Co-Worker Brittnee writes:
“I’m looking for Girl’s Night Ideas in Pittsburgh. I was
thinking about a Painting Party”
Boohyah! I'm so excited for this one. I’ve been meaning to write about this topic for
some time now!
If you were looking for a paint party, there are a lot of
companies that now offer that:
I’m still torn on that idea – I don’t know what I would
do with the painting. Maybe my pink palace cubical?
My girls nights always tend to include alcohol, so
there’s…
·
Penn Brewery: They
have live
events on the weekends and offer tours on Wednesdays (the times aren’t
ideal)
Non-alcoholic, there is…
The schedules aren’t released, but Pittsburgh Citiparks
offers Cinema
in the Park. When it warms up, I also love the drive in!
A few quirky things that are currently on my Pittsburgh
bucket list are:
·
I’ve been itching to go roller skating for a
while now and I found these alternative
skating parties, but the “suggestive” attire hasn’t sold me just yet –
however, I wonder if Sue still has my LA Gear jacket. Hey, it’s on the attire
list!
Okay – now your turn. What’s your go to for a Pittsburgh
girls’ night?
Wednesday, March 20, 2013
It's a Cardi Party: Celebrate Mr. Rogers Day
(source)
True Story: I really didn’t watch a lot of Mr. Roger’s growing up. Shot of Mom wasn’t a
fan of the show, so she would change the channel after Sesame Street. However,
I did catch some episodes at my grams. My favorite ever was the trip to the Crayola Factory to see how
Crayons were made (thanks some random person I fanned on FB).
Fast forward to 2003. After a long night (and morning)
out celebrating my 22nd birthday mom calls to wish me a Happy
Birthday and breaks the news that Mr. Rogers passed away on my birthday. This
sent me into tears (and if you know me, you know I never cry). I blame it on
the fact that I was still drunk.
Today would have been Mr. Roger’s 85th
birthday. While his show is still on, I suspect it isn’t as well-received by
kids today as it once was. However, that isn’t stopping me from brainstorming
some ways to host your own Mr. Rogers Neighborhood-themed party!
·
Attire:
Cardigans are a MUST considering they were an essential part of Mr. Rogers
signature style. If you are feeling ambitious, you can dress up as one of the
characters from the show – Mr. McFeely (seen here with me earlier this year), King
Friday, Queen Sara Saturday, Prince Tuesday and Queen Sara Saturday. You can
find the official list of characters here. I can
always make another owl costume!
·
Activities:
I’m going to go a little crazy here, but you could rent a trolley (Molly’s
Trolleys here in Pittsburgh) and make a yellow sign for it that says “Neighborhood
Trolley.” Now this can go one of two ways: 1. This would be fun for kids to
ride around the neighborhood in a trolley. OR 2. Trolley Parties are real
popular in Chicago. Not just for bachelorette parties, but for a random Friday
night. This would be PERFECT for a Mr. Rogers-themed adult party! Bring on the
booze! The PBS store sells a mini trolley here.
·
The Mr. Rogers’ website is full of activities
and games. Remember the stop light game? And
of course you can allow kids (and adults) to create a puppet show.
·
Food:
For the adults, I suggest kid-inspired food spiked versions of kids’ drinks. I’m thinking gourmet grilled cheese, adult
milkshakes and some Rolling Rock beer – you know that Fred’s from Latrobe,
which is also the hometown of Rolling Rock!
·
Décor:
Go big or go home. Recreate the Neighborhood of Make-Believe on some paper and
hang it up on a wall. You can also make cute signs to blow up at FedEx and hang
around the venue that say famous Mr. Rogers sayings like:
o It’s
a beautiful day in the neighborhood
o Won’t
you be my neighbor
I excel at many things in life…like twirling batons,
taking jumping photos and telling random stories. But one thing that I DO NOT
excel in is math. I barely know how I survived math in school and on SATs. I
know how I survived it in college – I took math during the summer at community
college. You only needed a D for it to be considered a “passing” credit ; )
(source)
While I’m not good at math, I am good at drinking. So
today, I’m toasting 3.14 – Pi Day. You see 3.14 is the mathematically equation
for Pi. I’m really not going to tell you anything beyond that, other than you
can make a Pi Day Cocktail courtesy of Drink
of the Week.
The Think Geek Pi-tini (via Drink
of the Week)
·
3.14 ounces of blueberry vodka
o Measure
the diameter of the glass in centimeters , then take pi (3.14) times the glass radius
squared ounces of vermouth and divide by 10
·
Splash of Blue Curacao for color
· Pour into a
cocktail shaker, shake 3.14 times, and strain in a cocktail glass
I’m just
gonna throw this right out there – I totally love Easter for all of the wrong
reasons. And when I say wrong reasons I mean I’m in it for the floral dresses and the
candy.
One of my favorite recent candy trends is Cadbury Egg
hacks. That’s when people take Cadbury Crème Eggs and turn them into something
else. Here are some mouth-watering examples.
·
Cadbury Crème Devil Eggs from Bon
App
This recipe from Serious Eats is a bit crazy – Cadbury
Eggs Benedict!
I love that the Disney team launched The Great &
Powerful Oz a week before St. Patrick’s Day. All of the “Somewhere over the
Rainbow”- type posts have totally brought out a number of Oz-themed party ideas.
Which got me thinking – why not mix up your St. Pat’s décor this year by going
rainbow vs. just going green.
Rainbow
Cake via Meaningful Mama
(you could totally duplicate this
with streamers vs. fabric too)
My relationship with wine has changed over the years. I
started off with Pinot Grigio, then moved to a Processo, then dabbled in Torrontes
and some Sauvignon Blanc.
Now, I 100% blame Reader Lindsay for turning me into a
red wine drinker – specifically a Cabernet Sauvignon drinker.
A few weeks ago I picked up the Arnold Palmer Cab because
it was on “sale” for $12.99 and brought it to Shot of Mom’s birthday dinner as
somewhat of a “joke” because J Bo is obsessed with Arnold Palmers (Iced Tea +
Lemonade). Well after a few sips, I knew this wine was on par – I was instantly
obsessed. AND, so was my driver Brady! He’s not typically a red wine drinker,
but he was totally in the groove. I’m glad I this bottle wasn’t a shank.
Arnold Palmer Cab isn’t a heavy red – it’s light and very
drinkable. The official description from the website says: “The Arnold Palmer
has aromas of almonds and plump dark cherries. The flavors of the wine hint of
mocha and spiced chi tea while filling the mouth with raspberry candy, dark
chocolate and espresso. The finish has elements of dark fruit, integrated with
an elegant and rounded tannin structure.”
This wine is a total hole in one! Tea, cherries, almonds,
raspberry candy, chocolate and espresso – I mean this is like a straight list
of my favorite things! No wood or iron tastes. Way to go, Arnold!
And for those of you who aren’t aware, this wine is named
after Arnold Palmer the golfer that hails from Latrobe, Pa – just outside of
Pittsburgh! A little birdie told me his wine is made under a partnership
with Luna Vineyards. The partnership began in 2003 and the Cab was produced in
2005 in California.
While I don’t like to spend a lot of greens on my wine, I
100% recommend a bottle of Arnold Palmer to start off your front nine. This
wine should be sipped at a house or restaurant – totally not at the club.
Feel free to count the golf puns and leave them in the
comments section ; )
Reader Trish IMs:
What is a good idea for an engagement gift?
Shot of Brandi IMs:
What’s the price range?
Reader Trish IMs:
It’s for my boss
Shot of Brandi
IMs: I’m so blogging this
Reader Trish IMs:
You haven’t blogged in forever…
Engagement gifts can be tricky – the couple typically
hasn’t registered yet and you don’t want to spend a lot of money because you
know that you’ll be heading to the ATM for the shower, bachelorette and wedding.
So here are my suggestions for engagement gifts for the couple.
·
Tiffany
& Co Champagne Flutes: Secret fact about Tiffany & Co – they make
$20 champagne flutes. If you purchase two, you are still under $50 for a gift
that will wow in that blue box with white ribbon
·
Mr.
& Mrs. Glasses: While we are on the subject of glasses, I love these
Mr. & Mrs. Glasses. Wedding planning can be stressful, so I do recommend
something to drink alcohol from. …which brings me to my next suggestion…
·
Champagne:
This is a rather obvious choice, but see comment above. The newly engaged
couple will need lots of alcohol ; )
·
Cutting
Board: Something a bit more personal, I love this cutting board with the
couple’s name and engagement date from Etsy.
·
Restaurant Gift Card: Finally, a gift card to a
local restaurant is also a good idea. If the couple needs to save up for their
wedding and honeymoon, they may cut back on eating at restaurants, so this gift
card would come in handy for a nice night out!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Social Icons