"Popped" the Question

My brother got engaged last weekend...on his birthday!!! It's about time!! They've been dating since she was 15 and he was 18, that's almost 10 years for them.

It was held at our house with close family (in the other room hiding). John and I made a "birthday" video but it was actually a video that was a preface to the actual proposal. I told them I had a birthday surprise and started playing the video. At first it was basic messages from family saying "happy birthday" and then just photos of the two of them. Eventually throughout the video it showed pictures and their song, that only John could possibly know about and have. By this time she's figuring it out and starting to ball, until of course John comes on the video at the very end saying a little message, "I know you thought this was a birthday surprise for me but it's actually from me, turn around." He got down on one knee and popped the question right then and there. By this time I had set up and turned on the video camera and left the room. Only they were in there, but little did she know we were all in the other room watching and listening! Needless to say she was VERY happy and VERY surprised. She definitely didn't see that one coming!

Anyhow, what I wanted to share other than that was the "congratulations" cake pops I had made for the intimate gathering. I had blue pops with white sprinkles made from Just A Bite that spelled out "congratulations". They were all assorted flavors and might I add very very delicious! To display it I had my florist make a very narrow box and put a bed of button mums in there. I love button mums and think they're just adorable. To finish it off, of course ribbon and a broach that I actually wore at my own wedding was tied on for a sweet touch.

Shirley's 30th Birthday Party

I'm planning a 30th birthday party for this Saturday, 2/6, at my friend, Shirley's condo in Playa Vista. I was really excited to be a part of her special celebration because I know Shirley will appreciate all the little details that I have in store for her. =)

The overall theme is Anthropologie meets W hotel with colors of gray and a blush pink. I love the contrast of the two colors and it can be done so elegantly. I know most people don't think gray is a color but I personally love it and with the pink it'll give it the right feminine touch.

The menu is going to be tapas (think Spanish cheeses, phyllo cups with shrimp and chorizo, skewers of melon balls with ham and empenadas of course) accompanied with wine and sangria. Dessert will be red velvet and chocolate with nutella filled mini cupcakes along with pink strawberry vanilla cake pops all made by of course the fabulous Amanda Prateepsin (soon to be Yuan!). I can't wait to just eat it all!!!

This JCrew dress is where she got her gray inspiration from.

I'm designing something on her dining room wall...here's just a sneak peak...

Those are gray metal filigree tiles in which I put pink paper behind it to achieve the pink and gray look we're going for. In the remaining empty squares I'll be placing 9 paper flowers in it. It's going to rock!

Paper flowers made out of tissue paper...so delish, no?!

We'll be using the paper flowers for other parts of the decor. But our real flowers will be peonies, hydrangeas and garden roses. All very lush and textured. It's going to be so pretty!

Remember these white cake stands from my NYE party? I covered them with pink tissue paper and a patterened clear paper from the craft store.

Looks like a whole new stand, doesn't it?

I will be using these filigree wine claims in ivory. How sleek and beautiful will these be? It goes so well with the filigree tiles!

*Sorry if these pictures aren't the best, they were taken from my iPhone!*

Come back next week to see the final party!! Thanks for visiting

Utterly Engaged Tablescape Design Challenge-Inspiration Board

As you all know I entered in the Utterly Engaged "Spanking New Year Party" for a design challenge. Thank you for all that showed up to support me!!! If you stayed till the end you know that I didn't win. =( But that is okay because it's not about winning here. I made a lot of great contacts, it was a wonderful experience and I most of all I had a blast with my vendors and friends that came out.

There were a total of 15 tables. I was so amazed at how everyone was completely unique and they interpreted it so differently. We are still not allowed to share pictures from the contest until the magazine has been published so I ask that you stay tuned and patient. I know I'm so eager to share with you all too! But in the meantime here is a jpeg of my inspiration board.

Utterly Engaged Tablescape Design Challenge

I will be entering the "Utterly Spanking New Year Party"  2010 wedding design challenge hosted by Utterly Engaged on Wednesday, 1/20, 7-10pm at the Astor Classic Event Center. What is this you may ask?  It's basically a design contest to display everyone's creativity and talent while networking and gaining more exposure at the same time. Oh and did I mention the winner gets the pot of money gathered in entry fees, so far that's about $800!  

So what are the rules? Utterly Engaged is asking for a modern tablescape with a twist. We are going to be judged on our centerpieces which must include elements other than just flowers {ie paper, fabric, industrial materials}, plus it all has to be within $150!  My angle is "Modern Vintage" with simple, clean and pretty look that implements icons such as birds, floral vines, birdcages, filigree all with a little bit of a rococco look. I will be including  a handmade paper garland, acrylic, mirrors and ceramic as parts of my centerpiece. My colors are very subdued with 1 pop of color. I will of course be adding table settings {flatware, glassware, chargers, plates}, lighting, a backdrop {yes! I know!}, favors, place cards, a dessert, the whole 9 yards.

I can't wait to see what everyone else has in store. There will be tons of eye candy. Guests will be allowed to vote on the best tablescape. If you'd like to come and support, you can sign up here.  http://utterlyspankinparty.eventbrite.com/.

Here are a few pictures just to wet your appetite! Check back after the contest to see the whole thing!  

Here is one table setting. Since this was taken, things have changed. But the blue plate with the birds and floral is where I got my inspiration from for this modern vintage theme. {don't mind the background}

Graphics that I will be using...it matches my plate so perfectly. =)

Bird cage favor boxes! Aren't they so adorable?!

Up close, so you can see the details.

I'll be using these candy dishes to display my bird nest dessert.

A birds nest that I found at Pottery Barn. Isn't it so perfect?! 

New Year's Eve Party!

  Our patio room that I transformed into our lounge area.

Welcome 2010! It is my first blog of the year and boy do I have some goodies to share with you all.  We threw a New Year's Eve party and have received so many raves and responses from it. I want to say thank you from the bottom of my heart for those who helped me {you know who you are}, listened to me talk about my party in the wee hours of the night and most of all my husband who had to endure all of my madness for the last few weeks. 

I have to say I debated a lot about what items to rent, what theme and decor to do and just visualized how it would all be. In the end I decided on a peacock theme emphasizing heavily on the shades of turquoise, a deep purple and fuchsias. The lighting and furniture was to round it all out and put a modern twist on something to make it glamourous. 

Here are some pictures and captions. Hope you all enjoy it! What a great way to start off 2010, right? 

Glow cubes, which can be an end table or act as seats! These things are stackable too {can I say cocktail table idea?}

I love a clean look with glamour and presence. I think this arrangement speaks perfectly of the look I was going for. 

Glow bar 

Here you can see where the colors really play out {sorry had to turn on the flash to get all the colors, so the beautiful soft lighting isn't there}.

Drink Table: Manzanita tree with hanging crystals, flowers and drink name tags for our guests

Drink tags up close

Lighting does wonders...

In case you're wondering what the base of the tree looks like!

Our twenty-ten-tinis. They aren't as innocent as they look, vodka, peach schnapps and blue curacao

Drink tags being used... 

Our spread consisted of all types of finger foods. From dates, to hummus to phyllo cups and of course your basics...cheese plate and veggies!

Centerpiece for our food table

Some of our food.....

Homemade hummus

My future sister in law, Amanda, made those...I can only take credit for the ribbon and sign!

Yum...

Amanda = sandwiches, Me = signs 

We had a dessert and candy station too. 

Amanda's famous Red Velvet Cupcakes

Peppermint marshmellows

Again,  Amanda made these nougats. I can only take credit for the signs and flags

Last but not least our beloved chocolate bon bons which we made, rolled and stenciled out of edible gold powder dust. Yes they were as good as they look!