a very cabin christmas

Of all the parties we throw each year, the holiday party is my absolute favorite. It has the biggest turn out, everyone is always dressed to the nines, and the decorations can stay up for an entire month. This year I went for a cozy cabin theme- I picked up tons of discounted flannel from the fabric store, raided my parents' basement for old winter sport gear, and stocked up on taxidermy and animal pelts.

Pillows were covered with flannel, and every animal in the house got a little plaid scarf.

I switched out some artwork for vintage ice skates, badminton rackets, and (of course) deer.
My concrete deer got his own little Christmas tree.

I made this house for last year's winter wonderland themed holiday party, and I was shocked to find it survived a year hanging out in our scary basement.
My grandmother's punch bowl was used for Adam's incredible eggnog punch, which is always a party favorite.

The dining room lighting is the best part of our Christmas decorations. Last year, Adam and AJ installed tiny hooks around the ceiling for evenly spaced rows of lights, and the hooks are perfect for hanging decorations all year round.

ghoul city

I can be a total creep, but I'm not so good at being creepy in the ghoulish sense. This year, I threw my first Halloween party, and I achieved a level of creepiness that I previously thought was impossible. Even if my guests weren't terrified, the kids that live next door definitely were.

I wired together this freak laboratory using old keg parts and other things I actually had laying around the house. Added a little food coloring and dry ice, turned the lights off, and voila! Creepy.

This ghoul was set up in our foyer- I made him using a balloon, a few coats, and one strategically placed lightbulb.

Then it got a bit demented. My housemate and I tore apart thrift store dolls, blacked out their eyes, and wired them together with hangers to make a chandelier and garland.

We used our projector to screen old Hitchcock films on the ceiling throughout the night.

We made bats from faux leather and picture wire and filled the hallway.

The bathroom walls were covered with psychotic rants, and the radio was set to a low static.

For the treat table, I made vanilla cupcakes, ghost sugar cookies, peanut butter cups, and my version of a Crunch bar- chocolate pralines topped with ganache. Don't worry, we had candy corn too.

We set up our homemade photo booth so everyone could take photos of their fantastic costumes. As usual, it got out of hand!

an engagement tea

I threw this tea party over the weekend to celebrate my friend Serra's engagement (to my brother, of all people). After throwing a couple unusually themed parties, I couldn't wait to plan a classic feminine bash like this!

All the mismatched china, silver pieces, and lace tablecloths were found during an incredibly successful vintage shopping expedition to Michigan. I don't even drink tea, so I had a long list of tea accessories to hunt down!

During three insane days in the kitchen, I made four different tea sandwiches, currant scones, clotted cream, a four-layer cake, berry tarts, chocolate tarts, lemon meringue tarts, profiteroles, chocolate macarons, and raspberry macarons.

A chalkboard described the variety of loose leaf teas, which I certainly knew nothing about.

I despise cutting the cake! All that hard work, ruined in one quick second. I butcher it every time. At least this one had a surprise inside...

Arabian Nights treat table

For Serra's birthday party, we had an outdoor Arabian Nights party. Everyone dressed up in full costume, and we covered the entire backyard with a sheer canopy and white lights. We set up a hookah tent in the corner of the yard, complete with oriental rugs. I was having too much fun to shoot most of the party, but I snapped some shots of the treat table I made as her birthday gift.

I made a chocolate cake with raspberry filling and ganache, baklava, and dark chocolate truffles with spicy toppings.
Toasted sesame truffles.
I cut gold doilies in half and created a scalloped border around the cake, and used different silver serving pieces to create a decadent oriental look.
The table looked so pretty when candlelit!

moto adventuring in the northeast

Last weekend, we loaded four bikes into the back of my truck and drove out to Boston to visit some friends. We ditched the truck at our old motorcycle dealer's house, and took off for four amazing days of riding through New Hampshire and Vermont.