Tips on Throwing the Perfect Cocktail Party

Cocktail parties are a great way to let loose and enjoy the company of your friends. Throwing the event, however, can be a stressful experience that leaves you exhausted. Thankfully, the following tips can help reduce some of the stress associated with throwing a party and help ensure your event goes as smooth as possible.

The Food

Food is an important part of a cocktail party, but far too often, people either over plan or under plan the food. For example, the hostess will schedule the party for peak dinner time and then only serve small finger foods, which leave the guests hungry and looking for a drive thru on the way home. Or the hostess will have the party right after dinner and serve a large meal expecting people to come hungry when they have already eaten. The best defense against this problem is to make sure everyone knows what you are serving. Tell every guest that you invite whether you are serving a full meal or simple finger foods. This will help them plan properly and allow you to avoid a party snafu.

The Drinks

The beverages served at your party may just be more important than the food; it is called a cocktail party for a reason. The drinks served can make or break your party, so choose wisely. Decide on which mixers for alcohol beverages you would like to serve, as well as hard liqueur if you are inclined to have that as well. If you’re unsure, get the advice of your guests. Ask them what types of beverages that would like to have. Now this doesn’t mean you have to cater to every one of your guest’s beverage desires, but it can help you determine which drinks are the most popular among your friends.

The Decorations

Cocktail parties are typically formal events that don’t require over-the-top decorations. Cover the tables with nice linens and arrange flowers and candles around the room. Remember to keep the décor to a minimum for a modern and sleek look.

The Entertainment

One of the great things about cocktail parties is that you don’t need to worry about entertainment. This is because the whole point of a cocktail party is to allow your guests to mingle without distractions. So in a sense the entertainment is each other. You can, however, have some mellow music playing in the background.

 

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Monday Musings #BEDM

Today's topic is Monday Musings.

 I want to jump on this whole transgender bathroom issue. I could care less. When I have to pee, I have to pee. I still bring my 8 year old son into the women's bathroom with me. There are locked doors. No one is gonna really see anything. And I am pretty sure that in a guy's bathroom, the guy next to you is not checking out your junk, ok? I just don't think it is a terribly big issue.

What do you think?

 

The Goodbye Year #ItsRainingBooks

BookSparks is putting a spring in your step for this season’s April Showers Blog Tour! Join me in reading, reviewing, and sharing five handpicked, buzz-worthy books! The Fifth and final book is The Goodbye Year by Kaira Rouda.

About The Book:

Melanie, a perfectionist mom who views the approaching end of parenting as a type of death, can’t believe she has only one more year to live vicariously through her slacker senior son, Dane. Gorgeous mom Sarah has just begun to realize that her only daughter, Ashley, has been serving as a stand-in for her traveling husband, and the thought of her daughter leaving for college is cracking the carefully cultivated facade of her life. Will and his wife are fine - as long as he follows the instructions on the family calendar and is sure to keep secret his whole other life with Lauren, the woman he turns to for fun (and who also happens to have a daughter in the senior class). Told from the points of view of both the parents and the kids, The Goodbye Year explores high school peer pressure, what it’s like for young people to face the unknown of life after high school, and how a transition that should be the beginning of a couple’s second act together - empty nesting - might possibly be the end.

My Thoughts:

This is an excellent read! It hit a little too close to home for me in some parts, even though we are nowhere near being Empty Nesters. A real life novel that touches the heart.

About The Author:

Kaira Rouda is a USA Today bestselling, award-winning author of contemporary women's fiction and modern romance novels that sparkle with humor and heart. Her previous award-winning and best-selling women’s fiction novels include Here, Home, Hope, and In the Mirror. When she's not writing, she can be found walking the beach, practicing yoga, playing Pickleball, and enjoying as much time as possible with her family.

 
 

Tell Us Something New #BEDM

I am participating in Blog Everyday In May (#BEDM). Today, the first topic is Tell Us Something New. 

The only thing that comes to mind that is new in my life is something sort of depressing. I might become a single mother soon. My husband of 13 years and I are going through a really rough patch, and it may end in divorce. Like for real. We've discussed it. But we both agreed to try to make things work again. It is a slow going process. The last thing I want to do is get a divorce. But ever since our youngest son, Mason, died in 2011, things have slowly been getting worse. The emotional connection is nearly gone. We've both strayed. It is hard to build that trust up again. And build that love as well. But we are hanging on. We have our 8 year old, Callan, to think about. So, what will be will be. But I am praying for the best.

Gridley Girls

Gridley Girls By Meredith First

About The Book:

Sometimes you have to go back before you can move forward. Meg Monahan feels like she was born to be a secret keeper. From the moment she became a peer counselor in high school, Meg has been keeping her friends secrets – from sordid family drama to their sex lives – that she never wanted to know. Flash forward to adulthood when Meg is a recruiter for the world’s hippest (and most paranoid) high-tech company – and now Meg is a professional secret keeper. When sudden tragedy strikes before Meg hosts the wedding of her childhood BFF, Anne Calzaretta, the women are forced to face their past – and their secrets – in order to move on to their future. In 1978, Meg, Anne, Jennifer, and Tonya were such close friends, they were known as “The Group” in their hometown of Gridley, California. But in ninth grade, their lives were changed forever. Loss, lies, and secrets separated them, but could not break their bonds of friendship. Thirty years later, Meg and Anne reminisce about those days - dealing with parents, school, boys, sex, love, and betrayal. Anne remembers their freshman year as an easier time, but Meg, still feeling guilty about a betrayal of Anne’s trust, is haunted. Even now, Meg is keeping a secret she’s not prepared to face, let alone share. In her debut novel, based on true events, Meredith First tells a timeless story about the bonds of friendship, loss, and betrayal - and the forgiveness that is within everyone. Can anyone really keep a secret forever?

My Thoughts:

This is a great book! A perfect Spring read, when you want to sit out on the deck and enjoy the warmer weather. This book is about friendship and the many different strings that web weaves! A very good read!

About The Author:

Meredith First left an insanely great recruiting career with Apple, Inc. to write books for anyone who survived high school with a little help from friends. After studying abroad at the University of London, she received a BA in communications/broadcasting from Oregon State University. Through the donation of 10% of the profits of the Gridley Girls series to children’s charities, she hopes to help people who struggle with issues similar to those experienced in her books. First lives with her family in Minneapolis and Sacramento, and is hard at work on Gridley Girls Reunited, the second of the Gridley Girls series.

 

 

Alkaline88 Water

What do Beyoncé, Miranda Kerr, Elton John, The Pope, President Obama, Bill Gates, Martha Stewart, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jennifer Aniston, Kate Hudson, Kelly Ripa, Janet Jackson, and Ray Kurzweil all have in common? They've all gone on the record to say that they drink alkaline water! Many athletes and celebrities included are attracted to the benefits of an alkaline diet, as balanced body pH results in greater energy, more restful sleep, improved digestion, and fewer colds according to some medical authorities.

Alkaline88, favored by Brande Roderick and Tim Tebow, achieves its 8.8 pH level through a state-of-the-art, completely chemical-free scientific process. Dr. Jamie Koufman, an internationally renowned expert on reflux, and researcher Dr. Nikki Johnston studied how alkaline water destroyed pepsin, a stomach enzyme that when activated by acid causes painful reflux symptoms that can lead to cancer. According to the findings published in the Annals of Otology, Rhinology & Laryngology, July 2012, natural artesian alkaline water with an 8.8 pH instantaneously inactivated human pepsin in laboratory studies. Ordinary tap and bottled waters had no such effect.

 

Check it all out at Alkaline88 on Facebook, as well as Alkaline88 on Twitter.