PopSugar

Come Party With Me: Housewarming Party - Invite

partysugar — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 10:15:23 -0700

Hunting for a new house, packing everything you own, and moving is seriously exhausting. However, once you are settled into your new space, consider hosting a housewarming party. Think of the housewarming like a reward for the move.

Invite friends and family members over for a tour and tapas. Introduce them to your place while tantalizing their tastebuds with delicious bites. Start by selecting a date and sending invitations. To learn how I made these simple, stylish invites, read more.

To make a similar invite you will need the following supplies:

colored paper
colored cardstock
scissors
glue
satin ribbon
single hole punch
a key
pencil
computer and printer

To assemble the invite:

Create a new document in Microsoft Word. Insert a text box on the left hand side of the page. Fill the box with the details of your party. I used the font Bell MT in size 12 to write this message:

Although our address is new,
the door is always open for friends like you!

Please join us in celebrating our new home.
Stop by for a tour and tapas on
Saturday July 19, 2008
6:00 pm – 10 pm

Sean & Elena
45 Main Street
San Francisco, CA 94104

Please add our new address to your records.

On the other side of the page insert another small square shaped text box. Write home sweet home inside the box (I used Lucida Handwriting). Directly above the square, insert a triangle to form the outline of a house.

Print out on plain white paper. Check for grammar and spelling mistakes. Once satisfied with the text, print out on the colored paper.

Cut the invite down to size and mount on the cardstock. Set aside.
Cut out the little house.
With the pencil, trace the outline of the key onto a piece of paper. Cut out the shape, so you have a paper key.

Punch a hole in the top of the key and the triangle of the house.
Slide the ribbon through and tie a small knot.

Glue to the top of the invite, slide into an envelope, and send.

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Housewarming Party Invite: Step by Step

partysugar — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 08:38:01 -0700

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Come Party With Me: Hoedown - Invite

partysugar — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 11:15:37 -0700

Recently one of my girlfriends moved out of the city to the countryside. Her new home has (drum roll please) a barn! I've been waiting all my life to host a Western-style hoedown in an authentic barn and she's agreed to let me plan one instead of hosting a housewarming party.

Think cowboy boots, bluegrass, and barbecued ribs. The invites take their inspiration from the classic, all-American bandanna. To learn how I made them, read more.

The following supplies are needed to make similar invitations:

colored cardstock
fun scissors (I used pinking sheers)
glue
bandanna print image (I downloaded mine from Martha Stewart)

To assemble the invite:

Start by dragging the bandanna motif into a new Photoshop file that is 3.5 inches by 5 inches.
Shrink the motif down. Copy and paste the motif to create a background layer of bandanna. Arrange in an attractive pattern, flipping some of the images upside down.
Insert a text box and write out the details of the party. I used the font Chalkboard in size 12 bold to write:

Yee- Haw!
You’re Invited to a
Boot-Scooting Hoedown

Saturday, October 18
Barbecue @ 5
Band begins @ 730

Krys & Emily's Barn
Petaluma, CA

attire: blue jeans & boots
rsvp: 415.555.5555

Change the font color to match the color of your cardstock.
Print out on white paper and check for mistakes.
Once satisfied with the look and feel of the invite, print on nice white paper.
Use the sheering scissors to cut the invite down to size.
Glue to the cardstock.
Cut the cardstock down to size with the fun scissors.
Slide into an envelope and send.

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Fragrance Review: Fresh Citron de Vigne Eau de Parfum

BellaSugarUK — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 07:30:00 -0800

New from Fresh is a three-part, intoxicating, lemony and sweet collection called Citron de Vigne - and when I say intoxicating, I mean literally. The scent was inspired by Veuve Clicquot's Grande Dame Champagne. Alina Roytberg, co-founder of Fresh, was invited to Reims, France for a tour of the grounds. It was there where she fell in love with the aroma of the grapes, corks and vineyards.

Upon her return, she and partner Lev Glazman captured her memories in a bottle. Lev cleverly concocted a pinot noir accord as the heart of the eau de parfum and mixed it with notes of neroli, bitter orange, pink grapefruit, sandalwood, jasmine tea leaves, lemongrass, pachouli and amber. The result is a crisp, fresh and sparking unisex scent.

The Citron de Vigne scent is also available in candle and bar soap forms (perfect for housewarming or hostess gifts). Everything is available at Fresh stores or online and can of course be shipped overseas. For prices, pictures and details about the amazing candle and soap, read more.

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Citron de Vigne Eau de Parfum (£47.50) for 100ml.
Citron de Vigne Candle (£32) is a lead-free candle encased in a glass votive and burns for up to 50 hours.
Citron de Vigne Oval Soap (£9.50) is a triple milled, shea butter enriched soap that comes hand-wrapped in kimono-inspired paper, accented with a semi-precious aventurine stone.

DearSugar Needs Your Help: Should I Forgive My Friend For Betraying Me?

DearSugar — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 09:00:00 -0700

DearSugar and Should I Forgive Shanda need your help. Her friend, who is in a delicate emotional state, betrayed her. Although she knows her intentions were not malicious, she's not sure how or if she should forgive her, so weigh in and tell her what you'd do.

Dear Sugar,

I met a guy about four years ago and knew almost right away that he was not boyfriend material. However, we shared a strong physical attraction and have maintained a casual relationship ever since. It has worked out well for us simply because we did not expect anything more from each other. For various reasons and despite a handful of attempts, we hadn’t seen each other in close to a year. On a whim last Friday, we met for dinner and had wonderful conversation, and I left feeling surprisingly elated, though I still knew he and I would never be anything serious. He called me the next afternoon and invited me out to his friend’s housewarming party that night. I had already made plans with a girlfriend of mine (who doesn't get out much) but we decided to go together.

My girlfriend just had a precious little girl about six months ago and will also be finalizing her divorce in a couple of months due to the discovery that her husband was cheating on her throughout her entire marriage. Her life got turned upside down, but I have been by her side while she’s been picking up the pieces. She's an intelligent, confident, wonderful friend who has had the unfortunate displeasure of marrying a man who made her question her entire self-esteem and life.

Back to the housewarming party. We were having a great time, and by the end of the night, since we were in no condition to drive, we decided to sleep over - that is, until I turned the corner and saw my girlfriend sitting on my guy friend's lap with her shirt up. She got up and started to mumble something to me, but I was already out the door. She called the next day full of apologies, telling me how that was the most awful thing she’s ever done to a friend, how embarrassed she is, and how I mean more to her than any "stupid guy." While I truly believe she did not have malicious intentions and understand she's lonely, I don't really feel that's an excuse for what she did.

It was a simple decision for me to say goodbye to my guy friend (who also had a lengthy excuse list), but given the reason for the failure of her marriage, how could she do that to a best friend? How do I even begin to forgive her? How can I ever trust her again? I am at a complete loss of how to handle this.

Source

The How-To Lounge: Declining an Invitation

DearSugar — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 08:00:00 -0800

Sometimes you just don't want to go to happy hour with a friend or to a co-worker's housewarming party. Maybe the location is inconvenient or perhaps you just don't feel like making the effort, either way, all you want to do is refuse. Unfortunately most of us end up going anyway because we just can't say "no." Guilt and obligation can be brutal, but it's important to learn how to politely decline invitations, otherwise you can really run yourself ragged and end up resenting your friends. To get some great tips, read more

First of all, let the person know that you won't be going. It's far less rude to say no then to just not respond at all.
Give as much notice as possible. It's far better to be the first to decline than the tenth.
If you decline, try to make an effort to attend your friend's next invitation. If the issue of not going gets pressed, acknowledge her disappointment but don't dwell on it.
If the invitation is for a formal event like an engagement party or shower, it's a nice gesture to send a gift if you won't be attending. I don't personally love this particular bit of etiquette, but it will show the invitee that you were thinking of them even though you weren't there.
If you were planning on going, but at the last minute had a change of heart or weren't feeling up for it, it's okay to say so. I've done so before, and though your friends will be bummed out, they'll usually understand.
In some cases backing out at the last minute will result in a serious tongue lashing - we all have those friends, so sometimes a little white lie is in order. Your friends, family, and coworkers will notice if you start to make a habit of this, only do this in cases of desperation!

What are your tips when it comes to declining an invitation? Please share them in the comments section below.

Source

Pop Watch: Skins, Episode 5 "Chris"

PopSugarUK — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 02:00:00 -0700

Now this is the main Skins ep I've been looking forward to. It's no secret that Chris is my favourite character in the show and Joe Dempsie plays him brilliantly. So lets begin... It was going to happen eventually – Chris is kicked out of college and so he can no longer live in his student flat. Needless to say that this isn't good, but permanently rose-tinted-glasses-wearing Chris doesn't really get the gravity of the situation. Jal wakes him up and makes a deal that she'll start saying "Yes" more often, if he stops saying "F**k it" and giving up.

Next he goes to a slightly loopy and swearing-averse careers advisor and goes through a bundle of jobs in a really amusing montage, eventually kind-of getting the hang of not cursing by putting a P at the beginning of every swear-word. Which was very funny. When he meets up with the guys, (Anwar now has Maxxie's fringe, obviously under the guidance of mental-Sketch) he notices the 'Tony, Sid and Michelle problem', showing he (like Cassie) notices things no-one thinks he does.

We also saw the fallout of Sid and Michelle being together – Cassie got really angry and slapped Sid. Hard. Poor Cassie. So now the rest of the group know what's going on there, and Jal feels left out by her 'best friend' Michelle not telling her. Chris, being the lovely guy he is, takes her out of the party to talk and calm down. And...

For more of my thoughts / recap, just read more

...they kiss!! Hurrah! It was clear something was going to happen between them, and I'm pretty behind this pairing. What do you think of them as a couple?

Anyway, so Chris needs to get a permanent job. He goes to an interview and is asked to "sell me this cup of tea". This was definitely a highlight of the episode, where Chris sets fire to his interviewer's tie so that he needs the tea to put out the fire – genius! He gets the Estate Agent position, and has one of the most annoying co-workers ever (we've all been there in the past). Chris's 'work outfit' is sweet, with those massive bright shoes sticking out of his trousers, and wearing his scarf fashioned into a tie. He's assigned to show the worst flat ever to potential buyers... and seeing as he doesn't think he'll sell it, he decides to move in.

After all his hard work Jal rewards him, and they cement their new relationship in his new (but un-paid-for) flat. How long until all this blows up in his face? Aha! Cassie arrives. She's gone slightly mad due to the Michelle/Sid thing, and couples being all around. Obviously the new Jal/Chris pairing does not cheer her up.

Chris and Jal have a big in-depth chat where Chris filled her in a little more on his sad back-story. He used to escape as a kid by reading "The Hungry Caterpillar" over and over inside his bedcovers (incidentally, what an excellent book...). His lack of progress in his job is getting too much for him, and Jal counters his opinion ("Chris, you're not a f**k-up"), giving him the advice to try and sell the house he used to imagine living in when he was little. And he gets good at his job... finally!

Oh no. Then Angie arrives. She's back! With a bob. And flirting incessantly with him. Chris is being pretty good though (for Chris) and confesses to his careers advisor over the phone the effect Angie has on him. Of course the careers advisor has him on speaker phone and Cassie is there. Ohhhhh dear. Of course crazy Cassie tells Jal (because she's crazy, trying to wreck everything, taking cocaine... ) and throws a housewarming party for Chris.

Another very amusing moment came up next, where Anwar revealed he now not only has the Maxxie-fringe, but blonde hair too, and looks much like his blonde buddy in his new cardi. Their faces when they were looking in the mirror together were priceless! Meanwhile Jal won't answer Chris's calls, so Chris (using Chris-logic) has sex with Angie, but stops. Jal arrives at the party halfway through and realises he was with Angie in the bathroom as his shirt's inside out, so she leaves again. This is exhausting!

Predictably, Chris gets fired as he was living in that tiny flat without permission and trashed it. Then he and Cassie have a heart to heart... a rather dark heart to heart.

Elsewhere, Tony's re-learning to swim with his dad in a childrens class. Chris goes to see him, which seems to put everything in perspective. Oh, and Jal's pregnant. But the main problem (aka Angie) is leaving, and lets Chris stay in her flat. Chris invites Jal to his new flat and tried to explain why he thinks he messes everything up for himself. "It's easy when you've got nothing, 'cos nothing can be taken away from you."

And the thought I'll end this ep with is – Chris loves Jal. Hurrah!

That was such a great episode. I'm not loving insane Cassie though, so I hope that gets sorted fairly sharpish, and I hope Sketch... stops being so sketchy. What did you think? Do you love Chris as much as I do? And how's the Jal pregnancy thing going to work out? There's not many episodes to go now...

(Images courtesy of Channel 4)

Come Party With Me: Housewarming Party - Drinks

partysugar — Thu, 19 Jul 2007 14:28:39 -0700

Much like the christening of a boat, to start the celebration off at your housewarming party, pop open a bottle of champagne and invite everyone to join you in a toast to your future in the new house. Guests can enjoy the glass as you show them around the space. Once the game night portion of the party gets started, offer an assortment of beers, wines, and a big bowl of "player's punch." Serve the watermelon punch in a pitcher because it will be easier to pour while playing games. Also be sure to pour the drinks in to real glasses (you registered for them so might as well use them!). A nice, light red - such as Beaujolais - or a crisp white unoaked Chardonnay will pair nicely with the pizzas. For those who do not drink alcohol, sparkling water on the rocks spiked with fresh watermelon puree and slices of cucumber or mint makes a festive and refreshing mocktail. You'll find the player's punch recipe after the break, so read more

Watermelon Punch
From Instyle magazine

6 cups watermelon juice (to make, purée fresh seedless watermelon)
One 3 oz. can frozen limeade
6 cups vodka
1 liter chilled club soda
Watermelon wedges

In a serving bowl, combine watermelon juice, limeade and vodka.
Refrigerate until cold.
Then add ice and chilled club soda; garnish with small watermelon wedges.

Serves 12-15.

Print recipe with images | without images