Archives For housewarming

Biscotti is one of those classic desserts that seems to be appropriate for any occasion.

Holiday gifts, housewarming gifts … breakfast. :)

Even people who don’t like dessert will probably take a liking to biscotti. It’s not overly sugary, and even if you’re entirely averse to sweets, you can customize these bad boys using your own favorite ingredients, making them as sweet – or un-sweet – as you want.

And, hellllooo … dipping stuff into coffee is, like, super-fun.

I got the brilliant idea to make biscotti for two of our good friends who recently hosted a housewarming party (and had also just gotten engaged – double the celebration!). My first thought was a bottle of Patron XO Cafe, our group of friends’ beverage of choice – and then I thought, biscotti! I wasn’t really sure what they were into in terms of desserts, so I figured this fabulous coffee-themed gift would please pretty much anyone.

I’m telling you: Biscotti (bonus points for pairing it with coffee-flavored tequila) is the solution to any of your “I want to make them something special, but I’m just not sure what they like” situations. We all have those situations, don’t we?

Yes, we do! Which is why I’ve got another episode of Sassy in the Kitchen for you today – so that you can see for yourself how totally easy this is.

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We all know I love my theme parties by now.

But this – this takes it to another level. What’s the theme you ask? It’s hard to put a name on this one. It’s glamour, meets casual. Black-tie attire, and ping-pong.

We’ll just call it fabulous. That works, doesn’t it?

It’s a housewarming party for a gentleman by the name of Kevin Sharkey, featured in Martha Stewart Living. I found it here, and I fell into a trance. I mean, a shower full of perfect orange Hermès boxes? That’s my kind of decorating. The tub filled with champagne bottles wasn’t too bad of an idea, either. I love how they brought a room to life – the bathroom, no less – that wouldn’t normally be included in the party.

How about a cake made entirely out of Oreo cookies, stacked on top of one another? With sparkler candles shooting out the top, no less. I think it may have been the old-fashioned milk bottles scattered about the table that really sold me here. And we can’t forget about the caviar.

I really don’t think it gets any better than men dressed in tuxedos playing a solid game of table tennis. I’m also a big fan of ladies in fabulous dresses making themselves just a little more comfortable. Shouldn’t we all drink our cocktails and eat our caviar sans shoes, sitting on the kitchen counter? This is living.

Please note how they’re keeping score: lipstick tallies on mirrored walls. But not just any lipstick. A tray of Chanel lipsticks, boys and girls. Does it get any more chic than this?

The woman pictured above and throughout many of the other images is actually the daughter of Martha Stewart. I’m jealous. Can you imagine being the daughter of Martha herself? On one hand, it seems like the most fabulous thing in the world – on the other…well, you know. Those are some big shoes to fill.

Throwing parties like this tells us she’s doing a pretty good job.

So, from my dreams to yours – here it is, dolls. My idea of perhaps the greatest housewarming party ever to exist. Super glamorous, yet still low-key. For me, this is what makes it so grand, so over-the-top special. Anyone can throw a stuffy party with a few {thousand} dollars – but this struck the perfect balance between opulence and good old-fashioned fun.

Understated elegance at its finest, my loves. Happy Friday!

I’m a sucker for anything personalized, and these adorable custom-made rubber house stamps are no exception.

The concept: you send a photograph of your house to Holly, she draws it and then magically fashions her perfect little drawing into a stamp. That’s right – a stamp. Like, the kind you stick in an ink pad. How fun is that? I love when things look hand-written and these stamps would give anything that old-school, almost rustic vibe.

I love the idea for dinner party invites, or any party you’re hosting at your home, really. Imagine how perfect these would be for a housewarming party. Or even stationery. You could use them to send your new address to friends and family when you move. That sounds like a very adult thing to do, doesn’t it?

I love these as a gift for anyone with a beautiful {or new} home they love, but you could also potentially think outside the house. For instance, you could have an image drawn of your wedding site and use the stamp to make your own invites. The options are really endless, and I’m sure all you craftier-than-thou folk out there could think of plenty more uses for something like this.

For a little over $100 per stamp, you can’t go wrong.