Category Archives: Toasting

How-To: Bachelorette Welcome Bags + Hangover Kits

HELLO!

As you might of noticed, things on H&T have been a little quiet for the month of February so it’s good to be back!

The blogging break wasn’t intended but after spending all my time outside my day job consumed with other projects, events, speaking engagements, barre classes and most importantly, Maid of Honor duties for my sister’s wedding – I decided to take a much needed hiatus so I hope you’ll forgive my silence!

The good news is that I have a lot of exciting posts coming up for you. In case you were not following along on Instagram or Twitter – I just recently hosted and planned my sister’s bachelorette weekend in Charleston, South Carolina.

I plan to share in a series of posts all about the weekend with a full recap and how-to if you’re planning a bachelorette weekend of your own and especially one in Charleston!

First up, a closer look at the “Welcome to Charleston” bags I put together for all the bridesmaids and best babes that attended. These bags could be assembled to match any bachelorette weekend destination. They might also provide inspiration for wedding welcome bags too. I tried to keep in mind what the girls might need most over the weekend plus a few fun souvenirs to take home.

Below you will find links to everything I included in mine!

#1. The Bags

 I ordered 10 of these South Carolina Totes. They are reusable and great for the gym, groceries and as a tote, of course. (The banner seen below, I purchased here.)

#2. Custom Name Tags by Drafts & Crafts

I tied these on to each bag with gold ribbon from Wedding Paper Divas. I had them made with each’s girl’s name and then an extra one that read “The Bachelorette” for my sister.

#3. H&T Hangover Kits

  • Tempo Tonight – These all natural hangover pills are my newest go-to!  You take 2 pills before you have your first drink and two more once you get home. It works proactively against toxins and it’s safe to say that I got the girls hooked on them too after last weekend! Hangovers prevented. Do yourself and your body a favor and order a box now!
  • EOS lip balms – I don’t know about you but I always wake up with the driest lips.
  • Mini Bottle of Tums – for those next-day tummy aches.
  • Mini Nutella Packets – my sister’s favorite and who doesn’t like Nutella? Hungover or not.
  • Tic Tacs – to kill that morning breath.
  • Packets of Advil & Tylenol – pick your poison.

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Entertaining Finds

With the holidays now behind us and calendars finally starting to slow down, it’s safe to say that I’ve taken a little break from the entertaining myself. However, that certainly does not mean that I have stopped shopping online for inspiration for upcoming Spring get-togethers this year.

Today I’m sharing some of my entertaining finds over the past week – have any favorites? Send my way!

Sometimes I find myself completely inspired by one item and create an entire party or excuse to host (and toast) – whoops!

Happy Friday and to everyone who has a long weekend – enjoy!

Champs & Cookies Decorating Party

This time of year can be very overwhelming with holiday parties, gift exchanges and events galore (not to mention you still have to find time for Christmas shopping). It can also be a little daunting when you decide to play hostess to your own friends and family. This year, instead of hosting my favorite things party or big holiday party, I decided to put together a small “Champs & Cookies” get together at my house with the help of my good friend, Brie of Monumental Sweets.

This best part about this idea is that it can be a super last minute party to plan with friends and family and requires little-to-no prep work aside from the baking (thanks Brie!).

The concept was simple  – growing up, we both went to so many “cookie decorating” parties at school, friends’ houses and family’s that we decided to take this idea and make it a little more “grown up” (aka add toasting).

Brie took care of the sugar cookie recipe because she’s a pro – but you could also do this with break and bake dough too. We baked the cookies ahead of the time and used frosting, sprinkles and other toppings for decor. We set up an assembly line of sorts with plates, decorating stations and bubbly glasses. Full disclosure: my cookies did not turn out quite as pretty as the pro’s!

The champs was poured and N’SYNC + Justin Bieber + Michael Buble and a little Mariah Carey Christmas tunes played in the background on repeat (those are completely optional music choices although I would recommend them strongly).

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Workshop: Holiday Hostess Gift Ideas

Last weekend, I presented at DC’s Metropolitan Cooking & Entertaining Show as part of their entertaining and tasting workshops. The show is one of my favorite events and I’ve attended the past few years to see Food Network stars, sample delicious food and yes, attend workshops. It was so much fun being a part of it and such an honor to meet so many people who follow H&T.  I also enjoyed seeing Mr. Bobby Flay cook up a few dishes on Sunday afternoon too (swoon).

When they asked me to present on something holiday, I had no idea what to do. So many ideas ran through my mind and I finally decided that something we can all relate to is how busy our calendars start to get around this time of year. Think about how many parties, receptions and soirees we all attend from now until January 1st (#NovemberDecemberBender). Whether it’s a close friend, a colleague or you’re a plus one – hostess (or host) gift ideas are useful for just about everyone.

So for those of you that were not able to join in DC, I’ve put together a little recap of my workshop on holiday hostess (or host) gifts! P.S. All of these gifts can double as party favors or DIY gifts too. 

First and foremost, two of my mottos were that prevalent throughout the workshops. “Never show up empty-handed” and “Know your host”. The first is pretty obvious but the second includes thinking about your host ahead of time when deciding what to bring. For example, if you know your host doesn’t drink alcohol, don’t show up with wine. Why not bring some sparkling cider or lemonade instead? Duh.

Holiday Hostess Gifts Do’s & Don’ts

  • DON’T regift. If you don’t want it, what makes you think they do?
  • DON’T gift an ornament (unless you’re at an ornament gift exchange, of course). Chances are, the host won’t put it on their tree. Think about it – we all have our own way of decorating – and unless you know that your host’s tree is a montage of various ornaments, just skip the ornament gift idea. 
  • DON’T bring a dish or appetizer to share (unless you cleared with the host ahead of time). This also goes back to “knowing your host”. The exception to this would be that I think it’s perfectly acceptable to bring your homemade jam or holiday bread if it’s for the host to enjoy later on. Just no need to add to their menu unless they invited you to bring an appetizer or dish (i.e. Friendsgiving, potluck and the like).
  • DO keep on hand gift tags and other gift packaging. This makes it easy to add small touches to otherwise ordinary gifts. When I’m out shopping, I pick up little gifts instead of buying frivolous things I don’t need (you know that section near the register? yeah, it gets me everytime). Whether it be extra gifts tags or a small item that I know a friend will enjoy, I purchase items along the way. It’s easy to build an inventory if you think about your plans ahead of time too.
  • DO remember that “love is in the details”. You don’t have to spend a lot of money on hostess gifts – just add a personalized touch (if nothing else, bring a card)!
  • DO ask yourself if you would want this gift, if not – why are you giving it to someone else? This goes back to my regifting rule. 

 In a day where everyone is trying to perfect their latest Pinterest project, I promise these are all super easy and simple to put together. Alas, below are some of my host/hostess gift ideas, which are all certainly DO’s.

1. Cookies In a Jar – recipe & DIY here.

2. Baker’s Set –  dishtowel, utensil and oven mitt.

3. Set of champagne or wine glasses in a basket with a bottle to accompany (add a basket for a more “professional look”).

4. Marble Coasters (for the bachelors). 

5.  Rewined candles (Holiday or regular scents) 

6. Instead of just another bottle of wine – throw in festive cocktail napkins, an ornament (totally acceptbale in this case) or tag around the bottle. (This way at least the host knows who it’s from.)

All of these ideas can be used for Thanksgiving, New Year’s Parties, Birthdays and throughout the year too.

Thank you again to everyone who came out on Saturday and Sunday and to DC’s Metropolitan Cooking & Entertaining show for giving me the opportunity to host and toast in person!

P.S. Many of you asked on Instagram so…what I wore on Saturday & Sunday is below.

{Dress & Tunic Top: Devon Baer c/o (here & here) // Belt: Kate Spade //  Earrings: Kendra Scott c/o (here & here) // Bracelets: Kendra Scott c/o (here, here, here, here & here) // Ring: Kendra Scott c/o //  Blowout: Drybar Georgetown c/o // Shoes: Off Broadway c/o (booties & flats) // Pants: J.Crew // Lips: Beautycounter c/o}

Fall Inspired Brunch Party

The past few weeks, I’ve been doing a lot of hosting, toasting and traveling. Perhaps H&T needs a name change? (kidding!) After I returned home from my Homestead trip, I spent the next week prepping for fall work events and a fall-inspired brunch.

I co-hosted the brunch with my good friend Cori Sue at my house in Georgetown. After much discussion and re-scheduling the past few months, we finally found a Sunday that worked for the both of us and got to work on the details.

First & foremost, the menu. I worked with my friends at DC Taste to come up with a custom menu for the eight of us. We made sure to include the #basic elements of fall from pumpkin to apples and just about everything in between. It was nothing short of delicious and some of the items were even made gluten free for yours truly.

The Menu:

Scrambled Eggs with Spinach, Manchego & Brie

Mini Pumpkin Pancakes with Nutella filling & Maple Syrup

Apricot + Sage Glazed Sausage Links

Fresh Chopped Fruit Salad

Mini Fried Chicken + Sweet Potato Waffles

Maple-Glazed Bacon

Caramel Cinnamon Apple + Gingersnap Granola Yogurt Parfaits

Our friend Brie of Monumental Sweets also brought over some fall leave sugar cookies for everyone to indulge in (not that we didn’t have enough carbs to keep us full already). For beverages, we sipped on homemade apple cider (also from DC Taste), mimosas with Zardetto prosecco, hard sparkling apple cider from Eve’s Cider and freshly brewed coffee from Compass Coffee. There was also plenty of OJ and pellegrino to go around. I sometimes assume that just because I enjoy a lot of drink options that everyone else does too!

I set the table with pumpkins (fresh and Pottery Barn bought), a golf leaf tablecloth, gold chargers, a white ceramic coffee pot and a white ceramic pumpkin full of coffee fixings.

We arranged fresh orange roses from Urbanstems and spider mums that I picked up at the store in vases around the house. Each place setting had a different Moon & Lola mug from their new mug shop and of course, a champagne glass to accompany them (rimmed with cinnamon sugar for the hard sparkling cider).

Every place setting also had a custom Rewined champagne candle with either Cori Sue or I’s initials and the date on it (these would also be great customized bridesmaid gifts or wedding favors). I tied name cards to the candles as a favor for each guest to take home. Guests were also given a custom October print and thank you note from the hostesses. Dani from Drafts & Crafts worked on all the prints for us – aren’t they beautiful?

Special thank you again to all our partners on this brunch and our lovely friends for joining us.

Hopefully this will inspire a fall menu or party of your own!

I’m off to Boston today and hope to meet some of you with Carly tomorrow at our event.

It’s not too late to RSVP!