Kirsten | WhyDid.com

About Kirsten

This author has not yet filled in any details.
So far Kirsten has created 1387 blog entries.

Setting the Mood: Party Favors

By Kirsten|December 26th, 2012|Setting the Mood|

Well, you (hopefully) made it unscathed through the holiday and while you’d probably like to plop down with an adult beverage and breathe a big sigh of relief, you’re forgetting that there’s one last hurdle standing between you and that mimosa. It’s called New Year’s Eve and if you’ve been gracious enough to offer up your home for the celebration of ball’s dropping across all time zones, then you’re going to need to do a little bit of decorating. While, I’m a big fan of Hilary’s Countdown Cocktails, what are we doing with the table? A plastic table cloth and flameless candles are just not going to cut it. I’m a pretty big proponent of getting all of my guests involved. No one is too cool for a “prop” and if you think you are, you’re probably at the wrong party.

A couple of weeks ago, my dear, dear friend, Tiffany, celebrated her birthday and I crafted up these place settings that I find to be downright genius. Not to toot my own horn or anything… ba-dum-ching! With three pretty inexpensive and easy to find items, I created pretty and fun place settings to get guests in the mood.

Toot, toot.

xx,

WhyDid

Guest Post (and a Giveaway!): Mermaids Make Memories

By Kirsten|December 24th, 2012|Guest Blogger, WhyDid Wisdom|

A couple of weeks ago, I headed uptown to toast my dear friend, party planner extraordinaire, Hilary Pereira of Mermaids and Martinis fame, at a book signing at Christofle on Madison Avenue (think Tiffany’s… but French). Not only was she signing her first book (of many to come, I’m sure), she was doling out some of the best holiday party tips out there… so good, in fact, I couldn’t keep them to myself. So, I asked Hilary if she’d be so kind as to share her favorite holiday hosting tips with you. For Hilary, a party is all about creating a memory and here are a few of her favorite ways to get into the spirit of the season in her own words:

“Trim the Holiday Chaos”

The holidays can cause some major nail-biting moments between family drama, overnight visits, and breaking the bank on holiday shopping. Instead of stressing out before Santa’s visit, here are a few simple tricks to trim the chaos. When hosting a soiree, why worry about mailing paper invites? A great website like “Paperless Post” includes beautifully designed evites that you can customize from the envelope liners to the stamps. Enlist a couple of Hostess Helpers! This could include hiring staff depending on your budget or assigning a few friends to stay on top of some key elements during your party like checking in on the kids, peeking into the bathroom once in a while to make sure it is fully stocked, or helping you to snap a few, or even answering the door while you are busy mingling. And, lastly, but most importantly as the host, be responsible for your energy! A positive hostess is a magnet for positive guests and vice versa!

Signature Bubbly Bar

I love hosting a signature cocktail, but during the holiday season, I like to expand on this by creating a champagne bubbly bar. Use champange or Prosecco depending on budget…invest in a few different bottles of champagne/Prosecco and then host small bowls of garnishes–raspberries, cherries, blueberries and essences that you can drop into the drinks. Your guests will feel like they are creating their own signature drink. PS: Always serve a mocktail for those who are not imbibing or those who are driving!

Go beyond the Pointsetta!

Winter flowers are beautiful and this season’s blooms are easy to create memorable centerpieces–you can even dress them up to add some sparkle to your table with fabric or sequins. Some of the most popular blooms of the season are amaryllis, Star of Bethlehem, orchids, evergreens, mums, snowballs and holly berry. Or, go outside, collect some fir leaves, pinecones, fallen leaves and go crazy with spraypaint. I love using silver spraypaint and flocking these elements with fake snow. But, this year, I used a gold leaf paint which looked beautiful on just on the tips of pinecones and fir leaves.

Traditions with a Twist

It’s fun to create new twists on old traditions. Instead of a traditional tree trimming party, You could host a White Elephant party where everyone brings a surprise gift and you host a “Swap” or one themed “Winter Woodland” where decor consists of faux fur throws, lots of woodsy, pine scented candles, serve your cocktails out of mini steel thermoses and create a buffet of camp-fire comfort food and a dessert S’mores bar. You could also host a “Destination Celebration” by creating a whole other country or place in your home. You can also have camp fire with awesome fire wood available at https://www.xn--dkbrnde-pxa.dk. If you live in chilly Maine, host a Tropical Christmas Luau, or, if you live in sunny Florida, host an Aspen Apres-ski party to switch things up a bit!!

New Year’s Eve: Countdown Cocktails

Purchase a few cheap plastic stopwatches and tie them around the stems of glasses–they will all sound off at Midnight in concert–OR, host a Time Traveler party and set your iPad or an alarm clock to sound off every hour from the minute your party begins through Midnight–every time the alarm goes off, you and your guests can celebrate what part of the world/country just entered into the New Year–AND, introduce a new food element or cocktail based on that country (example: When France begins their NewYear, serve a round of Kir Royales, Japan, bring out a sushi platter or fortune cookies with personalized messages, etc.)

LAST BUT NOT LEAST–An event is an opportunity to find out what these ‘holidays’ really mean to you.

As a hostess, make your guests feel honored, loved, welcomed and appreciated. Although it truly is of the utmost importance for me to host an event with a beautiful aesthetic and great food and drink–when we have one moment to come together (for some people just once a year), hosting an event should always circle back to what is most important, the people in your life, and that special time you have to toast in good health and to another year. As the host, own that, and pay it forward.

And as if, Hilary didn’t already just do us a solid with all of these fabulous party ideas, she is also going to give away a signed copy of her book, Mermaids and Martinis: Turn Your Party Into a Memory to one lucky winner! All you need to do is follow WhyDid and Mermaids and Martinis on Twitter and retweet this message for your chance to score a book chocked full of SO many more amazing party planning tips, tricks, and ideas.

Good luck and happy hosting!

xx,

WhyDid

Weekend Playlist: Scrooge You

By Kirsten|December 23rd, 2012|Weekend Playlist|

Oh, here’s a fun fact: I do not like Christmas music. Like, really don’t like it. The reason behind my distaste for Christmas carols may stem from the fact that my sweet mother used to wake us up by blasting seasonal songs through the intercom system to wake us up for school… or it could just be that having jolly jingles on repeat starting in October begins to wear a little thin by, oh, let’s say November?

Though I know I’m not totally alone in this, I do realize I’m a very small percentage of the population and since I’m not a total Scrooge, I’ve compiled a playlist that doesn’t completely make me want to chuck up my gingerbread.

I’m wondering why more rappers haven’t capitalized on the “Ho, ho, ho,” ya’ll.

xx,

WhyDid

The List Volume 12/21/12 & a Ridiculous Gift Guide:

By Kirsten|December 22nd, 2012|Gift Guide, The List|

Yeah, you may have noticed I’ve been a little radio silent for the past week. It was a mixture of sadness and preparing for the so called apocalypse. Okay, not really the latter. I didn’t really feel it was appropriate to go on touting gift guides when so many families would be happy to simply have their loved ones back. So, I took a little time off to reflect on that.

Then the world was going to end. But it didn’t. Weird. And now I’m back. So, in case those dang Mayans have any more tricks up theirs sleeves (loincloths?), I’ve put together one of the most obnoxious gift guides yet. I realize we’re cutting it a little close, but now that we know the globe’s not going to stop spinning (for now), you should probably shop for me–er, your loved ones. And fortunately for you (and me), if you are unable to get the pony or purses here in time, my birthday is a mere month away, so you could make good on those on the twentieth of January (write that down).

1. Kiki de Montparnasse Black Chantilly Lace Belted Kimono, $1,440, 2. Helmut Lang Stretch Leather Leggings, $920, 3. Dr. Sebagh Platinum Gold Elixir, $690, 4. Rolex Vintage Oyster Perpetual Datejust Steel 18K Gold Men’s Watch, $4,600, 5. Christian Louboutin Pigalle 120 Crystal Embellished Suede Pumps, $3,395, 6. Deos Princess Cut iPhone Case, $398, 7. Eva Fehren Grey Diamond ‘X’ Necklace, $5,850, 8. Celine Phantom Tote, 9. Modern Snippets Snipalina (closest thing I can find to a unicorn), $4,500

And as an early gift to you, another edition of the list- in original format- all ten down and dirty.

All my politician “friends” on Facebook. Cool it. The only thing I’m voting on is hiding you from my timeline.
Having to pretend you know who some of your relatives are. Just kidding. I don’t have that problem. No, seriously…. I’m from West Virginia, we’re all relatives!
Airport security lines during this time of year (and in general). Guys, how hard is it? They have signs… with pictures.
Post offices this time of year (and in general). It took me three minutes (literally) to ship my stuff. Why’d it take you 30?
Angelenos complaining about weather in the 50’s. Buck up, pansies.
People who are incapable of giving credit where credit is due. Listen, you can’t always be the one with the good ideas, outfits, jokes. That must be exhausting.
Getting a bad bag of Sour Patch Kids that you’ve been craving for say, a week. You know, when they’re all hard and shriveled. The worst.
Sensationalists.
It’s very difficult to wear a topknot in below freezing temperatures. A girl’s ears could get frostbite.
Candied yams. It’s true. I hate ’em. Sweet potatoes can kick rocks too.

Save me some eggnog though. Actually, no. Don’t.

xx,

WhyDid

Gift Guide: I Like It Ruff

By Kirsten|December 17th, 2012|Gift Guide|

Okay, I may not need to shop for a man, but I do have to shop for “my man.” In case you didn’t get the memo, my heart belongs to one man and one man only. His name’s Smitty and he is, no doubt, the love of my life. We are basically inseparable- as a matter of fact, I’m typing this with one hand cause he’s laying on my other arm- and he has at times become a point of contention in my relationships. Turns out, guys get a little bummed once they realize I’ll probably never love them as much as Smitty (helpful hint: never answer the question, “Burning building: me or the dog?”). Hey, he was here first. I don’t trust a guy who doesn’t like Smitty (and vice versa) and if you don’t love dogs, you ain’t no friend of mine. So, here’s to spoiling our undaunted companions who have seen our worst and love us all the same.