thirtieth birthday party

A few weeks ago, my friends and I hosted a thirtieth birthday party for our friend. 

The party was at my house, so the table was set with hand me down china. My mom got ahold of a big set of Spode Blue Room Collection 'Willow' china from my grandmother so that we could all match. This was especially for my friend Allison, who says we eat on a different set of china each time she comes to my house.

My sister-in-law was one of the hostesses (she did everything), and she made this cake for our friend, who loves monograms and prints. Her bakery's blog is here. 

Allison made a special punch that went perfectly with my punch bowl. 

Our friend enjoyed her party, and she makes 30 look fun :)

pink punch (T's favorite)

This is the punch bowl that I inherited from my friend's family (story here). 

And the beautiful glasses. 

First, I added half of a quart (a pint) of raspberry sherbet. Sometimes I just run warm water over the bottom and put the whole thing in, but this time I decided not to be lazy. 

The punch gets mixed together better this way.

I poured in about a cup to a cup and a half of lemonade, made with powdered mix. You could also dump in lemonade mix first, stir it into soft drink to dissolve, then add sherbet. It's actually tastier that way, in my opinion. 

I poured in half of a two liter (one liter) of Sierra Mist. I chose this brand because my SIL steers clear of high fructose corn syrup.

I added my ice ring.

Then, I placed frozen, sliced limes and frozen cranberries in the bowl for more decoration. 

A pretty pink punch! We served this punch at our cookie exchanges and at my new year's eve get together.

I am certainly not the first person to make this very simple punch, but I threw it together when I had these ingredients on hand, and my SIL liked it so much that I've made it again and again.

Pink Punch

2/3 cup lemonade mix + water

2 liters Sierra Mist

1 quart raspberry sherbet

Scoop out half of the sherbet into a punch bowl. Pour in half of the prepared lemonade and half of the bottle of Sierra Mist. Stir. Garnish with frozen fruit. Refresh the punch bowl as needed with the remaining ingredients. 

This recipe is a starting point for all kinds of variations. What are your favorite types of punch? Punch ingredients?

how to make an ice ring

I really enjoy making punch for parties and showers, and my favorite special touch is the ice ring. Not only does the ice ring keep the punch cold without watering it down, but it also dresses up the punch. 

I got this beautiful punch bowl and cups from my best friend; it belonged to her grandmother, and her mom was going to get rid of it because neither Lindsay nor her mom had room for it. I stopped that pretty quickly, "don't give it away; give it to me!!!" I love punch and punch bowls and have not inherited one; the other punch bowl I have used my mom bought at Goodwill because I was so sad that I didn't have one for our first annual cookie exchange. 

I usually use slices of lighter colored fruit, like lemons and limes, and a smaller, contrasting color fruit, like cranberries. I have also used pineapple slices and cherries quite a few times. 

Of course, consider the colors and flavors in the punch you are making, but I don't find that the fruit I put in changes the flavor much, except if you have leftover punch and drink it the next day. 

 

These Tupperware gelatin mold containers (new and similar) are great for making ice rings because they have lids and are lightweight. Mine is a hand me down from my grandmother. Bundt pans work just as well if you have plenty of flat freezer space and are not having to carry the ice ring with you somewhere.

After placing the fruit in the mold, I pour in lemonade. I filled these just enough to hold the fruit together without making the fruit float. You could also use water, which shows off the fruit better, but I wanted to use a flavor that was in my punch.

I have used ice rings a couple of weeks after making them and a couple of hours after making them. Why not make it easy on yourself and have your ice rings prepped well in advance? 

I run hot water over the bottom of the pan to loosen the ice ring, making sure to keep a hand ready to catch it when it slides out. 

The ice ring is ready to be gently placed in the punch. I usually make the punch in the bowl then add in the ice ring. Although it's easy to drop it in and splash out the punch this way, it's difficult to stir up the ingredients once the ice ring is in. I also added frozen lime slices and cranberries to make it prettier. 

I will post the recipe for this punch tomorrow.

Which fruits do you think are the prettiest for decorating punch?

glitz and menswear

This is the second of two looks I've posted with the fabulous Lyra necklace that I won from Loren Hope and Monkee's of Raleigh. See the first look here.

I've been reading Social Primer for as long as I've been reading blogs. I fell in love with the line when I watched a video of K. Cooper Ray talking about starting his brand, and my love grew deeper when I saw debutantes in cummerbunds and the video from the SP Smoking Winter Formal 2013 show. I just can't let the boys have all the fun. A few months ago, I ordered this cummerbund set during a flash sale; it was supposed to be for B, but before it even arrived, I knew I wanted to wear it first.

My mom was a lot more high fashion as a young woman than I am; she wore this St. John skirt thirty or so years ago with a matching top. The skirt is proof that vanity sizing exists: before I got it tailored, it fit like a 6 or 8 despite a size 12 label. I asked my tailor to reattach the label since it reads "made in USA."

This new year's eve, I'm planning a casual night at home with a few friends. Of course, there will be punch.

Loren Hope Lyra necklace // HMD tank from Mom // Social Primer cummerbund set // HMD St. John skirt from Mom (similar) // Christian Louboutin heels (similar)

Charlotte Christmas party

I went to Charlotte this weekend to visit my friends and to attend their Christmas party. It was wonderful to spend time with Lindsay and Tom! I enjoyed seeing their/our old friends again and meeting their new friends.  

They put a lot of time into planning the party and preparing all of the food. Everything was great!

I used a special mold to make a Christmas ice ring. Can you see the Christmas tree on the top?

I was happy to see this button tree that I made them last year on display. Their real tree was beautiful, too!

Do you host or do you have a friend who hosts a Christmas party each year? What are your December traditions?