On the Today Show with Kathie Lee and Hoda

Hi Everyone!

Yesterday I was in the Big Apple and popped by The Today Show with Kathie Lee and Hoda to share  "8 Tips for a 'Cent'sible Wedding." I had great time putting the tips together from all of the wonderful suggestions in the Southern Living Wedding Planner and Keepsake: What To Do Before Saying "I Do".

Watch Kim on Kathie Lee and Hoda
{Michael Kors pink dress / Christian Louboutin pumps}

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Here are some of the tips we shared:

Use a picture frame painted with chalkboard paint to display your wedding menu.

Have family members contribute their favorite family pie recipes.

Display them on heirloom cake stands for an added personal touch.

Don't let a pair of stilettos ruin a good party. Provide your guests with flip flops so they can continue to dance the night away.

Those ladies were such a blast. Click here to watch the full video and see all of our tips!

Wedding Wednesday: Marry This!

I love the super simple guides put together by the three girls at Marry This!  They are great style guides to help any bride plan the largest and most important party she has probably every put together!  At $30, they are a steal!  It is like having a stylist put together a mood board for you and tell you what and how much to order!  If you don't want to splurge on a wedding planner, consider ordering your Marry This Guide today!
They launch a new one every month so if you don't see the style you are looking for today, sign up to see the new theme launched every month.

Groupon: Collective Buying Power

Have you used Groupon yet?  It is so interesting!  There are nearly 50 cities worldwide that have this fantastic collective buying power website available.  Here is the deal (and it is a deal!):
1. Go to Groupon.comhttp://www.groupon.com/welcome_to_groupon and enter your email address and your city.
2. You will receive "one ridiculously huge coupon each day, on the best things to eat, see, do and buy in your city!
3.  If you like the deal, you buy it online and get a printable coupon.  Each Groupon is available for 24 hours and you can watch to see how many others buy in!
Most of the deals are credits.  For example, you can purchase $25 worth of business services for $10.  Many are for food, beauty services, or fitness for every once in a while there is a true surprise such as a hotel stay, a sky diving lesson or a painting class!

Dwell With Dignity

I am head over heels crazy for the latest Non-Profit group I have discovered. Dwell With Dignity is made up of a group of Interior Designers who volunteer their time designing and installing all of the furniture, art, bedding and kitchen supplies that a family battling poverty could need. They even stock the pantry. All of their "clients" are dealing with major hardships (for some, they are finding a roof after homelessness) and DWD fills their new homes with great design. Their goal is to bring good design to those less fortunate inspiring them to maintain a standard of living they can be proud of and thrive in. They believe that changing their surroundings can change their outlook on life. Children especially see the standard of living and will most likely carry it forward. It is inspiring and provides a peaceful and cheerful home surrounding. I am sure that the fact that they have volunteered and provided for them inspires the recipients as well!

Here is how you can help: You can donate dollars to underwrite needed furniture, donate your gently used furniture (in many cases they will refurbish it or reupholster it) or you can volunteer. Volunteers on the installations do everything from making art and sewing pillows to hanging drapes and making beds! Click here to see some of their amazing design projects!

Spring Break Staycation

Staycations are become more and more popular. The idea of staying home and skipping the testy travel does have a certain appeal, not to mention the money saved! The trick to a successful staycation is to make a plan and keep the activities fun!

• Give each day a different theme and tell you children about them ahead of time so that they can look forward to it. Designate one day Outer Space day and visit the planetarium and watch Star Wars or have a Princess Day, Wild West Day, Dinosaur Day or Nature Day. Be creative and let your kids pick themes too!
• Use this time to tackle some of the projects that you never seem to get to. Schedule a time to clean out your kids rooms with them or organize your photographs. Give your children an assignment that they can be proud of helping you accomplish.
• If you are missing the beach, bring the beach home! Visit your local hardware store and purchase some sand for your back yard. I love Crayola Sand for it's festive colors! Set out your beach towels and bring out the sand toys! You could bury shells or little treat toys in the sand and have a treasure hunt!
• Consider volunteering with your children. If there is a charitable organization that you are particularly interested in, give them a ring and ask them how you and your family can help. Imagine the example you are setting for your children and the memories your will make.

Christmas Entertaining on a Budget

I know you want to continue to entertain through out the holidays even though we are all on tight budgets so here are a few tips to help you shine this Christmas season with out breaking the bank. Here are a few of my tips:

1. Create a simply stunning centerpiece: Fill any glass bowl or open top vase with a favorite festive item such as simple solid ornaments or candy canes. They will last all season long. For a special occasion, top your cylinder vases that are filled with goodies with a sphere of flowers. Solid red carnations from the floral department at Tom Thumb are an affordable way to make a dramatic statement with your flowers (I can get you a photo of this if you like it).

2. Set the tone with tea lights: Candles are a great way to evoke nostalgic memories during the holidays. Purchase a bag of little tea lights. Wrap 1/2 wide ribbon that will match your decor (I like the warmth of velvet ribbons during the holiday season) around the edge of the tea lights and secure with double stick tape. Scatter them around your table top for or across your mantles for maximum impact at minimum expense.

3. Cook in Batches: Make a few breakfast or lunch casseroles that you can freeze and serve when needed. It will take the stress out of feeding out of town guests in the morning. Plus, buying in bulk can really stretch a budget. Tom Thumb offers value packs on all their O Organic products etc. Imagine how easy it will be to pull out your casserole, heat it up; add coffee and juice to your table and you have a breakfast feast in three steps! Be sure you let your casseroles cool completely before putting them in the freezer.

4. Be unique with your guest book: Set a bowl or basket of simple and inexpensive solid ornaments and a few paint pens out by the door. Ask your guests to decorate and sign an ornament and then hang it on your tree. It will give them something fun to do, get them in to your home to mingle and you will have a lasting memory of their visit to hang on your tree every year.

5. Make shopping a family affair: Include your kids on your trips to the store. Tom Thumb has thousands of new everyday low prices and great weekly Reward Card specials on items across the store! Their new yellow shelf tags show the old price crossed out and the new everyday low price. It is a great feeling to see your savings right before your eyes! If your kids are along, you can turn the tags into a fun math game.

6. Save Time and Money Shopping: One Stop shopping not only saves you time and money but also your sanity during the holidays. Tom Thumb not only has every thing you need but has reduced prices all across the store- it will save you both time and money. I love the peace of mind that comes along with knowing that I am getting the best price when I see what I am saving on their yellow price tags.

7. Stock up on your shopping trip: Every busy mom needs to make the most of their shopping trip. Stock up on all the everyday items you may need. For quick on the go meals, Tom Thumb has great O Organics products and an Eating Right line. Buying private label brands at Tom Thumb is a great way to save but not skip out on quality.

8. Host a Dessert Party: Hosting a Dessert Party is a great way to keep on your budget during the holidays. Start your party at 8:30 or 9, after your guest list has already been to the office Christmas party or had a family dinner, and you can host them for dessert. One quick trip to the bakery at Tom Thumb and all of your food is taken care of! A variety of the sweet treats in the bakery, a pre-cake, cookie trays, and pastries, are tasty and easy. Serve the treats on your best trays and cake plates. Tom Thumb has all of this in a one stop shop, including wine to pair with your pastries!

9. Decorate with Rosemary: Purchase two small Rosemary trees at Tom Thumb and cover their containers in a row of Candy Canes by using a glue stick and tying a green ribbon around them. Place them on each side of the mantle for a festive look and the aroma is amazing! Sprigs or rosemary and candy canes are also great accents on a serving tray, attached to the bow on a gift or at someone's place setting.

10. Gift wrap with ease: Wrap a few gifts every day instead of waiting until the last minute. Leave the ribbons off of the packages until you are ready to deliver or ship them. That you can stack up your gifts without messing up the bow! I love to keep the Christmas Cards that people send me. When I do my gift wrapping I use last year’s cards as gift tags by cutting out either a lovely message from the inside of the card or a pretty image from the front of the card. I punch a whole into it and tie it to my package. It is a great way to recycle last year’s cards!

Big Table - Little Notice!

 

One of my favorite Texas Hostesses, Carla McDonald, sent me this fantastic photo of her New Years Eve table.  She did a fantastic job of whipping a breathtaking table together with inexpensive items from Hobby Lobby and Party City!  Here is what she writes:

Here's a picture of my very last-minute New Year's Eve party table, which I did all by myself!  We decided about a week before NYE to do this party so I scrambled!  I took all the Christmas ornaments off of the slim flocked trees and replaced them with New Year's Eve 2009 stuff: noisemakers, crowns and hats, 2009 glasses, streamers, etc.  On the table, I used a silver lame fabric for the tablecloth, Lucite candelabras and lots of votives.  I made a bunch of small arrangements of white cabbage flowers with glitter sprinkled on them to make them festive.  Cabbage is supposed to bring good luck and I didn't want to serve any!  I also put white boas on the backs of the girls chairs so that they could have fun with them all night and flirt with their dates, which they did.  After dinner and a champagne toast, we had the solarium cleared out and turned it into a disco with a microphone for singing along to classics like Car Wash.  It was such a hoot!!!  I always say, I'm never happy unless I'm planning a party!

Thanks so much for sharing, Carla!!!  Send us more of your fantastic celebrations!

Wake Up Call!

Every coffee lover out there is melt when they get a chance to taste any of the eight different drinks that the Nescafe Dolce Gusto can make!  They are Delicious with a capital D!  Check out the Holiday Entertaining Tips I created for the Dolce Gusto team on their website...www.dolce-gusto.us.  They are both festive and budget friendly.  Happy Holidays and enjoy don't forget that the Dolce Gusto makes both the perfect party tool and a great gift!

The perfect tool for your holiday tablescapes has arrived: The Fruit Candle Carver for Tea Lights. I know it sounds a little bit corny but just take a look at the beautiful results this nifty little tool can help you achieve.  It is a great tool for this season because you can truly save money by skipping the expensive florals and just carving out some fruit.  It is fun (I tried it!) and easy (If I can do it, so can you!) so please invest in this handy little tool and let your imagination go wild.  Send me photographs of your fantastic creations!