{April A-Z Challenge} The Letter U

U is for ... Uncomfortable Shoes

We've all done it. 

Given in to impulse and bought a pretty pair of shoes, only to wear them once, experience extreme levels of pain and throw them into the back of your cupboard.

Mine are pink - obviously

One of our bookless club themes was Uncomfortable Shoes; giving us the opportunity to wear these shoes again and get some extra mileage from them so as not to feel too much buyer's remorse.

Because we sit a lot of the time, our feet get to look pretty, but without the pain. 

Win - Win!

{April A-Z Challenge} The Letter G

G is for ... Gypsy

I created our Book Club back in May 2008 and it had 2 rules:

1. There has to be champagne (sparkling wine) at every meeting
2. There has to be a theme

(No mention of books!)

As times have evolved, we no longer have a need to buy books and swap them out to read, we now read on our Kobo/Kindle/iPad and it has since become Bookless Club.

The same rules as above apply.

Recently our last theme was Gypsy and I had a blast utilising a mixture of eye-shadow colours that I would usually apply separately and much more subtly.

Looking at the photo, I can see it's me, but I look very different to everyday me. 

That's the best part of dress-up isn't it?

{Bookless Club} Breakfast at Tiffany's

What a gorgeous day for Champagne & OJ

I don't entertain nearly enough as what I should.

I debated for hours over the perfect table and chairs and now I never seem to be home in order to entertain!

Luckily with Bookless Club taking place every 6 weeks, I know I will entertain on every 3rd rotation.

The girls go all out with themes (it used to be simple things like "Feather Boas"or "Comfortable Shoes") and they have been inadvertently been challenging me to Up My Game.
The purpose of having a theme is to get us to think creatively and use what we have without buying costumes or props if we can help it.
So far, we have all managed to do a really good job!

This is a theme I have wanted to do for a while and as per usual, I remembered on a Friday afternoon and scrambled to prepare (what can I say - I work well under pressure)

The theme for this event was Breakfast at Tiffany's

I had ordered cupcakes to be baked especially for the event from The Cupcake Boutique. Usually delicious, I was let down by the taste.
At least they looked pretty!

Special Order

I printed some cute props to use for photos and used a kebab stick as a handle.

Surprisingly, the girls didn't complain too much for photos! Our biggest challenge was remembering to smile behind the glasses!

Faking it with Prop Sunglasses

Now we know how to smile!

Once again my grandmother's possessions came in very handy, I wish she were around to see how many times I use he stuff for events & decor. (Pearls in the foreground and a diamante bracelet I was wearing)

Table Decor

Tips and Tricks:

1. Never throw items away that could be used to decorate a table. Something small like a feather boa can take your table from ordinary to extra-ordinary.
2. Linen napkins immediately improve the classiness of an event- Mr Price Home have a beautiful and very affordable range
3. Using easy printable and a bit of tape and imagination will save you a lot of money.

Bookless Club - Moustache

November is the month of Movember -  all in aid of raising awareness for male cancers such as testicular & prostate cancer.

Moustaches; therefore seemed only fitting for my Bookless Club theme. I was even more excited when I found pink Moustaches - whoop whoop!

Bought from Big Blue - they didn't stick very well though!

Now before you think, "What a miserable lot"  - we couldn't smile because the darn things kept falling off.

SMILE (Not)

I had pretty much left all arrangements until the day before the event, so i had to come up with some quick & easy designs to implement.

I downloaded a template of a moustache and cut it out in various sizes to stick on the napkin ring...

... and the champagne glass...

... and for the "Balls Bowl"

Lindor Balls

I printed a few moustache images onto paper, photo-shopped a few in pink and used it for an extra decorative theme under the plates.

Place Settings

I also found a cute image which I printed and cut out into a square and stuck with some tape onto my coasters (top right of the photo above)

To finish the theme off...
I had painted my nails with the little moustache (my post here)

For the "manly" theme I had wanted to do male-inspired food such as beer (Savannah) and Burgers. But after I found the pretty pink moustaches, I settled on:

• Crumbed Chicken Breast on a Portuguese roll with cranberry sauce, Camembert cheese and rocket 
• For Tee (the pescatarian): Fishcakes on a Portuguese roll with a home-made Sweet Chilli Mayo mixed with lemon juice and black pepper.
  ...with a side of Sweet Potato Chips

Dessert was store bought Lamingtons which I had planned on cutting into a little moustache shape - but never got around to doing.
Would have been a nice touch - perhaps next time I won't leave it until the last possible moment!

Domestic Goddesses

Book club has evolved and is now Bookless Club since we all stopped reading a while back.
The get-togethers with champers and themes have continued and the girls have been stepping up their game!

The last theme at Tee's house was Domestic Goddesses. All good and well for them - they bake and cook all the time! I... do not.
We baked our own pizza with our favourite toppings Tee (vegetarian) even let me add a liiiitle bit of bacon to hers!!

For dessert we go to decorate cupcakes. I have never operated a piping bag before. But boy was I having fun once I got the hang of it!

What a fun day!

My Crown Jewels