The ParTea Planner

A Perfect Princess Tea Party

2009-11-11T11:40:00.000-08:00

Time to dust off my keyboard and get back to blogging....

Here are photos of Raina's "Perfect Princess Tea Party" to celebrate her 5th Birthday. Thank you so much to Elegant Visions for the professional images, Dean is just the sweetest guy, and delivered the images so fast!

Click Here to view the entire photo gallery with music.

I am so grateful to my good friend Carolyn of CHS Creative Productions for coming over and setting up all the gorgeous pink fabric draping and the canopy over the tea table, and loaning me some of her props and silk trees. If it wasn't for her beautiful drapery, then it would have looked just like a normal drive-way. She created the perfect ambiance for the party! If you in the Los Angeles / Orange County area and need event, wedding or holiday decor or draping, she is amazing. Thank you Carolyn, I *heart* you so much!!!

Kelly, from Kelly's Karacters was the perfect Cinderella princess to come and visit with Raina and her party guests! She conducted a princess coronation, sang beautifully, played games & dances, taught the girls tea table etiquette & manners, helped with the birthday cake and decorating cupcakes and just made the party so very magical! I can't imagine what the party would have been like without her talents, it would not have had the "sparkle" without her! Thank you so much Kelly for your graciousness and loveliness!

It truly was a "perfect" princess party, but not without the help of true professionals! Thank you so much again, and I will forever treasure the memories.

Forever In Our Hearts

2009-09-20T12:25:00.000-07:00

Regina Melody Tan
9/19/99 - 9/20/09
Forever In Our Hearts

Please feel free to leave a comment on Diana's blog (her mom)

she appreciates your kind words:

http://www.diana78.blogspot.com

Mari Robeson Style's Newest Launch & Give Away!

2009-07-30T13:37:00.000-07:00

My fellow blogging friend Mari is having a Give Away to celebrate the new launch of her fabulous fabric line! I am so proud of her and her newest venture!

To refresh your memory, Mari is the one who painted and gifted me the gorgeous "ParTea Time" banner for the photo shoot I did for TeaTime Magazine. And I have to tell you.....I received more emails from tea lovers requesting info on how to get their own painted banner than anything else regarding the feature in the magazine! She is one very talented and sweet lady.

So please take a moment to view her new textile line, leave a comment and you might win! Or stop by her boutique if you are in the Central Coast area of California.

Mari, best wishes to your launch party and much success with this newest venture! I wish I could be there to congratulate your efforts in person!

D.I.Y. Simple & Cost Effective Centerpieces

2009-05-06T16:34:00.000-07:00

For our upcoming MOPS Tea Party this week, I needed to make centerpieces for the mom's tables that I am contributing. Since we are on a budget, fresh flowers were not an option. Besides, I can use them over and over. I purchased the supplies from Dollar Tree (we finally have one close by! yay, before I had to drive way far to the nearest one!).

Sometimes with silk flowers it can be tricky to get a nice arrangement, because let's be honest - some silks look really cheesy-tacky, especially from a dollar store. So I just spent time pulling different bunches and putting them together to see what worked.

You can see the tin containers were originally an ugly green and orange brushed-on color. So I just sprayed painted the outside of the tins with my all-time fave spray paint white Kilz to get rid of the uglies. Keep that in mind when searching for cost-effective containers - "Can it be spray painted, if it needs a makeover."? Make sure your container isn't too big since it will have to be filled.

Each silk bunch stem got bent in half to fit the height of the tin. Then I bunched them together moved some of the colors around and tied securely with a wire tie. You could use florist wire, pipe cleaner wire or a chenille wire as well. Then I bent some of the flowers forward, so they would hang over the container edge.

Shoved it in the container, fluffed it a bit and boom, done. After the pic I did add some pink feather tufts that I cut-up from a boa.

Total cost for each arrangement: $4

I will show pics of the centerpieces at the tea party later!

Peppermint Cream Cheese Mints

2009-04-30T13:24:00.000-07:00

I made 200-something of these Peppermint Cream Cheese Mints yesterday for our upcoming MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) Tea coming up next week, and will make each mom a favor consisting of three mints, and a mint teabag. I found cute favor boxes at the dollar store, and will attach a silk flower on the top of each one.

The mints remind of what my mom used to make when I was a little girl.

The mini-rose mold is just a candy mold from Michaels. I got three of them and just kept rotating them in & out of the freezer as I made them. Even Raina, my four-year old daughter could help me make these! These are SO MUCH EASIER to make than chocolate favors! I always seem to scorch chocolate, and it is so messy. However, if you are good with chocolate then you can dip these minty babies into chocolate and make them like York patties!

So try these for favors the next time you have a tea, shower or party! Copy and paste the above image, it is sized for 3½ x 5 for your recipe box. Enjoy!

Women are like tea bags...

2009-04-27T00:28:00.000-07:00

"Women are like tea bags, they don't know how strong they are until they get into hot water."

~ Eleanor Roosevelt

This is one of my favorite quotes. Not only because it is about tea, but it envelopes the tenacity of women.

I have had several blog followers email me to express how they have missed my posts. Thank you to everyone who comes to visit me from time to time. I know I have been a terrible blogger and not very interesting, but sometimes life gets in the way of getting to do what we love.

The past couple of months have been challenging. I have been having problems with my left arm since last May. My pinkie & ring finger have been numb, my grip weakened to the point where I could not hold onto fingernail clippers to clip my right hand fingernails, or open up packages and I was losing muscle in the hand. But as most of us moms will do, we put our own health on the back burner until it gets so bad that you are forced to deal with it.

So finally after many doctor visits, tests, MRI's, hand therapy, and more tests, the assessment is I needed to have surgery on my ulnar nerve for "cubital tunnel syndrome" which means the unlar nerve (your funny bone, even though it isn't a bone) was pinched and the doctor needed to move it. I did not want the surgery and tried alternaive methods such as accupuncture and chiropractic care, but it was just not going to relieve the symptoms.

I had the surgery a couple of weeks ago and am still recovering. The feeling is coming back in my fingers and I can actually type better now and gradually getting the strength back. I now have a 5" scar down the back of my arm and elbow! Be glad I don't post photos of it here, even though I did on Facebook, it's kinda gross.

But the teabag quote got me thinking after I saw this really cute craft. I will be providing my teacups and teapots for our upcoming "Tea & Testimony" at my M.O.P.S. group in a couple of weeks. I wanted to find a cute rubber stamp set, and in my Google search efforts came across this cute craft tute to make a mini album from tea bags (click on link for tute):

Turtorial Tea Bag Mini Album

Thank you to Paper Blessings for posting this very creative craft!

A St. Patrick's "Irish Cream" Tea Time

2009-03-17T22:36:00.000-07:00

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

I had not planned on doing anything special for St. Patty's day. I ran to the grocery store for a few things for dinner, and the bakery had all their seasonal - and very cute - tempting green frosted cookies and cupcakes right there front and center. Dammit, they did it to me again! Well, actually they did it to Raina who zoned in on them immediately. So I said okay, she could put the clamshell container of the two-bite cupcakes (the label says two-bite, but uhm, it's really one-bite) in her mini-shopping cart, and that we would have them for dessert.

You know those children's books "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie" where one thing leads to another? I feel that is generally how my days just end up sometimes, all kooky and crazy and totally A.D.D.

So......we have these cute cupcakes........why waste the cuteness on just dessert? Let's have them for a tea time instead!

Well, if we are going to have tea, then I will need to bake some scones.

And if I am going to bake some scones, then I will need to look up my favorite scone recipe on my computer folder.

While I am at it, I should organize my scone recipes from favorite to low-fat.

Now that they are all organized, I should print them and put them in page protectors.

Since we are having a tea with a theme, I should find any St. Patrick's day stuff to add to the cuteness. And on and on it goes.

You get the idea.

So here are the results of an impromptu "Irish Cream Tea"..........thanks to one-bite cupcakes.

Raina and Holly-Doodle ready for tea.

Very green Irish Cream scones (sprinkled with Lucky Charms ♣),
and store bought cookies & cupcakes.
The cupcakes that started it all today.....

She prayed for all the Disney Princesses. And Prince Phillip, whoever that is.

Pouring her "tea". Then she added three sugar cubes.

What a poser.

All the stains on her shirt are from some chocolate coins

someone gave her at pre-school. I thought about Photoshopping the stains out so you

wouldn't think I was too white trash. That thought lasted for a second.

I'm over it.

So, I hope everyone enjoyed their St. Patty's day and that the Luck 'o the Irish was with you!

Fake it till you make it

2009-02-13T12:39:00.000-08:00

So a holiday - Valenine's Day - is coming up, therefore the proverbial sign-up sheets appear as you enter your child's pre-school for the upcoming Valentine's "Exchange" (translate - party). They come up with all these different words so it doesn't sound like they party all the time around holidays - why not just call it a party? No one really cares.

Why is it I become instantly delusional and always write my name next to the most difficult item on a sign-up list for my kids' class parties? So, I signed-up for a dozen plain heart shape cookies so they can frost and decorate them at the "exchange-aka-party".

I do enjoy making real homemade cookies, really I do. Where I actually dust off my Kitchen aid mixer and find somewhere in my pantry flour, baking soda etc., pull out my Mom's beloved recipe for "Cookie Cutter Cookies" and appear somewhat June Cleaverish is a great feeling. And it is fun to roll out the dough, cut them out and try to get them to the perfect golden baked goodness with a hint of tan on the bottom signaling they are done.

So these are the nano-visions that flash into my delusional, over-achieving, right-side of my brain whenever I see the (usually) blank line for something home made.

But sometimes life takes over even when the best of intentions are sincere. So I got the flu, and really did not feel like digging in my very disorganized panty for all the ingredients. Our local Ralph's grocery store sells plain sugar cookies already in holiday shapes so I thought that may be my saving grace. NOPE, need to compromise. So it's time to "fake it till you make it" which is one of my creeds I live by.

I just got a plastic clamshell of sugar cookies, took them home and got out my metal heart shaped cookie cutter and faked it. Took me five minutes. Really. How are a bunch of four year-olds going to know the difference?

Before:

After:

Anyone can sign-up for, and bring paper plates and cups. It takes determination to sign-up for the things that come from the heart .... or at least a cookie cutter heart.

Getting ready for pre-school on the day of the Valentine "Exchange", Raina picked out the dress herself! I was shocked, since y'all know she rarely likes to dress-up. Did my heart good, though.

Romantic Adventure layout

2009-01-12T21:45:00.000-08:00

My friend Phyllis, at Shabby in the City had a great idea for a project. She took a pic of a book page (scroll to the end of her post for the photo) then suggested we create something from it. So I added a couple of Photoshop brushes to it and a photo of hubby & me from our Honeymoon cruise.

It was a lot of fun, thanks for the idea Phyllis!

Happy New Year!

2009-01-02T12:43:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year!
from Holly, the ParTea Goldendoodle Girl

Our newest addition to the family. Santa brought her to us on Christmas morning.

She is my BFF (Best Furry Friend).

Here is her Doodle page, if you or someone you know owns a Doodle.

I hope for you and your loved ones, that 2009 will be filled with good memories, good health and gratitude for each and every day we have with our family and friends.

Enjoy some more pics from
Holly's First Photo Shoot

(taken in my daughter's room!)

Holly, the Goldendoodle Princess

Holly, the Goldendoodle Fashionista

Holly, the Goldendoodle Tea Party Girl

12 Days of Christmas Tea & Cookie Recipes Swap

2009-01-02T02:01:00.000-08:00

Finally I am getting around to uploading all the fabulous swap goodies that
Jeannie from "I Craft"
sent me for the 12 Days of Christmas Tea & Cookie Recipes Swap.
Between making arrangements with Santa to get a Christmas puppy
and having family stay for the holidays it has be crazy 'round here.

Here are the goodies!

A couple of items didn't make it in the group shot.
I think my daughter took it out to look at it (?).

A I love this mini pan for an ornament!

This darling house held a teapot ornament (see below).

Jeannie cracked me up with her cookie recipes! I showed my mom and she cracked up too. But this book is PACKED with awesome cookie recipes! It's a keeper for Christmases to come....

I've seen Jeannie's cupcake toppers on her Etsy shop, and was secretly hoping I would get some in the swap. YAY! Look at all the pink cuteness! Cupcake shnupcake. I'm putting them in my hair or something! Or making them into brooches. They are too cute for just cupcakes....

This cute little tree contained these vintage beautiful earrings.
Then I put the tree on my pink tree.

Inside this awesome floral suitcase was filled with sugar-y mistletoe, a vintage ladies hankie and the cream teacup & saucer with more sugar-y goodness candy!

Beautiful cream teacup & saucer with my fave colors - pink & green.

This is MY TREE.
My beloved pink tree that is in the living room. On it I put all my favorite things.
Below are the wonderful goodies that Jeannie sent:

Sugar-y, glitter-y teapot

Sugar-y mistletoe.

Darling tree box.

"I love you for your pink cadillac" ~ Bruce Springsteen

THANK YOU SO MUCH JEANNIE, for giving such pinkalicious Christmas goodies. And not just the goodies themselves, but how you wrapped and decorated everything was just DIVINE. I didn't want to open them, it was so darn cute! You are very talented, and I appreciated every bit of hot glue and glitter that you did!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I am still waiting to hear back from others who participated. I know it is a crazy time of year to try to add on tasks to do, such as blog swaps. So those of you who played, please send me the links of your swaps and I will update this post. Thank you to everyone who enthusiastically and joyfully signed up!

Swaps:

Lady Katherine received her swap goodies from Lady Jane

Lady Jane received her swap goodies from Lady Katherine

Phyllis, from Shabby in the City received her swap goodies from Erin

Looking forward to seeing the rest of the swaps!

New Year Greeting

2009-01-01T00:00:00.000-08:00

Need prayers for my dad

2008-11-17T18:30:00.000-08:00

To all my e-friends:

Please keep my dad, Lloyd, in your prayers on the morning of November 18 (PST) as he will be having major shoulder reconstructive surgery. His ligament has completely torn apart, with another almost torn apart, and we are hoping the surgeon can re-connect the ligament successfully.

I fully believe in the power of prayer, and I know there are some prayer warriors who read my blog. It is now that I humbly call on you to send healing thoughts and prayers his way.....

Thank you in advance.

xoxox,
Risa

UPDATE:
Thank you so much for those who posted a prayer comment or who prayed for my dad and his surgery. It was a success, the surgeon was able to re-attach the ligaments. He has a long road of tough re-hab awaiting him for the next few months. Again, I appreciate your kind hearts and kind words! It really means a lot to me knowing there are e-Friends out there who genuinely care about others....

xoxoxxo
Risa

12 Days of Christmas Tea & Cookie Recipes Swap

2008-11-13T01:38:00.001-08:00

Join me and others who LOVE tea time and want to have some fun with a Holiday Swap! At the last swap I hosted, there were many ladies asking about a Holiday Swap, so here it is:

The theme is "12 Days of Christmas Tea & Cookie Recipes"

The swap is to consist of 12 items, all individually wrapped:
* A Christmas or Holiday print teacup & saucer.
* 3 of your absolute favorite Christmas Cookie Recipes on a 3x5 or 4x6 card.
* The other 8 items should be holiday and/or tea-related items.
For instance: (this is only for inspiration, you can choose whatever you like) Your favorite tea, a scented votive candle, a linen napkin, a silver spoon, decorated sugar cubes, a cookie cutter, an ornament, a tea towel, etc. - try to keep it tea time related! At least one homemade or handcrafted item(s) should be included as one of the items (i.e. a tag, a paper crown tiara, pinwheel etc).

Your Swap Sister may choose to open one gift a day leading up to Christmas, or she can open them all at once...it's her/your choice.

The t&s (teacup & saucer) may be vintage or new, one that is in your personal collection or a purchased one. Please swap a t&s that is functional (no cracks) and one that you would appreciate receiving (ie. no chips, crazing, fleabites). The spending limit is $20 (not including shipping cost).

Deadline to sign up by:
~ December 1, 2008

Parcels mailed out by:
~ December 12, 2008

Click here for all the details and *ahem* "rules".

UPDATE:
I've been getting requests to sign-up for this swap either at my regular email or through the comments box on this post. In order for me to keep all the requests organized please send your request along with your NAME, EMAIL ADDY and BLOG ADDY to this email: parteatimeswap [at] gmail.com (you do not have to have a blog to play).

Thanks a bunch!

Easiest Pumpkin Muffins

2008-11-12T12:06:00.000-08:00

This post may be a little belated, but the muffins would be great for a Halloween or Thanksgiving tea:

I just made these mini-muffins for the first time for my son's class Monster Mash party and they are mucho yummy! Even my one kid who doesn't like pumpkin gobbled them up. They are very moist. Got it from AllRecipes.com but did a bit of my own thing. Here is the recipe:

Easiest Pumpkin Muffins

1 box of spice cake mix
1 can (15 oz) can pumpkin puree

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Mix both ingredients until smooth (do not add the egg or oil like the cake box says).
Spoon equal amounts of batter into greased muffin pan or paper cups.
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in preheated oven, until a toothpick comes out clean.

I added some dashes of ground cinnamon, nutmeg & cloves in the batter.

Then I sprinkled brown sugar and some orange colored sugar I had on hand on the tops before putting into the oven.

This is great for classroom treats - especially since no eggs are in the recipe. Also a sneaky way to get some protein in the kiddies! Can also be frozen and defrosted when needed.

What's in YOUR Portable Studio?

2008-11-12T11:04:00.000-08:00

My friend Phyllis at Shabby in the City is having a challenge and giveaway. For more info go to her blog at http://shabbyinthecity.blogspot.com

Here is a snippet from her blog:
So there is the challenge...fill your vintage pieces with your wonderful craft items and let's take it on the road. Show me your craft destination with photos of your carrier/caddy,box or basket, loaded down in vintage crafty goodness. Well say November 25th is our share day...exactly one month before Christmas (easy to remember, huh?) Please take the banner and post it in your sidebar, blog about it whatever....the more participants...the more fun!

They just don't get it

2008-11-11T22:12:00.000-08:00

Hubby: What's that sound?

Me: My new clock on my blog. And it even chimes!

Hmpf.

Me: What? You don't like it?

Hubby: Sounds like Chinese water torture to me.

Me: Well, I like it. It sounds soothing to me.

Hmpf.

Sometimes we are like oil & water....

A Birthday Tea for My BFF

2008-11-11T10:39:00.000-08:00

I took my BFF, the divine Mrs. M. out for an afternoon tea to celebrate her birthday at the Posh Peasant Tearoom. Mrs. M and I share a love for tea and all things PINK. I think I met my match when it came to being a pink aficionado freak when we became neighbors and friends. Oh, and she has depleted my personal stash of Cream Earl Grey loose leaf tea. She kept running out, I'd give her more, until I realized I'm all out! Have to place an order with my supplier....I don't mind, I'm just glad to be able to support a teaholic's habit.

In this pic, I brought my hats for us to wear. The one I have on is from the Mary Poppins Tea Party I produced a while back and haven't had a reason to wear it since. And I love the thick turkey feather boa the tearoom had! Boas are great for covering up your tummy when taking photos, huh?

If you would like to view all the photos from our tea, Click Here to go to my photo album (don't worry, you don't have to sign in or anything).

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MRS. M!

New ParTea Blog Header

2008-11-10T11:14:00.001-08:00

What do you think of the header makeover?

Figured it was time to make some changes 'round here.

They are images from the photo shoot for the TeaTime Magazine article. I can't believe it was almost a year ago when we did the staging for it!

Did I ever mention some of the behind-the-scene drama that took place while preparing for the photo shoot? I'll try to remember some of it:

*I knew for a while that TeaTime wanted me to do a feature. So I waited. But when they were ready to rock 'n roll with it, I had five days notice to put it all together. I was informed a couple of days after Thanksgiving.

*While I was collecting all the items I wanted to use for the shoot, I had to move mountains of totes of china I have. I finally found the teacups in my favorite pattern, Homer Lauglin's Marilyn floral pattern. I don't have that many and they are hard to come by on eBay. So when I found them, because I was at an awkward position (you know - mountain of totes), one of the saucers slipped from my hand, bounced off the chair and broke on the floor. Mind you, I was also PMS'ing at this time. When I saw the saucer fall in slow motion and then break, I got off the chair and screamed at the top of my lungs. For like two minutes. Then started bawling. Hubby thought I was losin' it.

*I was going to go with my signature pink & green color theme design, since this was going to be in their Spring issue. But the DAY BEFORE the photo shoot, I received Mari's gorgeous custom hand-painted banner. She had stayed up until the wee hours to get it finished for me in time. When I saw how she painted the darling songbird in an aqua blue hue, I knew I had to add the aqua accent color to the table decor. My linen rental company would not have time to deliver any runners or overlays in time, so I needed to make my own. So the night before - when I should be loading up everything into the van - I'm heading over to JoAnn's to get aqua fabric and ribbon. I was also bending the forks late at night, and putting the glitter on the place card flowers at around 2:00am.

*I had brewed hot tea and had put in a vacuum pump carafe. It fell out of the van when my assistant opened the door and shattered the internal glass. So we had to ask the cafe near the photo shoot venue to make us some tea. It was so brewed too long and was so dark it looked like coffee.

*My caterer that I use for most of my tea parties and events is a great guy. But a little on the busy side, so he misses a lot of details. I ordered petits fours in pink. My other assistant picked up all the food since it was on her way. So she didn't know what I had ordered. When I opened up the bakery box of the petits fours they were decorated in red & green CHRISTMAS motifs! Augh! I was livid and said a select few cuss words (forgive me Lord)......remember I am still PMS'ing.....

*The handle on my silver bride's basket broke, so I tried to use clear duct tape to hold it down.

*I did not have any jewelry, forgot to pack anything with all the hoop-a-lah going on. So one of my friends, Kathy (in the tea party scene) had some pearls in her purse and put them on me. She IS a true Southern lady, being from Georgia and all.

*We were losing the sun and FAST. So we had to run around - click, click, click - get the photos done before the sun went down. And what was also strange was that we were doing everything all spring looking, but there was Christmas music playing from the The Cliff Restaurant above us! Just seemed odd...

But all in all, it was a great experience! It wouldn't be memorable if there wasn't any drama, eh?

The Prodigal ParTea Planner

2008-11-03T23:58:00.000-08:00

It made me literally laugh out loud.

I got an email from Phyllis of Shabby in the City:

Risa!
Did you DIE after your birthday???
I hope not! Check in sistah!

So, here I am. "checking in".

I have no excuse or reason why I stopped blogging.......

~Life gets in the way sometimes?

~Sometimes our interests sway (you know us right-brained, creative, types that just hop from one thing to the next....) so I've been doing a lot of face painting.

~I discovered Facebook. Need I say more? Now that's a whole lotta fun!

~I re-discovered my love for reading (after having three kids - forget it) and read Twilight & New Moon in four days and just got Eclipse today from Amazon. You know where I will be on November 21st! Yup. I've become a Fanpire.

~Since this past Spring, I have had to be in physical therapy for a pinched nerve somewhere in my back/neck. No relief. So I've just dealt with the arm weakness, tingling, discomfort and numbness in my left hand pinky.

~Tried to clean out the garage and get all my event stuff organized. Really. Do I need 200-something settings of china and teacups and totes of silver, silver and silver? Really! So I will be selling some things just to lighten the load from my tea hoarding years. Hubby would like to eventually claim his workbench side of the garage. I think there is a in perfect condition, barely used treadmill in there somewhere too.

~I took a break from doing tea parties (in order to do the previous). Therefore, since my whole blog genre is about tea related stuff I guess I assumed that I had nothing to blog about. But I am finding out that I was wrong. I made some wonderful e-friends from blogging in the past. And the e-mails I received due to my absence asking where was I, is everything okay etc., was very humbling and heart-felt. So thank you to everyone who sent a What Up? inquiry. I really appreciate your concern and the time to drop me a e-mail!

~When I heard Karin of Creative Chaos was just diagnosed with breast cancer, it hit me and realized how much I admire meeting such strong, fabulous, funny as heck, tenacious, down to earth and creative ladies I have had the pleasure of getting to know. Just from blogging. We need each other to hold each other up during the fun times and challenging times. Karin, you are in my pink prayers during this tough time.

I do have some photos from some recent adventures and will blog about those later. But for now I just wanted to say Hi and that I look forward to dusting off my kettle, polish my tarnished silver teapot, and getting a teacup out of storage and visiting with my friends again.

xoxox,
Risa

Today is my Birthday

2008-06-16T09:30:00.000-07:00

Happy Mother's Day!

2008-05-11T08:40:00.000-07:00

Happy Mother's Day to all the "Real Moms"

For those of you who are great moms, those of you who plan to be great moms and those who have great moms...

REAL MOTHERS

Real Mothers don't eat quiche; they don't have time to make it.

Real Mothers know that their kitchen utensils are probably in the sandbox.

Real Mothers often have sticky floors, filthy ovens and happy kids.

Real Mothers know that dried play dough doesn't come out of shag carpets.

Real Mothers don't want to know what the vacuum just sucked up.

Real Mothers sometimes ask 'Why me?' and get their answer when a little voice says, 'Because I love you best.'

Real Mothers know that a child's growth is not measured by height or years or grade...It is marked by the progression of Mama to Mom to Mother...

The Images of Mother

4 YEARS OF AGE - My Mommy can do anything!

8 YEARS OF AGE - My Mom knows a lot! A whole lot!

12 YEARS OF AGE - My Mother doesn't really know quite everything.

14 YEARS OF AGE - Naturally, Mother doesn't know that, either.

16 YEARS OF AGE - Mother? She's hopelessly old-fashioned.

18 YEARS OF AGE - That old woman? She's way out of date!

25 YEARS OF AGE - Well, she might know a little bit about it.

35 YEARS OF AGE - Before we decide, let's get Mom's opinion.

45 YEARS OF AGE - Wonder what Mom would have thought about it?

65 YEARS OF AGE - Wish I could talk it over with Mom.

For all the Mother's of the world, have a blessed day - you deserve it!
From Risa, The ParTea Planner

Happy Keester!

2008-03-24T09:40:00.000-07:00

Sorry, I am BEHIND on posting a Happy Easter wish!

The ParTea Planner's First Day of Spring Tea Party

2008-03-20T20:38:00.000-07:00

I cannot believe that it has been one year already since the first time I joined in on a blogging tea party! Click here to view that post. Wow, it has flown by!

We had a really fun time at our First Day of Spring Tea Party. My daughter was so excited about being picked-up from pre-school today because she knew that afterwards was "her tea party". She even wanted to wear a dress!! My lil tomboy is growing up....

Well, just for description's sake I had to K.I.S.S. (keep it simple silly) because I have a lot going on right now with a wedding and some events and I've been slightly overwhelmed to say the least. So I made the sandwiches - consisting of egg salad, chicken salad, cucumber & cream cheese, and strawberry cream for Raina. Everything else was store bought. I can't seem to get away from my beloved pink & green combo, especially since we had the party in Raina's pink & green room! For the centerpiece I used the darling ribbon topiary that I received from Heidi last year at a Spring Sweet Goodness swap. It was perfect!

My mom (Grammie) came over to celebrate, and it was so nice to have her be a part of it. In a couple of weeks she and my dad will be moving back to Tennessee so I've been pretty sad about that. There was even a moment when I wanted to cry, because I will truly miss having her near by. But I held back the emotion, as I didn't want it to be a buzz kill.

Our other guest was "Puppy" who is Raina's lovie. We've always referred to Puppy as a he, so I guess by putting a dress on him for the tea party, he was in drag today. And the main reason I put on a hat for a photo was because I've been so busy I am way overdue on getting my hair colored! I think the last time I had a weave was before the photo shoot for TeaTime! Pathetic.

So I am still getting some emails and comments from all the hosted tea parties, so I will post the link list of everyone's posts very soon. I can't wait to see them all!

Thank you to everyone who participated, took some time for yourself to enjoy the rewards of a tea party, and then to post it to your blog. I absolutely love the kindred spirit that is amongst those of us who enjoy tea time!

Here's to a wonderful Spring! *clink*

Welcome First Day of Spring! Tea Party

2008-03-20T10:52:00.000-07:00

I've been so busy getting things ready for our little First Day of Spring Tea Party that I forgot to provide a post for Comments.

So, please leave your comment here with a link to your blog's post about your spring tea party. Then later I will put together a link list.

Thank you in advance to everyone who is participating and enjoying their First Day of Spring!

Sick of sickness

2008-03-06T10:50:00.000-08:00

THIS IS THE THIRD TIME IN SIX WEEKS.

I am so tired of taking care of sick off-spring. I don't know what I did to piss off the Sick Gods, but they are stickin' it to us.

My kids have been getting cyclical flu bugs. And this is the third time in six weeks. They get better then BAM. Sick again. I have the phone number to the call-in sick line at school memorized.

This is no exaggeration:

Five doctor visits (doubling-up with seeing some or all the kids).
One E.R. visit.
One Urgent Care visit attempt. Waited for over an hour, then left.
Five antibiotic rounds.
Four bottles of Children's Motrin.
Five bottles of Children's Tylenol Flu (thank goodness for bubblegum flavor).
Half a bottle of Tylenol w/ Codeine (for #1 son's ear pain)
Half a dropper bottle of Auralgan (for ear pain)
Countless nebulizer breathing treatments.
Two boxes of juice Popsicles.
One spice bottle of Cinnamon Sugar for toast.
One Costco case of Chicken Noodle Soup.
Countless water bottles (all over the place).
One friggin' tired mom.

I don't mean to be a wimpy, whiny mom because I know that there are a gazillion moms taking care of their sick ones or terminally ill children. I don't know how Diana, mom to Regina did it for months on end taking care of her and her cancer treatments.

So I shall put this all into perspective, and be grateful for many things. For the fact that I can be a SAHM and take care of them without jeopardizing a 9 to 5 full-time job. That my kids are healthy and these flu bugs are just temporary set-backs.

But if I have to hear the Wonder Pets or Doodlebops theme one more time, I'm gonna blow a gasket.

First Day of Spring Tea Party

2008-03-01T19:44:00.000-08:00

Okay fellow tea party aficionados. March 20th will quickly come upon us, so let's take the opportunity to celebrate and usher in the First Day of Spring. In other words, it's just an excuse to have a Tea Party!

So bring out your springy-est china and decor, invite a friend or neighbor or have your kids join you and tip your teacups to the end of Mr. Winter. Since it is so close to Easter, feel free to decorate your tea table to your heart's desire whether it is a Spring theme or Easter theme.

Be sure to take photos of your tea party, post them and the details on your blog and come back over here to TheParTeaPlannerBlog.com and leave a comment with a link to your post. Then the following day I will compose a link list of all the fab tea parties so we can all visit you!

A prize will be awarded to someone's Tea Party, to whomever struck my fancy!

So I hope you will join us - spread the word and put the sidebar banner graphic I made on your blog. Click here to get the code and directions how to do it, if you are layout-challenged.

This is gonna be fun!

Where is the thrift at the Thrift Store?

2008-02-29T09:11:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I had to go get fabric at my fave fabric store for an event I am planning. It just happens to be across the street from one of my fave thrift stores. It's a Goodwill that receives a lot of Target donations, so I usually find some great items or clothes that are brand new.

I have really cut down on my thrifting habit the past few months (can you hear hubby clapping) so I was pretty excited to go to this Goodwill and get a "fix". So I perused. And perused. Then perused some more. Everything was.....Just. So. Expensive! I'm like, Where is the thrift in a thrift store? Is it me or are prices getting jacked up at these places? Even a child's tee shirt was $4.99 that I could get brand new retail. However I did find some cute Children's Place tee shirts and a pink Hurley jacket for my daughter.

The only thing I got for myself was this cute pink thermal pot. For $7.99! Barely used, but wow that's kinda steep. But it will be perfect for a Picnic Tea Party that I have planned in my head..........along with all the other tea parties that are in there, just waiting to be planned.

It cleaned up really well, after I did my thorough hot water and denture cleaning treatment. Whenever I buy a thrift item and it can't be put in the dishwasher, I use denture cleaning tablets (I get a box from the .99 cent store) and put a few tablets in the item (tea pots, etc.) with hot water to get the cleaning bubbles inside hard to reach areas especially the neck of a teapot. Then wash with antibacterial dish soap and hot water, rinse really well with hot water. Generally it is not a good idea to use dish soap inside teapots as it may altar the taste of the tea. So I only do it the first time I purchase one new or used. Thereafter I just use really hot water with a clean sponge that doesn't have soap on it, and rinse well.

Would you like to join me?
I have been wanting to host a blogging Tea Party for the First Day of Spring, so maybe this thermal tea pot will be my inspiration and reason to go ahead and DO that Picnic Tea Party, or something else. If so, leave a comment and I will make a graphic banner for a tea party invitation to put on your blog. I don't want to do it if it looks like I will be having tea by myself!

Name Correction

2008-02-16T16:59:00.000-08:00

If, per chance, you have Googled my name from the TeaTime Magazine feature and are trying to locate me, the magazine miss-spelled my name.

It is spelled Risa Provencio - not - Risa Provincio ........

*eye twitching*

He Loves My Heart

2008-02-15T15:11:00.000-08:00

I hope everyone had a romantical Valentine's Day! Since the two out of three of my kids were home sick with a fever and strep throat (again! the second sick-o round this month!) I was not able to do anything special. Usually I make a really nice Valentine's Dinner with candles, and I let the kids drink sparkling cider from plastic champagne flutes and have "fancy" yummy stuff for dessert.

But not this year. They got Pick-Up Stix that hubby got on the way home after picking up prescriptions. So it was not a "love is in the air" day, but more like "germs are in the air". And because I have been in lock-down with sick kids I wasn't able to get dear hubby anything. Not that we really do romantic gestures anyway, because we both think Valentine's Day is overrated.

However, he did bring me a gift from Brighton. I kind of chuckled (internally) when he handed me their signature yellow-y, very graphic gift bag with the bright printed pink tissue paper. And the chuckle was because....well, he always gives me Brighton. Not that I'm complaining, it's just that a few years ago when I first discovered Brighton jewelry I was really into it at the time and loved their bracelets. But ever since then, at Christmas, Mother's Day, my birthday or special occasion, it's a guarantee I'll get to add to my Brighton collection. I don't have the heart or know how to tell him that I'm really not into that kind of jewelry anymore. (gosh I hope he doesn't read my blog!)

But, for some reason this gift meant something more. It was much more significant than the others:

It is from Brighton's Go Red for Women, in support for the American Heart Association. He chose it as a gentle reminder that he wants me to have a healthy heart. Sometimes he is concerned that I don't take better care of my health, which is true.

After I opened it and gave him a hug, he said "You can take it back if you want, or exchange it."

Nope. Even though I have plenty of bracelets, this one is a keeper.

And so is he....

Photos from the Photo Shoot

2008-02-06T08:06:00.000-08:00

Thanks to Stephanie Warner of All About You Photography & Design, she provided the images from our photo shoot for the TeaTime Magazine feature. There were so many to choose from, it was so hard to decide!

So here are my favorites, located in my photo gallery. I also included "behind the scenes" photos of us setting up the shoot. Talk about having a hard time trying to get cute for the head shot, after sweating it up from the set up! I could have seriously used a hair & makeup stylist. But when you are on a budget, cute gets crossed off real quick.

Click here to view the photos.

Thank you to so many of you who have left congratulatory comments or emails regarding the feature! I've heard that you can find TeaTime Magazine at Borders or Barnes & Noble, possibly WalMart but it is all hit or miss depending on their distribution and supply. So the best way is to call Hoffman Media at (888) 411-8995 and then press 1 to go to Customer Service to purchase a copy of the March/April 2008 issue. Do it soon, because once it becomes a "back issue" the price increases!

Okay.

Sigh.

*tapping fingers*

..........just waiting for Oprah's peeps to call.........

*tapping fingers*

Or Martha.

TeaTime Magazine Feature

2008-01-31T16:33:00.001-08:00

So I was checking my email and Donna from Party Wishes sent an email congratulating me on the TeaTime Magazine feature. I email her back that I haven't even seen it yet! So I run out to my mailbox and THERE IT WAS!

I guess all the subscribers are getting the issue first before it hits the stands. So many friends have asked where they can get a copy, and honestly I don't know since I am a subscriber. I guess you will have to call TeaTime Magazine and ask for the distribution, or purchase one copy over the phone.

Now that the magazine is out, I will provide a link to the photo shoot so you can see all the photos that Stephanie took. But I have to get them from her on a CD, there were so many.

A big thank you to Stacey Norwood, the associate editor that helped me through the whole process. She is just the sweetest person. And I appreciate all my family, friends, blog friends, party planning friends and group board friends who have been a great support and encouragement!

Thank you for fulfilling a dream come true!

Risa, The ParTea Planner

Happy Birfday Ryan

2007-12-29T01:42:00.000-08:00

That's how he used to say birthday - "birfday".

Sigh. I miss those days when it was so cute when they would mispronounce words.

My little guy, my middle child, has turned seven.

They say that mom's don't have a favorite child, but we all know they do. And Ryan is mine.

I knew that night you came into my life seven years ago, and watching you sleep under the jaundice lights, that you were something special.

And I was right.

Happy Birfday Ryan!

Photo by Stephanie Warner

Face Painting for C.H.O.C.

2007-12-16T12:15:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I had the opportunity to do face painting for C.H.O.C.'S (Children's Hospital of Orange County) Holiday Party for their neuro patients and families.

I wasn't sure if my friend Regina would show up since she is in chemo treatment, but sure enough - the trooper that she is, was there! I was so excited to look up from painting someones face to see her mom and Regina standing there in line!

For those of you who read my blog may recall of Regina's Princess Tea Party that I did for her this past summer.

Regina is so girly-girl, as she wanted purple snowflakes!

So here is my Purple Winter Princess:

Here she is with mom and her brother:

To view the rest of the darling faces from this event on my gallery, Click Here.

A ParTea Photo Shoot!

2007-12-05T21:41:00.000-08:00

I don't know where to begin. What a whirlwind it has been the past two - no few - weeks.

There was Thanksgiving. Then my son's 9th birthday party last Friday which was supposed to be a "camping" theme and I had a real camp site reserved and everything. But then the forecast predicted rain so I had to change everything within a couple days. So we ended up having pizza at a Round Table then took them all to see Fred Clause at the theater across the street. And it did rain, so I'm glad we were able to make Plan B happen. But I have never had to deal with 14 nine year old boys all at once. WHEW! I was exhausted. Even though I'm a professional party planner I like to do planning and design. You know. Fluff. NOT be an activities director....

And then yesterday was it. The photo shoot for Tea Time Magazine. I can't really divulge any details, and honestly and am too pooped from it all and am recovering. But I must give some credit, some cyber hugs and show my peeps how grateful and sincere I am for pulling it all off (in about a week's notice).

First off, I'd like to thank....hey wait a minute. This feels like I should be holding a golden teapot or something, like I won an Oscar.

Ok, I'm serious now. I really appreciate Mari Robeson from Mari Robeson Home for creating a beautiful, perfect, and ever-so-darling custom hand painted banner. We became acquaintances from blogging, and she had offered to make one for me a while back just out of the generosity of her big heart. When I found out about the photo shoot I thought it would be such a unique idea to have one in our set-up. So when I found out we had a quick deadline, I emailed her if she could do it. Poor thing stayed up really uber late to get it done and shipped to me in time! I was so excited to see it delivered on my porch! And when I opened it, I was so inspired by her color choices that I ended up adding a color to my table scape (which Amanda -see below- told me to have in the first place, but I balked). Which meant the NIGHT BEFORE the photo shoot I was high-tailing it up to Joann's to buy fabric to make a runner and get that color ribbon. Crazy. So thank you Mari, from the bottom of my tea lovin' heart for making such a work of art for me!

I have to thank my friend and florist, Amanda of Fantasy Floral Designs. She put up with all my annoying calls for wanting her input. She's the ying to my yang. She likes to do things a little *off* - a little askew, where I am so matchy-matchy and *safe*. So we meet in the middle and have created some very cool events. Thanks Amanda for creating gorgeous florals and adding your fab midas touch to the shoot!

She said she would forward the link by tonight, so I am anxiously awaiting to view the photos taken by my friend and professional photographer, Stephanie Warner. We spoke earlier today, and she said some of the shots were just *insert heavenly choir sound* awwwwwwwhhhhh! So thank you Steph for providing your professional services, for helping with unloading the mountain of stuff out of the van and for helping me feel at ease during the actual shoot. Your encouraging words "lemmee see that sparkle in your eyes" while shooting was comforting (especially during such an out-of-body experience). I can't WAIT to see the images!

Thank you to Dayna, she is the representative and coordinator at Occasions at Laguna Village where we did the shoot. Even though she injured her foot and had a foot brace on, she was still schlepping up and down the stairs bringing the food down. And then she helped out with some of the piddly stuff that needed to be done, when I felt pulled in a hundred directions and having her help out was such a relief. Thank you so much Dayna for your help and patience. I'm sorry we went over the time limit and you couldn't be in the shoot! sad face :(

I want to thank my mother and daughter "models" Kathy & Maggie (and baby Jake) for coming down and providing us with their beautiful smiles and sense of humor as we played pretend tea party. Because the setting-up and styling took a lot longer than anticipated, they had to wait around which is no small feat when you have a baby to attend to, on-site. But they were most gracious and since Kathy is originally from the South, she wouldn't of complained. At least not out loud.....wink. Thank you ladies for your time, and for rearranging your schedules at the last minute to make yourselves available for me!

There is no way, NO WAY I could have made it without Rebecca. Our friendship is kinda odd, because in a way she is my direct competition since she stared her own tea party business a few months ago. But we have gotten close and have such a camaraderie. In a heartbeat she offered to come down and help me out. Man, she was a work horse! And she was there when I was barking out requests for this and that. And because she is a perfectionist herself, she understood my pickiness and all. So I have no idea how I would have been able to get it all done had I not had her there helping out. Shudder to think. So thank you so much Becs for being there - physically, emotionally and encouraging me all the while.

Well, someone has to watch the rugrats while mommy is running around crazy doing a photo shoot. So a huge thanks to my mom and dad for staying with my kids and taking care of them while I fulfill a dream. A sorry to my children who only heard for the past 10 days "No, mom is busy, I can't". Thank you for understanding and letting me get things done. And lastly, to my dear hubby. For helping me find stuff. For moving stuff. For trying to be comforting when I broke the saucer and had the melt down. For accepting drive-thru food for dinner. A lot. And a thank you in advance for having to enter in all the receipts in Quicken and tying to make sense of all this business stuff from my self-diagnosed ADD.

So again thank you so much to everyone for bringing your talents and/or support to this project which means so me.

Here is a snippet, as I can't show any photos yet! The feature will be in the March/April issue (fingers crossed). Can't wait to hear what the editors decide to use!

Face Painting for Fundraising

2007-11-16T22:50:00.000-08:00

Last night I was able to provide face painting for my daughter's preschool fundraiser.

They had a Fall Carnival & Silent Auction (it was belated due to the So Cal fires and the date got pushed back), so myself and Rebecca, my fellow face painting and party planner friend came to help out. We had a great time and I think we were able to contribute to the fundraising efforts as the room was filled the entire time with children and parents who were waiting in line. Click here to view a few photos I took of the "quick design" faces I painted.

I have really been enjoying face painting more and more, it's very addictive and rewarding. Check out the site I made just for face painting: Colorful Face Painting.com

Fund Raiser TIP:
I highly recommend face painting as a fund raiser for your school or other event. Not only does it give the event an element of partyness (is that a word?...well it is now) with kids and adults walking around with color on their faces, but it is also a form of entertainment.

Don't feel like you have to be a Picasso in order to face paint. If you decide to give it a try, here are some tips:

DO NOT use acrylic or tempura paints to face paint with. Even though it may say non-toxic it is not wise or safe for use on the facial area. PLEASE use products that are made just for face painting. I use Snazaroo face paints which is one of the most popular brand of face paints on the market. You can purchase Snaz products at their website (they have a discount for non-profit orgs) or from Silly Farm which is where I get my FP supplies. The best brushes to try are a Round #5 and #3 that you can buy at Michaels or Silly Farm. I like the American Painter brand.
Search online or Google the most popular face paint designs. It does not have to be complete, full face designs but you can do a mask, one eye or half face. Cheek art can actually take longer to paint than a quick butterfly, mask or muzzle.
Check out step-by-step how to's face paint designs on You Tube
No matter the results or outcome of your design, children don't care, they just absolutely LOVE having paint on their face!

Featured in Special Events Magazine

2007-11-16T08:04:00.000-08:00

Thank you to Special Events Magazine for showcasing the Mary Poppins Birthday Tea Party
that we (I) produced. Click on the link to view the online version article. It is quite an honor to be featured in such a respected industry trade publication. I haven't received my copy yet, but will post when it arrives.

To view the slideshow photo gallery of the Mary Poppins event click here.

Pumpkin Carving Party

2007-10-29T13:48:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we had our annual block Pumpkin Carving Party. This is a party that I've coordinated since we all moved here six years ago - wow, time has flown by! I tried to find photos from the first couple of years, but unfortunately that was back when I didn't take many photos. Now I'm bummed.

To view all the photos from this party click here.

Photos from the past:

2003 (pre-third child days)

2005

2006

2007

This party is a highlight of my year. I guess because it kinda officially kicks off the holidays. Next thing you know it is Thanksgiving, then Christmas.

I wasn't even sure we were going to be able to go forward with the party due to the So Cal fires which made the air quality here in Orange County unbearable. Kids were home from school on Thurs. & Friday. But Saturday, thank goodness came some drizzling and a breeze which brought back our beautiful weather and were able to come outside again.

How To:

If you would like to plan a Pumpkin Carving Party here are some party tips:

Send out an Evite to your friends, family or neighbors letting them know the date and time. We also have a Chili Cook-Off and have a couple of pots of chili, hot dogs, pizza, salad and desserts. You can set-up in Evite which food assignments you need for your potluck. Also assign someone to bring paper goods such as napkins, bowls, plates, plasticware.
Everyone is BYOBeverages and a snack to share during the carving time.
Everyone needs to bring their table, chairs, table cover or newspapers, pumpkin carving tools, garbage bags, hand or diaper wipes, tea light candle and of course, their pumpkins. And their camera!
Ask everyone to wear colors such as black, orange or Halloween theme T-shirts.
We've done activities such as Halloween tattoos, crafts from Oriental Trading, cookie decorating, bounce the eyeball game etc. I was going to try to do face painting this year, but time got away.
For a yummy "Screamcicle" drink, last year I filled a large pickle jar with a quart of softened vanilla ice cream and a 2liter bottle of orange soda (or was it two bottles?). Stir until the ice cream is mixed. Yummy!
Gotta have music! To set the party atmosphere, play Halloween CD's. One of my favorite ones is Kid's Halloween Costume Party CD.
For the past two years, (this is in lieu of an apple dunking game), I've done a donut eating contest which has become a huge hit with the kids. Simply tie a small rope across two poles or trees. Cut curly ribbon to hang from the rope. Then tie on powdered "Ghostly Donuts" to the ribbon thru the hole, at different heights. The kids have to have their hands behind their backs to eat the donut. It is sooooo funny! They love it!

Then at the end of the party, we line up the carved pumpkins and had out small labels that I've printed on Avery 8167 size, that say Most Unique, Most Scary, Most Funny, Most Creative and everyone can put their stickers on the pumpkins as sort of a contest. Everyone wins!

It's a great party.....

Really Cute Personalized Plates

2007-10-26T12:23:00.000-07:00

I've gotten emails requesting where you can get the personalized plate that was from Isabelle's First Birthday Party.

You can order custom plates and other really cute items at Timree's.

Isabelle's First Birthday Party

2007-10-25T12:42:00.000-07:00

It was a lot of fun planning Isabelle's First Birthday Party. I've done First Birthday Parties before....my own kids.

The mom wanted a party that was cute and elegant. So to come up with new ideas for this party was a fun challenge. What I mean by challenge is how to make a cute, "elegant" party for wee little ones - mostly two years and under. Snacks for little hands were provided, and sippy cups were at each setting. I fluffed up the Birthday Girl's high chair with pink organza and marabou trim around the tray. Initially, I wanted to have a lady come out and do child's hand impressions in clay, but it would have gotten rather pricey. So I came up with the idea to have them have painted hand and foot on canvas boards as an activity and take home favor. It was so much fun painting their chubby little hands and feet! Then I sprayed it with a paint sealer.

The take home goodie bags consisted of a custom photo cookie that I did the photo graphic and had made by Schmerty's Gourmet Cookies. They are wonderful at this bakery and very quick with shipping! Then I made "The Best Homemade Play Dough" in pink and green colors presented in a jar with a personalized label and a copy of the play dough recipe.

I decided to use my new thrift find that I painted, add a foam ball covered in silk flowers and ribbon. I think it was either a votive holder or my friend thinks it is a wine bottle holder. Then made paper cones from 12x12" scrapbook paper.

Here is the before and after of my cone holder:
Click here to view my photos from this event. The client had their professional photographer there, as they did a family portrait before the party. It was such a pleasure to see Melinda Kim in action and I can't wait to get the images of the party that she took - they looked amazing from what I could see in her view screen! Will post the photos later when I get them.

Here is the recipe for the play dough, the cream of tartar is what makes this one the most like the real thing:

The Best (and Baby Safe) Homemade Play Dough Recipe
4 cups flour
4 cups water
1 cup salt
1/2 cup cream of tartar (approx. a 2.5 oz. size)
4 tablespoons of vegetable oil
Variation: Add one package of unsweetened powdered Kool-Aid while mixing. This will give it a nice smell and will add a slight color to it.

Mix all ingredients in a large sauce pan. Heat and stir over low to medium heat, use a whisk to get out flour lumps. Continue to stir – consistency will first look like cake batter, then lumpy then clumpy. Stir until it becomes dough, completely formed and no longer sticky. Allow to cool slightly, knead a little bit to form a big ball before storing in an air tight container or zippy bag.

Happy Birthday Pamina!

2007-09-29T23:47:00.000-07:00

I was contacted just a few days ago to put together a Birthday Dinner Party, so I procured the caterer, rentals, linens, music entertainment and the flowers. Pamina loves pink and orange, so I made the floral design in those colors. Since the dinner and dessert was to be outside, even though there were heaters, I brought orange fleece blankets for warmth and cuddling.

Click here to view the photos.

My Friday

2007-09-18T02:10:00.001-07:00

My friend Kelly is a fellow wedding and event planner in Florida (we've never met, just know each from an industry "members only" message board). ANYHOO, this girl is a nut. A couple of weeks ago she created a montage of what kind of day she had as a wedding planner. This is her montage:

You can read about the details on the post on her blog. Stuff about creating a new DVD cover for a client, getting a tour of a gorgeous new venue, loving her Starbucks, shopping for a client, updating menus and budgets yadda, yadda. She looks so glam - hair styled and sporting Nicole Richie sunglasses. So "J-Lo". So wedding planner-ish.

And then there's MY kind of day as an event planner. Here's my montage:

(To view up close click on the montage. Hopefully I don't have any chin hairs showing.)

Left to RIGHT, Top to Bottom:

1. Went to the flower market to get flowers for Mariela's Birthday Party.

2. This is what greeted me at the entrance. I love gerber daisy's. They are just. Happy.

3. She's my intern. Don't mention anything about her height, she's a little self-conscience about it.

4. Stopped at McDee's before going to the flower market. So there Starbucks. Don't see a drive-thru at your place! Now I will have money left over to buy that McGriddle, and not spend it all on a Venti.

5. Yup. That's me. In my usual state of glamourousness - a baseball hat and no makeup. Didn't take a shower either, cuz flowers don't care.

6. I'm glad to see my lil' intern is very Green, and drives her electric car to work.

7. I wonder if David Tutera has ever had a power lunch at Funtown Hot Dogs?

8. All the flowers I purchased unloaded and in buckets on my front porch. Some one's gotta be the white trash on our street....

It was a great day.

Seriously, it was fun. I took Raina with me and we had a great time, she really likes to help me. And the flower market is literally across the freeway from Lego Land, and we have passes. So we went for a couple of hours which was also a lot of fun since we usually have "the boys" - dad and two brothers there, and they don't like to go on the kiddie rides. And it is so worth going there just for the Granny Fries. Omigawd. They are the best. They fry diced green apples, coated in sugary cinnamon, accompanied with a vanilla cream to dip them in. HEAVEN.

But I had to drive home like a maniac to pick up my son from school in time. Of course I hit traffic on the freeway. Took some side streets, hit every flippin' red light. When I got there to the school, they had him waiting in the office. The office ladies already know I'm NOT one of the totally-have-it-together-moms like all the rest of 'em.

But that's okay. They didn't get to see really happy gerbers....

Happy Birthday to Mariela!

2007-09-17T00:17:00.000-07:00

Over the weekend I did a birthday party for Mariela who is my good friend. When we started planning her party about a month ago, she gave me a budget to work with for the decor. But then her dear husband secretly "slipped" me some more funds so I could go all out for her. She loves pink -like myself- which made it easy to do. However, since there were going to be gentlemen friends there, I toned it down just a wee bit and the flowers were more mauve in color than pink. But the guys don't seem to mind - I don't even think they notice!

I put together the floral arrangements, the tables (we used what tables we own - 54" rounds and 6' banquets), the poles with the willow with cymbidium orchids, hanging crystals and candles, the candy table (remember my glass vase find?) etc. I didn't get pictures of it, but I also provided pink fleece blankets for the ladies shoulders and laps. They were a big hit. Also in the corner of the backyard, I set-up one of those portable round patio fire things and the guys were hanging out around the fire, smoking cigars and drinking port. It was THE BEST port wine I have ever had!

Shown is the set-up during the daytime, then photos of it during the nighttime with the candles glowing. It was so difficult to capture how purty it was with the candles......the photos don't do it justice.

Come back in a couple days and I will have a link for the photo gallery. I will also post "a day in the life of an event planner" which is kinda silly....

UPDATE: Click here to view photos from the party.

Taking care of business (cards)

2007-08-29T09:27:00.000-07:00

I was running out of my event planning business cards - they are so four years ago, and designed some new cards. My old cards were not reflective of me at all. At them time I had them "professional" and safe, they were black and gold with a photo. *yawn* borrrrringggg.

Now that I am -ahem- older and don't give a hoot, I decided to design cards that were more me and my fave colors. I made four differnt cards and one postcard. Here they are:

For weddings:

For children's parties:

For social events/tea parties

For showers:

Yup. Livin' the dream....

2007-08-28T08:41:00.000-07:00

This is why I haven't been posting or commenting on y'all's blogs much. It's the last couple of weeks of summer, and want to take advantage of living five minutes from the beach before school starts.

When school starts and I don't have to be Activities Director anymore, I'll have a bunch of things to post about!

Tie One On

2007-08-25T09:08:00.000-07:00

I have to order some red bow ties for a birthday party I am doing on Saturday, and thought I would share the info of Solid Color Neckties. I used to buy from them when they were just on eBay, but now they have a great website. I like to have all my staff/servers wearing ties when we do tea parties or other events, and will try to match the color of the event. For $3.75 each you can go all out! Okay, so they aren't silk Italian ties, but they are great quality and look so cool!

One of my staff with their tie.

Here are some other ideas on how you can "tie one on":

~ Is there a wedding in your future? The ties are great gifts for all the groomsmen and the fathers of the wedding party too. They can even do little boys ties to match (so cute!). They also have women's scarves to match.

~If you are going to be hosting a dinner or cocktail party at your home and will be having catering or bartender staff - get them matching ties to "tie in" the colors of your theme.

~ Or if you are hosting a bridal or baby shower dress up the hubbies or other fellas to be the "servers" and have them wear ties to match the shower colors. Don't want men folk around the shower? Pay some teen gals to come assist and do the same. Just have them wear black pants, white collar button shirt and then provide a tie. But have hubby pre-tie it for them, then they can just slip it around their collar and tighten.

~Useful for prom, to have the fella's tie match her prom dress.

~ Cool idea for a Bar or Bat Mitzvah. As soon as an invited young gentleman has RSVP'd to attend the Bar or Bat Mitzvah, mail him off a tie in the event color and include a note from the guest of honor saying something like "Green Tie Required."

You get the idea....

If you have any other ideas on how to "tie one on", feel free to leave a comment!

Congrats to PresentPast Collection

2007-08-11T01:06:00.000-07:00

Heather just launched her new and beautiful store at The PresentPast Collection tonight. So to show my support, of course I had to buy something!

See, see what I got.........*opening shopping bag*

12 Georgian Eggshell Homer Laughlin Cake Plates (for my tea parties).

Paper Millinery Bouquet (2 bunches).
Have no idea how to use them, they just sang to me.

.....and Antique Ledger Paper.
Again, clueless.

Boy, this whole blogging thing is getting expensive! JK.

I wish Heather the best of luck and much success with her endeavors!

Nothin' but net

2007-08-10T00:05:00.000-07:00

This net is a great idea if you are having a wedding - it can be used for a huppa or for a sweetheart table, or for just an intimate dinner area in your backyard!

Children also love to be enveloped by a "canopy" (I was having a tough time keeping my kids out of it when setting this up!) and this could also be big enough to fit a lager table for approx. 12 children for their birthday party. I also purchased one in hot pink for a girl's party or bacholerette party. You can find them from this eBay seller, they are simply bed canopies and come in different colors and sizes. For this purpose I got the queen/king size.

Then to do-it-yourself, you will need four 8' pipe, cross bars and bases (you can rent pipe & base from party rental company or make your own out of PVC pipe and market umbrella bases). The corners of the net already have a metal ring so all you have to do is secure them to the poles.

If you can attach a cross bar over and across the top, you can hang a chandelier or I call them "candle-iers" in the center of the canopy by putting a heavy gauge wire or zippy cable tie through the canopy net holes and attach onto the cross bar. Then use a sturdy ribbon (one with wired edges will work) to secure the chandelier to the wire or zippy tie. This is so you don't rip the net. You could also use paper lanterns or tissue paper pom-poms to hang from the top. Go wild!

(To view a close-up of the faux cupcakes I made, click here.)

Does this make my GLASS look big?

2007-08-09T16:35:00.000-07:00

The other day I was at Marshalls (cuz we all know about my shopping/hoarding issues - that's a whole seperate blog) and came across these beauties. So I bought 'em all. They'll be perfect for a candy table or to use as centerpiece vases.

Chai me a river

2007-08-08T18:51:00.001-07:00

Ever since I had my first really good Chai tea about a month ago, I have been addicted.

Bad. Like drinking about four cups a day bad.

So now I am on search for the best-tasting Chai tea. At least what the local markets can offer until I get my shipment of loose leaf Spiced Chai tea from my wholesale tea importer to try theirs.

The ones from grocery stores and Trader Joes aren't too bad. Even beats Starbucks. A whole box of tea with 20 teabags is cheaper than one Venti. After trying all the above brands (I like it hot), I have to say that I prefer the Bigelow brand as far as taste and spiciness goes. The Trader Joes' pre-sweetened mix is a lot easier - there is no brewing and it already has the dry milk/sugar mixed in the powder - just put in hot water and stir. But it is higher in calories. And I have a little bit of lactose intolerance, so I usually make mine with vanilla soy and sugar or Splenda.

My least favorite was the Stash brand. Just had too much of a "bite" to it, almost metallic taste.

So if any of you are Chai lovers what brand do you like?

Tiara Swap

2007-08-07T11:55:00.000-07:00

So after being pathetically late in making Heather of Bluhm Studios her tiara for Holly Doodle Designs Tiara Swap, I finally got it off to her! You can view all the fab-u tiaras the group made at Flickr, here.

The photos are not my best since I can't access my PS, as my main computer had a hard drive crash this morning. I am very afraid, because my beloved Photoshop is on that computer...cute techy-geek hubby will have to check it out tonight....crossing my fingers he can fix it.

Here is the tiara I received from Heather. The colors are absolutely perfect, and I adore the vintage bling and pom-poms! The "R" could be for either my name or my event planning company Romanza Events. Perfecto!

And here is the tiara I made for Heather. She likes vintage buttons, and glitter. But she LOVES birds, so I thought this lil' cutie birdie could oversee her work as she creates so many wonderful things that she does for so many people. She even has her own tiny tiara! She is dressed and ready for a tea party...

The materials are: raised wallpaper on the bottom portion with glitter highlighting the raised scrolls, silk flowers with rhinestones centers along the bottom edge, tinsel ribbon on edges, vintage music sheets cut into hearts & edged with glitter, a party cup cut in half for the bird's nest filled with feathers, vintage buttons I got from a gal at etsy, a rhinestone spray and pink tulle at the top. The bird's "tiara" is made from a tinsel pipe cleaner.

It is much sparkly in person, and I hope Heather likes it. I have been so insecure at trying my hand for the first time in these crafty ephemera projects/swaps since these ladies are hard-core talented at it!

Thank you Holly for hosting such a unique and fun swap!

Wedding ceremony and thimbles

2007-07-30T10:55:00.000-07:00

The tip of my finger is still numb.

On Saturday I conducted a ceremony only. Very sweet couple and so were their friends and family.

The set-up was very simple, and they had everything under control. So to be useful, I offered to help them with pinning on the corsages and boutonnières. About 19 of them.

I have put on a few hundred corsages and boutonnières in my career, with speed and accuracy and absolutely NO PIN showing. Yes, I pride myself in fixing the one who has a "bout" totally askew and pin sticking out from a fellow buddy who attempted to pin it on him, or a grandmother who's corsage is limping to the side because there was nothing to anchor it to on her flimsy georgette fabric dress.

But these were silk flowers. They were pretty cymbidium orchid silk flowers fashioned into corsages and bouts. Translate: very hard, thick plastic "stems". So I am pushing, and pushing and pushing pins into these suckers with as much grace as I could muster considering the hardness of the stem. I seriously could have used a thimble.

The tip of my right index finger was pretty sore after all that, and seriously - it is still numb on the tip!

It was a fairly warm, muggy (for OC) July day, and I thought this was a clever idea the bride did for fans. The ceremony program was printed on the outside of a folded two page program, then the wooden stick was glued to the inside. So this version may be a lot less expensive than having ceremony fans printed.

Here is how you can D.I.Y. your own fan programs:

Purchase program card stock, either printed from the dealer, or blank and print at home. Another option, print and then fold a piece of 8.5" x 11" card stock in half. Use a bone folder or a ruler to press the edge down.

Purchase the wooden sticks, which need to be longer and bigger than traditional tongue depressors.

Place double-stick tape to the program edges, hot glue gun the sticks to the inside and press. Add a ribbon in your color(s).

This idea can also be used for menu cards if you are having a daytime outdoor event or meal.

Elevator Man & 37 (Erika's Bridal Shower)

2007-07-13T09:24:00.000-07:00

I helped with a bridal shower last weekend (just trying to get caught up from last week). I did the floral and linen decor for a caterer that I work with occasionally. Totally a very last-minute gig, not my best floral work with such short notice, but the host specifically wanted gerbera daisies. And then she put out photos of the Guest of Honor, so we had to elevate the centerpieces so you could see them. That's the thing with event planning - have to be flexible and resourceful.

The shower cake had a heart on it with "Elevator Man & 37" piped on the frosting. The host of the bridal shower told me the story of how they met less than a year ago. At the time, the bride-to-be was working in a hi-rise in downtown L.A. and the groom-to-be is an elevator engineer who was working on the hi-rise's elevators. They noticed each other as she would come and go from her office on the 37th floor, but never spoke. So whenever she would enter the building, his buddies would radio to him that "37" is in the building and he would position himself to be in the area to see her. And she was referring to him as "Elevator Man" to her friends at work, since they did not know each other's names. After a while she kind of gave up, thinking maybe he must be married since he was not saying anything to her....

Finally, as she went into the elevator one day he followed her in. They finally talked! After work that day, they met over coffee. The rest, they say is history.

I thought it was a really cute story, could be a Lifetime movie or something.....

To view all the photos of this event, visit my gallery.

A Special Day Princess Tea Party for Regina

2007-07-09T11:55:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I had the honor of donating my services for a tea party, for a very special girl, Regina. The Fox Family (their daughter goes to school with Regina) contacted me last week so that they may graciously give a gift certificate to her to enjoy this tea party before she begins chemotherapy today. You can read Regina's story and her fight with brain cancer on her mom's blog.

To view all the photos from this very special event click here.

A Tea Party Fit for a Princess

2007-07-04T17:16:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I set-up a tea table, catered and served a tea party for a little girl turning three. I was sourced by a children's party production company to provide tea services for this event. They provided the Princess appearance, the dress-up and the entertainment. This was a last-minute booking, so we had to scramble to make it happen, and we did.

We had a great time. And the birthday girl was the cutest lil' thing I have ever seen, so full of personality! During the storybook time she kept jiggling her head so she could feel her clip-on earrings dangle. She was just adorable.

I have to say my "Strawberry Creamy-Dreamy" sandwiches were a hit with the girls! I had fun making them, and not only were they cute but very yummy too. Unfortunately I didn't have time to take a good shot of it, so I just cropped this from another pic. I don't think I will make the Mini Mac 'n Cheese bites again they were too much work and didn't turn out the way I made them in the past.

To view all the photos visit my gallery. Professional images will be available in a few weeks from my assistant and photographer Stephanie Warner.

Also, the Client was so hospitable because as we were setting up the party, she brought us teacups full of Chai tea, sweetened and with milk. I literally gulped mine it was so delicious. I had never had Chai taste so good! I kept asking the other girls if they wanted theirs, so I could finish it off! I'm still thinking about that cuppa and would love more!! Starbucks cannot compare to what she made!

Today I am really tired and need to catch up on everything I am supposed to be doing!

Happy 4th of July and I hope you had a fun and memorable holiday!

ParTea goodies from Heather

2007-06-25T11:27:00.000-07:00

It's been so crazy the past few days, with school ending, and I helped out with the last day of school carnival at my sons' school. And this weekend we went to the Little League day at the Angels' game on Sunday. That was cool, as the Little League teams got to have a parade and walk around the Angels field and since I was Team Mom, I got to walk with them. Man, it is huge! And it is neat to see the "innards" of something - you know, like behind-the-scenes things. Like seeing the speed gun thingy that clocks how fast a ball is pitched. I saw the guy setting it up and adjusting it, up close. And it was very cool to see the dug outs, the camera crew area etc.

So today I was able to pick up my mail, and got to open up my swap package from Heather from Speckled Egg for the ParTea Time Swap. As soon as I opened it up, a waif of wonderful smells came out it! It was the tea that she included, it smells amazing. I can't wait to have a cuppa!

P for ParTea Planning stuff is a really neat book called "Wedding Showers" and a book I was not even familiar with! I love the photos, the ideas, the recipes. It's a great resource and I will definitely use it for my business! She also included a shabby chic notepad with darling floral tacks. I will use it in my home office.

A is for Aprons for Risa and Raina. I absolutely LOVE the polka dot aprons that has a pocket with potholders! I can't wait to get a picture of my and Raina baking in them. They are perfect: Pink and Polka dots - my favorite!

R for Really Yummy Tea does smell very yummy. Like I said, I can't wait to have a cuppa.

T is for Teacup & Saucer. Heather gave a very detailed cream colored butterfly t & s. It is so pretty - the butterflies are raised, the saucer has cut-outs and also a raised design.

E is for Extra Goodies. She included cute teapot & teacup cookie cutters, tealights in pink flowers, honey sticks, stickers and paper serviettes. All wonderful things I will put to good use!

A is for A Pretty Set of Tea Towels. I love the design of these towels! I will use them at the tea parties I do, sometimes I have a tea towel hanging from my apron to wipe my hands and these will be perfect for that!

So thank you so much Heather, I love, love, love it all!

ParTea Time Swap

2007-06-18T11:56:00.000-07:00

These are the goodies I put together for my first swap, ParTea Time Swap. We swapped tea related things that began with the letters PARTEA. View the group's photos at Flickr.

My partner is Heather, from Speckled Egg, and she is like me - she loves pink and shabby chic. I hope she likes her goodies.

A big thanks to all the ladies who joined in on the fun. From the feedback I received, everyone really enjoyed the theme, made a new tea-loving friend and would like to do it again in the future. I will probably do another one in the fall, for a holiday tea theme. So check back!

P is for Pedestal plate for your goodies.

A is for Apron made from a tea towel

R is for Read a good book (and Tea Time magazine - my favorite!)

T is for Teacup & Saucer, of course.

E is for Eat scones with some yummy tea.

A is for Additional teatime goodies.
They are a little wire teapot, teabag holder, tea cup in a frame,
note cards all tucked into a small hat box.

I thought my idea to hang a chandelier crystal as a tea drip was kinda cute.

Attempt to make a teatime tote.

ParTea Time Swap!

Thanks Heather for being my partner!

Birthday Girl fun

2007-06-17T21:29:00.000-07:00

So for my birthday, we spent the day at Legoland. We haven't been there since 4th of July last year, and we got our passes renewed and that is what I wanted to do for my birthday.

I just love Legoland, because the park is small enough and not stressful or overly crowded like the Mickey Mouse place, but yet there is plenty to do. Especially now that they added the Pirate Shores section last year, it makes for a lot of wet fun for the kids.

I wore a "Birthday Girl" tiara (see above) that I found in some of my event stuff I am sorting through, and hubby just shook his head and said "You sure do like the bling, don't you?" I corrected him and said "Bling to me is over the top, like to show off. Like what rappers do. I prefer to call it sparkle. So yes, I sure do like the sparkle."

It was a hoot wearing it, and so many passer-bys said Happy Birthday! to me and one of the Legoland workers gave me a Happy Birthday button. I highly recommend it for any gal who enjoys a lil' bit of sparkle.

When the park closed, we had dinner at a near-by Applebees. The servers sang that silly birthday song and I got a free sundae. Hubby said I should wear the tiara every time we go out. He said, "Heck, I'll even wear it if it gets me free dessert."

******A heartfelt thank you to everyone who left a birthday wish comment on my birthday post below. I really appreciated the kind words and loved the warm fuzzies ya'll gave me! Thanks again, you know how to make a fellow blogger gal feel lahved....

34 shots just to get at least ONE decent pic of all three! No kidding, 34!

Today is my Birthday

2007-06-16T09:33:00.000-07:00

Even at a Season Finale Baseball Party....

2007-06-08T10:02:00.000-07:00

.....I have to make a (cup)cake riser.

I am the Team Mom for my son's team.

To view all the cute photos from our baseball party,
click here.

Getting ready for summer

2007-06-04T12:51:00.000-07:00

I thought this Watermelon Teapot would be a really cute centerpiece for a summer theme tea party!

Directions:

Using a round watermelon, slice off a piece approximately 1 ½ inches down on the stem end.

Cut the small, round cover handle out of the center of this piece by using a small round cookie cutter, or cut by hand. Place the remaining larger "ring" on the serving plate to act as a base and place the whole watermelon on top of it, cut side down.

Slice off approximately 4 inches from the other end of the watermelon and set aside. Scoop out the watermelon flesh using a melon baller, and set aside.

Slice the 4-inch thick watermelon piece in half, lengthwise, making two 2-inch round pieces. Use the round end piece for the tea pot cover. Make decorative cuts in the rind with a melon baller and fill holes with melon balls.

Lay the remaining melon slice down and cut in half, making the handle and spout out of each half. Scoop out the red flesh. Make decorative cuts in the rind of the handle piece with a melon baller and fill with melon balls.

You may need to trim the spout and handle pieces so they fit flat against the melon. Attach with sturdy, round toothpicks.

Source: Watermelon.org

Tea Party book review

2007-06-01T08:55:00.000-07:00

I have been waiting months for this book to be available for purchase. Not because I need another book on tea, but because of the curiosity factor. Tea Party by Tracy Stern appeared to be something more up my alley, because I had checked out the author's website and was intrigued.

Yesterday the book arrived and I was planning on waiting to look it over and have myself a little tea time, and peruse the book with a cuppa. Yah right.

I couldn't wait and went ahead and looked through it.

This is a quote straight from a customer review off of the Amazon listing of this book:

"I was very disappointed in this book. I was hoping for beautiful pictures of the recipes and party settings. Content was OK, but minus the pictures, it was a total waste of money. "

My review of this book is what she said.

There are some very helpful ideas, and the recipes do look good enough to try, and not too complicated (but then how hard is it to make a tea sandwich?) to make. But I was just expecting more photos and detail shots. But there is only a couple of photos -if that- for each of the "20 Themed Tea Parties" as the cover states. And the images that were there, show exquisite china and not something that most people have or have access to.

So it left me underwhelmed and wanting more.

My book (if I ever could have one) would be real tea parties for real people and not something that is unattainable and obviously planned by a New York City socialite.

Tea-Ball

2007-05-30T22:51:00.001-07:00

So my whole blog thing, is, obviously about tea stuff and all. But I'm sure you all know that I have a ton of other interests and activiTeas going on. That's why the lil' pink tag on my banner header says "And Risa's Other Lovies". So I don't have to talk tea all the time, y'know.

Lately, it is baseball.

My two sons are in Little League and I am, of course, the Team Mom.

For both teams.

I know. I know. Classic over-doer. So as you can imagine, I've been busy with that, especially since the the season is almost over and I've been planning their End of Season Party(s).

Anyhoo, I wanted to get the coaches some cool personalized gift(s) and starting plugging away with graphics and other baseball sayings, etc. and got carried away. The over-doer that I am.

So, if you or someone you know are baseball fans and would like any cool baseball gear/items or a neat-o gift for Coach (or Team Mom, don't forget her!), check out my Cafe Press Store. If you would like items personalized with a name or a different saying, email me with the info and I can upload it for you.

A percentage of the proceeds will go to help support our community's Little League. Thank you for visiting and PLAY BALL!

Batch Number Deaux

2007-05-25T11:36:00.000-07:00

Here's my second batch of mini faux cupcakes, but this time with *SPARKLE*

I love that word.
Sparkle.

Say it with me now.
Sparkle.

Vanilla Buttercream

Pink Buttercream

: : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : :

They look much more sparkly and fairy-ish in person.

Now, what to do with two dozen of these?

There's a cute shabby-chic consignment shop downtown.
Maybe my friend there will sell them?

Later that day......

This is the first time I've made REAL cupcakes in a loooong time.
I usually use one of my amazing bakery vendors.

But with making all those faux cupcakes, it inspired me
to try frosting with tips on the real thing.
This is the first time I've used decorator tips.
In the past, I would just slap the frosting on with a butter knife.

It's not so difficult...

UPDATE: YOU CAN GET THE INSTRUCTIONS ON HOW TO MAKE FAUX CUPCAKES FROM THIS EBAY SELLER. CLICK ON "ITEMS FOR SALE". USE THE BUY IT NOW FOR "FAKE FOOD".

Please do not email me for instructions.

ThrifTea Finds

2007-05-23T11:47:00.000-07:00

Here are some of my latest thrifty finds from the past couple of weeks.

It was a good silver day...

I'll use these for flowers on tea tables (after I polish them).

Pretty candy dish (?) I think that is what it is.
I liked the shape.

UPDATE

Here's the candy dish (?) all polished and shiny.

This was so tarnished it was beyond black
-almost purple- to get beneath the surface!
My fingers are crippled.
But it was worth the instant gratification!

Even better with flowers!
*sigh*

So if any of my antique friends know anything about silver,
the bottom of this piece is stamped
"ARGOSY 1847 Rogers Bros. 00669".
Be interesting to know a lil 'bout it....

Small silver tea set for Raina to play with.

Just. Because.
They are hot pink!
Probably never to be worn
(not by me at least, not with my bunion).
But they will make for a very hip floral centerpiece.
Someday.

Knick-knacks.
I love this kind of lime colored moss.
The frames I shall paint white and distress,
put a floral print fabric back to it and attach a
small china plate in the middle.

I want to give it a try at some of the neat-o tags
and paper ephemera stuff,
so here is my first purchase of sheet music.

I love retro jewelery...

And the pièce de résistance.

I had five minutes to squeeze in and visit one of the thrift stores
I frequent and spotted this cutie right away! It made my day.

Love the font style for the word COOKIES.

So, until the next episode of thrifty goodness......ThrifTea On!

Creative Diversion

2007-05-22T21:09:00.000-07:00

For some reason the photos of my faux cupcakes was not showing, so I uploaded it again.

I think I reached my blogger cache limit or something(?).

Happy Birthday Mom!

2007-05-19T15:49:00.000-07:00

My mom, Sandra, was born in Tennessee on this day in 1944.

Her dad was an officer and was in Europe fighting in WWII. He led a battalion in the Battle of the Bulge and later did administrative duties for Gen. Patton. He returned home in 1946. I have a night gown that my grandmother made out of real raw silk that they used as parachutes when they parachuted into battle.

Mom grew up in the epitome of a baby boomer's world and had a dream childhood. Her grandmother lived next door, and she tells me tales of her wonderful grandmothers suthun cooking and baking. And growing up in the country (even though they were considered "city folk" back then - they were the first ones on their street to have a television!) hearing tales of catching fireflies and taking care of small farm animals.

In high school she loved Elvis, Dean Martin and played on the basketball team - ahead of her time for such a sport and she fell in love her junior year with blue-eyed and sweet mannered boy, Lloyd. He used to be her high school's most popular football player, but had graduated and joined the Army. When he came back to visit and went to a game that's when she took her chance to go talk with him. At the age of 17 they married in August, right before she started her senior year in high school. He was then stationed in Goose Bay Labrador, Canada. She continued to live at home with her folks for that year.

Then they moved as dad (Lloyd) was stationed in Lubbock, TX then in Wyoming. When he was done with his military service they moved to Los Angeles so he could go to Pepperdine Univ. to get a degree in missions. Mom was one of the campus secretaries. They lived on the campus housing apartments for the married couples. And were poor.

At age 22 and after several infertility tests, they had no luck with having children. Then one of the Professors who knew Sandra from her secretary job (he was also a minister) had met a woman who was pregnant and wanting a Christian family to adopt the baby. He approached Lloyd and Sandra with the opportunity. They had two weeks to prepare for a newborn and somehow they were able to come up with the $356 for the adoption and legal costs. This is where I come into their lives. Mom quit her secretary job and took care of me as a SAHM until my older elementary school days.

I won't bore you with the rest of the details, but I just want to wish my wonderful mom a birthday wish.

I wish that I will be the kind of mom and wife the way you are.....

to be patient

how you taught me how to read a recipe and to cook (I stink at it, but you did your part!)

how to sew

how to plan and make wonderful home-cooked meals (that I still remember to this day)

to keep a home clean (well.......)

to read books

to respect and support your husband like you do

the list goes on...

I love you mom and wish you the Happiest of Birthdays!

It does a heart good....

2007-05-12T20:46:00.000-07:00

To see tea time photos in magazines....*sigh*

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Lahv these photos from Country Living and the tablescapes.
Second page is tealicious.

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These are pictures from my favorite mag, TeaTime with a wedding theme.
One is a reception, the other a bridal shower. Very pretty.
A tad on the traditional side. I dare say, predictable.

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Love the funkalicious and kitsch tea party look of Adorn Mag's layout with the crafTea how-to's.

Overall it was a good mag month for tea sheets (tear sheets).

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Pure Inspiration

2007-05-11T21:38:00.000-07:00

I *puffy heart* Preston Bailey

(he is signing my book)

"I came to tell you about a website which you probably have already seen: http://www.prestonbailey.com/" ~Phyllis (ShabbyInTheCity)

Phyllis,

Thank you for the link, it is sweet of you to think of me! When I met Preston Bailey (we chatted briefly before he spoke at a wedding industry event) I was taken aback by just his aura. He was THE MOST genuine, kind and sweetest guy I have ever met. So sincere.

At first I thought he couldn't be for real, but so many of the other attendees who had the privilege of meeting him commented on the same attributes.

He is pure inspiration. I own all of his gorgeous, lush, display coffee table books.

It was such a pleasant surprise to discover a very genuine -seemingly humble- gentleman. I can see why all the celebrities like to work with him....

P.S. There is another photo of us and he is totally squeezing me and laughing, but I look really fat in the picture, so no showy.

Call it the "McCreamy" Goodies Giveaway

2007-05-09T00:25:00.000-07:00

Hopefully you are a Grey's Anatomy fan to get the title.

So I finally got all the goodies together, mine and all the wonderful donations and shipped off for the ParTea Mother's Day Goodies Giveaway.

I chose to make them a "Cream Tea" gift basket, defined by Tea Embassy as:
"In tea culture of the United Kingdom, a cream tea consists of simply hot tea, scones, and clotted cream or other condiments for the scones. This is an informal time for guests of a household to share tea and conversation with a light snack."

Included is:
*My yummy Cream Scones mix
*My favorite Sweet Cream black tea (one that I serve at my tea parties)
*Creamy Lemon Curd made by Trader Joes (my favorite - not too tart)
*Clotted Cream
*Creamy white teacup & saucer, luncheon plate, tea-for-one teapot
*Pink linen serviette
*Pink feather boa
*ParTea note cards
*Stickers
...all in a cute stripe bread basket (could be used for a small tray)

So ladies, enjoy! And I look forward to seeing your "ParTea" pictures!

Tag, I'm It

2007-05-08T21:10:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I've been tagged by Sugar Bear Designs to say 7 Weird/Interesting facts about me.

............hmmmmm...........let me think..................

1. I can handle hearing nails on a chalkboard, but I can't handle hearing someone brush their teeth. Sends shivers down my spine.
2. I have a thing (since childhood) about swallowing pills. Hate it. Hate IT. HATE IT. Watching someone swallow a pill(s) sends shivers down my spine.
3. I have a hard time with written directions (not the map kind, I'm good with navigating). I can't sew with a pattern. Only straight stitch kind of things. Am self-taught on everything (web design, Photoshop, Powerpoint/Word/Excel, my businesses etc.). Don't tell me how to do it, show me how to do it!
4. I was adopted when I was two days old. When I was 17, my folks found my birth mother and I met her, then met my birth father when I was 18. My only daughter looks just like him (and she's a leftie, just like him). My creative gene (and pack-rat tendencies) came from my birth mother. I found out that I am related to Jenny Lind "The Swedish Nightingale", Shirley Temple-Black and Tennessee Williams. I thank God for my mom and dad, and for adopting me - they are the most wonderful people you will ever meet. Now they are full-time RV'ers. I miss them.
5. When I was 19 I moved from Alaska to Michigan with only $20 in my pocket, a suitcase and a Cosmopolitan magazine.
6. Even though my whole blog thing is about tea, I HAVE to have at least three cups of coffee in the morning to get the cobwebs outta my head.
7. I am a night-owl. Usually don't go to bed until 1 or 2:00am, but still have to get up like normal folk and take kids to school, etc. Hence why the #6. This, too, is inherited from birth mother.

Oops, last but not least and one fact over:
I am a follower/lover/fan of the movie Somewhere In Time. It's my dream to go to the INSITE Fan Club's annual SIT Weekend at The Grand Hotel and dress up in the era's costumes. I think in a previous life I was a lady in 1912. I even had my bridesmaids walk down to "Rhapsody On A Theme Of Paganini".

I wouldn't consider this a fact, but I kind of have an "old soul". For years I've wanted to be a part of the Red Hat Society as a Pink Hatter (even though all the local chapters here are full or they don't reply to interested newbies) and just hang around other ladies who appreciate tea and the gracious/silly things of life. It's on my list of things to do: "Start my own SororiTea".

There, I hope that let's y'all know me a little better.

So, I don't really know who to tag because my audience of three have already been tagged. So if you have not been tagged with this musing thus far, then consider yourself tagged and have at it!

One of my favorite quotes

2007-05-05T23:58:00.000-07:00

Pretty in pink flower in my front yard.
Click on photo to view up close.

And the Mother's Day Giveaway Goodies go to...

2007-05-01T13:34:00.000-07:00

Driving home from picking up the boys from school today:

"Okay boys. When we get home, I'm going to need your help. I'm having a contest - it's kinda like a game- and I need you guys to draw names for me."

"But Mawm! Ryan can't help you with that!" the eldest one exclaims.

"Why not?"

"Because he doesn't even know how to draw yet!"

Please email me your snail mail so that I can get the goodies out to y'all. There are some kind donations still coming in, so I probably won't get the parcels out until late this week. I will also be updating the ParTea Goodies Giveaway blog with all the photos and links of those who contributed.

Congratulations, and I look forward to seeing you have a quaint tea time with the goodies!

And a huge thank you to all the ladies who graciously donated their talents, gifts and heart to this giveaway. I appreciate it more than words can express...

Risa
The ParTea Planner
email for the giveaway: parteagoodiesgiveaway [at] gmail [dot] com

(P.S. Thanks for ignoring how dirty my kids' fingernails are.)

The New Goodies Are Here!

2007-04-27T14:11:00.000-07:00

"The new goodies are here! The new goodies are here!"
(Visualize Steve Martin skipping in The Jerk - okay, so I'm dating myself)

Today I was able to pick up my Spring Fling Sweet Goodness swap package from Heidi from the post office. I was so excited, I didn't even open it in the house - I took the photos in my front yard.

All the items Heidi gave me were totally screaming "me" all over it!

S is for Sanding Sugar

This is so darn funny! I gave her the same thing for S! Great minds think alike! And I thought I was being so clever. But I have to admit, when I gave her the sprinkles in pink & green, deep down I wanted to keep them for myself. "Set it free and it will come back to you". So now I have my 0wn and I shall use them on my yummy Cream Scones, cuz I like to sugar the tops of my scones in a colored sugar before baking! I love the homeyness of the jar shape and the floral tops!

P is for Pleated Apron

I adore this vintage apron! Currently I only own regular neck aprons, nothing pretty (the kind from restaurant supply stores) and just the other day I was wishing I had a purdy waist apron since I've been seeing so many of them on other thrifty bloggers' sites. My wish came true and here it is! I really love the cabbage roses, which is my all-time favorite! It's a bad photo, it is actually a dark pink, not reddish like it appears here.

R is for Ribbon Topiary

When I started to see pink & green ribbon galore in the box, my heart actually raced. I lahv it! It is so darn me. But I am having a hard time deciding if I want to display it in Raina's room since it is all p & g or put it on my desk. Right now my desk is a mess, so for now I will put it in her room even with the very cute R tag for her initial. When my desk/craft area is clean and organized then I will proudly display it! I love everything topiary!

Added: I emailed Heidi and asked her for the directions on how to make this, because I think it would be a great centerpiece alternative to flowers for my tea parties. She replied that she has directions on on her blog - Ribbon Topiary how-to. You can see she made one for Halloween, and another one in different colors. Thank you Heidi! (It's a good thing I have a wholesale account with Offray ribbon company......)

I is for Immensely Cute Pink Glass

She's right. This is an immensely cute pink glass that has an image of Jack & Jill on it, and the pic doesn't do it justice because you can't see the detail. I just love how whimsical and retro it is! I will have to mull over what I shall do with it, for only a special use. Maybe put my loose crafting jewels in it?

N is for Note Cards

Whoa. Okay. Scary.
Now how did Heidi know that I am infatuated with chandeliers? ESPECIALLY the silhouette graphic kind, like these very cards? Just a couple of weeks ago I bought a thrifty dress for Raina that has almost the exact same graphic on it. It was $8 which is pricey in my book for a thrifty clothes item, but I had to have it just because of the chandelier factor! If I had the moola I would be bidding on every shabby/vintage type chandelier on eBay.

So you can imagine my thrill to receive these hand-stamped embellished note cards!
I love the backgrounds, the colors, the bling on the chandeliers. They are too pretty, I don't want to use them up! I am now on a mission to find this rubber stamp....

G is for Goodies

I was so tickled to receive this shabby chic muffin pan! I have sincerely wanted one of these, like, forever. I've seen them here and there, used for craft goodies, jewelry etc. but never found one. So I was so stoked to get this, plus filled with sugar-y goodness. And Dutch Mints are one of my favorite candies and so is anything watermelon flavor (childhood favorite memory...mmmm....watermelon-watermelon).

All my pink & green goodness!

So thank you! thank you! Heidi for all the wonderful items. I am so deeply delighted with everything and can't wait to either use them or display them!

This whole swap thing has been such a blast and has brought my soul so much cheerfulness! Thanks again swap sister Heidi, and thanks to Rebecca & Lucy for organizing such "goodness" fun!

Spring Fling Pink & Green Goodness Swap

2007-04-23T21:23:00.000-07:00

Today is the deadline to ship out my goodies for the Spring Fling Sweet Goodness Swap. This is my first blogging swap. Not swapping blogs, swapping theme items with fellow bloggers. You know what I mean. My swap is with Heidi, her blog is Vacuuming in High Heels & Pearls.

WARNING:
THIS IS A LONG POST.

PROCEED WITH TIME TO KILL....

What can I say? I adore pink and green.

It's been my favorite color combination before they were "IN". I decorated my only daughter's room in pink & green over three years ago, and I have yet to get bored with it. And I bore easy.

Soooooooooooooooooooo. Let's just say I got a little carried away with this swap, it's so obvious. I couldn't help myself! A combination of my favorites - thrift shopping and craft-making (which I have not done in so long, it was nice to revisit being crafty), PLUS the pink & green factor.

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{ S } is for Sprinkles

Included in the swap is a recipe (scroll down) for my favorite childhood cookie recipe that my mom used to make. So maybe Heidi will make a batch and sprinkle some of this sugar luhvvvvv on them...

From perusing Heidi's blog I noticed that she really likes Pyrex. I searched high & low, went on my thrift store circuit, and prayed to the thrift gods to let me find a Pyrex bowl! But it had to have green on it, and not be so big/heavy that I would pay an arm and a leg for postage. No luck for the longest time. So on my last attempt, on the last day of searching, lo and behold I found this little guy! "AWHHHHHHHH" *thrift angels choir singing* It's the thrill of the search, eh?

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{ P } is for Pamper Goodies

I put together some homemade aromatherapy stuff in the "Pink Sugar" scent. The scented Soap Petals were a lot of fun, as I had been wanting to make them for a while, so now was my excuse! I'll post later how to make them. Here's a thrifty bowl the goodies are in.

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{ R } is for Recipes & Recipe Cardholder

I found a thrifty retro '70s cookbook with an avocado green cover . I wanted to include some of my fave sweet recipes, so this was my first attempt to make a paper lunch bag mini scrapbook. It has slots to hold the recipe cards, and also added a brief description of what that recipe means to me. This item was from my heart. I enjoyed making it so much, I am inspired to make one for my very close girlfriends and send it to them for Mother's Day. I know I always appreciate getting someones all-time favorite recipe because there is usually a story or history behind it...

This is just a fork I bent out of shape to hold a recipe card or a menu card.

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{ I } is for Initially Yours

I thought about painting pink & green polka dots and flowers on the H, but decided to just keep it simple. Heidi can switch out the ribbon to hang it on the wall to match her decor if she likes.

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{ N } is for Notebook of Goodies

That's Heidi's little girl, Maren on the cover (I snuck it off her blog). Isn't she just the cutest? And her chubby cheeks are pink and match the theme! The fabric block swatches behind the words are from a local linen company swatch samples box that has been sitting around in my office. I thought I would use them for crafting instead...

This one was a blast! I had a great time thinking up all the little goodies that could fit into these baseball card holders. I included wallet size photos of floral images from my baby shower that was also pink & green.

There are four pages total, but I don't want to bore y'all with every one.

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{ G } is for Glam Kitchen Gloves

Pink gloves! Couldn't resist including them in the theme. But lemmee tell ya - it is H.A.R.D. to find a glue that will stay permanent to latex. So sorry Heidi, if the lace cuffs falls off....

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{ G } is for Goodies for Maren

A little gift from my two year old to her two year old.
Just a few girlie-girl goodies like flower clips and satin bow clips that I made. And of course a feather boa and (plastic) teacups for her to have a tea party! I love the pink plastic jar - found it at the .99 cents store and bought 'em out. I added the lid sparkle.

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Wrapped up and ready to go!

Overall, for my first swap, I had a wonderful time because it has been so long since I have done anything crafty, and I hope Heidi enjoys her new pink & green goodies.

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4/26/07

Dear Risa,

I got your swap package yesterday and I can't decide if I love you for being the best swap partner ever or hate you for making me look like the most lame-o swap partner ever! LOL ;) Seriously, I was blown away by the lovely package you sent. You were so very thoughtful and generous and I appreciate every single little detail that you included!

I had to giggle when I saw the pink & green sanding sugar! I'm definitely going to make your Mom's sugar cookie recipe and those will be perfect for the decorating. I've been looking for a good cut-out cookie recipe for along time now and I'm eager to try this one! And you had me right on the Pyrex!

I love the little spa items you made! They smell wonderful and the little bowl is darling--I can't believe you found that while out thrifting! It's just perfect.

The brown bag album you made is just darling! The recipes in it sound delicious, perfect for me because I have one serious sweet tooth! YUM! I love the little recipe holder, too! What did you use to bend the fork tines? I saw a similar one in a catalog a while ago and decided to try it with one of my old thrifted silver spoons but I don't think I had the right tools. The vintage recipe book looks interesting and I look forward to reading it.

I love the H! I have a little collection of Hs that I've found and this will be a perfect addition! I'm especially fond of the polka dot ribbon! :)

The notebook--Wow! Risa, this is one of the most clever gift ideas I've seen in a long time! I was absolutely tickled pink to open it up and look through all the little goodies. What fun! I know several people for whom this would be a perfect gift, so I hope you don't mind if I use your idea. It's just wonderful! I love that you used the photo of Maren on the front from my blog. That is one of my favorite pictures that I've ever taken of her, so it is especially sweet to me.

The gloves are a hoot! How did you know that I do all my dishes and cleaning in rubber gloves? I just hate how my hands feel after soaking in hot water and soap and chemicals, so I have to wear them. The pink gloves are much cuter than the ugly yellow ones I've been using!

Thank you also for the other goodies--the shoes (which Maren thinks belong to her) and the CD and the sweets. Thank you also SO much for the darling little jar for Maren! What a treat for her. She has played with it nonstop since I opened the box! All of the little treats you included are just darling! You are so sweet to think of her.

Risa, the whole package was just amazing. I truly appreciate all of the work you did in making everything match and using the cute little labels and pretty ribbon & wrappings. I do hope you'll keep swapping; anyone would be lucky to have you as their partner!

Thank you again!
Heidi

You are most welcome, Heidi!
I really enjoyed it all!
Oh, for the fork I just used my gool ol' thumbs to push the tines back (yah, it hurts a little - but then isn't a thing of beauty worth the pain? tee hee), then needle-nose pliers to pry the tines outward in the back, and upward in front to hold the card.

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Here is the recipe card for my Mom's wonderful cookie recipe:

This recipe is the most special one to me. Mom made these all during my childhood. I remember her making these cookies into Christmas tree, bell & star shapes and I would frost them. During Halloween she would make them as pumpkin shapes and pipe the frosting into pumpkin faces, and that is what I would take to my classmates. They always thought they were the best cookies, and I was so proud that MY mom made them!

Thank you Hostess with the Mostess

2007-04-17T15:18:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to thank Jenn from Hostess with the Mostess for showcasing my Mother's Day ParTea Goodies Giveaway on her blog.

And while you are visiting there, you have to check out her website for amazing photos and entertaining ideas. It takes a lot to impress me when it comes to tablescapes, and believe me, I. Am. Impressed. with their work. The photography is awesome (I use that word a lot, don't I?).

So again thanks for posting the shout out Jenn!

Suzanne's Bridal Shower Tea Party

2007-04-16T12:08:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I had the honor of providing a tea party for Suzanne's Bridal Shower. It was a wonderful group of ladies who came together to celebrate, and since Suzanne and her soon to-be-husband live in Guam for their work it was extra special to see them have a great time. The entire afternoon was filled with LAUGHTER. This was the most laughing group I have been around, and I loved it. I love hearing laughter. Especially at the part where they are having a fashion show from the gals dressed-up in the toilet paper wedding gowns game. Perhaps it was because of the southern punch with spirits, and they didn't know it was spiked?

The shower was held at the bride-to-be sister's home, Nanette, who was the hostess of the event. It ended up being a beautiful, sunny afternoon, but we were worried for a while since that morning it was very windy and looked like possible rain. But we kept praying to the weather gods, and they must of heard us...

I made all the floral decor, menu cards and napkin "rings".

The red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese frosting. The ones I was going to make the cupcake cuddlers for. Didn't happen. Had way too much to do and ran out of time. But it is still very pretty.

Suzanne, the bride-to-be holding "the lovers" teacup I picked out for her to use.

Since she is a worldly well-traveled gal, I included a shower activity of signs posted with the words "I love you" in different languages and the ladies had to figure which language was what.

Click here to view the entire photo gallery and all the details.

I'm still fixing a lot of the photos since I used my new camera, a Canon Rebel XTi which I am still getting used to, and need to figure out the settings. Manual schmanual.

Tea sheets. I mean, tear sheets.

2007-04-11T22:05:00.000-07:00

Back in March I posted a really cute pattern for this tea apron from a really cool crafty mag called Adorn. Well here is the recipe on how to make these yummy petite fours.

And here is an idea on how to adorn your own teapot.

I've been looking all over for this magazine with no luck, so I guess I will just have to contact them directly. I DO NOT want to miss out on this eye candy! Believe me, it is rare to find really cute, funky tea party layouts to put in my notebook to savor. So if my audience of three out there ever comes across tea-related tear sheets, by all means tear away and mail 'em my way!

I'm such a hoarder....

Photos from Adorn Magazine

The Gap...generations, not the store

2007-04-10T17:38:00.000-07:00

Today:

"Hi, this is Risa, The ParTea Planner returning your call."

"Oh hi! Thanks for calling me back, how are you? "

"Well, to be honest I have caught my son's cold so you'll have to excuse the Brenda Vaccaro voice. "

Silence. Obviously the caller doesn't know who she is.

"Sooooo....how can I help you out with your tea party?"

*****************

A few months ago when I was planning the Mary Poppins party:

"Good afternoon, XYZ Prop Company. This is Ashley, how may I help you?"

"Hi Ashley, this is The ParTea Planner and I need to rent an ice cream parlor prop that will make the space look like you are in a Farrell's."

Silence.

"Ashley, do you know what Farrell's is?"

"Uhm. Like. No."

Sigh.
Man do I feel old.

P.S. This is the final product of my vision:

Our Easter & Tea Party

2007-04-09T21:43:00.000-07:00

I bought this dress at a thrift store when I was still pregnant with her. I loved the delicate pink and green flowers in the pattern, and especially the collar. Back then I thought This is going to hang in her closet FOREVER before she will get to wear it someday.

Well, that day was today. And all day I had an almost sad, melancholy mood and I knew it was because I can't believe she is already big enough to wear a dress I got almost three years ago. Can I get a remote like the one Adam Sandler had in Click and just put my life on Pause for a while?

Here is the tea table I threw together. I wasn't planning on doing a tea, but since dearest hubby was glued to watching The Masters golf all afternoon and me and kids were on our own, I decided to have them help me have an Easter tea. I put a link to view all the detailed photos and menu at the end.

My tee shirt and jeans kinda gal.....
New tights.....already torn.
New shoes.....already scuffed.

I actually have caught number two son's cold and feel very yucky right now, so I won't type out our entire day's activities or the tea party details. If you would like to view the photos from our Easter and the tea party, click here. If you click on Start Slideshow, it will have music and comments on the top left side. Thanks for visiting.

I need to get another kleenex.

Have a Hoppy Easter and much chocolate...

2007-04-07T16:13:00.000-07:00

My Virtual Potluck Recipe contribution

2007-04-06T21:38:00.000-07:00

Here is my recipe contribution for Shabby in the City's Virtual Potluck!

The San Clemente Pier

Since I live in sunny southern california in a beautiful beach/surf town called San Clemente, I would have to say THE MOST popular item here would be the Fish Tacos (Baja style). I know it sounds gross (I didn't try it out for the longest time because it sounds ick), but they are delish!

Baja Fish Tacos
From Cooking Light

The cabbage slaw adds a nice crunch and peppery bite to the delicate fish tacos.

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons taco seasoning
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon fresh orange juice
1 pound mahimahi or other firm whitefish fillets, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 cups pre-sliced green cabbage
1/2 cup chopped green onions
1/2 cup reduced-fat sour cream
8 (6-inch) corn tortillas
8 lime wedges

Combine first 3 ingredients in a medium bowl.
Add fish; toss to coat.
Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.
Add fish; sautê 5 minutes or until fish is done.
Combine cabbage, onions, and sour cream in a medium bowl.
Warm tortillas according to package directions.
Spoon about 1/4 cup cabbage mixture down center of each tortilla.
Divide fish evenly among tortillas; fold in half. S
Serve with lime wedges.
Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 2 fish tacos and 2 lime wedges)

CALORIES 327 (26% from fat); FAT 9.4g (sat 3.3g,mono 1.3g,poly 2.8g); PROTEIN 26g; CHOLESTEROL 98mg; CALCIUM 182mg; SODIUM 624mg; FIBER 4.6g; IRON 2.4mg; CARBOHYDRATE 35.8g

Great with spanish rice and pinto beans. So make a margarita (strong or virgin) or open a Corona brewski with a wedge of lime shoved down in the bottle neck, and enjoy.

Surf's up, bro!

Mother's Day Goodies Giveaway

2007-04-03T13:23:00.000-07:00

Click here to read all the details!

Please help me with my first giveaway. Since I am new to the blog world and have only, like, three blog friends, I need all the help I can get with spreading the tea luv!

For organization purposes, if you are going to enter to win,

be sure to leave a comment on the goodies giveaway blog, not this blog.

- Thank you! *Risa

2007-04-01T10:42:00.000-07:00

Me Loves the Thrifty Loot

2007-03-30T09:50:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I went to my favorite thrift store, which I like to support because it runs a local women's safe home shelter. I found some great silver pieces to use for my tea party buffet tables which will need some TLC . Like I need any more......but I can't resist silver serving pieces!

But the pièce de résistance was when I was paying for everything (I also got some cool tee shirts for number two son) a volunteer worker was pricing stuff behind the counter, sitting on the floor. I leaned way over the counter and spotted a plate on the floor and firmly requested (because a lady next to me saw it too) May I please see that plate? It was gorgeous! Loden green and mulberry, like my company colors! The floral pattern with the curvy edges is screaming at me with beauty. I assume it is a cake plate because of the cut-outs on the two sides (?). But it is a standard size plate, not larger like a cake plate.

On the back, it is stamped in red Royal Coburg Germany with a crown emblem. Any of my antique dealer blog friends out there know anything about that maker?

And everything was 50% off! Gotta love that. I was doin' a jig when I left the store! So, now where to hide everything for a while so hubby doesn't notice "more stuff"? I'm running out of hiding places....

UPDATE:

I forgot to mention the procured pretty-in-pearls earrings.

Sometimes after polishing and cleaning, me thinks that I would not use the piece for use at my tea parties. Either it just didn't have the post-cleaning sparkle factor, there is too much wear or it is just icky. So I'll find another use for it.

How do you like my new key & cell holder I'm going to put by the front entry?

Fluff and function!

P.S. So why is it I will spend a couple of hours cleaning thrift-find junk, when I should be cleaning my house?

2007-03-29T08:30:00.000-07:00

No longer a swap virgin

2007-03-28T21:40:00.000-07:00

In a session of going into a very deep blog surfing journey (you know how you click on a blog, click on their blog links so on and so forth to the point you have no idea how you got there.....) I came across Rebecca's blog and read about their next Sweet Goodness Swap . I have always wanted to participate in one, but was always too late.

NOT THIS TIME!

And it is a PINK and GREEN swap. Score - my fave colors.

The details are:
Theme: SPRING! and a bonus theme of Pink & Green

Details: You will send your partner 6 items that are in the color scheme of pink and green. At least one of these items should be hand made and one should be second hand or thrifted. The others can be crafting supplies, candy, paper, you name it! Easy right? Well here's the catch . . . each item must represent one letter in the word SPRING.

So for example (but not limited to):
S - sewing supplies
P - pencils
R - really pretty yarn
I - "in my opinion this is a cool mug" (LOL)
N - nicely knit monkey
G - gummi bears

As you can see, you have room to use your creative license to make things fit.
HINT: Both P for pink and G for green are in there and no we didn't plan that.

UPDATE:
I just got my swap buddy assigned to me!
Her name is Heidi and this is her blog.
I feel like I'm in junior high again and have a new penpal.

WooHoo! New header!!

2007-03-28T17:59:00.000-07:00

A big cyber {{{{hug}}}} to Sarah who led me in the right direction on how to change my blog header.

You rock! Thank you so much!

So..........whadya y'all think of the new banner? Of course I will probably change it, like, three times now that I know the trick.

*smooch*
Blowing an air kiss to Sarah!

Also, Phyllis thank you for your input. I absolutely love Avalon Rose Design.net - where were they when I re-designed my Romanza Events website not too long ago? I love that romantic style!

Newbie Blogger Needs Your Help!

2007-03-26T18:33:00.000-07:00

So, being new to the blogging world I could use some help. I really loathe the boring header. I've been trying to figure out how to upload my own graphic banner to it. I don't know code.

Can someone give me some advice on how to upload my own header or direct me to someone I could pay to create me a custom template?

I'd appreciate it!

Thanks in advance! Risa

Tea time coloring pages

2007-03-26T14:30:00.000-07:00

Someday I will have a "how to" tea party book published. I already have the title, content, photos (in my head) and everything. It's number 102 on my list of life goals. In the meantime, I do my research and dream of who I would love to illustrate my someday children's tea party book (number 103). I love the work of Michal Sparks, she's done the art for Emilie Barnes' books on manners for children.

Anyhoo, I came across Michal Sparks' website and she offers free coloring pages, and some of them are of a teacup, teapot, tea treats etc. Click here to find the links under Complete Coloring Book to download the coloring pages (you'll have to right click, "save as" to your computer, and then print).

These are great for Mommies, party planners, teachers, Grandmas, Sunday school teachers etc. for a tea theme time. There are also some darling bookmarks on manners to print.

Enjoy!

The Party Planner & The ParTea Planner

2007-03-23T10:08:00.000-07:00

David Tutera & me at The Special Event Convention

Shabby in the City left a comment to my **blushing** post:

"Your designs make me think of David Tutera-the party planner...do you know him? His show, I mean"

Yes, I know of David Tutera and his gorgeous work. I think I have tivo-d all his shows, and own most of his books. I still want to get his new book on Big Birthdays. I have actually had the pleasure of meeting him twice. Because of my wedding & event consulting business Romanza Events, I attend wedding & event-related seminars and conventions. The first time I met him was May 2005 at The Wedding March where he was a guest speaker, and he signed my book.

The second time was at The Special Event Convention at the L.A. Convention Center in Jan. 2007. He was just standing at one of the trade show booths, and I introduced myself, we chatted a bit, and then I gave him my business card of my The ParTea Planner business. He cracked up from the play on words. Really nice guy. But while I was talking to him, his violet colored contact lenses were distracting me - he is so darn cute, why the fake color lenses?

blushing

2007-03-22T13:31:00.000-07:00

After adding my Sping Fling Tea Party (see post below) link to Artsymama's tea party, a very kind visiting blogger left very nice words and also a post on her own blog Shabby in the City about my work on my website. Here are some comments:

From Shabby in the City:
"I have now devoured this person's blog and her website. Of all the t.v. shows on design and party planning I've seen, of all the magazines on display and home decor I've seen...NOTHING has struck me like her website has. Go when you have lots of time and see these slideshows which are set to music! Beyond entertaining and inspiring...I'm still shaking my head..."

Replies to Shabby:
"Wonderful link! I have always suspected I needed a few tierd serving pieces -- but never realized I would develop a burning need for decorative tongs to pick up finger food. Thank you for helping lead me to this realization by pointing the way to the beautiful tea party images! "

"Oh what a wonderful site that was! With all of these talented women and beautiful sites...how is a girl ever supposed to get any work done? lol"

Thank you for the kind comments. Now if I could just get HGTV, maybe Tea Time Magazine or even the peeps at Martha to notice me.......

UPDATE
Theresa from Heavenly Chic sent this note:

"I wanted to say thanks to shabby in the city I was introduced to your awesome site. I was in AWE myself the entire tour, how BEAUTIFUL. I am so inspired now to have a teaparty with my daughter and friends. And do not worry, I too have a daughter (5) who does't do the tutu thing :)

Thank you again for having such a lovely site and I can't wait for my next visit and for the next tea party pictures. Thanks for your sharing your ever so inspirational designs. Martha Stewart who? Oprah needs to see your site, she loves having parties."

Fondly,
Theresa HeavenlyChic.com

Thank you for the compliment Theresa!

Spring Fling Tea Party (with two puppies & a lonely tutu)

2007-03-21T19:05:00.000-07:00

Today is the virtual Spring Fling Tea Party to celebrate the first day of spring that was graciously hosted by fellow blogger Artsymama and apparently is quite the international affair! I am looking forward to visiting all the other participating tea partier blogs to see what they did.

Here is the Spring Fling Tea Party that I created for my daughter and myself. But then "the boys" crashed the party and had to join in the fun. If you would like to view all the photos taken of our tea party, please take a peek - there are some darn cute ones!!

I decided to have our tea party in my daughter's room. Initially I wanted to do it in our backyard, next to our little fountain, but it has been cloudy and chilly - uncommon weather for southern california.

When I designed my daughter's room close to three years ago when I was pregnant with her (after two boys), I was inspired by the colors of this teacup - the "American Beauty" by Royal Albert. I also had visions of us having tea parties in the corner under my favorite chandelier (that I gave a makeover to, another great eBay find). I cannot believe that today is our first official tea party in that corner! Where did the time go? And today she helped me in the kitchen for the first time when I/we made scones. See the gallery of photos to view her with flour everywhere.

So not only is it the first day of spring, it's the first time baking together, and the first time having a tea party in her room!

So after all the preparations were made, I attempted to change Raina into a pink ballet body suit thingy (can you tell she's my only girl - I don't even know the names of the clothing!) and a pink tulle tutu. Kicked and screamed. Wanted NOTHING to do with it, like tulle was scary and evil. It laid on the floor....

But we did have a great time. Here are the details...

On the table: Usually I like to mix things up a bit, use different patterns for the china etc. But with my pink & green theme, I chose to be more matchy-matchy. You can't tell in the photos, but my teacup is the standard size American Beauty and Raina's is the demi size. The flowers in the milk glass vase were cut from the yard - the only thing bloomed. And the pint-sized bunnies were a find from the .99 cent store, stuck in moss in tulip champagne glasses. The serviettes are just cut from fabric with my favorite scallop-edge pinking shears.

On the menu: for savories we ate chicken, grape, apple and pistachio salad sandwiches and cucumber, watercress and cream cheese sandwiches. The homemade scones were almond cream and blueberry scones. For sweets (I purchased from my favorite bakery) lemon bar bites, an almond tart, chocolate dipped strawberries, coconut macaroons, sugar cookies and mini pink cupcakes with green sprinkles. The kids drank sparkling pink lemonade and I drank Garden Party loose leaf tea which has a nice, floral flavor to it with a hint of Earl Grey.

Giving "Puppy" some tea. Puppy is her love-y.

Giving "Sprinkles" some tea. Sprinkles was adopted at her two-year birthday party.

The girls.

The boys crash the tea party. They know a good homemade scone when they smell one.

So thank you Artsymama for inviting and inspiring me to have a tea party on the First Day of Spring!

Artsymama's Virtual Tea Party Coming UP!

2007-03-17T10:40:00.000-07:00

I am so excited! On Wednesday, March 21st Artsymama is hosting a virtual tea party, and I will be joining all the other tea-loving bloggers for this international event. If you would like to join us, or get additional information view her invitation.

I'm thinking I'll bring out my "Garden Party" loose leaf tea for this occasion.....