Happy Hour Friday - Texas Twister

Texas Twister

Ingredients:
2-1/2 to 3 oz. high-quality tequila

1-1/2 oz. Grand Marnier

1-1/2 to 2 oz. fresh lime juice

1/4 pint frozen limeade

Splash of Corona (or your favorite Mexican beer)

Splash of your favorite red wine such as Zinfandel

2 cups crushed ice

Preparation:
Blend all ingredients with ice in blender until smooth. Pour into a chilled margarita glass. Garnish with a lime wedge.

Yield: Two drinks

Source: Fine Living

HappyHour Friday - Chocolate Martini

Chocolate Martini

1 1/2 shots Godiva® chocolate liqueur

1 1/2 shots creme de cacao

1/2 shot vodka

2 1/2 shots half-and-half

Mix all ingredients in a shaker with ice, shake and pour into a chilled cocktail glass.

Recipe from Drinks Mixer Photo from My Recipes.

Happy Hour Friday

Almond Joy & Milky Way Martinis

Almond Joy Martini

1 oz. Three Olives chocolate vodka
1 oz. Frangelica
1 oz. coconut rum

Shake together while chilling and pour.

Milky Way Martini

1 1/2 oz. Starbucks Cream Liqueur
1 oz. Three Olives chocolate vodka
1/2 oz. cream

Shake together while chilling and pour.

Source: Fine Living

Thank You Cards

The biggest complaint that wedding guests have is that they did not receive a thank you card for their gift. We all love to receive gifts and weddings are a perfect occasion for gift giving. Your guests would like for you to acknowledge their gifts.

Approach your thank you cards with as much thought and organization as you did with the rest of your wedding planning.

For pre wedding events (engagement parties, bridal showers) thank you cards should be sent 2-3 weeks after the event.

Many brides think they have up to a year to send out thank you cards after the wedding. This is incorrect. Thank you cards should be sent no later than 2 months after the wedding, 3 months at the latest. If for some reason you are waiting on the proofs from your photographer then the thank you cards should be sent no later than 3 -4 months.

If you receive gifts after the wedding, follow up immediately and send cards within 3 weeks of receiving the gift.

Remember thank you cards should be handwritten and a separate card must be sent for each gift. I know that sending out cards for each event can be overwhelming but organization is the key. Microsoft Office has several gift tracker templates to help you keep organized. Click here to get your wedding gift tracker.

Celebrity Weddings - Carrie Underwood

Under a tent at theRitz Carlton Reynolds Plantation in Georgia, Carrie Underwood and Mike Fisher tied the knot on Saturday, July 10, before 250 friends and family in a ceremony featuring classical music and the couple's favorite Bible readings.

“We could not feel more blessed to have found each other and to have shared this day with our friends and family that mean so much to us!” the newlyweds told PEOPLE in a statement, signing their names “Mike & Carrie Fisher.”

Underwood wore a Chantilly lace dress created for her by Monique Lhuillier, who also designed the bridesmaids’ dresses. Fisher, who plays for the Ottawa Senators, proposed to Underwood on Dec. 20, after quietly dating for about a year.

Source: People Magazine

Celebrity Weddings - Martin Lawrence

Martin Lawrence and his longtime girlfriend, Shamicka Gibbs, were married in an intimate wedding on Saturday, July 10, at the actor's home in Beverly Hills. Lawrence, 45, and Gibbs, 35, exchanged vows in front of 120 guests. Their daughters Amara, 9, and Iyana, 7, and Lawrence's daughter Jasmine, 14, from a previous marriage were flower girls.

After the ceremony, the newlyweds joined their guests under a tent for a reception. For the family-style celebration. The four-course sit-down dinner, catered by Tres LA, included salad, crab cakes and salmon, Lawrence's favorite dish. The four-tiered wedding cake was by Rosebud Cakes in Beverly Hills.

Congratulations Martin and Shamicka.

Celebrity Weddings - Lala Vazquez & Carmelo Anthony

This weekend was full of celebrity weddings. On Saturday, July 10 Denver Nuggets star Carmelo Anthony married actress and former MTV VJ Lala Vazquez at Cipriani's in New York. Their 3 year old son, Kiyan, escorted them down the aisle and served as ring bearer.

Cipriani's was transformed into a red theme celebration featuring red table cloths, centerpieces of red Ecuadorian roses, hundreds of candles and thousands of red roses hangin from the ceiling. The bride wore a Vera Wang gown and carried red and pink flowers. Carmelo, 26, proposed five years ago with an 8-carat cushion-cut diamond. He added 2 1/2-more carats with two matching wedding bands, worth about $200,000.

The guests were invited with a red and gold wedding invitation decorated with Swarovski crystals, which was delivered in a black box featuring their first initials. The invitations were designed by Lehr & Black.

Source: US Magazine, People Magazine

Happy Hour Friday - Margarita Time

Most people drink a Classic Margarita when going out. I like the flavored margaritas such as Peach or Mango, so I was happy to see that Hostess with the Mostess had 10 unique flavors of margaritas. Below are my favorites from the ten.

Pomegranate Margarita

Ingredients:

32 ounces Pomegranate juice

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice, about two juicy limes

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

1/2 cup tequila

1/4 cup orange flavored liquor

Directions:In a medium bowl, whisk all ingredients. Place in a freezer and mix every 20 minutes for up to 1 hour until the mixture has a slushy frozen texture (or freeze in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s directions). Serve frozen or chilled over ice.

Prickly Pear Margaritas

serves 6

Ingredients:

3 1/2 cups crushed ice

3 oz. freshly squeezed lime juice

3 oz. frozen limeade

6 Tequila

4 1/2 oz. Cointreau

3 oz. prickly pear cactus juice

3 T. sugar

Lime wedges and kosher salt for garnish

Instructions:In a blender, add all of the ingredients (minus the garnish) and pulse it until the ice is completely blended. Taste and add more sugar if necessary.
Rub some of the lime around the rim of the glasses and then dip the glasses into the salt. Pour in the drink and garnish with a lime. Enjoy!

Watermelon Margarita
Ingredients:

2 parts, watermelon juice

1 part, orange liquor

1 part, tequila

1/2 lime, squeezed into shaker
Instructions: Add all ingredients into a shaker, shake well and pour into glass.You could also choose to garnish with lime wedges instead of a watermelon chunk. You may opt to make these super strong or fairly light; play around with the measurements to get a drink that suits your event.

I found this Chocolate Margarita at Margarita Texas. This site has a number of different margaritas to choose from, since I like Chocolate Martinis, the Chocolate Margarita appealed to me.

Chocolate Margarita Recipe
Ingredients:1 1/2 oz tequila (any kind)
1 oz Godiva liquor
2 tablespoon chocolate syrup
3/4 oz cream or half and half
2 oz orange juice
Stirrings Cocoa RimmerIce
Instructions:Rim the glass with the cocoa rimmer. Combine all ingredients in a shaker and pour into a glass.

To see the other seven margaritas from Hostess with the Mostess, click here.
Source:
Pomegranate Margarita: Skinny Chef
Prickly Pear Margarita: My Sweet and Saucy
Watermelon Margarita: Eat Boutique
Chocolate Margarita: Margarita Texas

Calligraphy is a style of visual art and adds a personal touch that reflects the style and tone of your event.

Laura Hooper of Laura Hooper’s Calligraphy brings style and elegance to each piece that she designs. Laura provides hand drawn maps, save the dates, letterpress invitations and reception items such as table numbers and menu cards.

Check out Laura’s website and all that she offers here. You can also check out her blog here.