heard of it? *wink*) suggested that I start doing a “weekly wrap-up” post on Fridays so that readers can better see that the blog covers a wider variety of topics than what happens to be on the index page at the time (i.e. “Halloween”).

Well, cut to several months later, and I’ve discovered that it can be just as hard to adopt new habits as it is to break old ones…sigh. But, as they say, there’s no time like the present, right?!

So, without further adieu, here is the first of what I hope is many “Weekly Round-Up” posts here at HWTM…which will be recaps of posts & ideas both here and ’round the web… please feel free to hold me accountable to this new habit if you find me slipping!

• Exciting News: CosmoGirl feature! (November issue) See it here.
• Creative Celebration: Portrait Party by Kati Driscoll
• Upcoming Events: Hip Hostess Halloween Party - Next Thursday, Oct 23rd!
• Party Girl Guide: Halloween Cocktails
• Have a Good Laugh: Anne Taintor Products
• Fall-tastic Giveaway: Indie Fixx Autumn Cornocopia Giveaway
• Baby Shower Idea (Multiples): Sweet Peas
• Pick Your Flavor: McCain or Obama
• Food for Thought: Modern Apple Harvest Party by Kim Vallee, Apple-flavored Cocktails, Delicious Apple Desserts

And Coming Up Next Week…
New HWTM Giveaway, fun guest blogs, Halloween craft projects & DIY party decorations, NEW Real-Life Parties, Dine by Design recap, and more! See you soon!