Inspiration for the Holidays: New Year’s Eve Bash

I’ve always enjoyed a good party and New Year’s Eve is no different. Like many others, the party has changed slightly with kids.

Just because you have kids doesn’t mean the fun has to stop! Kids bring life to any party and incorporating party décor that festive and whimsical is fun for all!

Noise makers, fake sunglasses with 2015, hats, confetti, and beads are décor items that both adult and children enjoy. Have a special count down to the New Year at 8:30 or 9:00 pm for the younger kids and serve cookies and milk or sparkling juice.

To get this look and all the details check out my previous post on Kicking Off The New Year.

Every party needs a signature drink and a NYE bash isn’t a party without one!

Champagne is a the go to drink for NYE, but your guests will be pleasantly surprised when you serve them this New Year’s Splash drink topped with fresh raspberries! Not only isn’t delicious, but easy to make.

New Year’s Splash Specialty Drink

Ingredients (serves 8-12)

1 Bottle Looza Peach Juice or any brand

2 Bottles Prosecco

1   6 oz package raspberries

Pour Prosecco into champagne flutes, 3/4 full. Fill the reminder champagne flute with Looze Peach Juice (2 pours). Stir and garnish with fresh raspberries.

Next up is the menu. I’ve always enjoyed shrimp and grits and flank steak for New Year’s Eve. check out my previous post on New Year’s Eve Menu Inspiration for recipes.

Get this GLAM look and details here for your NYE bash! You can even make your DIY glitter champagne bottle to add a little sparkle to your NYE!

Looking for some dessert inspiration? Check out our previous post Inspiration for The Holiday Season:Sweet Desserts, with dessert bar ideas and more!

Don’t forget about New Year’s Day! This easy and delicious smoked salmon, spinach, olive and cheese frittata is perfect for your New Year’s Day or Christmas Day celebration!

New Year’s Day Smoked Salmon & Spinach Frittata

Ingredients

Olive Oil Pam Cooking Spray

Salt and Pepper to taste

4 oz. smoked salmon with dill

8 black olives chopped

6 eggs

1 cup frozen spinach thawed

1/4 cup shredded mozzarella and cheddar cheese optional

2 tablespoons almond milk or skim milk

1 teaspoon parsley or to taste

1 teaspoon basil or to taste

1 teaspoon oregano

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 8 inch oven safe skillet with Olive Oil Pam Cooking Spray. Heat over medium and add smoked salmon, olives and spinach; cook and stir briefly to release the flavors.

In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, parsley, basil, and oregano. Pour over mixture in skillet, and stir gently. Top with shredded cheese. Cook over medium heat without stirring until the edges appear firm approx. 5 minutes.

Place skillet in oven and bake for 20 minutes or until nicely browned and puffed. Flip onto a serving plate and cut into wedges.

Add a side salad such as spinach, tomato, onion, and Orzo salad.

Cheers to a Happy & Healthy 2015!

Inspiration for the Holidays: Family Traditions with Recipes and Cookie Decorating Party

Winter break has officially begun and we are entering the week of Christmas! Tis’ the season for all things festive and fun!

To send off my daughter’s preschool teachers we made fudge together.

For as long as I can remember this was a tradition I did with my mother at Christmas time. It’s an easy recipe that takes no time at all while making memories with your family!

I use Carnation Evaporated Milk recipe minus the marshmallows and add walnuts.

Mama’s Fudge Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 2/3 cup (5 fl.-oz. can) NESTLÉ® CARNATION® Evaporated Milk
• 2 tablespoons butter or margarine
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups (9 oz.) Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Line 8 inch square baking pan with foil. Spray foil lightly with Pam non-stick cooking spray. Combine sugar evaporated milk, butter and salt in medium, heavy-duty saucepan. Bring to a full rolling boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Boil, stirring constantly, for 4 to 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in walnuts and vanilla extract. Stir vigorously for 1 minute or until marshmallows are melted. Pour into prepared baking pan; refrigerate for 2 hours or until firm. Lift from pan; remove foil. Cut into 48 pieces or as desired.

Fudge makes a perfect holiday gift or hostess gift as you enter the week of Christmas and New Year’s! Simply line your favorite tin or box with tissue paper and add the fudge.

The best memories are ones with your loved ones! This is the second year we’ve made Christmas cookies together.

It’s amazing what a difference a year makes! Cooking and baking with your kids not only makes wonderful memories, but teaches them measurements, portion control, where our food comes from, and hopefully to become bakers and cooks.

I like to try different sugar cookie recipes. This year I tried the “Perfect Sugar Cookie Cut-outs from Love Grows Wild but removed the almond extract.

Serves: 40-50 cookies

Ingredients

• 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1¼ cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
• 3 cups of flour
• 1½ teaspoons baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• colored sugars for decorating

Instructions

1. In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add in egg, vanilla extract, and almond extract and mix until combined.
2. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Make sure to spoon the flour into your measuring cup and level it off with a knife to ensure accurate measurements. Slowly add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix until completely combined.
3. Roll the dough between 2 sheets of parchment or wax paper and place on a baking sheet in the refrigerator. Chill for about 20-30 minutes.
4. Cut dough into shapes with cookie cutters and transfer to a baking sheet. Sprinkle with colored sugars and bake at 350 degrees for 8-12 minutes. Cool on baking sheet 5 minutes, then transfer to a baking rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container. Makes about 40-50 cookies.

Notes

For this recipe, the dough only needs to chill about 20-30 minutes in the refrigerator since it is already rolled out. If you would rather chill the dough first before rolling, you’ll want to increase the chill time to about an hour.Using the parchment paper is a great tip for rolling the dough, because it eliminates the need to add extra flour to keep it from sticking. However, I didn’t have any parchment paper I choose the old fashion route.

I found Love Grows Wild tip about letting the cookies cool for only 5 minutes on the baking sheet and then lifting them with a spatula onto a cooling rack to be the difference in a soft tasting sugar cookie!

Now that you’ve made your perfect sugar cookie it’s time to decorate! Since you’re kids are out of school, why not make it into a cookie decorating party?!

As a party planner I love a good party! It doesn’t have to be fancy or elaborate. You could even just have a little party with your own children. The point is to make it fun, festive and an activity that everyone will enjoy and remember!

This year I found all my cookie decorating accessories at Michael’s, except for the red oval bowl from Target last year.

How cute are these mini milk glasses that I found on sale at Michael’s?!

If you have young children, like me, I decided to ice the sugar cookies first and then let the girls decorate them this year. I found an easy and delicious buttercream frosting recipe from Two Sisters Crafting! I added a little almond milk and it was hard to stop licking the spoon!

Hope this inspires you to make traditions and memories with your family and friends this holiday season!

Happy Holidays!

Looking for more fun party, décor, kids activities, and DIY fun this holiday season? Check out our previous posts on

Credits

Design, Styling, & Photography – Sarah Sofia Productions

Recipes (unless otherwise noted) – Sarah Sofia Productions

Perfect Sugar Cookie Cut-outs Recipe Love Grows Wild

Best Butter Cream Frosting Recipe – Two Sisters Crafting

 

Cozy Survival Guide for the Winter Months

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We’re talking all things warm and cozy as we enter the winter months!

Step one, get your self a blanket.  Once the weather starts getting colder all I want to do is curl up with a warm blanket and get cozy! We have a basket full of blankets in our family room and I put out several around the house. However, I’m crushing over the striped cashmere throws from Parachute Home!

Find yourself a cozy spot in your home. One of my favorite warm and cozy spots is this vintage arm chair in my living room! Yes, my living room. I’m a firm believer that your living room should be used everyday and can be warm and cozy.

The blanket is from my trip to the Highlands in Scotland and has warm hues that brings out the tones in the yellow striped vintage arm chair. The vintage chair belonged to my grandparents and has special meaning to me.

Get comfortable with your favorite hot drink, book or magazine and curl up! Who wouldn’t want to get warm and cozy in this chair while reading their favorite book and sipping coffee?

I’ve been dying to read Lookway, Lookway,a novel by Wilton Barnhardt, which is a wonderful satire on the South and Charlotte, with characters that could have grown up with my mother.

Put on some mood lighting and get cozy by the fire!

Christmas isn’t over yet and now is a good time as any to cozy up on the sofa with your favorite blanket, put on a fire, and take in the lights on the season. Oh and your favorite drink of choice!

Cheers to the holiday season and warm and cozy nights!

Being comfortable is a must in my book if you want to be cozy. Sometimes it’s OK to stay in your PJ’s and have “cuddle time” or “sleepy time” with the ones love!

Wishing you a warm and cozy holiday and winter season!

Credits

Styling, Design and Photography – Sarah Sofia Productions

Striped cashmere throws – Parachute Home

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cozy Survival Guide for the Winter Months

Cozy Survival Guide for the Winter Months by sarahsofiapro on Polyvore

Inspiration for the Holiday Season: Christmas Tabelscape

This holiday season we are teaming up with wedding and event pros to get you inspired and in the Christmas spirit!

Today we are excited to share this Christmas tablescape photo shoot with Classic Party Rentals.

Every event or party begins with a plan. Here is our Christmas tablescape mood board that inspired our look.

You can find all the details behind the inspiration for the Christmas tablescape in our previous post here.

There’s no place like home during the holidays and that’s why I choose my own home as the location. I absolutely love my dinning table and chairs from Accents and Beyond in High Point, NC, which always adds warmth and character no matter what season to any tablescape.

This year I decided to go back to traditional colors for my Christmas décor and the Christmas tablescape continues the tone that I have set through out our home. I wanted to bring the outdoors in and you certainly get that feel.

I love how the red cherry linen from Classic Party Rentals brings the entire tablescape to life! The chevron table runner gives the look dimension and pop of white along with  the glass gold bead charger and the white and gold dinner plate from Classic Party Rentals.

Just because I wanted a traditional look doesn’t mean it has to be boring. Christmas and the holiday season is about being together as a family and all about the kids, at least in our family! Bring a little whimsical into your tablescape.

These fun and festive birds I found at Target add just the right whimsical element to the Christmas tablescape.

Another party planner tip is to use what you already own to complete the look. While I absolutely love Oh Joy’s Holiday Collection, I have tons of gold ornaments laying around that I put to good use!

These gold ornaments serve as place settings for my guests, which add a little sparkle and glam! To get the look simply cut out paper and use marker or colored chalk paint and write the name of each guest.

Make your look more formal by adding napkin holders, such as the berry ones in this tablescape that flow well with the red berry garland.

Every tablescape needs a centerpiece. I love using floral arrangements, but you can simply use pinecones in a bowl or a white candle in a glass candle holder with red berry garland around it.

Another decorating tip is to add height and layers, which draw your eye in and make the look more interesting.

Don’t forget to dress up your chairs! Sashes are just for weddings. Adding this Victorian Gold Satin shash from Classic Party Rentals not only ties the red and gold look together but adds a more formal and special occasion feel.

The holidays are the perfect time to bring out your special china and linens. Sometimes what you own doesn’t work with your design or you don’t have enough in your pattern. That’s when you should check into renting your china, linens, and glassware from places like Classic Party Rentals.

This look could also serve for a New Year’s Eve party!

For more Christmas and holiday inspiration check out our previous posts for décor, recipes, and crafts here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.

Credits

Design, Planning & Styling – Sarah Sofia Productions

Photography – Sarah Sofia Productions

Glass Gold Bead Charger – Classic Party Rentals

Gold and White Magnificence Dinner Plate – Classic Party Rentals

Cromwell Flatware – Classic Party Rentals

Operetta Glassware – Classic Party Rentals

Cherry Red table linen – Classic Party Rentals

Cherry red napkins- Classic Party Rentals

Victorian Gold sash – Classic Party Rentals

Berry Napkins Holders – Classic Party Rentals

Birds – Target

Red berry garland – Target

White beaded cake stand – Crate & Barrel

Red and white paper decorations – Hobby Lobby

White lanterns – Ikea

Ornament place settings – Sarah Sofia Productions

Gold candle holders – Michael’s

Dinning Table and Chairs – Accents and Beyond

Christmas Stockings – Pottery Barn Kids

Hope marque light – Target

Merry Christmas garland – Hobby Lobby

Burlap wreath – Sarah Sofia Productions

 

 

 

 

Holiday Cash Giveaway!

We’re teaming up with some talented bloggers this holiday season to give you $500 cash giveaway!

Make sure you enter and comment below and tell me how you would spend this $500!

 

:a Rafflecopter giveaway

Inspiration for the Holiday Season: Trimming the Tree and Christmas Décor

We are teaming up with wedding and event pros to inspire you this holiday season! If you’re just joining us make sure you check out the other posts in the series: Santa Claus is Coming to Town Party with Elf on the Shelf, holiday dessert bar and sweet desserts, Christmas Tradition and Décor,  Christmas Tablescape Inspiration and Mama’s Cranberry & Apple Dish, a Christmas tradition in our family!

Today we are sharing the fun tradition of trimming the tree and our Christmas décor this year.

Last year I was all about burlap and the natural look. This year I went back to my favorite color red and used all our ornaments. I added a basket to make the look interesting and vintage.

This was our second year not traveling and continuing the our family tradition of decorating the Christmas tree during Thanksgiving weekend. Both my girls loved it even more than last year!

Since I’m highly allergic to trees, we stick with a faux Christmas tree. This one is 7 1/2 feet tall and has built in lights, which is a time saver.

I love how the color pops against the neutral walls. Even our dog Bailey feels the warmth and coziness that the tree brings to our family room!

This year we added box wood wreaths to our décor. I love how it pulls the room together! A florist can easily cost you $30-$40, but we found ours at Trader Joe’s for $9.99 each and added the red bows.

As my daughter Sofia says “let’s decorate more together”! So naturally, we moved on to the fireplace and hanging the stockings.

I had wanted to get to update our fireplace with unclaimed wood for a mantle piece, but it’s still on the to do list for our new home. Thus, we improvised again this year with nails to hang our stockings from Pottery Barn Kids.

You don’t have to spend a lot of money to decorate your home for Christmas. Use what you already own and add to your collection each year. My favorite two new pieces this year are the Hope marquee light from Target and Merry Christmas gold glitter banner from Hobby Lobby.

I love using vintage finds like the Santa Claus Advent Calendar from HomeGoods. Be creative with your décor and add vignettes to your build in shelves.

I’ve used some of my burlap décor from last year in this years. This burlap wreath was an easy DIY craft that I have used for all seasons by simply switching out the ribbon. Get the details on the DIY wreath here.

When decorating your home remember to pull your design through out your home. I love how the red pops from the Christmas tree, to the box wood wreaths, to my tablescape!

 

This last image is from our photo shoot with Classic Party Rentals. Come by next week to get the details on this Christmas and holiday tablescape!

Vendor Credits

Design & Styling – Sarah Sofia Productions

Photography – Sarah Sofia Productions

Vintage Santa Advent Calender – Home Goods

Christmas Stockings – Pottery Barn Kids

Hope marque light – Target

Merry Christmas garland – Hobby Lobby

Burlap wreath – Sarah Sofia Productions

Box wood wreath – Sarah Sofia Productions and Trader Joe’s

White lanterns – Ikea

Santa Claus, elf, snowman, & reindeer – Hobby Lobby

 

 

 

 

 

Inspiration for The Holiday Season: Christmas Tablescape

We’re teaming up with wedding and event pros to inspire you this holiday season!

Today, I’m sharing my Christmas tablescape mood board that helped plan the photo shoot with Classic Party Rentals.

This holiday season I went back to the classic look with a little glam and a modern twist. Red, white and gold is what is inspiring me!

 

 

Christmas décor allows you to be so creative.  Since I have two children I wanted a festive and whimsical look to this tablescape. There’s something magical about Christmas when you look at it through children’s eyes!

Oh Joy Holiday Collection for Target has some festive décor items like the paper lanterns and ornament placecard holders.

I’m loving Target and Hobby Lobby’s Christmas décor this year and the bargains I’m finding this week! I knew as soon as I stumbled upon these birds that they were going to be perfect for my Christmas tablescape!

Don’t be afraid to mix and match high and low items to get the look. Another party planning tip: Don’t invest in new linens and china. Instead, rent linens, china, and glassware from party rental companies such as Classic Party Rentals.  Also, you might find some great décor items in their showroom that you can rent instead of buying, like paper lanterns.

Here’s a sneak peek of the Christmas tablescape photo shoot we had with Classic Party Rentals.

Make sure you come back next week for all the fun and festive details! For more Christmas and holiday inspiration check out our previous posts for décor, recipes, and crafts here, here, here and here .

Credits

Design and Styling – Sarah Sofia Productions

Photography – Sarah Sofia Productions