The Oscars Will Serve a Bin Laden Lemonade?


Yes you read that correctly! The title is also incredibly misleading but continue reading anyway.

During award season I admit that I am more worked up about what the celebrations will look like then the actual Oscars. Biz Bash interviewed Rachel De Marte, of Plan Style Party, Chicago on what a menu inspired by the movie Zero Dark Thirty would compose of.


She says:

“I’d whip up a menu for Zero Dark Thirty and do a cool ethnic theme with Middle Eastern cuisine.” Cocktails would include the Seal Team Six, made with Woodford Reserve, molasses, cola, paprika, and green Tabasco. Bin Laden Lemonade would blend black-cherry vodka with ginger liqueur, lemonade, and club soda. The Pakistani would be a gin-based cocktail with mango puree, saffron, and edible orchid.

I don’t know Marte but she is my kind of planner. I personally think you would need a pair of cajones,to add a drink named after Bin Laden,and another pair to order it and have people assume you are making some grandiose deep political statement. Then proceed be dragged into a conversation on how,James Cameron’s Avatar was a political statement on the war in Iraq, BUT I digress.

I’m a sucker for alliterations and black cherry vodka and that’s enough for me.

Table Top Variety: 4 New Place Setting Trends to Try

If there is anything I love and encourage when it comes to entertaining it’s VARIETY! So I’m happy to not see only one trend rise up and dominate the scene,but have several different trends people can add to there entertaining and event efforts.

Tropical & Bright

Modern

At the Farmer House (not to be confused with the popular “vintage” aesthetic )

Prep it Up

Images via BizBash

3 E-books that School You in Creating Brand Events

The “event marketing” field is still a relatively new industry. Me, being the event & branding geek that I am love receiving new white papers in my inbox teaching me something new. 

What I love about these ebooks - is the way they tell you exactly what you need to to know. They not only equip you,they tell you how to use the resources that you have been handed. 

Marketo

Definitive Guide to Event Marketing

I would have happily paid a fair amount of money for this ebook. If there is one book you need to download from this list it is this one! This is literally a treasure trove of information that some would have paid 1,000’s to obtain. 

You’ll learn:

  • The top 4 reasons to include events as part of your marketing strategy
  • Key strategies to promote your event through email, social, and PR
  • How to run a flawless webinar or virtual event
  • How to rock out a huge conference or tradeshow step-by-step
  • Effective follow-up techniques that convert your attendees, and “no shows”
  • The ins and outs of calculating event ROI

Cvent

Every month we send our subscribers a new resource on event marketing ,sign up  here to  get in on the action!

March Preview: A Guy’s Guide to Entertaining

image

I am more than excited about the new series I am working on A Guy’s Guide to Entertaining. Yes the lifestyle/entertaining industry targets women, but I do not see the need to completely neglect our fellow brethren. I’m bringing together everything most guys (in my life) love;beer,a hearty meal and an easy clean up. 

I am hoping this will not help only men,but women to encourage their brothers,boyfriends,husbands and friends to host more gatherings. Is this some top secret ploy created by a secret society of women, to get men to carry the burden of entertaining? YES! Absolutely NOT!

The series will include:

A Man’s New Best Friend: The Crockpot

Indoor Grilling Recipes 

Beer Cocktails

The After Dinner Drink to End All Dinners

Creating Your Personal After Dinner Ritual ( ascot anyone? )

The Perfect Androgynous Playlist : Foot tapping tunes for Guy’s and Gal’s 

No Fuss,Easy Clean Up Decor that Keeps Your Manhood Intact

My Funny Clementine: Spicy Cognac Chocolate Fondue w/ Clementines

myfunnyclementine


Why is fondue a Valentine’s Day tradition? According to tradition, if you drop your bread or fruit into the fondue you must kiss the person opposite you. Depending on where you are sitting you’re either going to be clumsy Cathy or cautious Cathy. Either way there will be chocolate involved.This is a recipe I modified years ago from Chocolat Vital. The cognac goes so well with the tangy sweetness of the clementine. For heat I  sprinkle a generous dash of cayenne pepper.  [ Serves 4  to 6]

To serve 
 chocolate fondue properly:

You must have a way to keeping it warm

 Have it in reach of all of your diners

 A ceramic fondue pot 


What You Will Need

1 cup heavy cream 
 or crème fraiche



10 oz. Semisweet chocolate morsels, finely chopped



Pinch salt



1 to 3 Tb. Cognac, or other brandy, rum or liqueur



2 Clementine’s per person
for dipping

1 Vanilla Bean pod

1/2 tsp of cayenne pepper [or according to taste]

For Cognac

Pour 1 to 3 Tbs of Cognac into a container  (preferrably metal) and place vanilla bean pod into the cognac 30 mins before fondue preparation


 Bring cream and 2.5 
 tablespoons water just to a boil in a heavy saucepan over 
 medium-high heat. Remove pan from heat, add Semisweet morsels and salt, and whisk until smooth. Add Cognac, if using, and whisk until blended.According to your personal taste,start adding the cayenne pepper. A dash,and a little taste until the flavor feel right to you. (Becareful the cayenne pepper can sneak up on you making your fondue hotter than you intended)

Transfer fondue to a ceramic fondue pot and keep warm 
 over very low heat. Serve with peeled and sliced Clementine pieces.

 

(Fondue can be cooled and 
 refrigerated, covered, for up to 3 days. Gently reheat before 
 using.) 

(The answer is yes,I feel outrageously clever for my witty title.)

6 Ways to Keep Your Guest Happy & Warm

It’s about 20 degrees outside,but it feels like it’s below zero and you have decided to host a get together at your place. Woohoo your a level 10 hostess for not being intimidated by mistress winter. Also you have friends who should be nominated for sainthood for making the cross-borough trip to your apartment. 

1.

Nobody wants to enter a social situation with the burden of thick down coats,hats,scarves etc. Have a coat rack on hand, and a container for hats,scarves and gloves

2.

Start warming your guest up with a delicious hot drink. My two favorite winter time drinks for entertaining are mulled wine and hot apple cider with bourbon.

3.

This is pretty self explanatory!

4.

During the summer it’s fun to serve an array of salads to tease the appetites of your guest. However,for the winter I want my friends and family to feel warm,comforted and loved. There’s just something about a bowl of soup that warms you from the inside out.

5.

As your night is winding down,you may see your guest cast forlorn glances at your door. As fabulous as your gathering was,tuck that smug smile away. Your guest are reluctant to leave and face the cold again! Make their lives a little bit easier by providing car and taxi service numbers. Your guest can have a quick and warm trip back home.

6.

We cannot forget about the public transporters! Hand these little packet of hand warmers to guest on there way out. Yes,maybe it feels like their ears have fallen off as they stand on a subway platform;but at least they have warm hands. How do you keep your guest warm during the winter?

Click or Save the image below for the full 8x11 size

Guest Post by Ardissa Video: Organizing Your Happy Memories

I’m excited to feature Melissa Berman’s of Ardissa Video guest post today! She reached out to me a couple of weeks ago to do a guest post for her blog [which she will be posting soon] and I asked her to do the same. From all of our online communication,she has been nothing but kind and engaging. Best part -she is a die hard event lover! 

                                    _________________________________________

I’m Melissa Berman of Ardissa Video, and I’m excited to be blogging for Silver Lining Events today! Ardissa Video creates one-of-a-kind digital scrapbook videos from your photos and favorite home video clips. 

As someone who is always snapping a photo, whether with my phone or “fancy” camera, I know how difficult it can be to manage keeping track of all your digital images. Digital “clutter” can be just as stressful as the real kind! Creating a memory video of your photos can be a wonderful way to personalize your wedding, but first you’ll need to find and organize your favorite shots.

Here’s a few tips on organizing your photos (and staying organized!):

1) Find your photos on your computer

If your photos are scattered in every corner of your computer, start by creating a search. You can search by file extension (i.e. “.jpg”), and/or by the first couple file name default letters (i.e. your camera start the name of all of your images “DSCN”). Place all the photos into one folder, and preferably not on your desktop, which would cause your computer to run slowly. 

2) Sort your photos

I like to first sort my photos by date, because it helps me keep similar events together. In your folder “view/arrange” options, select the “sort by date created” option.

3) Label your photos

Now onto the fun part! Select the first photo. Play around with your folder view options so that you can preview a thumbnail of the image without having to open it up. This will save you a lot of time. Use your page down keyboard button to view the next photo, and so on. When you reach a photo that is from a different occasion, pause, and return to the previous photos you were viewing. Highlight and move all the previous photos into a new folder. Label the folder with the event date and a description. I like to put the date first so that all my photo folders are in chronological order. Continue this process until you have created folders for all your different photo occasions. It’s ok if you only have one photo in a folder! This will still help you to stay organized and know where to find that particular image.

4) Highlight the special photos

I always have a few photos from every bunch that I like more than the rest. On my Mac, I right-click on the image file name and select a label color. Next time I go searching for my favorite images, I only have to look for the bright purple highlights! If you use Windows, I would suggest adding an underscore to the beginning of the photo file name. Ex: “_DSCN1234.jpg.” All of your files with the underscore will appear at the top of your folder list if you sort by name, and this will make them easy to locate.

A photo that’s easy to find is a photo that’s easy to enjoy! I hope this post helps you avoid the digital clutter and feel inspired to capture more special moments!

Let’s chat! Find me at facebook.com/ardissavideo or twitter.com/ardissavideo. Happy memory making!

Why Event Design Matters!

I stumbled upon this picture as I was browsing the NY Times website.I instantly thought ” wow this picture has something to tell me.” The article is a feature on the home of Mike Meire and his wife Michelle Elie. Before I even read the article [which you can check out here],I began to imagine what an evening at their home would be like.

Would it be an eclectic group of people from various backround and races? A pair of newlyweds that Meire and his wife Elie met down the street, the 67 year old photographer regailing stories of super models past. Would the meal be simple dishes with explosive spices? 

Merie described his home as this  “It’s this mix of my German background and Michelle’s Haitian roots, as well as my passion for contemporary art and Michelle’s fascination with fashion…..It’s the accumulation of very different personalities “discovering, enjoying, embracing life.”

 The amazing thing is, I can see it! I can see his love of art and her love of fashion. I can see how their home was influenced by their very different backgrounds.I can see their joy of living and discovering life. It’s in the mixture of patterned  and simple white chairs.  I can see it in the giant heart,multi-colored lamps plus another hundred details.

Yes this is a home,but I can easily see this being scaled to a larger event. This is why event design matters! For me it’s not about creating a flashy installation or following blog trends but it’s about creating something that reflects my clients. It is about creating a connection with YOUR guest before your event is well on its way.

I already for see my self evangelizing on this point,so I will just leave you with this. It matters,it matters,it matters.

Eventfully,

ND