Deals around Town

Publishing FAIL! I had this post all lined up and didn't remember to hit "publish post" last night!


This week's a simple rundown on the deals around town for those of you planning an event--

* $300 gets you Four Hours + Attendant + Prints from a Photo Booth through a LivingSocial Deal for Picture Perfect Announcements! This would be a great deal for a wedding, anniversary party, retirement party, or even a milestone birthday. Who doesn't love a Photo Booth?!

(Photo By Meg Clark)

* $70 gets you a LivingSocial package for a birthday party for up to 8 kids at MightyJumps over on Collier-- this place is a bit hellish from an adult's perspective (think weird carpet design and Kidz Bop), but we were here for my goddaughter's birthday this weekend and the kids loved it! With the amount of money people are dropping on kids' parties these days, a deal like this might be worth it for the kiddos in your life. (Alternatively, they also have a deal for bouncy houses if you have a warm-weather birthday coming up-- Groupon also has a similar deal)

* Looking for a baby shower gift for the crunchy mom in your circle? $10 gets you a free Mom & Baby or Prenatal class at Oh Baby! Fitness thanks to LS. I've gathered from friends of mine that these are things they wanted to try while pregnant, but couldn't "justify" spending the money, so this would be a welcome gift!

If you're not in Atlanta, be sure to check out your local versions of these sites-- after the initial boom, they're focusing less on restaurant deals and more on "escapes" "adventures" and "goods" for your convenience!

Anniversary Party!

Y'all, not only is this my 100th post, but it's also the first anniversary of Agape Events!! In honor of that, I'll be laying out an anniversary party for a young couple AND pulling a winner from our Facebook fans to receive a piece of custom jewelry from my Lemongrass Boutique shop, so be sure to "like" us on Facebook before Sunday!

Without further ado, a young and fresh winter anniversary party...

Favors for your guests-- home made infused vodka!

Put a few flowers around in some simple mason jars

Set up a DIY Photo Booth (WAY easier than you would think!) 

Whip up some pretty punch

And set out a simple delicious dip!

That last picture is a 7 Layer Greek Dip that I made for my own anniversary party in December-- it was a big hit and SUPER easy to make! We put it flat out on a platter and surrounded it with pita chips and it disappeared pretty quickly. To see more recipes, and get tips for a DIY Photo Booth check out my Anniversary Party Pinboard on Pinterest!

Sweet Tooth

Clearly, it's a sweet time of year for me-- I've been obsessing over cakes lately! I have an entire board of them over on Pinterest; "Special Cakes" I've called it, and they are all a LOT better than the wrecks featured the last couple of weeks!

1. Chambord Layer Cake

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I'm a sucker for Chambord-- it is pricey and decadent and dee-lish! Serving this little baby up at a bridal shower with French Martinis would be a guaranteed hit!

2. Charming Chromatic

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You could use the layers to put in different flavors, or just leave it be and make it pretty! The cake as a whole is just as beautiful as the inside.

3. Diminutive Delights

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I think these would be adorable for any shower, and even for a wedding! If you have a baker in the family and the ever amazing helpful wedding party, you could do these a couple of days out-- just don't break out the wine until the icing is done... 

4. Neapolitan Cake

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Oh, boy, I'm also a big time sucker for Neapolitan. I think the only thing that would make this better is a layer of strawberry cake, then strawberry ice cream, then chocolate... well, I'm sure you get where I'm going with this. What a great way to please every palate! 

What about you? What does your sweet tooth have you craving?

Birthday Blues

Some of us (ahem) who have winter birthdays feel the pain-- and those of us who love people with winter birthdays ALSO feel the pain. My father's birthday is 12/23, my birthday is 1/28, and my goddaughter's birthday is 2/26 with countless others strewn throughout. By the time you get past Christmas and New Years, you're coming up on Valentine's Day and you're broke and at a total loss as to what you should pick up!

Never fear, the internet is here to help; this week's markdown Monday is a visit to West Elm, Patina Stores, and Cursive New York which have some very expensive things, but also some wonderful little treats that will please your loved ones without breaking the bank!

Hand-Blocked Zipper Cases, $7-12 -- for the friend who has (and loses) everything

Alphabet Trays, $8 -- find a nice soap to add in, and you have the perfect bathroom gift!

Colored Pencils in a Box, $15 -- I still have a set I got as a child, these are a wonderfully whimsical gift for the person who has everything!

Tiger Game, $15 -- Table games are making a big time comeback, so if you know someone who likes Jenga (before OR after a glass of wine!) this would be an excellent addition to their collection.

Tabletop Games, $5.95 -- Speaking of tabletop games, if your friend likes to host, this may be just what they need! With 8 choices, you could build up their collection for birthdays and holidays to come!

I love these gifts because they're simple and fun-- we're so often worried about going all out for that perfect present OR trying to find something that the recipient "needs" because everyone "needs" something, right? You know what? Some of the best and most treasured presents I've ever received were little tiny gifts like these. Things that were fun and whimsical and just plain made my day. So, don't be afraid to get out there and look around-- poke around these three sites and Etsy because you never know what you're going to find that might make that special someone smile!

Keep up with these gifts and more on my Gift Ideas Pinboard on Pinterest!

Winter Weddings: Really Red Romance

Moreso than any other winter month, February gets a bad wrap. I'm not gonna lie, I'm just as guilty of this as anyone else, but just like with any other winter month there's a lot you can do to brighten things up-- especially when everyone inevitably suggests you have a Valentine's Wedding!

In the spirit of love and cheering this dreary, chilly, wet month up for those of us in the States, Here's your Valentine's Wedding, Pt. I:

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I adore the edible centerpieces, and what goes better with champagne than chocolate dipped strawberries? And with a helpful wedding party, they'd be so easy to make! Heart cookies would make adorable favors, and with a paper cutter and a heart shaped punch you could put together a quick and easy thank you note to compliment them! Best of all, a striking red and white contrast will make the head table pop! To see these pins and more, visit my Valentine's Wedding Pinboard on Pinterest!

Cake Wrecks Tribute

After last week's shower cake debate, I decided to look around and see if that pregnancy test cake was really the worst thing I could find... I really wish I'd decided not to. Since I'm suffering, y'all will have to suffer with me because misery loves company!

At first, I thought maybe it was this cake of the zebra print dress with the baby foot:

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It verges on cute, but there's still something a little... unsettling about that foot. And I dislike zebra print, but that's just a personal conviction.

Then, there's this:

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WARNING: DO NOT CLICK THAT LINK UNLESS YOU ARE NOWHERE NEAR EATING! 

CakeWrecks really outdid themselves with that one! Oh, but it was followed by worse. Much worse. I won't subject you to that involuntarily.

Whatever happened to blocks and rattles? Am I just old fashioned? What do you think-- would you go for an "innovative" cake or one of these classics?

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(I promise, back to normal stuff next week-- I'm just morbidly fascinated by this whole thing!)

This here's a tale for all you fellas...

Tomorrow is Valentine's Day-- day of love, romance and "OH CRAP!" Randall of xkcd had a great comic about it today, in fact...

Now, I know all my ladies are prepared because that's the nature of our half of the population but the gents... well, there's always a wonderful crush of fellas racing for those last few roses at the store! I also know that my loving husband hates buying things for me because I can always find a deal, so this one's for you guys!

Who says you need to spend $50 on cut flowers and a vase? Tomorrow, you can stop by your nearest thrift store/Salvation Army/whathaveyou and pick up a vase for fifty cents, and pick up some pink, purple, and white flowers at the grocery store. Your lady will be so impressed you went to the trouble, it will totally make up for not paying through the nose for the smallest bouquet FTD has to offer! (which is mostly carnations, anyway)

"But Meg!" you exclaim, "I don't know how to do that!" No worries, my friend, here's a basic tutorial on picking up flowers and putting them in a vase. Low on effort, high on reward! You can use the money you saved to take her out for a nice dessert or pick up a bottle of wine!

Get yourself the basics-- a vase, some water, flowers, and scissors!

I had this vase around, but it cost me about fifty cents at the thrift store

I love the colors here, and this was the $5 bunch!

Get an idea of how much taller the original stem is than your vase

On an angle cut off a couple inches to start with

Still a little tall! Cut off another inch or two to get it about right

Cut the rest of your flowers at varying heights-- all one height is boring!

Don't: leave on wilty looking leaves and flowers! They'll make the bunch last a shorter amount of time!

Don't: Feel like you need to use all the included schtuff-- this one was included in the bunch, but I didn't think it was necessary. Simple is good!

Voila! Your bouquet is ready for presenting! 

And pretty from any angle!

Baby Shower Do's and Don'ts

Don'ts, Don't's? Dos? Do's?

However you think that should be punctuated, we can all agree that there are baby showers that are awesome and baby showers that are... annoying and creepy. My latest blog obsession (because, yes, I get entirely obsessed with things-- see, The Bloggess and the week I lost reading her ENTIRE archive) is STFU, Parents. Living in the baby capitol of the world (Decatur, GA) I appreciate a lot of the posts over there, but it's definitely for people who have a sense of humor. The author, B, has a column on a site called Mommyish that's a pretty great site and last week they went all out!

This was the cake featured on the STFU post, and the Mommyish piece can be found here. Definitely worth a read if you're thinking of a baby shower. 

What do you think-- are shower games passe? Sure, everyone thinks that poopy diaper one is a little iffy, but we played the one with clothespins at my bridal shower and it was actually kinda fun! (and I'm NOT a big shower game person) I ended up with no clothespins and my college BFF/roomie/bridesmaid got to take home the bottle of wine she bought... maybe it's the bottle of wine v. the Yankee Candle? I mean, they don't have a sangria scented one...