Up In the Air

I hope everyone has a nice base tan and a fruity cocktail because now it’s time to pack for your trip! Here are 10 tips to stress free packing. Why should you listen to me you ask? Oh – maybe because upon checking my bag on my last trip, I hit the 50.0lbs mark on the scale. Yes, 50.0 exactly. That, my friends, is good packing. Much to my disappointment, balloons did not fall from the sky and I did not receive a free upgrade to first class. Obviously the system is flawed, but that’s no reason to give up on the perfect pack job.

1. Lay out everything you’re going to bring on your trip before you start packing

2. Roll your clothes to allow more room in your suitcase and to prevent wrinkles. Roll more than one item together to create extra space

3. Get creative – stuff shoes with phone chargers, cords, socks, belts, etc.

4. Place your shoes on the bottom. Pair your shoes so that the heel of one aligns with the toe of another

5. Always place heavier items such as jeans on the top to help keep all other items in place

6. Never place breakable items in the outside pockets of your suitcase since your bag will be thrown around like a hot potato by airline employees

7. If you have rolling luggage, lay your liquid contents (in a ziplock bag) so that when you are pulling your bag, the bottles are sitting upright

8. Pack essentials like toothbrush, toothpaste, makeup, medication and documents in your carry-on bag. You never know where you could end up!

9. Leave some room – who knows what you may need to bring home with you…

10. Because each airline is different, please go online and check your airline’s bag policy. Thank you.

Bon voyage!

xx,

WhyDon’tYouActLikeALady

The Golden Years

So, part of my job as an event planner is to put out hypothetical “fires” when and if they arise. When I overheard two gentleman at one of my events last night discussing taking the floral arrangements home to their wives, I knew I had to step in. So, after I explained that NOTHING good can come out of bringing your wife or girlfriend secondhand flowers, the conversation took a turn toward gift town. We started talking anniversary and these lovely gentleman didn’t know that there are traditional themes to inspire a gift for each year you’re married.

Here are the main years you need to know:

• 1st – Paper – I’m going with plane tickets to a fab vacation.
• 2nd – Cotton – Pratesi linens for the bedroom.
• 3rd – Leather – I believe a handbag is leather, no?
• 4th – Silk – gorge nightgown or beautiful silk robe with her monogram
• 5th – Wood -  Yikes! Perhaps a ski trip in a “rustic” resort? By rustic I mean 5 star…
• 10th – Tin or Aluminum – maybe a new car?!
• 15th – Crystal
• 20th – China – yes…a trip to China counts.
• 25th – Silver
• 30th – Pearls
• 35th – Coral – might I suggest snorkeling someplace amazing?
• 40th – Ruby
• 45th – Sapphire
• 50th - Gold
• 55th – Emerald
• 60th+ – DIAMOND

Ladies – send this link to your man immediately!! If sending a print screen of a Tiffany’s add with my engagement ring to my bf didn’t work wonders…I wouldn’t be here today!

Lady Malkin’s Tip of the Week: Ladies, there’s nothing wrong with being explicit. Tell your mate exactly what it is that you’d like. Gentlemen, listen to your lady. She’s probably dropping hints left and right!

xx,

WhyDon’tYouActLikeALady

Make Sure Your Cupcakes Don’t Suckcake

So, thanks to my magnificent colleagues we now know a lot more about cupcakes. We know where to buy them, we know where to go to have them double as a cocktail, and we absolutely know what to do with them if they become a gift gone horribly wrong…eat them. Now, I have to do my part and help you decorate these delicious treats.

First, you have to think about why you’re making the cupcakes in the first place. Are they for a party? Does the party have a theme? Does the party have a guest of honor? If there is a theme, what is it and how can you add to it? If there is a guest of honor, how can you honor them with your baked goods?

Examples:

If I were going to bake cupcakes for WhyInGayHell, they would without a doubt be rainbow. He’s gay, people – it makes sense.

Think about the person that you’re baking for and their personality. Try to capture them with your cupcakes!

For a baby shower, keep it simple and sweet. No need to over do it with “baby stuff.” They’re cupcakes – they’re cute enough as is. I love the idea of keeping  it monochromatic and clean.

Another super cute and super easy way to personalized cupcakes is with sprinkles.  All you have to do is go to Michaels, grab some stencils and go to town.

I will leave you with some words of wisdom. When in doubt – spell it out.

Thanks, Martha.

Now I am a sap and this is actually how one of my friends proposed. Sorry Marc…

Here are a few more creative ways to decorate your cupcakes. The key is to think outside the box (or pan).

Now go make your own creative cupcake conctions and send me pictures!!

Lady Malkin’s Tip of the Week: To keep cupcakes moist, the freezer is your friend. The refrigerator is not! Freeze cupcakes and let thaw 20 minutes before serving.

xx,
WhyDon’tYouActLikeALady

Raising the Bar

What does a lady do best? Entertain, of course. Entertaining has been something I’ve been doing since childhood, albeit not for human beings, but stuffed animals count when you’re five. What I love most about the traditions of hosting a party is the bar (relax – I don’t have a problem). There is something nostalgic about a bar that brings me back to Christmas Eve dinners with all of the men crowded around laughing and mixing their gin and tonics. It is a timeless addition to any party and one that I think is often overlooked, especially living in NYC where we don’t exactly have the space to host a complete bar.

So to help all of you out there that miss a good bar, I’ve listed everything that one needs to create their own saloon. Keep in mind that this is the FULL deal. Take what you want from it and go make your bar but remember to get creative – if you don’t have the space, use a butler tray or throw a linen over a bookshelf. It’s your bar; we’re just drinking from it!

Tools

• bar strainer
• can opener, bottle opener, corkscrew
• jigger measure
• ice bucket and tongs or scoop
• mixing glass or metal cocktail shaker
• lemon/lime squeezer (you know those mini tongs that you use to pick out one ice cube at a time until you just stick your glass right into the ice bucket? That’s a squeezer, folks!)
• shot measurer
• muddler or mortar and pestle

Mixers

• club soda or soda water
• regular Pepsi or Coke
• Ginger Ale
• juices (orange, pineapple, tomato, and cranberry)
• tonic water
• triple sec

Alcohol

• Beer
• Whiskey
• Bourbon
• Champagne
• Gin
• liquers
• Rum
• Scotch
• Tequila
• Vermouth (sweet and dry)
• Vodka
• Wine (red and white)

Garnishes

• bitters
• olives and onions
• lemons and limes
• maraschino cherries
• syrup (grenadine, simple syrup, etc.)
• Tabasco
• Worcestershire sauce

Okay, now I want a Bloody Mary. Cheers!

xx,

WhyDon’tYouActLikeALady

Happy Valentine’s Day from the WhyDid Fam

Oh, it’s Valentine’s Day alright. Please don’t throw yourself from the nearest bridge. WE love you, after all. What else could you possibly need (other than a tall glass of wine)?  Would some funny commercials with women holding the Shake Weight help?

Don’t worry, we didn’t forget you guys.

Sending our love.

xx,

WhyDidYouWearThat, WhyInGayHell, WhyDon’tYouActLikeALady, WhyDon’tYouEatMe, VintageVixen

Spin Cycle

So, considering there is the “Blizzard of 2010” going on outside, I’ve decided to take this time to be ultra productive around the house. Believe it or not, I have been asked by a few readers to write about laundry! I’ve been doing my own laundry since I was 14 (I actually asked my Mom if I could start doing my own laundry…oh the things kids say!!) so I just assumed everyone knew how. Why I thought this (considering my husband has not the slightest clue) is beyond me.

Here goes: The in’s and out’s of laundry:

1. Sort your clothes by color:

• Dark colored clothes (don’t worry about separating brights colors and darks because you’re going to wash them in cold water anyway and the cold water won’t allow the colors to bleed)
• White clothes
• Towels
• Sheets

2.  Empty your pockets. Please don’t make me explain this…

3. Pre-treat any stains with a spray or dab them with detergent

4. Set your washer:

• Dark colored clothes = cold water
• White clothes = hot or warm water
• Towels = hot or warm water
• Sheets = hot water

5.  Add a cap full of detergent to the water while it’s filling. To save water and energy, let your washer fill with water before adding clothes.  If you add the clothes while it’s filling, the washer uses more water to fill the machine.

6. Don’t overfill the washer. Clothes should fit in the washer without you having to use your hand or any other object to jam them down.

7. Shake clothes out before putting in the dryer and they will dry faster…promise!

Lady Malkin’s Tip of the day: Using cold water with bleach will not only allow the chemicals to breakdown slower meaning whiter clothes for you, but you also won’t have to ingest the chemicals that immediately release into the air when bleach is mixed with hot water!

Good Luck! I have to believe some of you will need it!

xx,

WhyDon’tYouActLikeALady

Do you have a question you want answered by WhyDon’tYouActLikeALady? Leave a comment!

Tough Love

What kind of lady would I be if I didn’t share important information with you? Not a very good one.

You may want to write this down. Valentine’s Day = Amateur Night.

People who don’t eat out all year long take this opportunity to bum rush the most expensive restaurant in Zagat still accepting reservations. Couple this with the fact that Vday falls on a Holiday weekend this year and we have a serious problem. It’s like a bad storm. My advice…stay indoors.

With that being said, I would like to shine light on one other issue surrounding the “Day of Love”. Flowers. If just the sight of classic red roses makes most women have a gag reflex, imagine how we feel when we receive them on Valentine’s Day?  They are soo unoriginal and to be completely honest, they look cheap. The only thing worse that I can think of is baby’s breath. Wait…I take that back – carnations are equally disturbing. I get it, red roses are easy and they do have an appropriate meaning but there are so many other flowers and colors that have beautiful meanings. Here are some of WhyDid’s favorites.
WHITE ROSES (My personal fave) – White roses represent innocence and purity.
PINK ROSES (WhyDon’tYouEatMe’s personal fave) – A symbol of grace and elegance. The pink rose is often given as an expression of admiration.
DAISY (WhyInGayHell’s fave) – Innocence and loyal love.
ORCHID (WhyDidYouWearThat’s personal fave) – Rare Beauty, refinement, beautiful woman, long life.

More on flowers and their meanings…. http://www.proflowers.com/flowerguide.aspx

Lady Malkin’s Tip of the Week: Cut flower stems on a diagonal under cold running water and place immediately in a water filled vase. Peel away to outer layer of petals from roses to make them last longer.

Hope your Valentine’s Day is lovely…

xx,
WhyDon’tYouActLikeALady

Why Don’t You Act Like A Lady?

What can I say? I’m a lady. I don’t try to be. It just comes naturally to me- like basketball to Lebron. I know being a lady sounds pretty boring, but I promise I’m a lot of fun at parties!

Being a lady is not always easy. Thankfully, I received a great deal of guidance from two very special ladies: my grandmother, Rachel (the queen of all ladies) and of course, my mom, Shelly. Some people love fashion. Some love animals. I just happen to love everything domestic!

My passion in life (besides being a lady) is planning events. I had some amazing coaching in this department while working at the prestigious Waldorf Astoria Hotel here in NYC.  I now own my own event planning company, Eventive Designs, and also plan events for a celebration brand called Mermaids & Martinis. Thanks to the support of my smart, handsome husband, I am able to do what I love every single day!

Enough about me! I’m here help you with all things lady-like from planning your next soiree to which way the toilet paper should roll (OVER!! Never under). Just ask away!

Lady Malkin’s Tip of the Week: Roll old magazines and stick them in your boots to make them stand upright and keep their shape!

xx,

Lady