young, fabulous, and throwing a party!!

So this weekend I threw a 25th wedding anniversary for my parents and it was a blast! Thank you to everyone who attended!

This got me thinking about throwing parties in general- how can a young and fabulous reader throw a fabulous party (and on a budget? :-)* ) There are so many great party ideas, and tips out there- for instance check out evite.com.  This is a great starting point, their evites are adorable and they have blogs and message boards about party tips and ideas.  I love the reminder feature too- you can send messages to your guests and thank you ecards after the party too! *Definitely a fabulous feature! Another great source for ideas is the foodnetwork.com site- I am obsessed with this site! All of the chefs have great food and theme ideas!

My tips- pick a theme first! This weekend was easy for me because it was an anniversary party, but think about what you might want- a fiesta, All American BBQ, summer fun, you name it! (Sandra Lee on the Food Network has great theme ideas too!) From there make a list of what you want to serve and decorations you want to keep with the theme.  My theme color was yellow- original wedding party colors- and we did simple-chic food- nothing fancy but definitely yummy!  I would also try to have finger foods as a staple of your party.  Often times guests don't want to be stuffing their faces with a big plate of food, so finger foods make it easy to keep every one's tummy full and happy! If you are ordering pizza for a party, ask the pizza place to cut small slices so you get more out of the pizza and we satisfy the finger food rule.  (Regis and Kelly just recently had a guest on who took a cookie cutter to her pizza to make finger food sizes and fun shapes- never be afraid of being creative!)

Another tip- especially about saving $$- go to club stores to buy your staples, like cutlery, plates, napkins, chips, soda, etc.  You get bulk sizes at great prices! Also- buy simple colors like white or black so you can save the unused pieces for your next big party!  To save a buck too, ask your guest to bring a dessert or side dish.  I also made this weekend's anniversary cake- if you have the time it definitely saves to cook part of the menu yourself!  (This also gave me the chance to live out my dream of being a bakery chef! :-) *)  If you love to cook and want to do it all yourself, just make sure you blocked off enough time so you aren't rushing at the last minute.  (Never rush- you want to be relaxed the day of the party, so do as much prep work the day before so you can just touch up and be fabulous in time for the party)

Other fun party ideas that are cheap- dessert only parties! (possibly my favorite theme!) Grab a couple bottles of wine or make a pitcher of your favorite cocktail and make your favorite desserts.  Go mini style here too- this way you stretch out the amount of food, and you can make an assortment of desserts so your guests have lots of choices (mini brownies, cupcakes, cheesecake, whatever your sweet tooth desires!) 

Do you have any fun party ideas that would fit the young and fabulous profile? If so- please do share! 

More young and fabulous to come!

Cheers

M.Strange

young, fabulous, and broke today

The challenges of being unemployed are never ending- today's challenge how to shop on a budget (a very tight one that is). Some tips I have to my fellow unemployed readers or even those who are just looking to save a buck- coupons, coupons, coupons! For about $1 a week you can subscribe to your weekly newspaper and get great coupons! I love my new Saturday rituals; AM workout- coffee and coupons- grocery shopping! I love the satisfaction I get when I finish shopping, get to the register and save an average of 40% on my bill!

The best way to save the most money is to develop a coupon strategy. Consumer packaged goods companies partner with stores to plan when the sales will run. Usually, the coupons for key products like your favorite shampoo, or soap will come out a week or two before your store puts the same products on sale- which most people don't realize that this is the opportunity to double your savings! Most shoppers will use his or her coupons as soon as they get them, but then you miss out on the coupon and store promotion combo. After about 2 weeks of learning your local grocery stores habits you will be able to develop your own specific shopping strategy.

I have found that my local grocery will do a 72 hour sale, where bulk packages of toilet paper, paper towels, etc will go on sale when you buy 3 or more (or some combination like that) so I clip my coupons, wait for the sale, and bam! I saved $10 on the usually hate to buy products (hate to buy products are those that you always need, but cost the most, so therefore you hate to buy.) If there are good coupons in the paper one week- I will sometimes buy 2 papers so I can get more of the great coupons! They usually last for at least a month or so, and sales happen frequently as you will learn, my new strategic shoppers!

Another great new feature in the coupon world, is the uploadable coupons! *I should note that I am assuming that you already have your store's shopper card- if you don't -SHAME ON YOU! GO GET ONE IMMEDIATELY! Store shopper cards get you instant savings! You also can now upload coupons to your shopper card so you don't even have to clip them! P&GeSaver is a great site, and AOL has a new one as well. Check out your local grocery store website for links to coupons too** Another secret here- you can clip the coupons from the paper and upload the same coupon on your card and bam! double savings again! ** sneaky sneaky!

I hope this helps for those of you young, fabulous, and.. readers. I have more posts to come on the "young, faboulous, and broke- unemployed" topic so be on the look out!

Best
M. Strange