New Years Eve Party Tips

I had a blast sharing tips for your New Years Eve Celebration on Today Show this morning.  I hope you like them!  I'd love to know what you plan to do with your guests!

Sunkist® Citrus Tips with Kimberly Schlegel Whitman: DIY Citrus Centerpiece

Are you looking for the perfect centerpiece for your Easter get together?  I hope you like this idea!  Add a few pops of color to your arrangement using citrus and your guests will think that you had a professional do your flowers!

I hope you have a beautiful Easter weekend! 

I hope you will head on over to Southern Living's Blog, The Daily South, and read the tips I posted on making your roses last longer this Valentine's!

Friday Favorites

I hope you will check out the tailgate segment I did yesterday on TODAY show!  I had a great time with Al, Tamron and Willie as always!

Have you seen the Palmetto Bluff Southern Living Idea House yet?  You will love it!

15 Flower tricks you have never heard before.

Super excited about this dress I just ordered for Fall.

This is so hard but we really have to-have to-have to do it!

Monogram Monday: Flocked in Florals

While searching for the perfect new monogram and stationery for my precious little girl, I found this great blog full of wonderful types.   Among my favorites is Brushwood by Ricardo Sabatini:

What do you think?  Is it right for baby girl's stationery?

Tablescape Tuesday: Mario Buatta

I'm a big fan of designer Mario Buatta.  I love that his designs are so colorful and so full of pattern.  His tablescapes and dining rooms are no different! Enjoy!

This table was featured in Architectural Digest and they said the murals made you feel like you were dining al fresco all year long.

From the New York Social Diary

New York Social Diary

Architectural Digest

I love this portrait of Mario surrounded by inspiration!  

Looking for more - check out these tablescapes by Mario Buatta from the 70s on The Peak of Chic Blog!

Tablescape Tuesday: Southern Living Alfresco Entertaining

We hosted friends for dinner last night and the weather was so pretty.  I wish that I had made plans to eat outside!  It reminded me of the table I set for Southern Living a few issues back.  

I hope you enjoy it:

Click here to read the article and source guide.

Friday Favorites

Happy Friday, everyone!

It's been another busy week and I have so many favorite things to share with you today! 

• Yesterday was my husband's birthday, and my mother-in-law sent me this precious photo in honor of his birthday. 

• Make sure you check out Charm & Chain. They have some great products from popular designers. Through December 14th, they are offering a discount of 25% off any purchase. All you need to do is enter the code CC25OFF. Enjoy!

• It was such a treat to have the handsome V. Bruce Hoeksema of VBH bags on Texas Living. I cannot even begin to describe how absolutely incredible his handbags are. 

If you didn't get a chance to watch the segment you can watch it here!

• Don't you just love coming home to fresh flowers? 

These beautiful pink flowers are from my mother's house. And these tulips are in my foyer. 

• LUXELINER, the mobile (yes mobile!) clothing boutique, is rolling into Dallas and I am so thrilled! Started by five friends, Wendy Poston, Jennifer Clark, Capa Mooty, Charlotte Jones Anderson, and Alyson Griffith, this ingenious idea is sure to be Dallas' new favorite one stop shop! 

Photos Paula snapped at the launch party last night at the Lumen Hotel

Capa Mooty holding The Big O keyrings 

Our Business Director, Paula North and Jennifer Clark 

You can like their Facebook page here!

Tablescape Tuesday: The Party Planner at IBB Designs

One of my favorite perks of being an Author is the wonderful people I get to meet at my book signings and celebrations.  The talented Shay Geyer of IBB Designs hosted a lovely pink party for me to celebrate The Party Planner.  She is a doll and dove in to the party planning process with gusto and great style.  She even painted the wall in the luncheon room of her design studio pink just for me!  

The flowers were in mirrored containers and the combination of soft pink hydrangea, bold and bright roses and fresh and cheery tulips was modern and sweet at the same time.  The favor bags added a further pop of color on the tables and no one could wait to dig in to them!  

Our host, Shay Geyer, and Good Morning Texas Host, Amy Vanderoef.

Oh So Cynthia Blogger, Cynthia Smoot with our Hostess.  Check out those pink shoes!  

Red velvet cakes by RUSH Patisserie were the icing on the cake!  Deeeeeeelish!

Leap Year Birthday Celebration

I just finished a party for a lady who is truly one of my favorite clients.  She is wonderful in every way!  She is stylish and loves pretty things but she is also decisive and makes quick decisions which makes my job so much easier!

The calligraphy on the place cards was done in the mitty script by Nicole Black, otherwise known as The Left Handed Calligrapher.  She is wonderful!  She also wrote out a few facts about leap years that we put in a frame by the front door.

One clever guest brought her a hula hoop as a gift!  Perfect for a "13" year old!

Her birthday celebration was so special.  She was born on Feb 29th and only has a birthday every four years so we helped her pull together a 13th birthday celebration on this leap year!  She requested a leaping animal so we commissioned the amazing Bernard Maisner to create a beautiful frog for her.  Bernard put the frog on place cards and on guest cards that each guest filled out and placed in a beautiful mercury glass dish.  The tops of the cards had "My wish for Paula's next big leap is..." and the guests filled out the rest!  Bernard printed the cards in grey and we had purple pens for the guests to write in. 

We took simple white hemstitch napkins to the monogram shop and had both the number 13 and the birthday girl's monogram, designed by Rhonda Warren of Color Box Designs, embroidered on them in a light silvery grey.  They were so pretty and she can use them for years to come....well, maybe not the 13!

The dinner was held at Lucia, an intimate restaurant that is very special to the birthday girl and her charming husband.  The tables and chairs are all a bit different and they space is tight so we had to be a bit careful not to overwhelm with flowers!  We chose various shades of purples as the birthday girl's birthday stone is amethyst.  Debby Jewesson of Branching Out did an amazing job of adding just the perfect touch of sparkle with mercury glass containers and votive holders.

Gorgeous red velvet cakes were brought in from RUSH Patisserie.  Debby provided the flowers and RUSH added them to the top the delicious cakes!  The birthday girl had 13 candles in hers!

 

The wonderful photographer, Jason Wynn, snapped photos of each of the guests with the birthday girl as they arrived and then ran out and had them printed while the guests were eating.  By the time they were ready to leave, Jason and I had them framed and ready for them to take home.  The frames were engraved with Leap Year 2012 on the bottom right.

All photos by Jason Wynn.

Special thanks to Mary Wright-Shah!