So, imagine my delight when I learned that Bite Lip Lab has opened just down the street from me in Soho.  Bite is an amazing lip color that stays put, is easy to use and really keeps that vibrant color all day.  I love it and have highly recommended it since my first use.  But now Bite has stepped it up by offering a new lab with a color customization program.  You can go to the lab, and within 20 mins tops you will have the perfect color for your next party, your wedding, or for everyday, (and of course for sitting around in your pjs just because).  They are also able to match lipsticks that have been discontinued or even match a lipstick color to your favorite frock.  And you can choose the scent and flavor.  Could it get any better than this?

My friend says that maybe they should come out with blush . . . ;)

Bite Beauty Lab, 174 Prince Street, New York, NY  http://www.bitebeauty.com

Photo courtesy of http://www.bitebeauty.com

Pop artist Roy Lichtenstein is known for his boldly colored paintings, which most often parodied mass culture, borrowing from comic strips and advertisements.   I adore his work and dream of one day owning a Lichtenstein so that I can throw glorious cocktail parties while my guests chatter about my lovely taste in art.  However, given that his 1964 painting entitled “Ohhh…Alright…” recently (2010) sold for a cool $38 million (or $42.6 million including Christie’s fees) I was not getting my hopes up.   Until my friend, who happens to be an award winning interior designer, sent me a link to this:

All black and white photos credited to barneys.com.

Based on Lichtenstein’s Dishes (1966), Barney’s is currently offering this gorgeous black and white place setting so that you and I can own a little bit of Lichtenstein.   So maybe I can still have that cocktail party and I can artfully arrange these as a centerpiece with candles and flowers.   Lichtenstein will still be the talk of the party – but I will save a few mil.

(And if you haven’t done this before – totally take your own vase (or in this case, your Lichtenstein tea cups and plates) to your favorite florist and have them create an arrangement to compliment what you own.  It makes your centerpiece so much more special and is usually less expensive because you aren’t being overcharged for a cheap vase that you will stack in a cabinet with all the other cheap vases you never use.)

When I laid eyes on this chair I immediately thought of a perfect sunset with these chairs lining the beach, beautiful people sipping fabulous drinks and torches burning in the background.   AKA: The night of my dreams.  But of course you could also use it for yourself, party of one, with a cold beer and a beach read.  Either way, I suggest buying this Cricket II beach chair, which came straight from the archives of Brown Jordan.  It was adapted from an iconic 1970s design.   So buy 50 and have the best beach party ever known or buy one and . . . have the best beach party ever known. ;)

“Truck to Table” Napkins conceived and designed by the fabulous Cheree Berry.   http://www.chereeberrypaper.com

Event design conceived and executed by Stacie Shea.   http://www.staciesheaevents.com

Party Invitations and Food Truck Napkins conceived and designed by Cheree Berry.    http://www.chereeberrpaper.com

Morris Food Truck – best grilled cheese ever!    http://www.morrisgrilledcheese.com

L-R:  Sweetery NYC Truck, Wafels and Dinges Truck. Great people, excellent food and both highly recommended.           http://www.sweeterynyc.com        http://www.wafelsanddinges.com

All Photo Credits:  Natasha Montero  http://www.natashamontero.com

A very special thank you to Lia Batkin of In The Know Experiences for the idea. http://www.intheknowexperiences.com

I recently won a cocktail party at Tiffany & Co. at a charity auction.  Is this every girl’s dream or what?  I found an amazing stationery designer, coincidentally named Tiffany, who came up with this invite.  The sample is for a bridal shower but mine look the same.  There is actually a “diamond” in the design.  So fabulous!  I just received them in the mail and they are even more gorgeous in person.  She has a lot of talent and I am happy to recommend her – Embellished by Tiffany (www.embellishedbytiffany.com).

Photo Credit:  http://www.marthastewart.com

Lavender Champagne

Photo Credit:  http://www.marthastewart.com

I have been wanting to have a Valentine’s Day party for all my girlfriends (single and attached) because I think it is a holiday that women really love to celebrate and I am always looking for any excuse to have a party.  ;)  So when I saw this great bubble bath, I knew it would be the perfect favor for the imaginary V-day party I am throwing in my head.  It is called In Love Classic Petal Bubble Bath from Lollia.  http://www.lollialife.com  I love love love the gorgeous bottle!

I found this great recipe in Coastal Living of all places.  And I love it for a summer party, a brunch or a bridal luncheon.  It also sounds super easy to make!

Tropical Champagne Punch

–Combine 2 c. pineapple-mango juice, 2 c. orange juice, 2 c. cranberry juice, 2 c. guava nectar and 1 c. apple juice in a large bowl. 

–Stir in 1 (750-ml) bottle sparkling wine.

–Garnish with sliced star fruit and limes, if desired.

–Makes 12 servings.

**For the best flavor, chill all ingredients before combining.**

So last year we hosted a Super Bowl party and it was such a hit that I have decided to make it an annual thing.  Last year’s party included kids and adults.  We had sliders and individual pizzas, nachos, etc. and a massive TV.  Like I said, it was a hit and we had a blast but this year I want it to step it up!  I am still thinking about specifics but here are my preliminary plans.  Let me know if you have anything great to share.

Food

–Serving food from the home city of the two teams that vying for the title.  For this reason I am rooting for a match-up between the Atlanta Falcons and the New York Jets.  Okay, I know – highly unlikely – but since I am originally from Georgia and my fiance is originally from New York, this match-up would result in food that we both love and the selections would be much easier to make (southern food and nyc classics)  than a match up of say, the Pittsburg Steelers and the Indianapolis Colts (chipped ham and watermelon???.  ;)

–Other food ideas that I like are a baked potato bar (I did this once for a holiday party and it rocked!), chili (easy to please vegetarians too with minor tweaking), cheese fondue (great twist on the typical nacho dip we typically serve).

–I didn’t serve Gatorade last year and I so want to remember to do that this year.  It’s a great drink for the kids and perfect for adults too!

Logistics

–This year I want to set up a second TV for the chatty people (like me)  so that I don’t have to deal with the scowls from the real Super Bowl fans when I am talking about The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills near the big screen.

Entertainment

–Since kids will be in attendance, I like the idea of having pom poms, foam fingers and an activity for them (last year they made their own pizzas and then watched a movie).  Not sure what the activity will be yet though.

–My fiance is a pregame show fanatic but I like the idea of music in the background before the game starts.  Here’s a great playlist suggestion from Evite:

–Great way to get the adults involved:  Fill two bowls/helmets with the names of each player written on slips of paper.  (One bowl for each team.)  Each party-goer chooses a player to root for throughout the game.  I love this idea because it personalizes the experience and has the potential to get everyone involved (even the ones who are there to socialize and not really that into the game – like me).

–Another idea:  Give door prizes for traditional football pool bet wins (i.e. MVP, most points scored, most yards, etc.).

–And my favorite idea:  Commerical score cards.  The commercials are the best part!

—Evite also has the instructions for a game they call Super Bowl Squares.  I posted the instructions here but if you want to see the complete square go to the Evite site.

1. Draw a 10-by-10 grid.
2. You have 100 squares to sell to your guests. Choose a price and let people buy as many squares as they want, but you’ll need to sell all 100 squares. A dollar a square is pretty standard, but you can up the ante if your friends are high rollers.
3. Pass around the blank grid and let people put their initials in as many random squares as they’ve bought.
4. Once all the squares are filled, pull numbers from zero to nine at random to designate the order of the numbers that go along the left and the top of the grid. You’ll want to make sure this is done after the squares are filled and randomly to keep people from only picking the squares with 0’s, 3’s and 7’s. (Seriously, no one will willingly buy 2’s, 5’s or 8’s.)
5. At the end of each quarter, the person whose initials are in the square that matches the last digit of the teams’ scores wins.
6. You may want to split the pot into percentages so that the final score winner gets more than the quarter winners. We give the winners of the first three quarters 20 percent of the pot, and the winner of the final score gets 40 percent of the pot. Above game ideas from: http://www.Evite.com