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Come Party With Me: Pool Party - Invites

partysugar — Mon, 09 Jul 2007 12:21:38 -0700

Although the 4th of July has come and gone, summer is here to stay (well at least for the next 2 months!), making it the perfect time to throw a pool party. This week I'm all about bikinis, water balloons, and blended cocktails, so come party with me by following my pool party plan. A pool party is a "the more the merrier" type of party where you can invite people from different groups of friends to come together to enjoy the glorious weather and cool off in the water. When inviting a lot of people to any event, keep the invites as simple as possible. A chic flyer invite with images of water are ideal because they are easily mass produced and can be sent though regular email. To see how I made my invites, read more

To make an invitation similar to the one seen here, you will need:

images of pools
image of girl in bikini
computer & printer or email

To assemble an invitation similar to the one seen here:

Start by finding several images of pools that you find pleasing to the eye. Drag and drop them into either Photoshop or Microsoft Word. Arrange them into an interesting collage.
Insert text boxes with the details of the party. For mine I used Arial Rounded MT bold in sizes 18 and 14. Here is what I wrote:

The time has come to dive into summer!
Please join PartySugar
in cooling off this
Saturday July 14th, 2007
by taking a dip in the pool.

2:30 in the afternoon
PartySugar’s
Grandfather’s House
Walnut Creek, CA
directions to follow

bikinis & board shorts requested
rsvp 415.555.5555
Place the image of the girl in the desired space.
Ask a friend or family member to proofread the invitation. Once you are satisfied, save to your desktop and send in an email to everyone you know. Be sure to tell friends that they can forward the invite on to more people.

Are you hosting a pool party this summer?! Please share the details of your invitation below!

Come Party With Me: Pool Party - Invite

partysugar — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 10:15:44 -0700

Two of my girlfriends are celebrating their half birthdays this month, so I'm planning a pool party to honor the occasion. It's going to be a fabulous fiesta filled with sun, swimming, and serious eats. All this week I'll feature my best pool-party ideas so feel free to use them to host your own perfect pool party. When hosting a party in the Summer, it's best to give your guests an advance notice of the event, so send invitations as soon as you have the date selected. To learn how I made the easy invites seen here, read more.

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

image of a pool
colored cardstock
scissors
glue
computer and printer

To make the invite:

Drag the image into Photoshop or Microsoft word. Insert a text box on top of the image and write out the details of the party. For my invite, I used the font Dakota in size 14 to write this message:

It’s time to jump into summer!
Please help us celebrate
the half birthdays of
Emily and Katie

Saturday, July 19, 2008
2:00 in the afternoon

Katie’s parents' house,
Petaluma, CA
regrets only 415.555.5555

Check for grammar and spelling invites. Print out on plain paper and cut down to size.

Mount on the colored cardstock and cut down to size.

For this type of invite there are several sending options: you can slide into an addressed envelope, upload the invite image to your favorite online invitation service (evite, pingg), or add as an attachment to a regular email.

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Source

Pool Party Invite: Step by Step

partysugar — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 09:23:17 -0700

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Come Party With Me: Anniversary - Menu

partysugar — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 09:00:17 -0700

On Saturday, Aug. 22, my parents will celebrate their 33rd year of marriage. I hate to say it, but I've never thrown them an anniversary party - until now! I've invited over a bunch of my parents' friends for a pool party and barbecue. The event will be festive, but casual, so I'm selecting a menu that reflects this vibe.

Things will kick off with mini peach and pesto pizzas. For the main course, I'll serve what they had at their wedding: chicken, grilled and stuffed with fresh tomatoes and basil. A huge helping of antipasto pasta salad is the ideal side because it serves a crowd and can be made in advance. For these scrumptious recipes, read more.

Mini Peach and Pesto Pizzas
From Every Day With Rachael Ray

Ingredients

1 clove garlic
1 cup loosely packed fresh basil
1/2 cup pecans
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
Salt and pepper
One 13.8-oz tube refrigerated pizza dough
2 tomatoes, sliced into 1/2-inch wedges
2 small peaches, sliced into 1/2-inch wedges

Directions

In a food processor, chop the garlic. Add 1/2 cup basil, the pecans, 1/2 cup olive oil, the parmesan, vinegar, salt and pepper and puree into pesto.
Preheat the oven to 400°. Roll out the pizza dough on a floured surface into a 14-inch square.
Cut into 8 squares and prick each one several times with a fork. Place on a lightly floured baking sheet and brush with olive oil. Bake until golden, 12 minutes. Let cool.
Spread 1 teaspoon of the pesto on each square and top with overlapping tomato and peach slices. Slice the remaining 1/2 cup basil into thin strips and sprinkle on the pizza. Season with salt.

Serves 8.

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Grilled Chicken Stuffed With Basil and Tomato
From Whole Living

Ingredients

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (about 6 ounces each)
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
Freshly ground pepper
2 garlic cloves minced
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
12 fresh basil leaves, plus more for garnish
2 beefsteak tomatoes, cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices

Directions

Butterfly chicken breasts: Put halves on a cutting board, smooth sides down, with the pointed ends facing you. Starting on one long side, cut breasts almost in half horizontally (stop about 1/2 inch before reaching the opposite side). Open cut breasts like a book.
Sprinkle each piece all over with 1/8 teaspoon salt; season with pepper. Transfer to a plate, and coat both sides with garlic and oil. Let stand 30 minutes.
Heat a grill or grill pan until medium-hot. Place 3 basil leaves on the bottom half of each opened chicken breast; top each with 2 slices tomato. Fold over other half of chicken breast, and secure with two toothpicks or short skewers.
Grill chicken breasts, turning once, until golden brown on both sides and no longer pink in the center, about 15 minutes.
Place on a clean serving platter; garnish with basil. If desired, remove toothpicks or skewers before serving.

Serves 4.

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Antipasto Pasta
From Bon Appétit

Ingredients

12 ounces linguine
3 tablespoons olive oil
4 large (5-inch-diameter) portobello mushrooms, stemmed, dark gills removed, caps sliced 1/4 inch thick
6 ounces 1/8-inch-thick slices Genoa salami, cut into thin strips
1 cup sliced vegetables and 6 tablespoons marinade from 16-ounce jar antipasto salad with olives
2 cups grated Asiago cheese, divided
2 cups chopped fresh basil, divided

Directions

Cook pasta in large pot of boiling salted water until just tender but still firm to bite, stirring occasionally. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup pasta cooking liquid.
Heat oil in same pot over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms; sauté until tender and brown, about 6 minutes.
Add salami; toss 30 seconds.
Add pasta, 1/2 cup cooking liquid, sliced vegetables, reserved marinade, and 1 1/2 cups cheese; toss until liquid thickens and coats pasta, about 3 minutes. Mix in 1 1/2 cups basil.
Season with pepper. Transfer to bowl. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup basil; serve with 1/2 cup cheese.

Serves 4.

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Conventional Wisdom: Ask a Lawyer

TresSugar — Mon, 11 May 2009 08:30:00 -0700

I got out of a three-year relationship about two years ago. I have since dated half of LA. I'm getting wary of dating. Rarely have I been on a date where both of us liked the other - either I get interested or the guy does - and rejecting someone is about as much fun as being rejected.

I am starting to see a pattern: the guys will come on strong and chase me until I resist and when I kind of seem to get interested, the guys just vanish. Whether I tell them I'm interested or not interested - they vanish. I'm at a point where I'm too scared of going on dates for fear I'm going to scare people away. What do I do?

- Almost Too Scared to Date

To hear what a lawyer has to say, read more.

Dear Too Scared,

Your situation is all-too-common among both sexes in the dysfunctional modern dating pool. Though I'm happily married now, I can confirm from very recent experience in the land of lovelorn singlehood that this dynamic/syndrome you are describing likely has less to do with your particular approach and more with your commitment to the idea of DATING with a capital "D."

There's something about the whole ritual, with all of its attendant expectations and conventions that seems to encourage a "chase is better than the catch" mentality among those who abide strictly by its tired protocols. More importantly, my experience with serial DATERS is that they often tend to be looking for the next best thing as a matter of course. They're just DATING with an idle hope that maybe it will just click with someone. But a DATE, in my experience, is a pretty lousy forum for actually getting to know someone and to see if you have actual compatibility, mutual attraction and chemistry.

My main piece of advice, therefore, would be to modify your expectations about what it is that you're doing, and to try to look for Mr. Right with a changed modality. If you are looking for a DATE, you are ultimately hoping to find someone to offer you love, companionship, nooky and sexual fulfillment, support, trust, entertainment, and everything else that comes along with finding someone awesome to share the world with, but much later and down the line, after you have made sure that he meets the sniff test and that you enjoy being with him. These are all things you can explore with guys in different social contexts that aren't so freighted with expectations, insecurity, performance anxiety, and all-around awkwardness as with the dreaded DATE.

So the approach, which is a tired cliché of the syndicated advice columnist for a reason: get involved with a group of people who share your interest in something (music, arts, book group, hiking club, discussion forum, team sport). Join an organized activity of like-minded people. And start hanging out with this group more and more (assuming they're not a bunch of weirdos and misfits that you don't enjoy spending time with).

See if there isn't someone in this broader group that you start to establish a friendship or rapport with (or who you find yourself attracted to, or scoping, or who seems to be attracted to or scoping you). And try as much as possible to avoid thinking of this person as a potential DATE, but rather, as a potential COMPANION (we'll leave it ambiguous for now).

Next, see if you can start to modulate your contact with this potential COMPANION. Maybe you invite him to some other group activity that you participate in. Maybe a party, or a BBQ, or whatever. Seth Rogen's character in Superbad might suggest inviting him to a pumpkin patch, but you get the idea.

You're ramping up towards an outing that we might typically call a DATE, but while you're at it, you're gathering all sorts of intel about this fellow, his likes, his dislikes, if he listens to cool music or butt rock like Nickelback and Hinder, whether he's more country or more rock and roll, if he's funny without trying to be (DATES are a notoriously embarrassing forum for us guys to try too hard to be funny, and enduring a DATE can often feel like watching some stand-up also-ran on Comedy Central).

Finally, if you are still interested in this COMPANION-cum-DATE, you'll identify an opportunity for just you and he to go do something together. If you can find something in the context of your initial meeting (say you are in that hiking club, then you suggest heading out to somewhere cool for a walk). You are making that DATE move, but in that context, it may feel a little less DATEY.

Significantly, you have already been around this person enough that, if he is interested, you don't need to use the awkward format of the DATE to find out stuff about the guy. You already found out all that stuff at the pumpkin patch. And if he has come along on the hike and made it through the preliminaries, one assumes, you may just find yourself a little more in sync, and less wary of one another. Because a DATE automatically has low expectations.

An ambiguous outing that feels less like a DATE and more like two people who are starting to enjoy spending time together? It's a space that you're likely to be much more comfortable with, and, just maybe, is less likely to generate that weird "catch me if you can" vibe that seems so endemic to DATING.

Best of luck in any case,
A lawyer

Click here to find out more about Conventional Wisdom and here to submit a question.

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Tips For Planning a Bachelorette Party

TresSugar — Thu, 07 May 2009 04:00:00 -0700

If you've been called on to plan a bachelorette party, you probably want to make it very memorable for the bride to be. But making the fun effortless requires a lot of effort beforehand! Here are some tips on how to prepare a night out on the town or a weekend getaway to celebrate a loved one's impending marriage!

Get the bride's expectations regarding: location, guest list, exotic dancers (are they banned or encouraged?).
Set a date: Send an email to the guests with a couple suggested dates, and settle on one that works for most.
Do some research: If you're traveling, find an affordable hotel and think about keeping prices down by sharing rooms. Think about calling a club you plan to attend ahead of time, so you can get on the guest list.
Set a budget: Based on what you found, estimate the cost. Make sure everyone is on the same page. Talking money can be awkward, but it's much better to be upfront so everyone can be carefree later.
Pool your resources for perks: Does your friend's uncle own a restaurant? Does your co-worker own a limo service? Call in any favors.
Make the plans: Send out invitations. If it's a getaway, send an email itinerary with all the crucial information and include links for more information.
Get people excited before the day: Forward fun reviews about the hotel you're staying in. Email an online slideshow of pictures of the bride and her friends throughout the years.
Have fun! Once the party begins get everyone in the right spirit by enjoying the party yourself!

Source

Come Party With Me: March Madness - Menu

partysugar — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 09:00:41 -0700

When I was a cheerleader in college, I preferred to dance at the fast-paced basketball games over the long, hot football games. There's something so exciting about basketball that makes it a fabulous sport to follow. Thanks to the office pool, this year, I've gotten very into March Madness, the whirlwind tournament that selects the nation's best college basketball team. I'm so into it that I've decided to invite the Sugar girls over for a viewing party. I'll make an assortment of delectable appetizers that highlight some of Spring's most sought-after ingredients. This menu is sophisticated, yet fun.

Mushroom quesadillas with feta and Monterey Jack are so filling, guests won't notice they're meatless. Pancetta-wrapped asparagus is a crowd-pleasing modern day classic. Six-vegetable Spring rolls with carrot-ginger dipping sauce are crunchy and delicious. Finally, chicken Parmesan meatballs with Caesar slaw takes two Italian-American favorites and translates them into finger foods. For these wonderful recipes, read more.

Mushroom Quesadillas
From Food Network

Ingredients

3 tablespoons butter, plus more as needed
10 ounces white mushrooms, sliced
1/2 to 1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro leaves
4 (10-inch) flour tortillas
8 ounces grated Monterey jack cheese, about 2 1/2 cups
2 ounces crumbled feta cheese, about 1/2 cup
Optional garnishes: Sour cream, cilantro sprigs, salsa

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.
Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms, shake the pan to distribute them evenly in the pan, and then cook without moving until the mushrooms begin to brown, about 5 minutes.
Do not salt. Add the remaining tablespoon butter along the sides of the pan if the pan seems very dry. Toss the mushrooms, and continue to cook until nicely browned, about 2 to 3 minutes more.
Season mushrooms with the chili powder and salt and cook 1 minute more. Stir in the cilantro and set aside.
Toast the tortillas directly on a medium gas burner, turning occasionally until slightly blistered on each side. If you have an electric burner, do this in a dry cast iron skillet.
Place the tortillas on the prepared baking sheet. Spread the jack cheese on one half of each tortilla, top with some of the mushrooms, and then sprinkle with the feta. Fold the other half of the tortilla over the filling, to make a half moon shape. Lay another sheet of foil over the quesadillas.
Bake until the cheese melts, about 12 minutes. Serve whole or sliced into wedges, with optional garnishes.

Serves 4.

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Pancetta-Wrapped Asparagus With Citronette
From Food and Wine

Ingredients

2 pounds medium asparagus
1/2 pound very thinly sliced pancetta
Finely grated zest and juice of 1 orange
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper
2 teaspoons chopped thyme

Directions

Tightly wrap each asparagus spear in a slice of pancetta and refrigerate until chilled, about 20 minutes.
Light a grill or preheat a grill pan. In a small bowl, stir the orange zest and juice with the mustard and olive oil; season with salt and pepper.
Grill the asparagus over moderate heat, turning often, until they are just tender and the pancetta is crisp, about 5 minutes total.
Transfer the asparagus to a platter and drizzle with the dressing. Sprinkle with the thyme and serve.

Serves 6.

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Spring Rolls With Carrot-Ginger Dipping Sauce
From Martha Stewart

Ingredients

6 rice-paper wrappers
2 cups radish sprouts ( 1/2 ounce)
1 red beet, trimmed and thinly sliced crosswise
1 medium carrot, peeled and julienned
1 cucumber, julienned
1 red bell pepper, stem and seeds removed, julienned
3/4 cup coarsely grated daikon
3 medium carrots, peeled and coarsely chopped
1 small shallot, quartered
2 tablespoons coarsely grated peeled fresh ginger
1/4 cup rice-wine vinegar (not seasoned)
2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
1/4 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
Pinch each of coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup water

Directions

Make the spring rolls: Soak one rice-paper wrapper in a large bowl of hot water until pliable. Transfer to a work surface.
Place one-sixth of the sprouts, beet slices, carrot, cucumber, bell pepper, and daikon on the wrapper, toward the bottom. Fold ends in and roll tightly to enclose filling. Repeat with remaining ingredients to make 5 more rolls.
Make the dipping sauce: Puree carrots, shallot, ginger, vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil, salt, and pepper in a food processor until smooth.
With machine running, add vegetable oil and then water through the feed tube in a slow, steady stream. Serve sauce with spring rolls.

Serves 6.

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Chicken Parm Meatballs With Caesar Slaw
From Every Day With Rachael Ray

Ingredients

2 pounds ground chicken
3/4 cup grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1 large egg
3 tablespoons tomato paste
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
Flat-leaf parsley, chopped
Fresh basil, chopped or torn
Salt and pepper
12 bocconcini (mini fresh mozzarella balls)
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Juice of 1 lemon
2 teaspoons anchovy paste
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
2 hearts romaine lettuce, shredded
1 head radicchio, shredded

Directions

Preheat a grill or grill pan to medium.
In a large bowl, combine the chicken with 1/2 cup parmigiano-reggiano, the bread crumbs, egg, tomato paste, two-thirds of the garlic, the parsley and basil; season with salt and pepper.
Divide the mixture into 4 equal portions, then form each into 3 meatballs: Press 1 bocconcini into each meatball, then pinch the meat to seal. Coat the meatballs with 2 tablespoons oil, then thread onto skewers. Cover and grill, turning, until firm and cooked through, about 18 minutes.
In a large bowl, combine the lemon juice, anchovy paste, Worcestershire sauce, remaining garlic and 1/4 cup parmigiano-reggiano. Whisk in the remaining 6 tablespoons olive oil. Add the lettuce and radicchio and toss. Serve with the meatballs.

Serves 4.

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Trespassing? Facebook and Google Spark Sneaky Pool Parties

CitizenSugar — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 06:00:37 -0700

It might be the terrible technological bratty kid of the marriage of technology and too much Summer free time - get a load of this trend: using Google Earth to pinpoint local houses with surreptitious swimming pools in the backyard, kids are then logging on to Facebook to poke their buddies into an impromptu and illegal pool party.

It's called "dipping" and pool owners are steaming mad. For one illicit swimfest event posted, invitations were sent to 500 users. Police say pool owners have woken up to find strange kids in the pool, come home from work to find their pools littered with beer cans - or worse. Police are trying to crack down on the trespassing pool crawls saying, “We are advising owners of swimming pools to be on their guard and extra vigilant. We would also warn prospective swimmers that using someone else’s pool is trespassing and therefore illegal.”

Does the tech-savvy prank cross the line from harmless fun to criminal mischief? Should networking sites be held responsible for invitations to illegal activity posted? Is the idea genius, even if it's not advisable?

Come Party With Me: Waterpark Party - Invite

partysugar — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 11:15:33 -0700

When I was little, one of the highlights of Summer was a day at the waterpark. This year I've decided to relive the memories by hosting a party at Waterworld USA in Concord, CA.

I'll invite a group of friends to join me for a day of fun at the aquatic park. Instead of eating at one of the park's overpriced restaurants, I'll pack a picnic of gourmet goodies.

Before I can plan the menu, I have to send the invitation. To see how I made these cool Popsicle-inspired invites, read more.

To make an invite similar to the one seen here you will need the following supplies:

colored cardstock
colored paper
scissors
glue
computer and printer

To assemble the invite:

Create a new document in Microsoft Word. Insert a rectangular text box on the left-hand side of the page. Remove the line and fill from the text box and write out the details of the party. I used the font Bradley Hand ITC TT-Bold in size 12 to write this message:

To stay nice and cool
We’ll be in the pool . . .

Relive your childhood by joining me for a day at the waterpark!

Saturday, August 2, 2008
Festivities start at Noon
Waterworld USA, Concord CA

RSVP: 415.513.9815
partysugar@sugarinc.com

Waterguns/balloons Welcome!

Print out on plain white paper and check for grammar and spelling mistakes. Once satisfied with the look and feel of the invite, print out on colored paper.

Cut out in the shape of a Popsicle.

Mount onto the cardstock with the glue. Cut down to size.
Cut out a long, thin stick and glue to the bottom of the Popsicle.
If desired, cut a bite out of the corner of the Popsicle.
Slide into an envelope and send.

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A Fab Wedding in Zihuatanejo, Mexico

FabSugar — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 15:00:22 -0700

I recently experienced my first destination wedding. And I don’t think any of my other friends' weddings will compare (sorry!). I was invited by the sister of the groom and it was in fun-but-hard-to-pronounce Zihuajanetejo, Mexico. The bride and groom chose this particular destination because they felt it's Mexico's best kept secret; they love the tropical surroundings and the quaint feel of the town. The closest friends, myself included, all stayed at this amazing house that the ceremony and party took place at as well. Cabin fever? No way, no how. The house can best be described as a luxurious tree house; everything was made out of wood, it spanned a whole cliff, hammocks and open air abound and an infinity pool overlooked the bay. It was, to say the least, fabulous.

Who: Pamela & Colin
Where: The Tree House, Zihuajanetejo, Mexico
When: May 2, 2008
What the bride wore: Sue Wong gown, Rene Caovilla shoes (the splurge) and her salsa after party dress was BCBG
What the bridesmaids wore: One wore a Nicole Miller dress and they both changed into Victoria's Secret dresses for the salsa after party. They swapped wearing orange and green for the reception then the party (cute idea, huh?)
What Fab wore: Check me and my friend out
Where to next for Pamela & Colin: Greece

The intimate ceremony of about 30 people was cozy and comfortable. Since the bride and groom come from mixed ethnic backgrounds they celebrated the union of all the cultures. It was such a site to witness overlooking the beautiful Mexican bay.

To hear more details about the fantasy wedding, read more.

The sweet ceremony and tropical cocktail reception - sangria margaritas anyone? - were just the beginning. The dinner was delish: frosty melon soup, Peruvian ceviche, pork tamales, red snapper machaca, and lots more. The dessert was just as lavish; the wedding cake was one layer mocha and chocolate, one layer mango and chocolate. As well, there was chocolate mousse, churros, and flaming Mexican coffee. And a candy bar! What fun for the little and big kids alike. The wedding colors were green and orange - so festive - and the candy bar was, too. Needless to say I had a tummyache by the end of the night (quick fix: a tequila shot!).

The bride and groom did an outfit change and performed a sexy salsa dance. Then we all danced the night away . . . I’ll spare you the excess tequila-induced details but it was quite the relaxing and invigorating wedding and vacation. And these pictures really help tell the story so enjoy!

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