Sugar and Charm

lavender mojito

2012-03-08T09:01:00.003-08:00

It's been one of those weeks! Sorry I haven't posted too much, but I've been doing really fun things like organizing our new apartment (since we moved two weeks ago), preparing our documents for taxes (worst day ever, but it has to get done!) and growing a baby! It's been a little crazy over here. The good news is, I did get to experiment creating a few different drinks for my baby shower :) Yes, I am a total baby-showerzilla and I can't help but design and plan for it! I have four amazing hosts, who are helping me so much and at the same time, letting me do my thing, ha!! Love you girls ;)

Okay, so now onto the drink... I decided I wanted to serve a lavender mojito at the shower, so I needed to come up with a good recipe (I have a taster people, so don't think I'm downing mojitos pregnant!). The lavender is cooked when making the simple syrup and it gives the mojito a slight lavender essence :) Oh and you can garnish with a fresh sprig of lavender or use a fake branch like I did, which doubles perfectly as a drink stick! Recipe is below! Hope you're all having a terrific week :)

Lavender Mojito (makes one drink)
8-10 mint leaves
1 oz lavender simple syrup (recipe below)
1 oz white rum
1/2 of a lime's juice

Muddle mint leaves and simple syrup together. Add the rum, lime and lots of ice and shake. Pour everything into a mason jar and top with club soda. Stir again to mix it all together.

Lavender Simple Syrup (makes about 6-8 mojitos)
1 cup sugar
2 cups water
4 tablespoons dried lavender for cooking (I got mine at Whole Foods!)

Bring everything to a boil for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Then let it all simmer for another 15-20 minutes or longer if you prefer more lavender. The longer it simmers and sits, the more taste and smell you'll get from the lavender. Strain the liquid into a bowl to remove the bits of lavender. Pour into a jar and refrigerate. Enjoy!

Photo Credit: Sugar and Charm

brown butter cookie company

2012-03-06T09:01:00.001-08:00

Over the weekend I tasted some of the most amazing cookies from Brown Butter Cookie Company and I had to share! Honestly, the cookie was perfection and I've never had a cookie like this before. Similar to a shortbread (I had the original flavor) but the brown butter gives the cookies such a unique and delicious flavor and there is a perfect amount of salt that you can taste with every bite. They have other flavors such as espresso, bourbon and cocoa mint... mmmm! The charming bakery (it's in a little red cottage!) is located in the adorable town of Cayucos, but if you can't make it there you can order online too ;) Also, if you're in Los Angeles they sell them at Aroma Cafe, that's where I bought my bag! I'm dreaming of more and definitely wanting to try out a cookie recipe with browned butter!

Photo Credit: Brown Butter Cookie Company

pot o' fondue

2012-03-02T08:00:00.004-08:00

I know fondue isn't exactly part of an Irish meal, but I thought it would be a cute and fun idea for a Saint Patrick's Day dinner. There are a variety of delicious Irish cheeses that can be used and besides just serving bread you could chop things like broccoli, green apples and even pickles to dip! It can be a green themed dinner in honor of Saint Patty's day :) I think I'll take my dusty fondue pot out this year and try my hand at making my own. Here's a little inspiration for your Saint Patrick's Day fondue party! Don't forget to serve icy-cold mugs full of Irish beer!

1/2/3/4/5/6

If you're looking for a recipe... this one looks good!

saint patrick's chocolate cookie cake

2012-02-29T09:00:00.000-08:00

Happy Leap Day! I like the fact that I have an extra day this year to organize before March rolls on through! I just can't believe March is already here! There are some special days in March to look forward to like Saint Patrick's Day and Zan's birthday! I was thinking about how fast Saint Patrick's Day will be here, so I decided to make a cookie cake with some Saint Patty's inspiration ;) I'm sure you've all had a cookie cake before. This one is made with a chewy chocolate cookie and a very lightly-sweetened whipped buttercream frosting. Using a light buttercream frosting, it tones down the sweetness, giving it just the right amount of sugar to indulge in :) This would be a charming treat to serve after a Saint Patrick's Day dinner for your family. I love celebrating holidays and I can't wait to make them special for baby boy. When's he's old enough, he'll definitely wake up to a green breakfast, an Irish-themed dinner and of course a special Saint Patty's Day treat! And yes, Zan still gets an Easter basket every year... I just can't help myself :) Enjoy your extra day!! Recipe below.

Saint Patrick's Chocolate Cookie Cake

Chocolate Cookie

2 sticks butter, softened

1 1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs, room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extra

3/4 cup cocoa
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk chocolate chips

In an electric mixer beat butter on hight until fluffy, add in sugar and brown sugar and beat on high. Then add in the vanilla and eggs one at a time. Add the cocoa and continue to mix. Sift together flour, baking soda and salt. With the mixer on low, add the flour. Fold in the chocolate chips.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Fill a greased 6" round cake pan with cookie dough about 1/4" high. Spread the dough evenly at the bottom. Bake for 11 minutes. Let the cookie cool completely before removing. Repeat with the second layer... You could even make three layers if you wanted!

Lightly-Sweetened Buttercream Frosting

2 sticks softened butter

1 3/4 cups powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 tablespoon heavy whipping cream

small amount of green dye

1. Beat the butter until light and fluffy, add in powdered sugar and beat on high. Add in vanilla and heavy whipping cream, beat until texture is light, but still holds together.

2. Spread a good layer of frosting on the top of one cookie. Stack the other cookie on top. Then in a piping bag, with the star frosting tip, pipe small stars on the top of the cookie for a pretty design :)

Photo Credit: Sugar and Charm

a charming garden wedding

2012-02-27T09:00:00.000-08:00

I'm finally posting pictures of one of my closest friends, Mara's wedding! She became a very dear friend during the planning stage after we realized we have so much in common. I did the flowers for the wedding and also helped her with the design and some cute details. Last year, we would meet almost every other week to do crafts, go shopping or even go on pre-wedding hikes, ha! Mara and Matthew's charming garden wedding turned out to be a gorgeous night filled with personal touches. Matthew brewed all of the beer for the wedding, Mara handmade several details (including some AMAZING caramels placed on everyone's napkin) and the whole evening was filled with friends, family and lots of love. Some of my favorite things were the cookie bar (homemade cookies from friends and family), Magnolia Photo Booth, home-brewed beer and the delicious wedding cake! It was truly a night to remember and I'm so incredibly honored that I was part of it! Thanks Mar!!

Photography: Bret Cole

and the award goes to... edible mini gold stars!

2012-02-23T08:06:00.001-08:00

Whether you're throwing a small Oscar party or just cozying up on the couch with your family to watch the Awards this Sunday, below are two SUPER easy ideas to help make the night special :) Mini bowls of popcorn with edible gold stars sprinkled on top and refreshing pineapple and ginger cocktails to sip on while perched in front of the TV for Hollywood's biggest night. I bought the gold stars from Michael's (you can find them here too). You can also add them to cupcakes, popcorn, drinks or any other idea you have for your Oscars party! They're perfect for embellishing while watching the "stars." :) Read below for the cocktail recipe!

Mini bowls of popcorn, lined with gold tinfoil and sprinkled with edible gold stars ;)

Pineapple-Ginger Chiller
2 ounces pineapple juice
2 pineapple chunks muddled
1 1/2 ounces ginger-infused SKYY vodka
1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons (or more if you like it sweeter!) agave nectar
Club soda

Muddle pineapple chunks in a cocktail shaker with pineapple juice. Add the vodka, ice and agave and shake for 20 seconds. Add a small amount of pineapple juice to the rim of the glass and dip it into the gold stars. Then fill the glass with ice (but carefully so the stars don't fall off) and strain the cocktail over the ice. Top off with a small amount of club soda. It's super refreshing and very mild in sweetness :)

picture perfect party hats

2012-02-21T08:14:00.000-08:00

I absolutely love personalizing birthdays and making them special with small details. I had a request this weekend (from a sweet 5 year-old! haha) to make her a birthday hat just like the one I made for her brother. I'm telling you, people love these party hats! I made them for my father-in-law's 60th birthday as well and they're always a hit at the party and look adorable on children! I saw the idea in Martha Stewart last year and I still use the same template from her site... I made a few adjustments, you can read below for the how-to :)

How funny are these pictures Zan captured of our best friend's little boy?! It was his first birthday and I know these pictures will be memorable to him one day :)

Download the template from here, I scale it to fit one size of regular paper rather than legal size. I like the size of them better this way and it's easier! Print out your favorite picture of the person you're celebrating. It's best if you have the picture printed 8x11 so you have room to move the template around. A little smaller works too...

Cut the template out and tape it to the photo. Hold it up to the light to see the picture shine through, so you know exactly where you're placing the template and what will bee seen on your hat. Then, cut around the template.

Using an X-acto knife cut the straight line. This is where you will fold the hat together and insert the the flaps on the other side, so it stays put.

If you want to add fringe, fold a long piece of tissue paper and using Martha Stewart fringe scissors cut along the bottom of one edge.

Tape the fringe to the inside of the hat and voila your party hat is done!

There is the beautiful birthday girl, who wore her hat ALL evening! And that's the hat I made for my father-in-law's 60th birthday!

snippet of life: quick trip to san francisco

2012-02-16T07:45:00.000-08:00

We took a quick trip up to San Francisco this past weekend to take my mom out to dinner for her 60th birthday. Zan made reservations at Wayfare Tavern, Tyler Florence's restaurant, and it was SO delicious! Seriously, for dessert we had a chocolate, Devil's Food Cake, salted-caramel pie, haha!! It was a great experience and special to be with my mom on her birthday. After dinner we drove to Carmel for the night and stayed in an adorable cottage. It was my second time in Carmel and it was just as beautiful as I remember. Pine trees, cottages, fresh air and a beautiful beach... it's such a great getaway from Los Angeles and I felt rejuvenated when we got home. I don't think I could live in LA if Zan and I didn't take road trips often. Coming from a small town, my soul needs those country trips! Even though our excursion was short we had a wonderful time and made some really special memories! Below are a few photos from my (and Zan's) iPhone.

Mi madre on her birthday and we did make a quick stop to Delfina's for pizza.

A candy cottage on the beach! My dream shop :)

The beach in Carmel is so beautiful, the sand is almost white (my fave!) and it's so incredibly soft.

On our way home, we stopped by one of our favorite seafood shacks on the dock in Morro Bay.

ombre cake for valentine's day

2012-02-14T13:28:00.000-08:00

Since it's the sweetest day of the year, I thought I'd share this Ombre cake I made after seeing this beautiful one! Zan and I will be enjoying it for dessert tonight :) I hope you all have a wonderful Valentine's Day! XOXO

Simple directions on how to make an ombre cake...

1. Choose your favorite vanilla cake recipe to make... I like this one
2. Divide the batter into four or five bowls, depending on how many layers you want
3. Starting with the lightest color, add a drop of dye. Then continue adding more to each bowl as you go. You should end with four or five shades of pink, so pretty!!
4. Bake each layer individually and then stack together from dark to light, frosting in-between the layers.
5. Divide the frosting into three bowls, add dye to each of them, making one a little darker from the other
6. Using a large round tip and a decorating bag, start with the darkest color of frosting and work your way up, changing colors as you go. ENJOY!!

snippet of life: happy valentine's day

2012-02-14T09:29:00.000-08:00

Happy Valentine's Day to the man who makes me smile everyday... You're truly the best Zan and I can't imagine life without you. Thank you for being my Valentine for the past nine years and making my life so special. xoxo

These photos were taken before we got married!! Also, check out my Style Me Pretty feature today!! Such an honor to whip up a yummy cocktail for my favorite wedding blog ;)

Photo Credit: Steven Lam Photography

au chocolat

2012-02-13T09:02:00.000-08:00

I hope you all had a great weekend. Zan and I went to San Francisco to celebrate my mom's 60th birthday. I took some iPhone pics that I'll share this week :) I started a chocolate board on Pinterest and I wanted to post some of my favorite chocolate pictures in honor of Valentine's Day! Like, I mentioned in my other post, I didn't get to bake as much as I wanted to this year. Instead I'll just look at these beautiful photos and dream... ahhhh. I love everything you can create with chocolate, it makes the most decadent desserts, the creamiest ice cream and the best cookies ever. It's definitely my favorite ingredient... sorry vanilla, you're tasty, but you just don't compare to chocolate :)

Follow me on Pinterest here! If you need an invite, send me an email :)

Photo Sources: one, two, three, four, five, six

tanteo-cocoa infused tequila!

2012-02-10T08:55:00.000-08:00

Since Valentine's Day is next Tuesday I thought it would be fun to share a cocoa-infused tequila cocktail! How unique is that!? The brand is Tanteo and their tequilas are infused with fresh, natural ingredients. This one is infused with real cocoa and a hint of jalapeno, to give it a little spice. It's not necessarily chocolate tasting, but has a beautiful essence of cocoa. Zan is a total tequila snob (ha!) and absolutely loves this concept of infusing tequilas. The cocktail below is made with fresh, muddled ingredients. It's citrusy with a kick of cocoa and spice. If you want something different when celebrating V-Day, try it out! You can buy the tequila here and the recipe is below. Enjoy your weekend!

Fresa-Lita

2 ounces Tanteo Cocoa Tequila

1 muddled strawberry

1/2 ounce Agave Nectar (or simple syrup)

1/2 ounce Fresh lemon juice

Splash Prosecco

Muddle 1 strawberry, combine with Tanteo Cocoa, fresh lemon and Agave into a shaker. Shake vigorously for 30 seconds and strain into a Champagne flute. Top with prosecco (sparkling white wine) and garnish with a strawberry. You can also add a cocoa rim as well! Enjoy :)

Photo Credit: Sugar and Charm

the queen of dessert tables

2012-02-09T08:52:00.000-08:00

Amy Atlas, the queen of dessert tables created this adorable candy chart for her new book, Sweet Designs. The descriptions are charming, graphics are cute and simple and I think it's frame worthy, haha! I'm looking forward to seeing the whole book in April! Her dessert tables are the best of the best and I always find a lot of inspiration from her. She pretty much has the coolest job in the world, right? Valentine's Day is just around the corner! I didn't even get to do all of my projects I had planned, wow, it really just snuck up on me... Do you all have any plans? It's my year to treat Zan and I have a little idea of what we'll do, something relaxing and sweet. It IS our last Valentine's Day together before we're toting around a little one with us :)

valentine's day treat, coconut thumbprint cookies

2012-02-08T08:58:00.001-08:00

I was reading the February issue of Martha Stewart and as I flipped to the back of the magazine, I saw these AMAZING cookies! They're thumbprint cookies rolled in coconut, filled with caramel and topped with sea salt! YUM! They turned out really tasty and I thought they would be a perfect Valentine's gift wrapped in a heart-shaped box. I bought the letterpress tags and heart boxes from Paper Source. Just put two cookies into each box, punch a hole in the tag and tie it all together with twine! A perfect little treat for Valentine's Day. You can also add chocolates in the box too ;) Recipe below...

Coconut Thumbprint Cookies with Salted Caramel

Recipe via Martha Stewart

3 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature

1 cup sugar

1 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

3 1/2 cups flour

2 large eggs lightly beaten

12 ounces sweetened coconut flakes

44 small caramels (I bought a bag of Kraft and only used like 20 caramels!)

6 Tablespoons heavy cream (if you use less caramels, use less heavy cream as well)

Large sea salt

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Beat butter and sugar in a mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy, then add in the vanilla.

3. Turn the mixer off and gradually add in the flour, mix on low to combine and then repeat.

4. Make 1 1/4 inch balls and dip them into the lightly beaten egg, then roll in coconut.

5. Place them on a parchment-lined baking sheet and make small a indention in the top of each cookie, but still keep the cookie round, it will flatten as it bakes... bake for 9 minutes.

6. Remove the cookies from the oven and re-press the indention. Then bake for another 9 minutes or until coconut is golden brown.

7. Place caramels and heavy cream in a sauce pan over low heat. Stir constantly until the caramels are melted.

9. With a small spoon, add a small amount into the indentions of the cookies.

10. Sprinkle with sea salt and enjoy!

6. Press an indention into each cookie

snippet of life: I've got a kicker

2012-02-07T08:27:00.000-08:00

We hit a new stage in my pregnancy... it's called "throw a party in my mom's belly while she sleeps" stage. As soon as I lay down to rest (and I'm sure this is with all babies!) baby boy decides it's time to kick, punch and throw his hands up. It feels like fireworks going off in my stomach and crazy enough, I love it! I appreciate that he is a mover and I love feeling his nudges, even if it does wake me up at 3:30 in the morning. ;) I'm making an awesome baby book for him. I have it all planned out in my head, the sections, letters, pictures, etc. I'm going to have Zan design cool graphics and I think I'll use Pinhole Press to assemble it. The photos below are for the book and will go next to my Valentine's Day letter to him. Zan is not the only one receiving sweet love letters this year! PS... I'm seriously huge for 26 weeks! I guess it's how my body responds or I just have one giant baby in there. He's a 10 pounder - I can feel it, haha!

Zan says "shake that bump, shake, shake, shake that bump" and that's exactly what I do... then we both bust-up laughing.

How ADORABLE is that knitted Elephant hat I bought him from the Gap?! Seriously, I can't get enough of it and I cannot WAIT to put it on him and take thousands of pictures.

Photo Credit: Sugar and Charm

a little bit of yellow

2012-02-03T08:51:00.000-08:00

I wanted to share a new site with you that I absolutely adore! It's called The Glow and it's a blog that features fashionable and empowering mamas, amazing finds, good tips and beautiful photographs... I was hooked on it yesterday and went through every single mom! So inspiring! So far it seems like they're all in New York. I can't wait to see if they move it out to LA ;) Also, I've been pinning a lot of yellow lately. There's something that draws my attention to yellow. It's fresh, reminds me of sunny summer days, lemonade and always seems to make everything just a little brighter. I really loved the photo with all of the colorful stacked dishes... how beautiful does that look? The yellow door is so inviting and I could just cozy up with a magazine in that gorgeous chair. Yellow is kind of perfect :) Have the best weekend ever! Go Giants, that was for you my New Yorker hubby!

You can follow me on Pinterest here!

Photo Credit: Dishes, Door, Chair, Cocktail all via Pinterest

how to set up a truffle bar

2012-02-01T08:47:00.000-08:00

I created this truffle bar last January for Style At Home and realized I never posted the photos on Sugar and Charm! Since Valentine's Day is coming up in two weeks I thought I would share my idea for a truffle bar. I used Ina's amazing truffle recipe and the placed them all on a plate. Then I set out 4 toppings that would taste great on top of a melt-in-your-mouth truffle! I used chopped hazelnut, powdered sugar, cocoa powder and coconut and they were all delicious! At the end of the bar I set out milk because those truffles are rich and nothing goes better with them than a glass of milk (or chocolate milk)! You can package them up in white to-go boxes and tie it with twine. I think they would make an excellent Valentine's treat for co-workers and friends too! Read Ina's truffle recipe below :)

Ina's Truffles

1/2 cup heavy cream

4 oz bitter sweet chocolate

4 oz semi sweet chocolate

1 1/2 Grand Marnier

1 tablespoon prepared coffee

1/2 vanilla extract

Directions

Heat the heavy cream just under boiling, it will boil quickly so put it to simmer until it’s hot.

Chop the chocolate and place in a glass bowl. Pour the hot heavy cream over the chocolate to melt the chunks.

Add the vanilla, hot coffee and Grand Marnier

Mix until melted and refrigerate for 45 minutes

Place on a platter and let your guests dip away

With a small scooper or spoon, place little balls on parchment paper. They don’t need to be perfectly shaped, as truffles are usually not exactly round.

Photo Credit: Sugar and Charm

blenders

2012-01-31T08:35:00.000-08:00

We're talking blenders today... I know strange, but I'm in the market for a new one and thought I would share a few of my favorites. I can't believe how many unattractive ones there are on the shelves!! I think they had it right back in the 50's and 60's but somehow lost the look in the 80's and 90's! That interesting bulky style and weird brown color were not happening. Thank goodness companies returned to the more attractive and classic, vintage style blenders ;) Zan and I use our Magic Bullet every morning, which I love for smoothies, but I realized that I don't have a larger blender for milkshakes and other fancy drinks! Spring and summer are coming up and I know I'll be making blended margaritas, so I thought I should start looking for the perfect blender to join our family ;) So far, the ones below are my favorites... look and price wise. Do you have a favorite blender you'd like to share with me?! I would love to know!

1. Classic Waring, vintage green

2. Breville Ikon Blender

3. Hamilton Beach Classic Drink Mixer

4. Waring Professional Bar Blender

my new favorite products for the bar

2012-01-27T08:12:00.000-08:00

Happy, happy Friday! I must be dreaming about a giant margarita or something because I started gathering bar items that I thought were cool and came up with a few of my new favorite things! I love coming across genius products like the Corkcicle (chills wine in seconds without being watered down! Amazing!) and Swirl Shatter-Proof Wine Tumblers, great for outdoor entertaining. The Whisky Rocks are awesome too and a perfect alternative to ice cubes when sipping any drink on the rocks. Anyway, I hope you all have a wonderful weekend! It's going to be beautiful in LA (80 degrees!) and I think it calls for a beach day! I could use some rays on my skin... that's for sure :)

1/2/3/4/5

valentine's day strawberry muffins and smoothie

2012-01-25T08:38:00.000-08:00

I made Strawberry Streusel muffins the other day and thought it would be cute to put together a sweet and simple Valentine's Day breakfast. The muffins turned out super moist and very delicious! I added my everyday morning smoothie and fresh strawberries to make the breakfast complete. I make a strawberry-banana smoothie with plain greek yogurt, a small amount of honey, a tablespoon of Very Green from Trader Joe's and water. You can also add in extra boosters like Acai Powder (I like this one) or protein powders. I make Zan a separate smoothie with mango and chocolate whey protein powder... We've been doing this for years and love it! So my perfect Valentine's Day breakfast in bed would be homemade muffins and my healthy strawberry smoothie. This would be a great morning treat for kids on V-Day too! Recipes are below :)

Strawberry Streusel Muffins

I used this recipe here for the muffins, but also added 1/4 cup brown sugar to the batter as well.

I also baked the muffins in large muffin tins like this one.

Streusel Topping

I used this recipe and it was SO good!

You sprinkle the streusel on top of the muffins before you bake them.

My Strawberry-Banana Smoothie

3/4 cup Fresh frozen Strawberries

1/2 banana

1/2 cup non-fat plan Greek yogurt

1 tablespoon honey

2 tablespoons Very Green powder

1 tablespoon Acai Powder

You can add a handful of spinach as well, I do this if I have it in the house :)

1/2 to 1 cup water depending on how thick you like your smoothie.

Blend all of the ingredients together and you're done! I use the Magic Bullet every morning to make my smoothie... Seriously, we've had the thing for over three years and it's still going strong, even with my crazy everyday (two-three times a day!) use ;)

baby bump and traits for baby boy

2012-01-24T00:13:00.000-08:00

20 traits I wish for my baby boy...

Honorable, Benevolent, Trusting, Faithful, Humble, Humorous, Respectful, Well-Mannered, Ambitious, Appreciative, Wise, Confident, Explorer, Kind, Accepting, Genuine, Merry, Creative, Gracious and Charming. I have a lot of work ahead of me, but the most important thing in my life is to make sure you grow up to be all of those words and more. To have a positive influence on society and to help others... We'll start when you're little and at three years old you will be holding the door open for the ladies because you're a prince :)

happy chinese new year

2012-01-23T08:39:00.000-08:00

Happy Chinese New Year! I have the pleasure of blogging for General Mill's blog, Rock UR Party and I did a Chinese New Year party inspiration board for them last week. I thought I would share it with you all today in celebration and for inspiration if you're planning on throwing a Chinese New Year party this weekend! Tonight I will attempt to whip up some Chinese dishes for Zan and I and make him play board games with me :) Sounds like a plan! Hope you all had a beautiful weekend... It's raining in LA right now and I couldn't be happier!

1/2/3/4/5/6/7/8/9/10

sprucing up bamboo

2012-01-19T00:02:00.000-08:00

I'm a huge fan of using bamboo plates and utensils. It looks great, it's friendly to our environment and makes clean-up so much easier! I bought these bamboo utensils and wanted to spruce them up a bit. This project is SO easy and you can customize them to any color or design. They're great for baby showers or birthday parties. It's all in the details, especially handmade details!

I used tool paint to create the V's, Martha Stewart glitter and glitter glue. I painted the glue in the raised center of the utensils and then sprinkled glitter on. Let it dry completely and then use a blow dry dryer to remove all of the excess glitter.

You can wrap them individually and lay them out on a plate or on a buffet table

Photo Credit: Sugar and Charm

snippet of life: a relaxing day in santa ynez

2012-01-18T08:47:00.000-08:00

Zan's been working a lot lately, so this past weekend we wanted to chill out in a few of our favorite places... Santa Barbara and Santa Ynez. We ate at a local deli in SB and then headed to Santa Ynez for cupcakes. In Los Olivos we passed an old church and thought it was a great place to snap a few preggo shots :) I was super excited to shop in some antique stores to see if I could find anything for baby boy's room. I dragged Zan with me and searched high and low for cool items, but left with nothing! Oh well, better luck next time ;) We also stopped at an adorable new restaurant/store in Los Alamos, which I totally adore called Bell Street Farm (very cool design and look!) and ended the evening at our FAVE pizza place :) It really was a relaxing and beautiful day. We're trying to fit as many of these in as we can :) Baby boy is growing like crazy and will be here before we know it...

I really love cupcakes from Enjoy! I could eat two cartons of them, ha!

Photo Credit: Sugar and Charm

a stunning engagement party

2012-01-17T09:00:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, I saw this stunning engagement party on Style Me Pretty and completely fell in love with it. It's not that often I come across an event that I think is amazing and has all of the right details, but this one is right down my alley! The color combo (I'm currently in a pomegranate phase!) is simply beautiful, the rustic setting is one of my favorites and the campfire and candles set the cozy atmosphere. I also adore the charming gift baskets put together for each guest. Who wouldn't love to take one of those home?! The elegant flower arrangements, table setting, s'mores and picnic basket are all charming details that pull this event together and make it one impressive party! I thought I would share because I'm always inspired by picture-perfect dinners like this. Props to Bliss Weddings and Events for the gorgeous styling and to averyhouse for the beautiful photography!!

Photo Credit: Averyhouse

soju-juice cocktail

2012-01-13T00:00:00.000-08:00

How's this for a signature cocktail? A popular sushi restaurant in LA serves a similar cocktail to this and I LOVE it! I finally decided to recreate them so I can serve something different at parties. It's perfect for any event and versatile in terms of what liquor and juice you can to use. The best part is that you can do all of the preparing before your event, so the day of the party you'll only have two steps: Drop an ice ball into a cup and add some Soju! So easy ;) The juice ball melts gradually adding a delicious flavor into the Soju. Soju is a Korean liquor similar in taste to vodka... a little lighter and sweeter than vodka, and it reminds me of Sake a bit. You can buy it at most liquor stores, such as Bevmo. I got my ice ball molds from here and they're simply amazing for juice or even water. Read below for the how-to :) ENJOY!!

Soju-Juice Cocktail

Directions...

To make the ice balls, I used fresh-squeezed grapefruit juice and orange juice. I also made a pomegranate one using natural pomegranate juice from the store. You can use any juice you want... fresh or not. Then you freeze the balls overnight and pour some Soju on top when you make the drink! It's so simple. The ice ball has a small hole at the top so you can fill it with juice. Quick Tip: Leave some room because the juice expands as it freezes. If you want to serve them at a party start early in the week and make several different flavors and then you can place them on a bucket of ice for people to grab.

Photo Credit: Sugar and Charm

inspired by alexandra grablewski

2012-01-11T08:23:00.000-08:00

Today I'm inspired by Alexandra Grablewski's food photography and styling. The composition, colors and overall aesthetic in her photos are beautiful... Take a look and have a wonderful Wednesday :)

Photo Credit: Alexandra Grablewski

nursery inspiration for baby boy

2012-01-10T08:11:00.000-08:00

Baby stuff is on my mind lately :) I've been planning baby boy's room and scouring the internet and boutiques looking for inspiration. I've decided to go with neutral colors with a few modern touches and some vintage items as well. I'm pretty sure I'll paint the walls a very light gray called Dolphin Fin by Behr. If any of you have any other suggestions for a light gray (or any color) let me know! Baby will share a room with the office for now... so I have a lot of organizing to do in the next few months! Below are some items and inspiration I've chosen for his room. Can't wait to put it all together! Also, I really enjoyed reading this blogger's post about 25 rules for mothers of sons. Melts my heart and I'm so excited for him to be here!

1/2/3/4/5/6/7/8/9/10

homemade snickers bar

2012-01-06T09:03:00.000-08:00

I did it - I finally made a candy bar! I've been wanting to do this for awhile, but never got around to it. So while I was home taking care of a sick hubby I put a few hours in the kitchen and whipped up some of these babies. And I have three letters Y-U-M! Okay, it tastes like a Snickers bar, but not just any old Snickers... a rich, smooth and made with love Snickers. I actually pushed my luck (as a first time candy bar-maker) and tried making some gourmet hazelnut, raspberry bars that completely fell apart! That's okay though, I think I was getting a little over-confident thinking I could pull that off :) Everything from the marshmallow fluff nougat to the caramel is homemade. I used Ghirardelli all-natural milk chocolate chips to dip them in, which gave the bars a nice thick layer of chocolate coating. The hardest part of about making these bars is dipping them, everything else is fairly easy - just time consuming. If you're up for the challenge try them! It's definitely fun to hand someone a homemade Snickers ;)

Homemade Snickers Bars

Nougat Recipe (I altered this recipe)

1/2 stick butter

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste

2 tablespoon peanut butter

1/4 cup evaporated milk

1/2 of the batter marshmallow fluff (follow this recipe)

Marshmallow Fluff Recipe

Caramel Recipe (from here, but changed a bit)

1/2 cup butter

1 cup dark brown sugar

7 ounces sweetened condensed milk

1/2 cup light corn syrup

1 teaspoon vanilla

pinch salt

You'll also need 3 bags Ghirardelli milk chocolate chips

Large can unsalted roasted peanuts

Directions:

1. Make the marshmallow fluff from this recipe. Set aside

2. Line the pan with tin foil and melt a small amount of chocolate to spread on the bottom. This will help when dipping the bars and to remove them from the pan.

3. Make the nougat... Melt the butter, sugar and evaporated milk. Place on medium heat and bring to a boil until sugar is dissolved. Boil for about 5 minutes or so and constantly stir the mixture.

4. Remove from heat and add half of the marshmallow batter, 2 tablespoons peanut butter and vanilla. Whip until combined. It won't be as fluffy and you might not see the nougat in the candy bar, but it definitely adds flavor!

5. Pour the nougat in the pan to coat the bottom. Refrigerate until the caramel is done.

6. Next, make the caramel! Melt butter, sugar, corn syrup, salt and sweetened condensed milk and bring to a boil on medium heat. Stir constantly and boil the caramel until a candy thermometer reaches 230-240 degrees. Then boil for two minutes at that heat. Remove from heat and add the vanilla bean paste and 2-3 cups peanuts.

7. Remove pan from refrigerator and pour the caramel/peanut sauce on top of the nougat. Spread evenly.

8. Refrigerate or freeze for about 2 hours... You want the bars to be cold when you cut and dip them.

9. Cut the bars to your desirable size. Place parchment paper down to set the bars on. Melt a bag of chocolate chips over a double broiler. You can start with one bag and then see how many you'll need. Dip the bars using a fork and a rubber spatula to help coat them in chocolate. This part is not easy, so be patient with the first two :)

10. Let the chocolate harden for an hour and then you can transfer them to the refrigerator to cool even more.

unique ways to serve ice cream

2012-01-04T09:06:00.000-08:00

Happy Wednesday! It's been about 80 degrees in Los Angeles the past few days and it's not getting any cooler! I even went on a walk yesterday and it was too hot to keep going, really? In January? Sounds like a good time for ice cream ;) Although anytime is a good time for ice cream! I came across two charming ways to serve this chilly treat at an event or dinner party. I really want to start using my ice cream maker more this spring. Zan always makes good recipes, but I think it's my turn to play ice cream maker! It was a childhood dream, along with dolphin trainer, and professional ice skater, haha!! Hope you're all having a wonderful week!

Recycle those soup cans! This rustic idea is from a blog called call me cupcake... love it!

I wasn't surprised to find out this idea came from one of my favorite event planners, Lisa Vorce and beautiful photo by Jose Villa. I think this could be a great idea for my baby shower!

antiquaria design studio

2012-01-03T08:09:00.000-08:00

Antiquaria has launched a new design studio and I'm in love with their custom invitations and beautiful stationary. I received a very charming pack of stationary in the mail this Christmas and was incredibly impressed to say the least ;) Bailey is a calligrapher (I've always wanted to learn!!) and Emma is an illustrator and together they pretty much make the perfect team for creating gorgeous paper goods! Below are a few of my favorites :)

Photo Credit: Antiquaria Design Studio

looking back on 2011

2011-12-30T09:52:00.000-08:00

What a special year 2011 was for me and Zan! So many special memories were made and looking back I can't help but realize we are so incredibly blessed. There is not a day that goes by that I'm not thankful for another beautiful year, my family, friends and even just the fact that we have a roof over our heads and a comfy bed to crawl into at night. I'm also so thankful that I'm able to blog and share all of my inspirations. 2011 was a great year for S&C... I welcomed many more special readers, planned some amazing summer weddings and was featured on a few wonderfully awesome blogs as well as two magazines! Although we have so many incredible moments from 2011, my top five would be (1) Finding out we will be parents to a baby boy in 2012 (2) Our trip to Costa Rica (3) My visit to Martha Stewart Living and having lunch with the editor (4) Learning how to make pies with Kate (5) Spending Thanksgiving in a cabin with my family in Tahoe. As for S&C below are my five favorites of 2011 :)

Favorite Cocktail: The Blueberry Mojito! Can't wait to sip on one of these again :)

Favorite Craft: DIY Birthday drink sticks for my friend Marisa. They were a hit at the party!

Favorite Recipe: I made a lot of tasty things last year, but this Key Lime pie was pretty darn good! I think this and this would be favorites too... It was hard to pick a favorite in this category :)

Favorite Inspiration: Dylan's gorgeous candy themed bridal shower, wow! The details are delicious!

Favorite Hosting Tip: Etiquette school, Table setting 101... I loved this post because I happen to think it's important to know how to set a table! Don't you all agree? :)

I'm so looking forward to 2012 and all of the joys we have ahead of us. I can't wait to welcome our son into the world and to experience many more day trips and vacations with ZP. Because I took the summer off from planning any events, I can't wait to relax on the beach and enjoy every second of those first few precious months of my baby's life :) I am also excited for another possible house hunt, my sister Jessie's wedding, decorating the nursery, visiting my sister Bethany in Chicago and I'm so, so, so excited to see where Sugar and Charm goes! I love seeing the blog grow and I hope to add a little more to it in the New Year :) I think 2012 is going to kick some booty and I can't wait!!! Thank you all so much for the support and for reading S&C! Love to you all! I hope everyone has an amazing New Year's Eve and a joyous 2012 :) http://www.sugarandcharmblog.com/2011/07/red-velvet-cheesecake.html

2012 new year's inspiration

2011-12-28T20:57:00.000-08:00

Yay! It's almost 2012 and I'm sure most of you have some amazing plans to ring in the new year! Since I wasn't able to create a New Year's project this year, I decided to share some of my favorite New Year's Eve inspiration pictures via Pinterest. If you're hosting a small gathering, below are some adorable pictures and ideas to help with those small details that make a party a hit! The reason I've been bad about bloggin' and creating is that we're enjoying a little after-Christmas R&R in Palm Springs this week. It seriously feels like summer here and we've been basking by the pool! It's been the perfect way to relax after the Christmas rush. I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and are enjoying a little relaxation this week :) Happy New Year!

Photo Credit: Ice cream via Everything Fab, Countdown glasses Martha Stewart, Glitter hands by Amanda Pham, Geronimo Balloons, Star tart via cannell et vanille, Lavender Lemonade Cocktail from Sunday Suppers, Champagne tower via Design Sponge photo by Our Labor of Love, Drink Champagne Sign via Contemporary Home

peanut butter blossoms

2011-12-23T09:30:00.000-08:00

I make these Peanut Butter Blossoms every year and they are yummmmmmy! They're a Christmas tradition in our house so I wanted to share them with you all! Since this will be my last Christmas post, I hope everyone has an amazing weekend celebrating this wonderful holiday :) Thank you all for reading my Christmas posts and for the sweet comments too! Even though I can't email everyone back, I do read each and every one of them and LOVE them all! Merry Christmas and joyous holidays!! Time to go gobble up some cookies, ha! Recipe below :)

Peanut Butter Blossoms

Recipe

1/2 shortening

1/2 cup peanut butter... I used organic this time, but creamy Jiffy's is the best for baking!

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 packed brown sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/8 teaspoon baking soda

1 egg

2 tablespoon milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 3/4 cup flour

1 bag Hershey Kisses

Direction

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Beat peanut butter and shortening on medium speed until creamy

Add in the granulated sugar, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda and beat until combined

Beat in the egg, milk and vanilla

Add the flour in and mix until combined... don't over mix - just blend in the flour.

Roll dough into 2 inch balls and then roll (to coat the small dough ball) in a small bowl of granulated sugar

Bake for 10 minutes and when they're hot, push a Hershey Kiss in the middle of the cookie

Photo Credit: My iphone

2011 holiday card

2011-12-22T08:51:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas! This is the holiday card we sent out to our friends and family via Paperless Post. I'm hoping to fit in one more cookie recipe with you all tomorrow before Christmas is here!! Can you believe it? Now that my shopping and running around is done, I'm excited to fill these next few days with "merry" activities haha. I hope you and your family have a wonderful and blessed Christmas!!

Photo by Krista Mason

PS... I finally felt that little bambino move inside me and it was the craziest thing ever... Wow! I've heard from this point on I won't be getting as much sleep as usual, ahhhhhh!

snippet of life: a letter to my baby

2011-12-20T00:01:00.000-08:00

Photos by the very talented Krista Mason

Dear Baby Boy,

We were both shocked when the doctor pointed out to us that we are expecting a boy! Your dad was especially taken back because I had it in my mind that we were having a girl and I guess I was very convincing to him, ha! But you threw us all for a loop and we were overjoyed by the news. We got to see you yesterday and you were bouncing around like crazy, hands in the air and your little heart beating fast. We have so many conversations about you and I don't think I go five minutes without looking down at my belly... not sure why, I guess I'm just checking on you even though all I can see is a giant stomach! I've been collecting outfits and baby things for you that sit on my dresser. I think I've folded the same outfits 100 times because they're so cute! Oh, and you already have your own guitar, a Baby Taylor. It's a gift from your papa, who will be teaching you how to play the day you're born, haha! I think you'll be playing a lot of golf too because you have a grandpa, who's obsessed with it, and an uncle who have already mentioned that they'll be teaching you at a very young age. We can't wait to celebrate all of life's milestones with you and to start our own family traditions. I've already pondered a few in my head! I love the holidays, but I'm really looking forward to spring this year! I am looking forward to holding you and spending every moment with you. I am looking forward to summer and our beach days and I am really hoping that I can convince your dad to take us to Spain next November, jaja (laughing in Spanish :)). I might need your help on that, but I'm very confident he'll say yes once he sees you and witnesses what I have to go through to get you into the world! Maybe it's my push present? Haha! Anyway, you already have so many people who love you and I personally think you're one lucky baby...

Love,

your mama

gingerbread tree

2011-12-19T08:59:00.000-08:00

This year instead of making a gingerbread house, I decided to try a homemade gingerbread tree! I found these star cookie cutters from Crate and Barrel that are for making gingerbread trees. They're on sale now too! I also followed my gingerbread recipe from last year, which you can find here. This would be an awesome centerpiece for a dessert table or even the kids' table for Christmas. It also fills the house with a delightful and cheery scent! Read below for my directions :)

Use this recipe to make the gingerbread

Roll and use the star cut-outs to make the shapes. There is a chart inside the cookie-cutter package that tells you exactly how many cookies to make, 19 cookies total, but I ended up only using 16

Follow the icing recipe (below) and then put half of it into a bowl and the other half into a piping bag or bottle

Outline and then fill in the entire cookie with icing... repeat with every cookie

Stack from largest to smallest, alternating the points of the stars. Sprinkle with powdered sugar!

Icing recipe

4 cups powdered sugar

3 tablespoon meringue powder

8 tablespoons warm water

Directions

With the whisk attachment, beat all of the ingredients for about 5-10 minutes, until the frosting is fluffy and thick.

christmas goodies i love

2011-12-16T09:09:00.000-08:00

Only 9 more days! So far I've baked many cookies, shopped, watched several Christmas movies and listened to Michael Buble's Christmas album a few thousand times, haha! I look forward to this time of year, so I try to soak it up as much as I can. Below are a few more things in my house that are helping me ring in the Christmas spirit ;)

My mini glitter Christmas tree from Trader Joe's! It's cute and smells amazing :)

All natural hot-chocolate I bought from a small boutique and chocolate-covered marshmallows from Trader Joe's... YUM!

The Christmas Almanac book I picked up from a Borders Bookstore that was going out of business (so sad!!). Anyway, the book is full of great stories, Christmas facts, recipes, music and much more. I absolutely love it and it will be our Christmas coffee table book for years to come ;)

Photo Credit: Sugar and Charm

pinecone tree

2011-12-13T08:51:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I made a pinecone tree after I saw one in Target that I really liked. I decided I wanted to try and make my own and I absolutely LOVE the way it turned out. I plan on making a few different sizes to use for a table-setting each year. With only a few craft supplies (styrofoam cone, hot-glue, paper and pinecones) and a bit of time gluing the pinecones on, you can make your own too! It took me about 45 minutes to finish one tree. Once you have the process down it moves quickly and if you like to craft, it's a fun project. In the end, you will have a pretty pinecone tree to pull out of your Christmas box every year ;)

Wrap a green styrofoam cone in brown construction paper, hot-glue it together and then cut the excess paper off of the bottom.

Cut a small piece of paper to fit the top of the cone, don't worry about what it looks like because you will cover it with pinecones. When the cone is completely covered in paper, start hot-gluing pinecones from the bottom up. Bigger pinecones at the bottom and smaller ones towards the top. It's fine if there are some holes where the paper is visible. When the tree is all together, the holes flow with the look or you can add berries and tiny pinecones in them.

Photo Credit: Sugar and Charm

my favorite christmas items this year

2011-12-12T08:12:00.000-08:00

1/2/3/4/5/6/7/8/9

Although I love the traditional red and green Christmas decor, these natural colors and Christmas entertaining items stood out to me this year. I haven't decided on a Christmas table theme yet, but maybe I'll go with the natural look! What are your favorite Christmas colors?

chocolate ganache bundt cake

2011-12-08T08:43:00.000-08:00

I suddenly had the urge to make a chocolate bundt cake... Hmmm I wonder where that urge came from? ha! I am excited because this was my very first bundt cake! Can you believe I didn't even own a bundt cake pan? Well now I am the proud owner of a new pan and I have a d-e-l-i-c-i-o-u-s recipe to go with it. Probably one of the best chocolate cake recipes I have tried (although I do have an amazing one that I haven't shared... yet). This recipe is super moist, rich and the chocolate ganache adds the perfect touch of sweetness to the top. I also sprinkled some chopped-up candy canes over the ganache to add some Christmas spirit :) Since, I had never made a bundt cake before, I followed this recipe, but changed a few things... I added more chocolate and sugar to the cake, changed the oil type and I also baked it for less time than they recommended. You can read the altered recipe below. I highly recommend taking this cake to your next Christmas party! Oh and by the way, you can make this recipe in any pan :)

Chocolate Ganache Bundt Cake

Recipe

5 ounces bitter sweet chocolate - chopped

3/4 cup vegetable oil

1 1/4 cup sugar

1 large egg

2 cups flour

3/4 cups Dutch-process cocoa powder

1 tablespoon baking soda

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup brewed coffee - strong

1 cup buttermilk

1/3 cup heavy cream

1/2 tablespoon corn syrup

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees

In a double broiler (aka a metal bowl over a saucepan with boiling water, that's what I do!) melt 2 ounces chopped chocolate. When it's cooled, place in a medium boil with the whisk attachment.

Whisk the melted chocolate, oil and sugar and until smooth and then add in the egg... continue to whisk.

In a separate bowl combine flour, baking soda, cocoa powder and salt, give it a few whisks with a hand whisker to add air and remove clumps.

Add half of the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients along with a half cup of coffee and a half cup of buttermilk. Whisk until combined and then repeat with the remaining dry ingredients, coffee and buttermilk.

Pour into a sprayed, nonstick bundt pan and bake for about 30-35 minutes. You do not want over cook this because it will become dry. If a tiny bit a cake comes out on your toothpick, that's fine. Just make sure the middle of the cake doesn't jiggle. Let it cool completely (an hour or more) before it's flipped onto a cake stand.

Ganache

In a double broiler, melt the rest of the chopped chocolate and corn syrup. In a small saucepan heat up the heavy cream. Add the heavy cream to the melted chocolate and butter and whisk until it's combined and a little thicker. Let it cool a bit before placing it on top of the cake.

Candy Cane Topping

Put some candy canes in a bag, zip it up and pound them with a wooden spoon or muddle. You'll smell the peppermint coming out of the bag, yum!!

Photo Credit: Sugar and Charm

christmas inspiration

2011-12-07T08:41:00.000-08:00

Ahhh, the joys of Christmas and all of the beautiful inspiration around the web. I wanted to share a few photos that inspired me in some way from color to design. These pictures make me ecstatic that Christmas is here. I saw the photos on a few of my favorite design blogs... which I will share with you! The first set of pictures are from Martha Stewart, of course she is a favorite, her whole team is amazing. the second set of photos are from the very creative blog called Fryd + Design and the bottom pictures are from a blog called a Creative Mint. You should take a look at these fabulous blogs, I know you'll enjoy them just as much as I do ;)

This house makes me want to live in a tiny cottage for the rest of my life... with all of my children and husband. Small house and a big family :)

I just love the styling in these photos, especially the abstract Christmas tree :)

Leslie, over at a Creative Mint, is a genius! She is so talented and I love looking at her details and design.

Photo Credit: Martha Stewart, Fryd + Design, a Creative Mint

bulldog n' baileys holiday cocktail

2011-12-05T09:05:00.000-08:00

Just because I can't drink at the moment doesn't mean I don't need to make the other person living in this house delicious festive cocktails this Christmas! Last night was the perfect night to do so, we watched a Christmas movie and I whipped up a festive treat for Zan to sip on. He is the taste-tester for all of my drink posts until I have this baby! He's brutally honest when it comes to this stuff and will always tell me the truth, but if you don't like this drink it's his fault, haha! Just kidding ;) This is a super simple cocktail recipe (everyone loves simple!) and it definitely smelled delightful, ha! I used a really tasty premium gin called Bulldog and Baileys Irish Cream, which is a favorite around the holidays. I think it's worth a try of you're having some friends over for a holiday dinner. It's kind of an alternative to an eggnog cocktail. Read below for the recipe...

Bulldog n' Baileys Holiday Cocktail

Recipe

3oz milk or cream
1.5 oz Baileys Irish Cream
1 oz Bulldog Gin
1 egg white
1 teaspoon powder sugar
A dash of cinnamon

In a cocktail shaker combine ice, milk, Bulldog Gin, Baileys Irish Cream and shake, shake, shake! It will be nice and frothy when you pour it into a glass, which is what you want :) Beat an egg white on high until stiff peaks form. Add in 1 teaspoon powder sugar and beat on high again for a few seconds. Spoon the egg white on top of the cocktail and sprinkle cinnamon over it. Then add a cinnamon stick for a festive garnish. Enjoy and Happy Holidays!!

Warning: This drink does contain raw egg, so consume with caution. If you don't like the idea of using raw egg white you can try whipped cream on the top instead.

Photo Credit: Sugar and Charm

diy painted glass Christmas ornaments

2011-11-30T00:01:00.000-08:00

I really wanted gray ornaments this year for my tree, so I decided to make my own! It's so easy and they look really charming, plus you get to customize them with any color you want. I bought glass ornaments from Michaels as well as the new Martha Stewart Multi-Surface, Acrylic Craft Paint. It's kind of a similar process to this, but instead of using a paint brush to cover the inside, you just have to shake! A craft that gives your arms a workout, genius! Read below for the how-to...

Squeeze a good amount of paint inside the glass ornament

Cover the top with a paper towel and then shake the ball like crazy! You want the paint to cover the entire inside of the ball. After shaking a few ornaments, Zan's strength helped me finish the rest! ha You really have to shake hard to get those babies covered, but it's fun. Add more paint if you need a bit more coverage.

Let the ornaments dry overnight with the top off... When they are completely dry, put the top back on the ornament

That's it!! You have very chic, custom ornaments for your tree or garland! They're very shiny and look great reflecting the tree's glowing lights ;)

snippet of life: snow day

2011-11-29T09:05:00.000-08:00

I was going to put some photos of Thanksgiving Day up, but I realized I don't have that many! We were so busy working away that we didn't snap away! I do have a few shots of my siblings that Zan took while we were outside playing in the snow. We like to have snow fights and usually end up nailing my dad as he hides behind a tree... I know, we're such nice children :) I had extra protection this year, since I'm growing a little baby, so I was off limits! Whoo-hoo! Thanks little baby for protecting your mom from your crazy aunts and uncle!

These are two of my sisters Bethany and Jessie. They're smarty-pants! Jess is in her second year of law school and Bethany will be graduating with her PhD this May! So proud :)

That's my little brother, Dustin who is about to throw a pine cone at someone, how rude! It's his birthday today! Happy Birthday lil' D!!

I can't wait to start all of my Christmas projects!! We got our tree last night, yay!

Photo Credit: Zan Passante

snippet of life: tahoe road trip from my iphone

2011-11-28T08:57:00.000-08:00

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend! We had a weekend full of celebration and milestones! My family rented a cabin in Tahoe, so Zan and I did a little (eight hour!) road trip up the state of California ;) We LOVE road trips and being in a car with Zan for that long is actually something I look forward to, haha :) Thanksgiving Day was amazing! Food, family, a giant fireplace, snow and all of us in a cozy log cabin. I couldn't have wished for a better way to spend it. It was also my Dad's birthday on Thanksgiving Day! I had to bake some extra treats for him so I ended up making an apple pie, pumpkin pie, chocolate cake and snickerdoodles, his favorite cookie. One night Zan and my little brother decided to have a fry-off and fried everything in site. They fried things like Twinkies, Oreos, cheese, pickles and even my snickerdoodle ice cream sandwich, which actually tasted delicious! Oh and most importantly we have a new little addition to our family! My cousin Jenna, is now a mommy to one healthy and very sweet baby boy :) We couldn't be more thrilled! Here are some pictures below of my favorite things on this trip. Tomorrow I will have a few more photos taken from Thanksgiving Day :)

My belly is growing and the Turkey dinner didn't help in any way!

A Candy Cane Cocktail... Oh how I can't wait to have one of these!

A delicious decaf-soy latte in a small cafe in downtown Truckee

The new addition to the family! He's the most perfect and adorable baby :)

We stopped at the famous Madonna Inn for a slice of cake. The whole hotel and restaurant are pink! Amazing!

We also stopped at one of my favorite restaurants to see the most ridiculously-talented chef, Julie... who I might mention is younger than me and never even went to cooking school!! She's the head chef at Thomas Hill Organics in Paso... LOVE HER!

PS... The countdown to Christmas starts in TWO DAYS!!!

Photo Credit: Iphone Hipstamatic, Nashville Lens

my favorite thanksgiving ideas this year

2011-11-22T08:48:00.000-08:00

If you received the November issue of Better Homes and Gardens, then you probably saw this already. I scanned it so I could share my favorite Thanksgiving idea this year! How adorable are these monogrammed pies? I tried the idea a few weeks ago and really loved it. I used these mini cookie cutters with the leftover pie crust for the word "pumpkin" and baked them separately for about 10 minutes. When the pie was cooled I set the letters on top. Also, I think the leftover packaging is beautiful! What a great idea to prepare leftover boxes before and have them ready to go when guests are leaving. Please excuse the scanned picture quality!

Styled by: Leigh Noe
Photo Credit: Better Homes and Gardens

snippet of life: three year anniversary

2011-11-21T08:49:00.000-08:00

Today is my and Zan's anniversary! Three years ago (feels like yesterday!) we got married on the beach in Malibu in an intimate ceremony of fifty friends and family members. It was truly everything I had imagined for my wedding day... the weather was beautiful (75 degrees on the beach) and as we sealed our vows with a kiss, a pack of dolphins swam by just in time. It was a perfect day :) Now three years later, I'm still blessed to have such a hard working, honest, creative and devoted husband who means the world to me! Marriage isn't always easy, but at the end of the day it's so much more fulfilling to have your best friend and husband who supports you, loves you and who will go through life's ups and downs with you. He's truly the best :) Here are a few photos from our wedding three years ago! Love you Zan!

Had to add in a pic of me and my girls! Sisters Bethany and Jessie and cousin Jenna ;)

turkey dinner sign

2011-11-18T08:08:00.000-08:00

If you like to cut paper, trace and thread you'll love this project, haha! I will be honest, it did take me a few hours, but it was worth it because I have the cutest Turkey Dinner sign to hang above our Thanksgiving dinner table! Also, to save time, you can buy stencils from an art supply store or you can print each letter individually and then cut it out so you have a stencil, that's what I did :) Below are the directions for this fun and stylish craft!

Trace your letter, right side down, on the back of a piece of card-stock paper. I used a font called Neutra Slab Display and the font size was 650. I could fit one letter on each page ;)

Using an X-acto knife cut your letters out

It should look something like this when you're done :)

Here are a bunch of them all together.

Using a Martha Stewart TINY paper punch, punch two holes next to each other leaving about a 1/4 to 1/2 inch apart.

String twine through the holes you punched... when you're done you can hold your sign up and adjust the placement of the letters. AND that's it, YAY!!

Photo Credit: Sugar and Charm

thanksgiving floral arrangement

2011-11-17T08:37:00.000-08:00

Get creative with your Thanksgiving floral arrangements this year. Think outside the box with vases and flower arranging. Find a vase or something that can act like a vase and fill it with floral foam. Under water, cut the stems off the fresh flowers so they have a clean start when you begin arranging. Once everything is ready and the foam is soaked with water, start placing the flowers in the vase. There are no rules to this, just be creative and unique and have fun. It's your flower arrangement, so it can look any way you want :) Use flowers you normally wouldn't and always add some greenery. Below is my example. Happy Thanksgiving week! Seven more days until baby gets the most food it's ever had during its life in the womb, haha!

Photo Credit: Sugar and Charm

paso dinner, thanksgiving inspiration

2011-11-16T08:57:00.000-08:00

I want to say thank you to everyone for the very sweet comments about our sweet little baby. I was overjoyed when reading them all! I posted my fall dinner in Paso last year, but I wanted to share it again for Thanksgiving inspiration. It was one of my favorite dinners to plan and looking back through the pictures conjures up so many warm memories of that trip. I chose a few different photos to share and to see the whole dinner, click here. I hope all of your Thanksgiving plans are falling into place! Anyone in charge of creating the table setting? That's my duty this year, but I need to get on it!

snippet of life: oh baby

2011-11-15T07:49:00.000-08:00

Yep, the title says it all... Zan and I expecting a little baby spring 2012! We're thrilled and still can't believe we're going to have a little one hanging with us for the REST OF OUR LIVES, haha! But after 9 years together and 3 years married we've had our time to wine, dine and travel and we're ready for this next phase in our lives... although I don't know if you can ever be 100% ready for a baby!! My stomach is expanding by the day and my cravings for chocolate cupcakes have become an evil addiction. Sometimes just making them will satisfy the craving and then I feed them to Zan who is gaining weight as fast as I am, haha! Just kidding Zanny :) Anyway, I'm extremely excited about the new addition to our family! And a note to the little peanut growing inside me... there will always be love, treats and lots of laughs (because you have one funny dad!) in our house for the rest of your life, little baby. Hope you like sugar as much as your mom :)

P.S. We do know the sex of the baby, but I'm keeping that a secret until I tell my whole family :)

sugared-cranberry vanilla cupcakes

2011-11-10T08:50:00.000-08:00

A change up from the traditional Pumpkin Pie dessert for Thanksgiving... This year you can bring these sugared-cranberry vanilla cupcakes to the party! I know they look a little Christmasy, but they'll work for either holiday and I highly doubt anyone will turn them away for their cheery look ;) It's a basic white cake recipe, with a cranberry filling, a light buttercream frosting and a sugared cranberry on top! Doesn't get more festive than that, my friends! Read below for the long recipe :)

Sugared-Cranberry Vanilla Cupcakes

Classic White Cake

3 cups cake flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1 1/3 sticks unsalted butter, softened

1 3/4 cups sugar

1 1/2 cups whole milk

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 teaspoons vanilla

4 egg whites

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Beat egg whites until a soft peak forms, set aside in a separate bowl

2. In a mixing bowl with the paddle attachment, beat butter and sugar together until light and fluffy

3. In another bowl, combine the dry ingredients... Sift if you want or just whisk a few times :)

4. Add the dry ingredients to the butter and sugar by alternating the milk, vanilla and oil with flour, salt and baking powder. You can combine the milk, vanilla and oil in one large bowl to make it easier

5. Once the batter is mixed together, fold in the egg whites

6. This will make 72 mini-cupcakes, about 30 regular cupcakes or 1 two-layer cake. If you're making minis, bake for about 10 minutes or 15-18 for regular size cupcakes.

Cranberry Filling

2 cups fresh cranberries

2 cups sugar

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1 1/2 cup water

A dash of fresh orange juice

1. Grind the cranberries in a food processor until fine

2. In a sauce pot, over medium heat, combine the cranberries, water, sugar and a dash of orange juice

3. Add the cornstarch to 1 tablespoon water until it dissolved and then add it to the mixture.

4. Bring the mixture to a boil for about 10-15 minutes. Then let it simmer for another 30. When it cools you can place it in the fridge or freezer to get extra cold and to thicken faster.

Buttercream Frosting

1 stick butter, softened

4 cups powdered sugar

1/2 cup whole milk

1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste* or regular vanilla (*TIP: vanilla bean paste adds those fun, little specs of vanilla!)

1. Beat the butter for about 3 minutes until light and fluffy

2. Alternate the sugar and milk and continue to beat until smooth

3. Add in the vanilla

Garnish

Wash some whole cranberries and then drain. Toss in a bowl and coast them with sugar...

To fill the cupcakes with cranberry, check out these pictures and mini-tutorial :)

a thanksgiving note

2011-11-09T08:06:00.000-08:00

When setting your Thanksgiving table this year, let all of your family and friends know why you are thankful for them. When they sit down at their seat, they will have a sweet note inside their seating card. It's a great way to start Thanksgiving dinner off right ;) To make these thanksgiving notes, I bought the mini brown paper bags at Michaels Arts and Crafts and the brown note cards (that fit perfectly inside!) at Paper Source. I embossed Zanny's name to the front of the paper bag and then I printed each note on a piece of paper and glued it to the brown note card. You can use any font and size you prefer to make it fit in with your Thanksgiving theme. I hope everyone is taking these next few weeks to prepare for the most celebrated dinner of the year :)

Photo credit: Sugar and Charm

hot buttered mulled cider

2011-11-07T08:54:00.000-08:00

We had a cold and rainy weekend in LA and I was soaking it in as much as I could. I love rainy weekends here since we don't get them very often. The malls were full of people and Christmas decorations already! Zan and I went to Santa Barbara one day to eat at a cozy, little restaurant called Cold Spring Tavern. We sat in a room right next to a picture-perfect fireplace... It was cozy and peaceful, just what we needed. I've also been waiting for the perfect evening to make some hot-buttered mulled cider and there wasn't a better weekend than this one ;) This cider is easy to make and very tasty! The melted butter adds a rich butterscotch taste and creamy texture. I could drink a glass of this every rainy day this winter. It makes the house smell delicious too!

Hot Buttered Mulled Cider

Recipe (makes enough for three people)

4 cups apple cider or a rich apple juice

1/4 cup fresh-squeezed orange juice

1/4 cup fresh-squeezed lemon juice

3 whole cinnamon sticks

4-6 whole cloves

2 oz Dark Rum per drink if you want :)

Combine all of the ingredients in a sauce pan and simmer on the stove for about 15 to 20 minutes. Serve equally between the glasses and make sure each mug gets a cinnamon stick! Cut a 1/2 of a tablespoon butter and place on top of the cider. It will warm your heart :) Enjoy!

southern wedding details

2011-11-03T09:01:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I shared the exciting news that my Kentucky Derby-inspired shoot was featured in Southern Weddings! Today I wanted to post the rest of the photos and details ;) I shopped vintage stores to find the horse shoes, silver tea set, beer bottle and the black and white vintage photos. Zan designed the menus, name tags and invitations and I had them printed on wood from Bullfrog Graphics... who do incredible work! For favors, I made lavender-infused sugar and also lavender confetti to throw at the "bride and groom." :) The linens are from my all-time favorite linen shop, La Tavola. And it wouldn't be a Southern wedding without Mint Juleps! We were serving a few of those up and you can find the recipe here. We had two photographers shooting that day, Kurt Boomer (whose pictures are featured below) and Stephan Pappas. A very big thank-you to my husband for all of his hard work and to my good friend Jenna, who was my assistant and model (holding the carrots below) for the day!

featured in southern weddings v4

2011-11-02T07:28:00.000-07:00

Hey ya'll!! Haha, thought I'd give you a nice Southern hello, since I'm on the topic of Southern Weddings! My work was featured in the latest issue of SWV4!! I put this photo shoot together this summer and designed everything from the florals right down to the last detail. So much hard work was poured into this Kentucky Derby-inspired shoot and it's wonderful to see it in print. The editors used the photos in a four-page article about planning your dream Southern wedding. I didn't include the last page in this post, you'll have to read the magazine to see it ;) Anyway, I'm thrilled to be a part of this absolutely stunning edition of Southern Weddings. And I am beyond excited to see my florals and design in another mag! Tomorrow I'll be sharing all of the beautiful photos and details from the shoot :) Can't wait!

Photo Credit: Kurt Boomer and Stephan Pappas

snippet of life: halloween 2011

2011-11-01T09:04:00.000-07:00

I have never seen so many tricker-or-treaters in my Halloween life! We threw a small get-together at a friend's house in Toluca Lake. I've always heard it gets crazy there, but once I saw a bus of people being dropped off, I knew we were in for an interesting night. We had to take shifts giving candy out because it was literally a non-stop line of kids! It was so amazing :) We filled the fire pit with dry ice and our friend had this crazy smoke bubble machine, that I couldn't stop playing with, ha! Every time you popped a bubble it turned to smoke, how cool is that?! For treats we served pumpkin cupcakes, chocolate-salted and peanut butter brownies, pumpkin bark, witch-hat cookies and of course, candy! We also served pumpkin beer and a delicious spiked punch that tasted like Jolly Ranchers! I'll have to share the recipe with you all soon :) It was a great night, even though my lower back hurts this morning from bending over to reach the little trick-or-treaters' bags!!

I was lame and only wore a mask, but Zan dressed up as his favorite Oleg Zandersson character ;)

Photo Credit: Zan Passante

halloween treats

2011-10-27T08:33:00.000-07:00

Below are some of my favorite Halloween treats I pinned on Pinterest. I was getting inspiration because I am baking three desserts for Monday! Halloween snuck up on me this year and I didn't get to do everything I wanted to. Zan and I haven't even carved pumpkins yet, which is VERY unlike me!! Hopefully this weekend I can fit all of my Halloween to-dos in ;) Don't these cakes below look delicious? YUM!!

Photo Credit: Better Homes, One Charming Party, Martha Stewart

the art of pie

2011-10-25T08:10:00.000-07:00

I had the most incredible opportunity (thanks to my husband :)) to take a pie making class from Kate McDermott herself! I have to say, this was an amazing experience and I feel like I gained 30 years of knowledge in a 6 hour class... it was worth every penny. Kate is beyond brilliant at what she does, she has perfected the art of pie and pretty much knows everything about it, including all of the history ;) She taught us how to be pie makers and not recipe followers, how to create the flakiest dough, how to determine when our dough is ready to form, how to roll the dough, how everything (including your hands) needs to be cold when making pie, how the water and even temperature outside will affect the outcome of the pie, how to create the most beautiful pies and that's only the beginning. I could go on for days blurting out all of the information Kate passed on to her pie-seeking students. She also taught us how much pie relates to life and how to think about happy things while we're rolling and baking :) It's really important to me to perfect my baking skills before I have children. I want my kids growing up thinking that their mom was the best baker, made the best pies, cakes and cookies. Baking is way more than just eating sugar, it's passion and love and signifies special events and milestones in our lives. All of my future children will have the best homemade birthday cakes and artisan pies handcrafted with love... and wow, that was a long post! Anyway, thank you Kate for the wonderful class and for pouring your knowledge out to us. If you ever have the chance to take a class from her, I would highly recommend it, you won't regret it!

Photo Credit: Sugar and Charm

my cousins fall baby shower

2011-10-24T08:27:00.000-07:00

Here are some photos of my cousin Jenna's baby shower I hosted, along with her mother-in-law :) Her baby is due in November so we wanted to give the shower a fall theme. It was held in the beautiful back courtyard at the Swiss Hotel in Sonoma, CA. Because Jenna is a huge fan of breakfast, we hosted a brunch accompanied by donut cakes and tons of mimosas. For favors, I had Jenna's grandma make some of her amazing homemade freezer jam for everyone to take home. She put the jam in little Gerber Baby jars and Zan made the adorable tags, too cute! The shower turned out very special and I know Jenna was extremely happy! All of the photos below were taken by Jenna's sweet friend Beth Copeland :)

Photo Credit: Beth Copeland

espolon tequila halloween cocktails

2011-10-19T08:16:00.000-07:00

Espolon Tequila and a few talented mixologists came together to create three delicious cocktails for Halloween and Day of the Dead. Besides the fact that these one-of-a-kind drinks are super tasty, I also love the way they are garnished! Especially the skeletons... definitely inspiration for garnishing cocktails for your own Halloween party! So if you're up for the challenge (mixologists don't mess around!) or want to make a new cocktail your friends haven't tried, use one of the recipes below! Also, if you live in the Los Angeles area, you can try the Los Muertos at Las Perlas downtown at the end of October! By the way my husband got to visit the Espolon distillery in Guadalajara, Mexico when he produced a video for them last year. He said it was an incredible experience and couldn't believe the passion and love that is poured into making it ;) Happy mixin' and drinkin'! Click here to download the printable recipe cards!

snippet of life: fall festival

2011-10-17T08:33:00.000-07:00

Hi Charmers! I hope you all had a great weekend. Thank you so much for entering the Wine Country Giveaway! If you haven't, you still have today and tomorrow, so hurry! Zan and I went to the pumpkin patch/fall festival over the weekend. The weather was gorgeous and we were able to enjoy the beautiful colors of fall, delicious pumpkin pie and we got to hang with all of the farm animals, so cute! I am so excited for Halloween! Are any of you dressing up? I think I'm going light this year and just wearing a pretty mask or something, ha! I'm being a little boring, but I do know what Zan is dressing up as! The same thing he wore in his Chickenfoot video, click here to see! Ha Ha!

I thought this beehive was really neat! It was interesting to see the "bizzy" bees up close ;)

Photo Credit: Zan Passante

wine country giveaway from the collection event studio

2011-10-13T08:08:00.000-07:00

I just got back from a trip to Wine Country and today I have an awesome Wine Country giveaway for you from The Collection Event Studio located in the heart of Sonoma. The Collection Event Studio is a creative meeting and design studio that showcases some of the best wedding and event vendors in the greater Northern California area. They're a one-stop shop for creating the wedding of your dreams within any budget! AND today they've handpicked some of their favorite Wine Country goodies to put in a gift bag for you! Yay, thanks ladies! Below is a mini-description of the items and why the girls from The Collection love them! PS... The Pasolivo Olive Oil and Seed Bombs are included, 2 of my favorites!

What's in the bag...

1. Seed Bombs to get your green thumb off to a good start

2. Clever coasters to entertain your friends

3. Out-this-world BBQ sauce made right here in our Sonoma area

4. A coffee mug fit for a gardner

5. A set of CA postcards from the world's coolest press on the west coast

6. Our favorite local jam is the jam

7. Menu-inpsired stationary

8. Homemade granola from a foodie outpost in Mill Valley

9. California blend olive oil, the best!

How to Enter

1. Must be a follower of Sugar and Charm to enter this giveaway

2. Leave a comment below with your name and email

For Extra Entries

1. Must "like" The Collection Event Studio on Facebook or Twitter

2. Leave ANOTHER comment below (you'll have 2 comments that way) with your name

I will pick a winner for this giveaway on Tuesday, October 18th. Good luck!!

decoupage pumpkins

2011-10-07T07:27:00.000-07:00

I'm sure most of you saw this picture on the cover of Country Living, but I wanted to share it in case you didn't. I adore the way these pumpkins look... a sweet alternative to Halloween's scary look. You can match a theme or party you're throwing or even the outside colors of your house! Visit Country Living for the full tutorial on how to decoupage pumpkins ;) Have a wonderful weekend!! I'm heading to Sonoma tomorrow for my cousin's fall baby shower :)

Photo Credit: Country Living Magazine

paperless post for halloween

2011-10-05T08:36:00.000-07:00

I've blogged about Paperless Post before, but I just can't get enough of them! If you're throwing a Halloween party this year, Paperless Post is an easy and chic way to send an "evite." You can choose from a myriad of cool designs, envelope liners (how awesome is that!) and other details to add to your evite. It does cost money, but compared to actually sending out paper invites, it's way cheaper! When you sign up you get 25 free credits too. I think it's definitely a good alternative to the typical evite. I'm sending them out for our mini-Halloween party this year :) Below are just a few cards from the Halloween selection this year.

Photo credit: Paperless Post

halloween vases

2011-10-04T08:13:00.000-07:00

We're throwing a very small Halloween party at a friend's house this year. The main purpose is to pass out candy to the (what seems like) 1.5 million kids that trick-or-treat in Toluca Lake, but I thought I would make some Halloween treats and decor to dress up our party :) Below are some vases I created using some cheap supplies I found shopping around. You can fill them with candy or flowers such as black or white roses. The netting is my favorite find because it was only $1 at the Dollar Tree!!! Love that place... I know you have to dig, but I swear I find great things there :)

I hot-glued the top edge and the bottom edge to the vase. The good thing is that you can pull the netting off after Halloween and use a little Goo-Gone to get the hot-glue off. Your vase will be good as new.

The fringe is from Joann's Fabric store. A little hot-glue and you have a funky, "Halloweenish" vase! This black fringe is also great for garland too! Hanging from a fireplace or mirror would look very festive.

I also made fringe drinking cups... They remind me of really long spider legs :) Again, I just hot-glued the top and let the bottom hang. Super easy and really fun!

snippet of life: weekend in paso

2011-09-29T08:23:00.000-07:00

I took a small break from the blogosphere while my in-laws were in town visiting. We decided last minute to drive up north to one of my favorite little towns, Paso Robles. We managed to fit in Malibu, Cambria, Paso, Ojai, Ventura, Morro Bay and a few other towns in one week! It was awesome! Even with the crazy schedule we made, it was a very relaxing time making the rounds to our favorite restaurants, wine tasting and enjoying the crisp fall air. We even went olive oil tasting at the most adorable olive store called Pasolivo. They showed us how they make and press their olives, it was very interesting and delicious! Here are a few pictures (we didn't take the camera too many places on this trip!) below of our week ;)

Running away from a squirrel who was getting a little too close!

The olive store, Pasolivo. Love the tin containers and graphics!

Touches of fall

Photo credit: Zan Passante

monster bash featured in littlies magazine

2011-09-19T08:44:00.000-07:00

I was so excited to receive my issue of the New Zealand parenting magazine, Littlies, this weekend because my Monster Bash party (that I created for One Charming Party) was featured in it! This is my first magazine/print feature and I'm super happy with how it turned out. I've always wanted to have one of my parties featured in print, so it's an honor that this adorable parenting magazine is my first! You can read the full article by clicking here and also check out Littlies online :) My in-laws will be visiting this week so my blogging will most likely be sporadic, but family first, right? :)

To read the full article click here!

hosting school

2011-09-15T08:21:00.000-07:00

Below are a few of my party planning tips for hosting a dinner or cocktail gathering at your home!

1. Prepare: I don’t mean prepare day of... prepare weeks before. :) Make sure all of your shopping is done, menu is written out, house is cleaned, get all of the dishes out you’re going to use the night before and set everything up aside from the food (the food should be prepared, but might be in the fridge still). Almost everything can be done before the day of the party. One thing you don’t want is your guests coming over for a party and getting a tired, overworked host! You want to be able to relax, get ready and prepare last-minute, little touches before your guests arrive.

2. Set up a drink station: Let people serve themselves, grab their own cocktails and refill their own drinks. Have a drink station ready with water, ice, wine, a signature cocktail, glasses, etc. Anything you want to serve that night, have it out for the guests to serve themselves. Of course, you can offer your guests their first drink, but then they’ll be able to refill themselves.

3. Don’t do the dishes: Okay, this is a big one for me. It might be hard for some people to let go, but if you must have the dishes cleaned during the party or before you serve dessert, hire someone for a few hours to do this for you. A hostess doing the dishes during the dinner or party is a no-no in hosting 101 ;) I have two reasons for this... the first, a hostess needs to be mingling with the guests that he/she has invited over. It’s so important to relax and have a great time with your friends or family. Second, it makes your guests feel like they need to help out and they will offer to help with the dishes, but really who wants to do dishes when they go to a dinner or cocktail party?!

4. Enjoy! Why do all of the hard work and not even enjoy the party you’re throwing?! Yes, you can still be a great hostess and have a fabulous, stress-free time :) Once everyone has a drink, people are served then you should be ready to enjoy the fruits of your labor ;)

snippet of life: iphone pics

2011-09-13T08:31:00.000-07:00

Here are a few photos I've taken on my iPhone in the past few weeks! Maybe they'll inspire you to drink a milkshake, haha! There is a company called Printstagram that will print tiny picture books of Instagram iPhone pictures, cool right?! Anyway, I'm also taking a poll on Sugar and Charm's Facebook page today to find out what you all want to see more of on S&C. So please head on over there to click your favorite category! Much, much appreciated :)

That was a drink we had in Costa Rica and a picture of the beach in Laguna last week

Warm blueberry pie at Pie n' Burger in Pasadena and a double rainbow in LA!

Chocolate, peanut butter malt and an old fashioned milkshake mixer

pumpkin cupcakes and candied pecans

2011-09-12T08:31:00.000-07:00

Los Angeles had thunderstorms this weekend! It was awesome and totally put me into the fall spirit :) It felt so crisp and cloudy outside, I lit my pumpkin spice candle and enjoyed baking a delicious fall treat. These cupcakes turned out AMAZING... very moist, dense and just the perfect amount of sweetness. The frosting is a light maple cream cheese with a candied maple pecan on top. Have you ever made candied pecans or walnuts? It's actually really easy and they're addicting too. Once you pop you can't stop ;) Read below for the pumpkin cupcake recipe and I highly urge you to make these this fall, they're the perfect treat for Halloween or a Thanksgiving dinner.

Pumpkin Cupcakes

Cupcake Ingredients: (recipe makes 12-15 cupcakes)

1 cup flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

2 large eggs

1 cup canned pumpkin puree (like Libby's)

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup dark brown sugar

1/4 stick butter, softened

1/2 cup vegetable oil

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl combine flour, salt, baking powder and cinnamon. In a mixer bowl, whisk together eggs, pumpkin, sugars, butter and oil. Remove the whisk attachment and place the paddle attachment on. Spoon in the flour while the mixer is on low. Scrape down the sides and continue to mix for a few seconds. Bake for 10-15 minutes, check on them after 10 and if they need more time, add a few more minutes.

Maple Cream Cheese Frosting

1 - 8 ounce package of cream cheese

1 stick salted butter, softened

1 teaspoon vanilla

3 tablespoons light maple syrup

2 cups powered sugar

Directions:

Cream together the butter and cream cheese. Add the vanilla and maple syrup. Then add the powdered sugar and mix until combined.

Candied Peacans

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a bowl, coat the pecans in maple syrup. Place tinfoil over a pan and spread the pecans out evenly. Bake for about 15 minutes.

old-fashioned, glazed mini pies

2011-09-07T09:23:00.000-07:00

Do you all remember the old-fashioned, glazed pies you could buy in the store? They came in individual packages and came in flavors like chocolate, cherry and lemon? Those were my favorite! Packed with tons of sugar and I'm sure chemicals I wouldn't want to eat now, ha! So, I decided to try and recreate my own... I used an AMAZING pie crust recipe that I was hearing so much about because it has vodka in it. The recipe is from Cook's Illustrated and a sweet Charmer, Kristin, sent it over to me. I also heard about it from my sister, so that was extra confirmation. I have to say, it was buttery, flakey and delicious! I think it will be my go-to pie crust from now on ;) Then I filled the pie with a chocolate filling from here (but I added cornstarch) and topped it with a light glaze... Wowzas! Even though the chocolate doesn't ooz out like the original pies, it had the same taste! Read below for the recipe... Enjoy!

You can wrap the individual pies in parchment paper, tie a bow and place in a brown bag for a special to-go treat :)

Delicious Pie Crust
2 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon table salt
2 tablespoons sugar
12 tablespoon (1 1/2 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/4 inch slices
1/2 cup cold vegetable shortening
1/4 cup cold vodka
1/4 cup cold water

Directions:
In a food processor (if you don't have one you can use a pastry cutter) process 1 1/2 cup flour, sugar and salt until combined, just a few pulses. Add in the butter and the shortening and process until clumps start to form, about 15 seconds. Scrape down the sides and add in the rest of the flour, 1 cup. Process for about 4 to 6 pulses and then place dough in a medium sized bowl. Pour vodka and water over the dough and use a spatula to fold the liquid in with the dough until it feels tacky. Divide the dough into two equal sections and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least two hours or you can leave it in there up to two days.

Once the dough is refrigerated, roll out to 1/8 inch thick on a very well floured surface. Find a medium sized bowl to use for the shape and size of the pie. You will use this like a cookie cutter, by placing the edge down into the dough so it creates a perfect circle. Then place the circles on a tinfoil pan.

Chocolate-Pie Filling
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
4 tablespoons butter, melted
2 large eggs, beaten
3/4 cup evaporated milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon cornstarch mixed with 1 tablespoon water so remove lumps

Directions
In a bowl, whisk together all of the ingredients until smooth. Pour into a medium sized pot and boil the mixture for just a few minutes. You don't want to over boil it because it will come out lumpy. It will still be liquidity when taken off the heat. Pour back into the bowl and refrigerate until it's thick enough that it won't run when you place in the center of the pie crust.

Glaze
1 1/2 cups powder sugar
1/4 cup water
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon salt

Stir together then boil for a few minutes until lumps are gone and you have a clear, glaze-like consistency.

Making the Pies
Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Place a spoonful of chocolate filling in the center of each pie crust. Fold the crust in half and press the edges together firmly. You don't want the chocolate to come out when it's baking. Bake for about 20 minutes or until you feel the dough is done. You will need to press the edges down again, since the dough rises and will lose some of its shape in the oven. Pour a small amount of the glaze over the each pie! You're done!! Enjoy :)

pinhole press

2011-09-06T08:36:00.000-07:00

I'm head-over-heels for this online printing boutique called Pinhole Press! You can customize photo albums/books for birthdays, births, weddings or vacations! You can also create personalized photo notepads, journals (perfect gift for tweens :)), day planners, stationary and personalized labels as well as holidays cards. Last night I was making a list of the different themed albums I need to create with all of our pictures, since most of them just sit on the computer and never find a printed home! I even thought it would be cool to make a recipe book ;) Anyway, I think these make great gifts for the holidays coming up and perfect for parties too.

Photo credit: Pinhole Press

september 1st and sunflowers

2011-09-01T08:49:00.000-07:00

Happy September 1st! Fall is in the air (even though it's still 90 degrees here, ha!) and I couldn't be happier. I can't wait for a rainy day and all of the holidays coming up :) My favorite flower this time of year is the Sunflower. They're usually pretty cheap at grocery stores and very easy to arrange. In the picture below I put them in an old-fashioned milk jar! They add so much color and vibrance to our place and remind me of all the beautiful things we have to look forward to in the next few months. Happy September 1st, Charmers! XO

family life

2011-08-31T09:01:00.000-07:00

I wanted to share these photos by a famous photographer named Elliott Erwitt. He started taking photos in the 1950's and is known for his black and white documentary-style photographs. He was capturing the ubiquitous "just feet and holding something out" photos way back in the day :) The charming photos below are ones that depict love and family life, I especially like the one with the mom juggling three kids while tossing dinner in the oven! The simplicity of his shots are what I admire most... I would love to get a film camera with black and white film soon! Vanity Fair did a small interview with him, if you're interested click here to read.

Photo Credit: Elliott Erwitt

salted-caramel butterscotch pudding

2011-08-29T09:46:00.000-07:00

I enjoy any dessert that has a salty and sweet flavor to it. Adding a little bit of caramel doesn't hurt either ;) I'm actually not much of a pudding fan, but I wanted to attempt to make a butterscotch flavor after tasting it at a restaurant last week. I found a really great and easy recipe and altered it by adding a few extra ingredients to spruce it up! The texture was smooth and creamy! Once I added the caramel, whipped cream and a pinch of sea salt, I had myself one deliciously rich dessert ;) A little tip: You really only need a tiny bowl (like the mini latte bowls from Anthro) per serving because it's too rich for anything more than a small serving. I used that bowl because I thought it looked pretty, haha :) Read below for the recipe!

Caramel below and on top of the whipped cream! :)

Salted-Caramel Butterscotch Pudding

Butterscotch Pudding recipe from Gourmet

1/2 cup dark brown sugar

2 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoon cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups whole milk
1/2 heavy whipping cream
2 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 tablespoon Butterscotch Schnapps or liquor, like this one here.
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Combine brown sugar, cornstarch and salt in a medium sized sauce pan and whisk together well. Then heat on low and whisk in the milk and heavy whipping cream. Bring to a boil for about 2 minutes (or until thick) while whisking frequently to keep lumps out. I whisked mine almost the whole time and it turned out really smooth. Remove from heat and whisk in the butter, vanilla and butterscotch schnapps until smooth. Pour the pudding into a large bowl, cover with a piece of buttered wax paper and let it cool in the fridge for about 2 hours. Scoop into small serving bowls, add caramel, whipped cream, more caramel and a pinch of sea salt!

Note: If the pudding develops a thicker layer on the top after it cools, you can remove that with a spoon as it will cause lumps if you stir it all together.

summer table setting for simply the sweet life magazine

2011-08-25T08:58:00.000-07:00

Since summer is coming to an end and we only have one more big weekend before fall officially starts (crazy how fast it went by!), I wanted to post pictures of a summer table setting I created for Simply the Sweet Life Magazine! The photos are featured in the mid-summer issue along with more beautiful ideas from other contributing editors. I wrote a snippet of how to set a proper table and how adding splashes of color and little details are a charming way to customize your dinner party :) Toward the end of the magazine they have an article about embellishing smore's! Think banana and cinnamon and blackberry jam with dark chocolate.... YUM!! Check out Simply the Sweet Life Magazine here ;)

floral plate from Anthropologie, napkin ring from World Market, cocktail umbrellas from World Market, katherine Flatware from Pottery Barn

Photo Credit: Zan Passante

society social

2011-08-24T08:37:00.000-07:00

There's a new company in town and I'm already making my wish list! Society Social is a new brand of stylish bar carts and furniture for the hippest of hostesses. With six styles of bar carts in an array of beautiful colors you're sure to fall in love with one! My two favorites are The Hostess and The Stanton. I also admire that the furniture is geared towards city living with a fold-up dinner table and chic folding chairs, perfect for entertaining! Are you a Society Social? Click here to see... ;)

How perfect is this for city or small living?! I pretty much love this sofa too!

palm springs entertaining

2011-08-22T08:31:00.000-07:00

I'm going to start something new! I thought it would be a fun idea to create entertaining inspiration boards for different cities and holidays ;) I wanted to start it off with Palm Springs. When I think of Palm Springs, I think retro, lacquer texture, cocktails and funky patterns. I also think of bright, vintage colors, especially orange! Below you will find my favorite items for chic entertaining in Palm Springs :)

1. Vintage Anthropologie radio to play as guests arrive :)
2. Orange tea-light candle holders
3. Eileen Gray-designed coffee press
4. Classic martini glasses for the many martinis you would be making if entertaining in Palm Springs!
5. Palm Springs Holiday coffee table book for your guests to brows through
6. Boxed Water to serve, how cool is that?
7. White lacquer serving tray for cocktails, appetizers, etc.
8. Labyrinth dinnerware in aquamarine
9. Orange lacquer cocktail coasters
10. Orange chevron-patterned cocktail napkins to pass out with the martinis ;)

snippet of life: costa rica part two :)

2011-08-19T08:07:00.000-07:00

Costa Rica was one of the best traveling experiences for me and Zanny. We first stayed in Montezuma, which is a hip little beach town on the Nicoya Peninsula. We did most of our adventure activities there - like atv's, zip-lining, hiking, refuges, etc. The hotel we stayed at, Ylang Ylang, was like a second home to us during our time in Montezuma. They have the most incredible staff who became great friends to us and who we'll miss greatly! The hotel doesn't have phones or TVs in the rooms, which I actually really enjoyed. The food was so delicious and most of it is made with local organic ingredients. Ylang Ylang was the perfect place to stay for us and Montezuma is the best little town in the Peninsula. We then drove up to the "Vermont" of Costa Rica and stayed at The Springs Resort and Spa by the Arenal Volcano (they filmed The Bachelor here about seven months ago, haha!) The drive is about five hours from the beach, you go over some slightly perilous bridges and steep curves, but it's SO worth it! I have never seen a country so green in my life and being up by the volcano is a totally different experience than the beach. The hot springs and view of the volcano were incredible. It was the best way to end our last few days in Costa Rica. I would suggest that anyone going to Costa Rica should rent a car, stay at the beach for most of your vacation and then head to a luxury resort by the volcano for a few nights. Also, be adventurous, drive around and explore the country. I can't imagine staying at a luxury resort the whole time and not being able to see everything the country has to offer!

The Springs Hotel had about 18 hot spring pools

Crazy little White-faced Capuchin monkey!!

We passed by this swing on our walk at the beach

The day we rented an ATV we stopped by this little bakery in the middle of nowhere and they had the best brownie I've ever tasted!

We also came across this beautiful beach while driving around on our ATV. The water was perfect!

We stopped by a coffee plantation, which was a highlight of the trip since I've never seen a coffee plant or the way coffee is made!

Photo Credit: Zan Passante

organizing your baking cupboard

2011-08-17T06:06:00.000-07:00

I came across this idea on Torie Jayne's blog and I think it's about time I reorganize my baking cupboard. My cupcake wrappers have always been a pain to organize, so I adore this idea of storing them in a spaghetti jar! I also have all of my sprinkles in mini plastic bags, but I would rather put them in containers like the picture below. I'm thinking about putting my "baking ingredients" like baking powder, soda, salt and vanilla in a little basket so I can grab the whole thing, instead of one by one. Looks like I'll have a job to do soon :) Thanks for the cute idea, Torie! Anyone have a unique idea on organizing my cookie cutters?!

Photo Credit: Torie Jayne

my recent pinterest pins

2011-08-15T06:41:00.000-07:00

Here are a few of my recent Pinterest pins! I whole-heartedly enjoy this site, haha! With so much inspiration, it's perfect for party planning and entertaining. If you would like an invite just email me and I'll send one over, but not until I get back from my vacation so be patient :) For now, indulge yourself in some Pinterest love below. Hope you all have an amazing week ;)

Mini doughnuts from Heather Bullard and gooey brownies by Brown Eyed Baker

Love the honeycomb drink stick and the gorgeous flower arrangement

Loving the color orange and this living area, I also adore the orange name holder :)

Classic beauty and retro shades... and a super cute way to decorate the "wedding" car ;)

snippet of life: costa rica part one

2011-08-12T06:11:00.000-07:00

Wow, Costa Rica is more than I expected it to be! Full of adventure, wonderful people, amazing wildlife, nature and good food and drinks. Honestly, we've had so many amazing experiences (500 pictures to go along with them) so far and we're only half way through our trip! It wasn't a breeze getting here... we took a taxi, plane, shuttle, car, ferry, and then a beach cruiser before we arrived at our little paradise in the Nicoya Peninsula ;) We went zip-lining for the first time, which was such a rejuvenating feeling, we were almost attacked while alone in the jungle by white faced capuchin monkeys (I am so not kidding and I'll share some video of that later), we've seen the largest lizard and smallest lizard in the world, along with the world's fattest frog and a monkey threw a coconut on Zan's head... it was awesome!! Oh and those little monkeys everyone thinks are so cute (which I guess they kind of are) are absolutely crazy and a bit scary too! Yes, they're very amusing while watching them up in the tree, but if they come down to your level, watch out!! They steal, show their teeth, hiss and try to prove that they're king of the jungle... Zan proved them wrong by whacking a stick on the ground and making a gorilla noise... they (as well as me) all scattered. I didn't know my husband could be such a monkey king, haha!

Delicious soft caramel ice cream in the shape of a 0 ("Cero" Spanish for zero)

They make a mojito with an alcohol called Guaro and it's really good.. I was sad when my was gone!

Coconuts everywhere!

The town of Montezuma

Looking for monkeys ;)

Best home-cooked meal... black beans, rice, fish and fresh fruit

I'll share video and more pictures of these little guys later. They are not afraid to come close to you, a little too close for my comfort!

Photo Credit: My very talented husband, Zan Passante

mint juleps and the help

2011-08-10T06:00:00.000-07:00

To celebrate the opening day of The Help, I'm sharing a delicious mint julep recipe and a snippet of a photo shoot I styled a few months ago. I haven't posted the pictures of it yet because we are trying to get it featured, but hopefully I'll be able to share all of the photos soon ;) Anyway, I'm extremely excited to see The Help! If I wasn't in Costa Rica, I would be there opening day. The art direction, colors, wardrobe, setting and acting look phenomenal! I know I'm going to love the retro 60's theme and the story line is very touching and inspirational. If you're just as excited to see it as I am, invite some friends over, whip up some of The Help's favorite chocolate pie, sip on some mint juleps (recipe below) and head on out to see the movie! Also, here are a few other Southern reading materials I've enjoyed... This article from Garden and Gun and this book too!

Mint Julep Recipe

Mint Simple Syrup

2 Cups water

2 Cups Sugar

3/4 cups fresh chopped mint leaves

Boil all of the ingredients together until the sugar is dissolved. Let the syrup cool then strain to remove the mint leaves. Place the mint simple syrup in a glass jar and refrigerate until cold.

Mint Juleps

Fill a mint julep cup with crushed ice. Pour 3 ounces bourbon over the ice and 1/4 to 1/2 cup mint simple syrup. Stir and garnish with a mint leaf... add more ice if needed. Enjoy!!

Photo Credit: Kurt Boomer Photography

headed to costa rica ;)

2011-08-05T10:52:00.000-07:00

Happy Friday! Hope all of you Charmers had a great week :) I will be blogging from Costa Rica next week and some of the following. Zan and I are headed to the beautiful country this weekend and we'll be gone for ten days. I'm packing my floppy hat, J.Crew swimsuit and Nicholas Sparks books with me! I've always wanted to visit Costa Rica so I'm beyond excited for our adventure! I plan to write a few posts documenting our trip with photos and video and maybe even a drink recipe! I have a few scheduled posts but for most of the time I'm gone, poor little Sugar and Charm will be post-free. See you soon!

Photo Credit: Unknown, Top 10 Costa Rica, Travel-wonders

summer entertaining

2011-08-03T08:57:00.000-07:00

What a perfect way to entertain your friends and family this summer! The very talented Heather Bullard styled and photographed this lovely outside dinner party. All of the details are simply gorgeous and that lavender bundt cake looks delicious! You don't have to have a large yard to set up a picture-perfect table like this. A small backyard would be just as nice. Also, fresh flowers, beautiful table linens and good chairs are a must for creating a classy dinner table. It's the special touches that will set your dinner party apart from others :) Thanks Heather for the letting me feature these gorgeous photos, to check out her adorable blog click here.

Photo Credit: Heather Bullard

snippet of life: from my iphone

2011-08-01T05:10:00.000-07:00

I had a wonderful birthday weekend visiting my family! We celebrated just the way I like it with delicious food, shopping, the movie Bridesmaids (ha-larious!), cakes (yes plural) and today we're going to the craziest amusement park ever! I also had the honor of being here to sponsor my Goddaughter's baptism! This is my first time being a Godmother and I'm loving every minute of it... she is such a doll! Since I'm not home to whip up a yummy treat or sew something nifty, I thought I'd share a few photos I've taken over the past few weeks from my iphone. I usually just snap a quick shot of anything that makes me happy :) Whatever I see that inspires me or that I want to remember. It's amusing to look back through my phone (very entertaining on really long flights or long lines!) and see all of the moments and pretty things in life that make me happy. Oh and did you see my husband's silly surprise birthday video?! He's truly one-of-a-kind and you can probably tell there aren't too many dull moments in the Passante home! Thanks Zanny :)

Happy Bday Eden! A surprise video birthday song from Zan!! :)

2011-07-30T05:57:00.000-07:00

Hello lovely Charmers!! I hope everyone is having a great weekend. First of all, I want wish my lil' darlin' wife, the sugar (and charm!) behind S&C a very happy birthday! In keeping with last year's birthday guest post tradition by me for E, I thought I would take it up a proverbial notch and do something that's all the rage these days - those crazy kids and those webcams - yup, VIDEO!! I wanted to surprise Eden with this vid since she thought I only had time to post a pic of Marilyn Monroe blowing out a candle. Pfft! I can't promise you'll walk away with a Bieber fever, but you may get a headache. haha Also in keeping with last year's tradition, this one kept me up all night as well, but it was all in the name of bday celebratory surprises, yay! I hope you enjoy it and as always, thank you all for being so supportive and coming back! Happy birthday, mi vida, mi Eden!!

cold as ice - ice shot glasses

2011-07-28T09:40:00.000-07:00

I was wandering around Joann's Fabrics the other day and I saw this ice mold. I thought it was pretty cool and even cooler (haha) to serve ice shots to your guests on a hot summer day! You can put anything you want inside the ice shot glass or to create it. A lemoncello sounds good, lemonade for the kids or maybe just a plain shot. Whatever it is, these are effortless to make and a unique touch to a cocktail party.

Photo Credit: Sugar and Charm