We picked out a favorite vintage Halloween picture for our invite and created our invitation using Pingg. I really used to like Pingg but after I sent out the invitations I noticed that they’ve added way more annoying ads to the site, so I think we’ll go back to Evite if we throw another party.

I found some fun vintage games to play as well. For “Spooning Match,” we  tied two spoons together with a 6-inch piece of ribbon and then had couples race to finish a bowl of ice cream and for “Ducking for Apples,” we tied  apples to fishing wire and then had guests try to finish an apple for a prize.

For the decorations, N spent the whole week cutting out 113 construction paper bats. He then made a papier-mâché moon and we dropped a glow stick into it to give it a nice eerie glow. I wish the pictures could show how amazing the moon looked!

N stuck most of them to the wall and then we hung a few for a 3-D effect.

We placed the dessert table, jam-packed with mini muffins, Italian cookies, caramel apples and candy, below the bats. I bought some spiderweb shaped collage paper from Target and then taped them together to create a table runner to place over the purple table cover. Our awesome Halloween tree served as a perfect centerpiece and some battery lit candles finished off the effect.

For the bar, I made some spiked apple cider from this  Martha Stewart “Shrunken Heads in Cider” recipe. It was okay, but far too much effort for the overall taste.

N threw together an awesome graveyard for decorating the bar. He used an old artist’s clipboard as a base and then he shaped hills using chicken wire. He then papier-mâchéd and covered it all with real dirt to create the ground. For the grass he used, well, real grass. To scale it though, he ground it up in a coffee grinder and then glued little bunches all over the graveyard. The tombstones are all made of card stock and the “trees” are really pieces of a dead tomato plant (damn you Topsy Turvy Upside Down Tomato Planter!) Anyhoo, I really loved his walnut pumpkins too, they each have their own distinctive features. The “stems” are pieces of twisted paper painted green.

Our good friends Tiff and Joe (check out some of their art in my earlier posts) drew and then hand cut the scaredy-cat, the dancing cats and the rats. They looked killer!!! Here’s Tiff’s scaredy-cat at the base of the bar.

You can see Joe’s dancing cats on the mantle.

N and I created the colorful vintage kitty out of construction paper. N first drew the cat on black construction card stock paper based off of a vintage design we found online. Then we traced and cut out the various pieces out of colored construction paper and layered them on with glue. I love how this turned out. We gave it away as a prize for the best costume.

We got this idea from Martha Stewart’s Halloween Central. Joe didn’t need the templates though and he free-handed the rats. They really creeped everyone out!

For the living room, we just draped white sheets over all the furniture to make it look like an abandoned house. N hung up some banshees from the ceiling and we used candle light to make it feel more haunted.

For the food table, Joe and Tiff suggested this awesome crêpe paper decoration. It really helped to fill up the space and it was just stunning! Who knew crêpe paper could still be such an awesome addition to a party.

For the backdrop to the food table, here are our versions of some vintage looking decorations, again from Martha

Even though our party was way more last-minute and smaller than most years, we had a blast. Happy haunting!

I rarely actually have the lavish budget or the extra hours during the week (or months, depending on the size of the event) to pull off a beautifully detailed, high maintenance gala. (Oh, what I’d give for a chance to do a no expense spared event…)

Sometimes though, it’s actually the last minute, pull a rabbit out of the hat, ideas that just execute so well. For N’s birthday, I really wanted to plan and design a fantasy Star Wars table setting. Unfortunately, due to (inset excuse here), I found myself scrambling the night before the party to figure out something, okay, anything. And that’s when I found these over at Toy-A-Day:

And Bingo!!!!!!

I googled Star Wars Paper Toys and came up with hordes of sites that feature Star Wars paper craft, from origami Yoda to intricate Death Star models. Since it was already pretty late in the game, I settled on the easiest ones I could find.

We’d decided on a brunch and to make things really easy (read; to give the hostess a chance to enjoy some yummy mimosas) we set up a waffle bar along with fried chicken, french toast, muffins, bacon, fresh fruit and coffee.

For the tablescape, I simply covered the table with “space” (as in outer) pattern fabric we had left over from a previous Halloween party and scrunched up yellow fabric to use as a runner using fabric left over from my mom’s birthday tea.  Some free form folded white paper napkins resembling little spaceships / airplanes added a little something different and something to safely throw at certain people Then I arranged the little paper cutouts my Mom and I had cut and taped the night before all around the table.

For the centerpiece, I took a cactus in a little terracotta pot and arranged some flowers around it to cover any exposed dirt. Then I wrapped the pot in the same fabric as the tablecloth and set a big round vase over the whole thing to try to give it more of an out-of-this-world feel. As you’ll see, the fabric kind of got away from me, oops…

If I had had more time and resources, I’m sure it could have been much more impressive, but, I have to admit, I was pretty stoked with the results. And the food – well, I think a picture of my plate will say it all

fyi- some of the pieces are for sale. E-mail or comment for more info.

I happen to favor tone on tone or working with hues and my hubby N was nudging me to play outside my comfort zone and I somehow ended up with something completely different when I got home from the fabric store…

While my super helpful MIL and great friend Lena were finding me teacups, N and I spent a full day browsing this awesome antique store to find the last six, which would later serve double duty as presents to mom. I picked up some ribbon, fake jewelry, mini topiary trees and boxes from Michael’s and the Dollar Tree. The rest of the decor, I found around mom’s house.

My MIL also went on a mad mission to find authentic scones and she seriously scored. These were so delicious!

And check out these adorable petit fours.

This whimsical cake creation was very yummy too

We made some tea sandwiches using a Martha Stewart Recipe and then just improvised the rest with our own recipes;

We also served some “spa water,”   to go with all that tea.

The pièce de résistance was this amazing hat from Nordstrom. On the day of the party, N, my dad and I presented her with the hat and told her to go get pretty so we could setup.

I had so much fun playing with all this color and I think it the mix of bold vibrant colors in her serene garden was really stunning. I hope you enjoy!

Growing up in L.A, I’ve come to really appreciate the plethora of cultural celebrations Angelenos absorb. There’s just something so deeply rooted and satisfying in prepping for traditional festivities.

As a kid, watching my mom faithfully produce a gorgeous sofreh-ye-haft-seen each year for Nowruz (the Persian New Year) filled me to the brim with awe. Far removed from the bustling marketplace in Tehran, she would drive miles to procure the seven symbols this spread requires; sabzeh, samanu, senjed, sir, sib, somagh and serke. Though sometimes she had to improvise, she never failed in delighting us with a differing version of this spread year after year.

Few memories are as sacred to me as helping my mom prepare for this holiday. From decorating eggs in vibrant colors and exotic scripts to creating the little khanum nokhodi dolls out of tiny, dried garbanzo beans and, finally, helping place each adorned item in its respective spot, Nowruz is simply captivating. More importantly, it’s a ritual between me and my mom that’s evolved throughout the years. I’m so grateful to her for ensuring that this three thousand year old tradition remained alive in our home.

Here’s a pictures from last year’s haft seen and there are more detailed shots in the gallery below.

I’m really looking forward to our festivities this year so I’ve been busy gathering some gorgeous haft seen pictures for inspiration. Here’s to a new year of sweet, sweet memories. I hope you enjoy!

Update: For photos of our 2011 haft seen, please click here.

Personally, I’m not a huge fan of the edible creations fruit baskets, they’re just not my cup of tea. I don’t think I’d ever seriously consider one as an edible centerpiece for anything other than a kid’s birthday or casual get together.

Then came this e-mail, courtesy of mom. I’m not really sure about the origins (the website embedded into the pictures doesn’t seem to exist) but some of them are seriously pretty! Enjoy.

I had to include the over-the-top one

Whenever I see fireflies I can’t help but imagine N and I lounging on an old whitewashed swing swaying sweetly on a porch somewhere while the the warm summer sunset bathes us in amber tones. Even though February doesn’t exactly fit my vision, this party would transport us there…

Not only does the site provide some (potentially sticky – in a good way) vintage dessert inspiration for V-Day, they even offer template downloads for all the labels and signs. This way you can spend less time fussing over the fonts and format and spend more time

a) finding the perfect toppings

b) browsing Amy Atlas Event

Atlas is undoubtedly the creator of the most stunning dessert bars ever! Just look at this perfected showstopper;

I didn’t even realize just how much I loved her designs until I popped over to her website and found tons of dessert buffets I’ve ogled in the past without realizing they all originated in the same great mind.

My modern red, black and white bridal shower is being mini-featured today, along with several other adorable baby showers, on Shannon Dow’s Creative Party Place! The site displays some amazingly creative diy hostess parties and is one of my favorite blogs to peruse for ideas.

Shannon Dow is also a fab blog template designer who runs Eight Crazy Design. (*Hint* you can pick-up some free handwriting fonts from her page.)