Mexican Fiesta Inspiration

{photos & styling by Celebrations At Home}

I can't believe it's nearly May!  Where has the first quarter gone?  Fortunately that means it's time for a Fiesta party to celebrate Cinco De Mayo!  You can see all my Fiesta design ideas in my latest contribution to Celebrations.com.  And find the recipe for delicious and refreshing Beer Margaritas here. 

I don't think you'll want to miss it!

Easter Brunch & Egg Hunt {Part 2}

An Easter Brunch deserves a special table for the adults since the kids have all the fun with egg hunting and eating treats.  You can catch the sweets table and kids table in Part 1 of this inspiration shoot to get ideas there.  This table is a bit more sophisticated and would be ideal for any Spring brunch or luncheon, as well as Mother's Day. 

(click on photos to enlarge)

As usual I began the place settings with my white plates.  These are a great investment for anyone who enjoys entertaining, as you can design easily around them, and food always looks best on this "blank canvas."  Purple doilies found in the $1 bin of Michaels were a great way to add color and a nice base for the place card holders to sit on.  The addition of a simple yellow cotton napkin placed under the plate was all that was needed to complete the look.

The cuppies from Jimemmajack are playful and decorative as they sit on the rim of coffee mugs at each place setting.  Pretty name cards from the Chickabug Easter set are placed in nest card holders filled with wrapped chocolate eggs.   

The centerpiece is pretty simple as it is a small vase filled with pink and yellow carnations, and white daisies set inside a bird cage from Michael's.  Flanking this were 2 smaller bird cages filled with chocolate malt eggs.

Favors were inexpensive and easy to dress up with $1 flower seed bags from Target.  The rustic jute bag was adorable but needed some pizzazz to sit on our brunch table.  I simply cut panels of fabric to size and attached it along with a circle tag using the jute tie already present.  The butterfly & hummingbird flower mix inside will remind guests of the festive time they had!

The nice thing about hosting a brunch like this is that you don't necessarily have to do all the cooking yourself.  You can provide the specialty cookies, drinks, and the main dish - such as a honey baked ham - and have your guests bring the side dishes to go along.  For a brunch, it's a good idea to serve a mix of items that reflect both breakfast and lunch.  Pastries, fruit, mixed salads, and breakfast meats can all be incorporated. 

You can see the recipe for these ham & cheese phyllo cups I made.  These are a delicious way to tie your guests over while anticipating the main course.

Make sure you visit part 1 of our Easter Brunch to see the sweets table and kids table!

Easter Brunch & Egg Hunt {Part 1}

Easter is one of my favorite holidays of the year because it ushers in Spring and provides a great opportunity for entertaining.  It's also very family-friendly providing the ubiquitous egg hunt and mounds of treats afterward.  Here are some simple ideas you can use to host your own Easter Family Brunch & Egg hunt.  Make sure you visit part 2 with our adult table design, also!

I had some amazing vendors help with my design.  Heather at Chickabug customized her Easter set for me by adding a rainbow of colors to her blue Easter set, while Jimemmajack provided their dazzling Easter Cookies & Cuppies!  My designs are always influenced by props & home decor items, which I love because it allows special signage or designer treats to stand out and be the star.  I filled in the dessert table with cotton candy in an apothecary jar, and jelly beans, and m&m's displayed in an egg dish - something you can easily do yourself.

(click photos to enlarge)

Most of the pieces I used in designing this brunch were things I had on hand, with just a couple of additional items found at JoAnn's Fabric store (egg dish, & green hat box set), and Michael's (bird cage). 

You can see the gorgeous decorated cookies from Jimemmajack displayed on a 2-tiered stand.  The details on them are stunning, and they taste as good as they look!  Just as cute (and one of my favorite things) are the "cuppies" they make to sit on the side of your glass or cup!  So adorable!

This kids table is festive and designed to appeal to the young.  With a centerpiece made from a fence planter box, faux grass patches, and Peeps on a skewer, it combines form with function.  By placing some foam beneath the faux grass, I was able to raise it to the height I wanted as well as have a stable bottom for the skewers to stick into.

An adorable "bunny trail" sign was made for the grass patch by taping off the border of a small garden pick I already had, and painting the inside with chalk board paint.

Each little guest chair is adorned with ribbon and a clip on flower.  You can re-create this idea in about 60 seconds! 

Place settings are topped with edible grass nests, with chocolate malted eggs.  You can use the very small clear plastic plates from the Dollar Tree to hold the nest neatly as you move it about.  Name cards and circle tags from Chickabug's Easter collection mark the spot for each little person, and help identify his/her bottle of lemonade.

You can also use them to top off the Jimemmajack cookie favors, and to personalize each Easter basket for the egg hunt.

Another great idea if you have older kids who don't want to participate in an "Easter Egg Hunt" is to try an Easter "Treasure Hunt" instead, and write down clues for them to look for instead of simply looking for eggs.  There could be treats to find at each clue, or one special prize at the end.  Either way this activity may appeal to their maturity level a bit more.

You can see  Part 2 of this Family Brunch featuring the adult table!

Ideas For A Ladies Luncheon {With Weddingish}

I definitely have Spring fever after putting together this Ladies Luncheon design featuring "fashionista" sugar cookies from Weddingish.  This would be perfect for a Bridal Shower, Birthday, or just-for-fun for the girls who love shopping and fashion. 

I decided to put together boxed lunches using pretty storage boxes that can also double as favors along with the cookies.  I love to combine form with function when I can. 

Each place is set with a ribbon tied box, bottled water, and napkins inserted into a bangle bracelet - another favor option!  Inside the box guests will find a wrapped sandwich, chips, and fruit displayed in a pretty way.  We also have the bagged cookies here which can be taken home for later, because we have an array available on our dessert table below.

You don't need an extravagant dessert display at every event.  This table features our themed cookies, available in shoes, purses, and dresses, and a couple of other treats round out the look.  We used hat boxes for a creative display in keeping with our theme, some flowers, and a fun art print.

You can be inspired by any item.  These cookies from Weddingish proved to be a great starting point for our design, and a delicious menu item as well!  Visit their site for more party items!

{This is a Sponsored post}

A Moroccan Themed Baby Shower {With Monkeys!} Part 2 - Food + Recipes

I shared Part 1 of the baby shower here, with the tabletop design, and activities.  Now, I'll share the food tables and some recipes from our Middle Eastern-Monkey themed shower.

The lunch buffet was fun to do, and easy.  I layered some woven rugs on the table as our base, then laid out the food in woven baskets and spice-toned pottery.  Chicken Shawarma Skewers were placed on a bed of dried lentils, and smoked turkey wraps were "spilling" out of an overturned basket, and wrapped in parchment and twine from The Twinery.  A mosquito netting hung overhead for ambiance.  The rest of the menu was Mediterranean Couscous (recipe at the end of the post), Vegetable Samosas, Garden Salad, and Fruit.

(photos by Hunter Henkel Photography)

The dessert & cocktail table was styled with layers of authentic Sari's, a painted pedestal from India (held the drinks), a backdrop that matched our table runner, and hanging lanterns embellished with gold trim.  Jessie of Fairytail Frosting decorated cookies to coordinate with the signs & candy wrappers that Jordan of Polkadot Prints had designed.  The cookies were delicious - I personally LOVED the brown sugar & spice flavor! 

The hostess also made Red Velvet Cupcakes & Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes, which we topped with tiny plastic pacifiers.  Our signature cocktail was named, "Pear o' Monkeys" Mimosas, as it was a mixture of pear nectar and champagne - and soooo refreshing! 

The menu was truly delicious and combined authentic Middle Eastern dishes with some American ones.  You should give the Mediterranean Couscous a try for any Spring or Summer party.  It's a great pot luck dish!

Mediterranean Couscous

1 cup chicken broth  In 2-quart saucepan, heat broth to boiling. Stir in couscous; remove from heat. Cover; let stand 5 minutes.

3/4 cup uncooked couscous

1 cup cubed plum (Roma) tomatoes (3 medium)
1 cup cubed unpeeled cucumber (1 small)
1/2 cup halved pitted kalamata olives
1/4 cup chopped green onions (about 4 medium)
1/4 cup chopped fresh or 1 tablespoon dried dill weed
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons olive or vegetable oil
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons crumbled feta cheese
In large bowl, place tomatoes, cucumber, olives, onions and dill weed. Stir in couscous.
In small bowl, beat lemon juice, oil and salt with wire whisk until well blended; pour over vegetable mixture and toss. Cover; refrigerate 1 hour to blend flavors.
Just before serving, sprinkle with cheese.

Credits:

Styling: Chris Nease - Celebrations At Home

Photographer - Hunter Henkel Photography

Custom menu, labels, and candy bar wrappers - Polkadot Prints; Facebook page

Custom Cookies - Fairytale Frosting; Facebook page