This month I was lucky enough to grace the cover of http://www.lonnymag.com/home. The latest edition of Lonny magazine is packed with great entertaining tips, holiday decoration ideas and, of course, incredible features. Make sure to check it out!!
If you're thinking about purchasing a dog or cat this holiday season please consider adoption before purchasing from a breeder or pet store. If you can not make the commitment of adopting a dog or cat there are many other things you can do to help out such as volunteering or donating used or new toys, food, leashes, collars, sheets, blankets and cleaning supplies. Any little bit helps. To find out more information on adopting, volunteering or donating click here http://www.furbabyforyou.com/
Thanksgiving is just around the corner. Don't forget to check out my Thanksgiving countdown cheat sheet. You can also find out more tricks and tips tomorrow Wednesday the 23rd when I appear on the Nate Berkus Show!
My niece Emily wanted to throw an impromptu party with her friends, so I showed her some tips on how to use what she had and not spend a fortune on buying other necessities.
Follow theses tips for a stress free holiday. Share with your friends, they will think you are a rock star.
Carla McDonald During my time in Austin I ate amazing food and met some really interesting people. Here is a video from my travels.
My friend the "doyenne" of Austin, the lovely Carla McDonald was gracious enough to host a book party for me at her beautiful home. Below are some party throwing tips from the hostess with the mostess.
1. Use music to set just the right “tone.” For Lulu’s book party, I created a playlist consisting entirely of food-themed music, e.g., “Hungry Like a Wolf” by Duran Duran, “Ladyfingers,” “Tangerine,” and “A Taste of Honey” by Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass, “Sweet Potato Pie” by James Taylor, “Pulling Mussels from the Shell” by Squeeze, “Mack the Knife” by Bobby Darin, “Red, Red Wine” by UB40, “Eggs and Sausage” by Tom Waits, “Memphis Women and Fried Chicken” by the Dynatones, etc.
2. Let flowers plant just the right seed in the minds of your guests. To celebrate Lulu’s amazing culinary talents, I asked http://www.mandarinflower.com/ to create floral arrangements based on the colors synonymous with Lulu—bright orange and lime green—and to incorporate food into all the floral arrangements. Knowing from the book that Lulu loves fragrances, we placed a low, elongated crystal vase filled with coffee beans, beautiful orange mokarra orchids, artichokes, and lime green greenery on the table where Lulu was signing books. We included baby carrots in the arrangements on the cocktail tables to coordinate with the orchids.
3. Wax thematic with candles. Again, knowing how much Lulu loves fragrance, but making sure that any fragrances won’t compete with the yummy aromas coming from the kitchen, we placed a coriander-scented (again, carrying through on the food theme) candle in the powder room. We used simple, elegant white tea lights everywhere else.
4. Basic napkins are a wipe out so make your own! Lulu provided us with beautiful, monogrammed, orange linen cocktail napkins from http://www.sferra.com/ that we used for the cocktails. But for the passed hors d’oeuvres, we used white paper napkins that were custom-printed from http://www.foryourparty.com/ with the name of the book in “Lulu orange” ink. We also had matching hand towels made for the powder room. You can never remind people too often about Lulu’s new book which you can buy here http://lulupowers.com/
5. Throw in a few surprises for fun. We placed little bowls around the party filled with green and orange http://www.mymms.com/ that we had custom printed with Lulu’s name and the name of her new book. We also gave everyone a little goodie bag on the way out filled with homemade gum drops and a little note that said “Thanks for Dropping By.”
You can check out all of the pictures from the party here http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1300031804#!/pages/LuluPowers/301028975315.
Photos provided by http://www.mimikphoto.com/
Savannah who I have featured on my blog in the past recently contacted me and told me about an essay she wrote about me for her speech class. I was so touched by it that I wanted to share her hard work with all of you. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did.
Below are some of the slides from her power point presentation.
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What a wonderful/stylish way to contribute to a worthy cause. I bought these bags to give to my nieces and nephews for trick-or-treating but they can also be used for multiple purposes through out the year. With every FEED bag purchased a donation is made to UNICEF. You can purchase your FEED Trick-or-Treat bag at http://www.hsn.com/feed-trick-or-treat-bag-to-benefit-unicef_pf-967128_xp.aspx
The very fun and vivacious Viviana Vigil stopped by to help me make Salmon with Quinoa Salad and Crispy Kale for LX.TV 1st Look, which aired on NBC over the weekend.
LX.TV 1st Look spotlights the latest in restaurants, shopping, fashion, nightlife and entertainment and airs on local NBC affiliates.
