Wednesday Night Party Planning: My Birthday

I'm excited to celebrate my birthday with my closest friends in New York - we're going to one of our favorite restaurants! If I wasn't going to be in the city, I probably would have hosted a BBQ or a picnic on the beach for the few friends I have in Florida. Aside from a wonderful group of friends, I 

Dress Code: Casual chic! I'm obsessed with this white linen mini dress and have been living in it during the weekends. I'd be wearing this and would hope my guests would also want to keep it light and airy.

Menu: I think I would want to do something fun and casual at the beach and that an Apricot & Olive cheese board would be perfect to serve. It would be minimal setup and a hopefully easy cleanup. 

Flowers: I love a pink and happy color palette - especially when it's peonies! Without a doubt I would want pink flowers at dinner. 

Playlist: I'm so bad when it coms to curating music, but I know I would want something upbeat and festive (and a fun radio to match!). 

Ending the night with cake is a must and I'm kind of obsessed with this sand castle cake!? This is very mermaid chic and a fun and whimsical way to celebrate 35! 

Maybe I need to plan a PB birthday too,

ARS xx

F O L L O W

Wednesday Night Party Planning: Housewarming Party

I have yet to find a house or make any friends in Florida, but I am already mentally planning my future  housewarming party. This is probably setting me up for  a home search failure, but I'm hopeful that I'll find something sooner rather than later and I'm ready to plan a party. It's time we start celebrating things again, right? Below are a few ideas I have for my future housewarming party! 

Festive invites will set the tone. I love this orchid stationary - they are very Florida and will match my future address change announcement so something from this set would be perfect. (Tell me you like to plan, without saying you like to plan...).  

Mini orchids as party favors would be fabulous. My colleague recently had a party and she got mini orchids as party favors and they could not have been cuter! 

A new hostess dress is in order and I think this one from Ann Mashburn would be so chic! I love the color and shape. 

I have yet to find a caterer in Palm Beach, but I know I would obviously have to have a cheese plate and some yummy bites on hand. 

Flower arranging is a favorite hobby of mine and I would love to do my own arrangements. To say I miss the Flower District in NY is an understatement because I'll probably have to pay a premium and order through FLOWRBX. Otherwise, I would probably order from Renny & Reed to make the occasion extra special. 

OK, now I just need to find a house, 

ARS xx

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Thursday Night Party Planning: Christmas Craft Night

When I was in 7th grade my Mom planned a (now) infamous crafting party. At the time I was slightly horrified because I was new to the school and she invited a bunch of people I hardly knew. I didn't know if they were even as into crafts as I was and I panicked in a way only a 7th grader would! Turns out I found my fellow crafting buddies and we had a really fun time making ornaments. It was so much fun that my new guy friends were sulky and asked where their invites were (something that is still a thing today). I still am a crafter, but my old city life meant I had very limited space and frankly I didn't want glitter all over my studio and now I am building a new friend network. I do, however, think it would be SO fun to have a few friends over to craft, bake cookies, and catch up on everything and maybe a great new way to make friends down in Florida. Below are a few ideas to kick of planning your own craft night and possibly inspiring a future one for me! 

Invitations really set the tone and get everyone in the holiday spirit right off the bat! 

Normally I'd say a great playlist is key, but because we'll all be catching up and having fun with crafts maybe a holiday movie, like The Holiday, playing in the background ads a fun and different element. 

A good assortment of crafts is essential! Ornament making, wreath making, and anything Martha Stewart is a good idea too. 

Snacks are my second favorite part and maybe the most important part of the party?! 

A PJ dress code would be fun! I have a chic new pair of pjs I would love to have an excuse to wear before NYE comes around. 

Cheers to a festive weekend,

ARS xx

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Thursday Night Party Planning: Election Night!

Despite being on the opposite side of political spectrum from the majority of my friends, I loooove election night and look forward to a night of election drama with friends. This year the election feels more historic and important that any other I've participated in before. If I'm being totally honest, regardless of who wins I'm nervous about the days following. That won't stop me from celebrating another election year and hosting a small get together though! Below are a few ideas that are floating through my mind for a small get together.

The first step is always coming up with an invitation. I would probably pick a patriotic one from Paperless Post instead of mailing them out. If I was able to plan for a larger group, I would have them printed but for such a small group it doesn't make sense. 

As always, I would love to have on theme flowers. I think patriotic colored flowers would be perfect. I'll have to work with my florist or come up with an arrangement myself. 

I love little details - they always make the party feel extra special - and these Julia B cocktail napkins were made for an election night party! 

I love theme parties and while I wouldn't make this one a set theme, I would love it if everyone wore their most chic made in America outfit or political themed accessories. (Hello, Molly Moorkamp!)

I would love to do snacks instead of a full on meals. We'll be glued to the tv and I always find it easier to have small bites on hand than having a full on meal. 

What are you doing election night?

ARS xx

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Thursday Night Party Planning: Halloween

Halloween this year will certainly look very different than it did in years past. Despite all that is going on, I would love to celebrate to holiday the best I can. I'm thinking it would be so fun to have two or three friends over to catch up over wine, candy, and a spooky-ish movie or two. It's a fun way to safely celebrate Halloween. Below is a roundup of inspiration for my potential Halloween mini party! 

To set the tone I would love to paint and mail out my invitations. (Does that count towards my 50 handwritten notes goal on my 101 in 1001 list?) It may make more sense to just send out a paperless post invite, but definitely wouldn't be as fun. Above is some inspiration I found from Happy Menocal.

In addition to the standard snacking food, I would love to have bowls of different candy as a dessert treat to bring back that "trick or treat" feel. 

I love a good theme party and Halloween is the best time to get everyone on board as well. While I think it would be fun to dress up as your favorite New York movie character, I wouldn't enforce it. 

One of my favorite things to plan for each party is the decor. It really sets the mood and it's so fun to put together. For this event I'm envisioning candles, seasonal flowers, and something to add a bit of drama. 

On hand would be a few movies. Hocus Pocus would be my first choice and maybe Practical Magic? I'm also on board with Ghostbusters, Casper, The Addams Family or maybe just watching the Chilling Adventures of Sabrina on Netflix. I could also get behind some festive crafts or pumpkin carving, but it would definitely depend on the crowd. 

Tis the season for being extra spooky!

ARS xx

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Thursday Night Party Planning: Girls Night In

Making plans is not as easy as it used to be. Now I have to factor in the weather, distance, and the actual availability of friends. Living just a few miles from everyone isn't a big deal in normal times, but in our current reality it puts a damper on things. Most outings now consist of us meeting halfway between our apartments or hanging out in the morning or afternoon / early evening - weather pending of course. It's working for right now because it's bright out until 7:30/8pm, but with the explosion of crime and more aggressive homeless people, I don't feel so good about walking home alone after dark anymore and cabs are still relatively hard to come by (I'm still anti-uber). That being said, as we get closer to winter and the weather starts to get much colder, I think a throwback sleepover would be so much fun to have! Below are a few ideas I think would be really fun for a girls night in.

I think it would be so nice to gift everyone pjs or cozy sweatpants. They don't need to match, but would love a little something for everyone to relax in. 

Having snacks and dessert to snack on is key. I don't think I would torture my friends with my own cooking, so it would be a treat to order in. 

Sheet face masks while watching movies or shows would be so much fun! I have a list I've been wanting to try out. 

Speaking of movies, I'm in the mood for romantic comedies (and have a feeling I'm not alone in that thought). 

In a dream world I would also love to order in flowers so we could try out making our own arrangements, but I'm not sure how much we would actually want to do!

Needing to plan a fun night STAT, 

ARS xx

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Thursday Night Party Planning: Spa Day for One

A month or so ago I talked about planning an at home spa week for myself. I thought I would share a condensed, one day version of my plan in case you also were feeling inspired to treat yourself. I used only products I had lying around the house and it's likely you also have the tools needed at home. What prompted me to plan a spa week was this article on how to create an at-home spa feel. In stressful times it's easy to fall into a cycle on negative feelings, so why not disrupt the cycle and treat yourself?

The night before my spa week began I prepared my meals as much as I could so I could totally relax during the day. For your spa day, why night plan on a fruit salad, a light salad with a lemon and oil dressing for lunch, and grilled chicken with some veggies on the side for dinner? I also made the (radical for me) choice to swap my typical two cups of coffee for a cup of lavender green tea and a cup of hot water and lemon. I also made a point of preparing fresh spa water to drink throughout the day. 

I started each day with morning yoga courtesy of Yoga with Adrienne. I've shared my love for her in the past, but she has been saving me during this stressful time. I wanted to get the body moving and shift my mindset a little bit. If you are looking for another way to start your day, try meditation! I prefer to meditate at the end of the day, but you can meditate anytime and feel the benefits. 

I wanted to start my "treatments" off with an at home facial. I referenced this article for the different steps and used face washes, masks, and serums I had lying around already. Bonus was cozying up in my bathrobe. I love the Weezie printed ones, but couldn't bring myself to spend the money. 

I don't know if you are also suffering from extreme dry skin as well, but a body scrub, epsom bath soak and moisturizer routine was heavily in rotation. I wanted to exfoliate all of the dead skin off and I definitely succeeded.

At the end of the day was a manicure and pedicure. Manicures for me are easy, but pedicures are impossible for some reason. It's so difficult to get the nail polish just right! This time around, for my pedicure I used a baby foot mask that I found in the house about a week before starting and was amazed at the results. If I had it in the budget, I would totally look into one of the Olive & June manicure kits. 

Hope your day was as relaxing as my week was,

ARS xx

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Thursday Night Party Planning: Dog Days of Summer Soiree

As we approach August I keep thinking about how strange this summer was. I saw a handful of people, stayed completely local, and did hardly any shopping. It's funny because I made a promise to myself that I would do everything I could to hit my early 30s stride and make conscious steps to reach personal goals, but I'm actually more in limbo than I was in my 20s. I don't want this summer to be a total wash and want to plan at least a fun summer soiree to make the most of what this summer could have been. Luckily I have a few friends in the city and have the flexibility to make this summer soiree happen at an earlier time, to suit everyone's commuting needs. Below are a few things inspiring my picnic in the park (or maybe just my apartment).

Easy and simple floral arrangements and candles are perfect ambiance for the summer. I love the above color palate, so would likely do something similar. 

We would likely have to be outside, so I would put together a picnic basket with pretty linens, glasses and the like to set the cheery mood. 

In my mind, picnics always call for a romantic dress. I can't explain it, but it just feels right to me. Maybe something like this dress from &Other Stories would be my first choice.

Food is always on my mind and for a picnic I'd love order a pre-made basket or prepare a few easy to clean up bites to make things easy.

A really great summer playlist is also really key. I want to create a playlist that is happy, fun and great background music. Stay tuned! 

Are you hosting any parties?

ARS xx

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Thursday Night Party Planning: 4th of July

The 4th of July is easily one of my favorite summer holidays. I'm hoping this year will be as fun as the others, even with social distancing being a thing! I'm excited to be home with my family and enjoying a few precious days off before a very busy summer at work. While I know I won't be hosting a blow out bash anytime soon, it's still fun to think about what I would do...if I were to host a party. Below is some July 4th party inspiration for the future!

Summer party invites to set the tone

Festive floral centerpieces with American Flags everywhere

Hot dogs and hamburgers will obviously be on the menu!

I'd definitely be wearing something patriotic and easy to throw on last minute!

We would end the night with a grand finale filled with fireworks and sparklers!

Already weekend ready,

ARSxx
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Party Planning: My Birthday

Now that I've been in quarantine for over two months I've had a lot of time to mentally plan most of my future gatherings and then re-plan them. The most exciting party I have mentally planned is my birthday. In years past I've had blowout parties at my home or indulgent dinners at restaurants, but this year I've come to terms with my birthday likely being cancelled. While disappointing, I would rather everyone be safe and heathy over anything else. If I were to have a party, below is a roundup of what I would have liked to do (or might still do, but on a much smaller scale)!

I'm imaging a yummy board with steak and a selection of my favorite sides. Or maybe a pandemic proof version of this board...

If you know me at all, I love all the little details - even better if it's something I can create myself. How fun would something like this be? I recently bought an ice mold that could easily make this ice bucket...!

Another signature of mine is flower arrangements. I love having my apartment filled with flowers, but due to high costs I often will wait for an occasion to buy. My birthday is the ultimate occasion.

I was hoping to make it to Greece this year, but unfortunately that's not happening. As an alternative, I'm feeling very inspired by the above tablescape. I'd love to be able to order a few evil eye paperweights or ornaments for party favors, break out my blue and white china, and try to be as festive as possible. 

I'd love to treat myself to a fun party dress, but it's in the budget cards right now. In a dream world, I would get the Morning Glory Molly Moorkamp dress I've been obsessing over, but I have a fabulous maxi white eyelet dress (seen above) that is a great alternative. 

Any tips on virtual celebrations?

ARS xx

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