Here’s a selection of my most recent cooking successes. The gyros and quinoa salad are great for dinner parties or potlucks, and I’m still dreaming of this amazing french toast and this delightful cake. Happy Friday!

Chicken Gyros - Such a hit! I made the tzatziki sauce with 24oz. of greek yogurt, kept the rest of the ingredients and their measurements the same and it turned out just fine.
Buffalo Chicken Quinoa - Love this recipe too! I’d err on the side of less sauce, you just don’t need it all.
Honey-Vanilla French Toast - It’s all about the challah bread. I used two loaves of it, and used up every last drop of egg wash perfectly.
Lemon Cake - I made this for Mother’s Day, with a few revisions. Instead of the black tea frosting (which I will have to try in the near future), I made a simple raspberry buttercream.

tissue clouds, cloud cookie cutter, tea sandwiches, bamboo utensils, invitation

1. SEND this typographic paperless post invitation to guests.
2. DECORATE with this iron wine table (an awesome piece with multiple functions)
3. WEAR these sparkly earrings
4. EAT an intricate geometric cake (or don’t eat it because it’s too pretty!)
5. DRINK rosemary gin rickeys to evoke the Gatsby era
6. LISTEN to the soundtrack

Since starting the blog together, we’ve both moved twice (myself, from a one-bedroom to a two, and Jess from a two-bedroom to a house!), and while we find ourselves in new and improved abodes, we still have to get crafty with our space planning.

Mandy’s Thoughts:
First off, get mobile. Curate a collection of lightweight furniture that can easily be rearranged to suit the flow of your party. Next, use the buddy system. As we’ve mentioned before, borrow from friends and family to get the items you need to keep your party beautiful and functional. For instance, our parents have loaned us card tables, ice buckets, outdoor lanterns and even tree branches!

Extra! Extra (literally)! It never hurts to have a few extra tables (small side or console tables work wonders), and we never have a shortage of trays and coasters (these are some of my favorite items to collect, in fact). Then there’s the old adage, “…what’s yours is mine.” To date, there hasn’t been a party where one of us doesn’t have to bring extra chairs or giant poufs along. Don’t forget to get some air. If your party plans become a little too lofty, consider nearby, easily located, outdoor public spaces (we did this for our Garden Party last year). Be aware of any alcohol use restrictions and park closing times.

A final key piece of advice has to do with the party itself. We’ve found it’s best to create “stations,” or designated spaces, for guests to mingle in. This helps to keep traffic flow moving, and also ensures that guests to get to the food, drinks or even the bathroom!

Jess’s thoughts:
Well, Mandy pretty much summed it up. With so many tips and tricks covered, I thought I’d point out some of the benefits of entertaining in a smaller space.

1. Because there’s less room to work with, its easier to transform your space to really fit the theme of your party. Decorating a small room takes less time and resources to make a big statement.

2. A small space feels more cozy and intimate. Guests are able to get to know each other and can mingle more easily.

3. Less area means less to clean up afterward!

If you live in a smaller house or apartment, don’t shy away from hosting parties. Just be prepared to do a bit of moving, borrowing and rearranging.

Confetti System Meteorite pinata, Ice Cream cone pinatas, Gilded pinata, Pinata cake

1. WEAR this wide brimmed hat and these horse earrings
2. DRINK mint juleps of course!
3. EAT bourbon peach hand pies
4. DECORATE with loose wild flowers in trophy vases
5. WRITE a quick note to guests with this social stationery set complete with horse lined envelopes

There’s even more derby inspiration on our Pinterest board.

sweet potato muffins – I haven’t tried these yet, but don’t they look delectable? I will for sure try this soon and let you know how they turn out!

stacked roasted vegetable enchiladas - The spices give this an Indian flavor that when paired with the sweetness of the sweet potatoes is unique and irresistible. Ross isn’t a huge veggie fan but goes back for seconds (or thirds!) every time with this dish.

baked sweet potato chips – I was leery that these wouldn’t get very crispy since they are baked and not fried, but because they are sliced so thin, they crisp beautifully. Just don’t put them on parchment paper like I did. They will stick big time!

elk chili with roasted sweet potatoes – This is a new twist on a classic comfort food. You could definitely use ground beef rather than the elk meat. Ross’s dad is a hunter, so we happened to have ground elk meat that I was looking to cook in a new way.

Have you made anything especially tasty with sweet potatoes lately? If so, please share!

lulie wallace painting, paper to petal book, pillow, shoes, phone case, pencils

After seeing the beautiful Kate Spade Paperless Post invitation the girls sent out, I was inspired by black and white stripes with gold accents. I bought this striped fabric from IKEA and hemmed it with iron-on binding to make a super easy table cloth. We placed it on the food table with gold and black serving pieces for guests to put their food they brought.

Ross helped to organize the drink menu: Champagne with St. Germain (recipe to come!), Manhattans, and Ginger Daiquiris. We set the drink station with gold tinsel swizzle sticks and black and white striped paper straws. Mandy and I made the tinsel sticks ahead of time. To make your own, follow the instructions here. The table was topped with black and white polka dot wrapping paper cut to size.

I wanted to keep the rest of the decorations simple. So, I focused on carrying out the color scheme in a classy way. With a few helping hands, we made a hanging decor piece for the drinks table by tying together a bunch of tissue poms, paper lanterns and honeycomb balls with fishing line. I wove gold tinsel through the whole thing and hung it with a command hook so that it would be easy to remove. We used a few balloons to string in the archway of the dining room and to put by the gifts table. I was pleasantly surprised to find almost all the supplies I needed at Party City. The trick was finding the basics they had in stock and staying away from anything over the top or cheesy. It was all finished off with a few light pink ranunculus flowers and garden roses from Trader Joe’s. Thanks to our friends Andy and Andrew for hosting and three cheers for the bride and groom to be!