Prince William & Ms. Kate!

The day has finally come!!  I thought today I'd highlight the wedding of Prince William's parents and the lovely couple themselves!

I hope you're all not too sleepy today. I think the tiredness is well worth it!

Enjoy the Party,

Nicole :)

Wedding Flowers

I can only begin to imagine (for 1 more day) how luxurious and amazing the flowers are going to be at Ms. Kate's wedding. From roses to peonies, it will be spectacular!

Here are some floral arrangements to get us thinking about tomorrow!!

Aren't these lovely from Fos Decor.

I love the vases and the flowers too of course. From Blooming Trends 2.

In honour of the flowers Lady Diana held on her wedding I thought I'd show a bouquet with a similar idea.

Enjoy the Party,

Nicole :)

Cake or Cupcakes?

Have you decided what you're doing for desert? I am a big fan of cupcakes but worry that a sea of cupcakes will look overwhelming. I think it's safe to say Ms. Kate will have a fabulously large and grand cake at her wedding. Here are some pictures of my favourite wedding cakes and cupcakes.

This is The Silver Dragee Cake by Bobbette and Belle.

This is the Cherry Blossom Sky Scraper from Bobbette and Belle.

These are Monogram Mini Cakes from Bobbette and Belle too!

I hope these made your mouth water as much as mine!

Enjoy the Party,

Nicole :)

Cinderella's Glass Slipper

My second favourite thing about my wedding, my wedding shoes! I bought them this Christmas and I cannot wait to wear them. When I first started thinking about my wedding shoes I so badly wanted to the "Something Blue" Manolo Blahnik shoes. Unfortunately, when I tried them on, they hurt my feet.

I thought I'd suggest a couple pairs of shoes that Ms. Kate should consider for her big day!





How stunning are these Christian Louboutin shoes. They're to die for if you ask me!

How about this classic white Jimmy Choo shoe. Stunning, right!

Which ones are your favourite? Did you love your wedding shoes?

Enjoy the Party,

Nicole :)



Happy Royal Wedding Week!

Since the wedding of the decade is on Friday I've decided to dedicate all my posts to weddings this week! So far my favourite part of planning my wedding has been dress shopping and saying YES to my dress so I thought I'd start off today with wedding gowns.
With all the speculation around what Ms. Kate will wear I've decided to suggest a few gowns for her from my favourite designers.

The first dress is from my favourite designer and the designer of my wedding gown, Ines Di Santo. From the moment I laid eyes on her gowns I knew I wanted to wear one on my wedding and I'm fortunate enough to be doing it! So here's my Ines Di Santo pick for Ms. Kate.

Solange Gown from the Spring/Summer 2011 Collection



The second gown I've picked for Ms. Kate is from Monique Lhuillier, my second favourite designer. I realize this gown is probably not one she would wear but I love it!!

Rafaela Gown from the Spring 2011 Collection

Romona Keveza Collection

My third pick is a Romona Keveza gown.

What's your favourite gown of the three and who's your favourite bridal gown designer?

Enjoy the Party,

Nicole

Recipe Friday..... on Thursday

Being that tomorrow is Good Friday and a holiday I thought I'd share the recipe today. I thought I'd share a delicious lamb recipe since it's Easter weekend!

Michael's cousin Anna had us over for dinner a few weeks ago and made us a delicious dinner, the best part, the lamb. I wasn't a huge lamb fan before but let me tell you, this recipe will make anyone fall in love with lamb!

1. Preheat the oven to 350 (convection will cook faster)
2. Rub Dijon mustard all over the lamb
3. Take Italian seasoning bread crumbs and cover the lamb.
4. If you have a pan with a grill at the bottom so the lamb does not touch it, it is better because it will drain the fat away. If you don't, no worries, it will still be good!
5. Add some water to the pan so it does not burn the bottom.
6. It usually takes 20-25 minutes per pound to cook.
7. Cover with foil. Try not to let the foil touch the lamb so use tooth picks if possible.
8. Put it in the oven with a cooking thermometer if you have one. Again, if you don't, don't worry!
9. Uncover about half way through.
10. Once it's cooked slice it up and make your guests happy they came over for dinner!

I plan on making this the next time we host a dinner party with veggies, salad and a fabulous bottle of wine and I'll be sure to share a picture when I do.

I hope you all have a fabulous long weekend!

Enjoy the Party,

Nicole

Easter Table Settings

To keep with my theme from yesterday and gorgeous table decor I thought I'd suggest some great Easter table settings. Being that the weather isn't looking too hot this weekend we'll need to find other ways to warm things up.
I was just browsing around the HGTV DIY Decor section and found these fabulous Easter table settings that I think are to die for. Michael and I are super excited to start hosting family events at our new house and all of these pictures make me even more excited and anxious!

Brunch Bunny

Glam Bunny

Mod Bunny

Enjoy the Party,

Nicole :)

Spring Table Decor

I, like many of you, am a big fan of gorgeous, seasonal table decor. Being that spring is here I thought I'd dedicate today's post to spring table decor.  I found some great pictures on the Country Living website that I thought I'd share.

Can't you see yourself doing this for Easter, Mother's Day, a bridal shower or just a Sunday! I love them!

Enjoy the Party,

Nicole :)

The steps to throwing a great party!

Sorry for the delay in posting this, I had a very busy weekend and an even busier Monday! I hope you all had a great weekend even though the weather was crappy. Michael's birthday is on Easter Sunday so we decide to celebrate it this past Saturday with all our friends. I had a big party for him at my place and it was a lot of fun, if I don't say so myself!

Hosting this party made me think about organization and some of the steps to throwing a great party, which leads me to my next few points. Some of things I like to do to stay organized and stress-free when throwing a party are the following:

1. Make lists: I am a big list person, it helps me stay focused and organized. Friday night I sat down, got myself organized and planned out, point by point, what I had to do on Saturday. From grocery lists to what times things were going in the oven, I had everything written down.
2. Do some work ahead of time: Friday night I set up the bar and cleaned the house so on Saturday I could dedicate myself to shopping, cooking and having time for a manicure :) After grocery shopping I prepared all the food as much as I could that way when I went to put everything together all the tough work and mess was done.
3. Ask your girlfriends for help: Thanks to some fabulous ladies in my life, I was able to rely on them. Caitie made some delicious chocolate chip cookies; Kiira picked up the sushi tray; Stephanie picked up the cupcakes; Julie made a delicious dip and Laura brought strawberries and chocolate sauce!
4. Leave some time for yourself: Try and find 40 minutes to treat yourself. Whether it's a manicure or a blowdry it's always good to sneak out and de-stress before the big event. I myself, snuck out for 40 minutes to get a manicure!

I hope some of these tips help when you're hosting your next event!

Recipe Friday.... Cupcakes!

I am a huge lover of cupcakes. I'm not a big dessert person but cupcakes get me every time. This past Sunday I was at a baptism and the centerpieces on the tables where cupcakes and it was super cute and trendy so I thought I would highlight them today!

Here's a Vanilla Cupcake Recipe, my favourite kind.

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 3 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 4 egg whites from large eggs
• 1/2 cup shortening
• 1 cup 2% milk
• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line cupcake pans with paper liners.
Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, shortening, milk and vanilla  in a large mixing bowl.  Mix at low speed for 2 minutes.  Scrape bowl.  Add egg whites and mix at high speed until fluffy and smooth, approximately 2 minutes.
Fill liners 1/2 to 2/3 full of batter.  Do not overfill.  Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
Cool 10 minutes in pans then remove from pan, and place on wire racks to cool completely.
Frost and decorate your vanilla cupcakes as desired

 

Here's a picture of the cupcakes from the baptism, isn't it so cute!!

 

Enjoy the Party,

Nicole :)