Hostess with the Mostess

A few weeks ago, I shared a wonderful new blog I found. If you enjoyed Sweet Designs, then you are going to love Hostess with the Mostess. Hostess with the Mostess (HWTM) is an online resource for "hip, modern, and unique entertaining ideas." While Sweet Designs' specialty is dessert tables, HWTM offers ideas for all occasions. You can check out their website to find out everything you need to know about entertaining, from themes and inspiration to recipes and centerpieces. You can also follow their daily blog  to get updates about all the latest events. The website and the blog both have great DIY resources to use. I seriously could stalk both the website and blog for hours. You should probably consider checking it out. When I say probably consider, I mean you should check it out.

Here are a few pictures to give you an idea of what you're in for :)

Carnation Centerpieces

Extremely creative suspended cupcake tower

Leopard princess party

My New (P)interest

Allow me to share my latest interest with you - Pinterest. Pinterest is a new social media site that acts as a virtual bulletin board. You can "pin" photos into categories from almost any website (except Facebook). Many people use it to make inspiration boards for their home, wedding, wardrobe etc. Similar to Twitter, you can "follow" other peoples boards and also "repin" photos you like. However, unlike Twitter, Pinterest isn't about self-promotion and trying to get as many followers as possible. Followers are good, but I see Pinterest is a way to archive my own creative inspirations while also having the opportunity to view other's inspirations.

 Here is what you will see when you sign into Pinterest:

So pleasing to my eyes.

Here is a shot of my boards so far.

I love how everything is so organized and clean. 

So far, I have mostly just repinned photos from other people's boards, with the exception of pinning a few photos of my own. 

I always see fun projects or gift ideas I want to remember, but I don't have an organized method of bookmarking and saving links. Pinterest is perfect for this because it not only allows me to categorize the photo, but it also links back to the original website, allowing me to visit it whenever I want.

Right now, Pinterest is invite only. You can request an invite and they will grant you access to the site (that's what I did), or I can invite you if you want! Just let me know.

Men in High Heels?

Several weeks ago, I got to work an event like no other in downtown Greenville. The event was called the Ecy~Shoes N' Chic Men's High Heel Race. NYC and other big cities do high heel races, so why not have one in SC? You may remember the shoe fashion show I worked in March for Ecy~Shoes N' Chic, who is one of our clients at TK PR. The 1st Annual "Run a Mile in Her Shoes" Men's High Heel Race was another awesome event my boss planned that was a success.

I wasn't so sure how this event would turn out. I knew it would be great, I just wasn't sure how many men would actually want to participate. I've heard of high heel races in big cities, but we are the first ones to ever do a men's high heel race. Who would have thought Greenville, SC would be the first to do something like this? We may be the only ones to ever do it, but who knows? Maybe it will take off and we will see them spread to other cities.

One of the main goals PR professionals strive for is to get people talking. In this case, they may not have actually been talking about the client, but people were talking about the event itself because it was so unique. Ecy~Shoes N' Chic teamed up with American Diabetes Association since the race dealt with feet and diabetics often have feet complications. Most of the registration fee went to the ADA ($15 out of the $16.25 fee). It's important to team up with a cause when planning something like this because you need to have  reason why participants are running. Since the race was downtown, Soby's decided to donate free brunch vouchers to all the participants. So for $16.25 you got a free brunch, a t-shirt, donated money to a good cause and also got to be a part of the one-of-a-kind race.

We had 47 men race. While that may not seem like a lot, you wouldn't believe the amount of news coverage the race got. We were on every news station the day of the race and the morning after. People loved hearing about this. Here is a sample of the coverage we got.

The men that raced were so into their heels. I know that sounds weird, but it was hilarious. Most of them were extremely ugly heels because let's be honest, you might not be able to find pretty shoes in sizes 12 and up. I don't think the men really cared. Some of them even came with skirts or kilts on over their running attire. Here are a few shots from the day.

Pedal Chic offered to donate $50 to the ADA if someone was willing to wear this pink skirt. We had way too many guys ready and willing. 

Waiting at the finish line. 

1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners. 

The race was only .1 mile. It wasn't long at all, but I was shocked at how fast these guys ran. However, some of them may have cheated a little by duck taping their shoes to their feet :) Now they have a taste of what women go through all the time. 

Father's Day Fun

So I was browsing my new favorite blog that I told you about and found some great Father's Day ideas. They did a Father's Day round-up of some of the best ideas and I just wanted to share some.

Photo credits:(1) Martha Stewart (2) Lilyshop (3) Paper Crave.

Could the presentation of these gifts be any cuter? I'm in love. I feel like I would appreciate the wrapping way more than my dad would. However, they are still really cute ideas.

To be honest, I probably won't end up wrapping my dad's gifts like this because my family is leaving for the beach on Saturday! Because we are already cramming a crew of 8 into our Suburban for the trip (no, my family isn't that big, we take a few extras), I don't think it would be super practical to pack a bunch of gift wrapping options for the trip.

What did you get your dad for Father's day? My dad recently just bought a Big Green Egg Grill because my brother can get a great discount at the place he works. He loves to grill and was so excited to get a good deal because they never go on sale. My siblings and I decided to get him some nifty accessories for the grill.

Anyone have any fun Father's Day plans?

Thoughts on Cake Pops

So I decided to take a stab at making cake pops this weekend. Apparently they are the next cupcake. I disagree. You may have seen them at bakeries or Starbucks, but here is what a basic cake pop looks like. Note: this is not what mine looked like.

Mine were not this pretty. I can see how people like them. They can be really pretty. They are great party favors. They are unique. This blogger, Bakerella, has even published a whole book about cake pops. But in my opinion, there is no way they are the next cupcake. There is no way people would start using cake pops as an alternative to wedding cakes. There will be no cake pop towers. Yes, they may make an appearance at weddings as favors or perhaps at a dessert bar, but they aren't all that great. 

Maybe I am a little biased towards cupcakes. You can eat cupcakes slowly and enjoy them. You eat a cake pop in like two bites because it falls off the stick if you try to take tiny bites. I love my cupcakes. 

For those of you who have never had a cake pop or are wondering how they are made, let me share some cake pop basics with you. Basically, you make a cake. Then you crumble up the cake in a mixer after you make it. Then you add some icing to the cake crumbles. Then you roll the mixture into little balls, put them in the freezer for a few minutes, stick some lollipop sticks in them and then dip in chocolate. If you want, you can even decorate them pretty after that. It's a lot of trouble in my opinion. Maybe I am just bitter because mine didn't look that great. Here are how mine turned out:

Mine were also really rich. I think they are supposed to be though. Cake pops are more like a truffle than a cake.  Maybe your attempt at cake pops will be better than mine.

Anyone have any other thoughts on cake pops? I just need to buy one at Starbucks and try one that someone else made :)

Sweet Designs

Please allow me to introduce you to this wonderful blog. Her name is Amy Atlas. Her blog, Sweet Designs, is no secret. In fact, her work has been featured in InStyle Magazine, Parents Magazine, Better Homes & Gardens, The New York Times, Every Day with Rachael Ray, The Los Angeles Times, Food and Wine Magazine, Life & Style, Gotham, New York Magazine, Martha Stewart Weddings, Brides, and many more. However, her blog is a new discovery for me. I'm in love. Sweet Designs is all about entertaining and party planning. Could that scream my name any louder? Nope. Didn't think so. 


Make sure you check out some of her stuff. She is best known for her dessert tables, but everything on her blog is beautiful. Now I am in the mood to plan a party. I have to go to work instead. Thankfully a few of my friends are most likely getting engaged pretty soon. Let the wedding showers begin.


By the way, I have two more wonderful blogs to share with you soon. Don't want to overwhelm you with too many good things all at once :)

Fried Green Tomatoes

So remember when I said I really liked blogging at work? Well, I still do, but it has caused me to not tend to this blog as much. I like blogging when I want to blog, and I don't always want to blog after I come home from work. I'm back though. I even have several things I want to write about over the next few posts, the first one being the delicious recipe my dad and I made tonight.

This weekend has been a fun weekend. It has seemed to go by slowly which is always great. Friday night I got to hang out with some of my high school friends who I haven't seen in a while. On Saturday I went on the Upstate's Farm Tour with my boyfriend and his parents. The Upstate Farm Tour happens once a year when farms across the Upstate open their doors to the public and allow them to see what goes on behind the scenes. One of the farms we went to was a hydroponic tomato farm. Hydroponic farms grow their products in water instead of soil. No weeding or bending over to pick the vegetables in the hot sun. Instead, the product is grown in a greenhouse. I was so excited when I saw they grew green tomatoes. My dad and I have been talking about making fried green tomatoes but weren't sure where to buy them since all the tomatoes in the store are ripe red tomatoes. I bought some at the farm and started researching some recipes. We found at recipe we liked at cooksillustrated.com. You have to be a member to view the recipe so here it is:

SERVES 4 TO 6

Any firm, underripe tomato can be used in this recipe. A well-seasoned cast-iron skillet is ideal for frying the tomato slices. We prefer a fine-textured cornmeal for this recipe; coarser cornmeal will make the coating excessively crunchy.

INGREDIENTS

• 2 1/2cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2cups fine-ground white or yellow cornmeal such as Quaker
• Salt and ground black pepper
• 1/4teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1large egg
• 1cup buttermilk
• 1teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2teaspoon baking soda
• 2medium green tomatoes (about 12 ounces each), cored and sliced 1/4-inch thick (for a total of 12 to 14 slices)
• 1 1/2 - 2cups vegetable oil

INSTRUCTIONS

1. 1. Measure 1 cup flour into a large shallow dish. Measure remaining 1 1/2 cups flour, cornmeal, 1 tablespoon salt, 1 teaspoon pepper, and cayenne into a second large shallow dish. Beat the egg, buttermilk, baking powder, and baking soda in a medium bowl (mixture will bubble and foam).
2. 2. Working with several slices at a time, drop the tomatoes in the flour and shake the pan to coat. Shake the excess flour from each piece. Using tongs, dip the tomatoes into the buttermilk mixture, turning to coat well and allowing the excess to drip off. Coat the tomato slices with seasoned flour-cornmeal mixture, shaking off any excess. Place the tomatoes on a wire rack set over a rimmed baking sheet. Repeat with remaining tomato slices.
3. 3. Pour enough oil into a 12-inch skillet to measure 1/3 inch in depth. Heat the oil over high heat until it reaches a temperature of 350 degrees, 3 to 4 minutes. Gently lay a single layer of tomato slices in the oil (about 4 or 5 slices) and turn the heat down to medium. Fry until the tomatoes are a deep, golden brown on the first side, 2 to 21/2 minutes, adjusting the heat as necessary to maintain the oil at a temperature of 350 degrees. Gently turn the tomato slices over with tongs and fry until the second side is a deep, golden brown, 2 to 2 1/2 minutes longer. Transfer the fried tomatoes to a rimmed baking sheet lined with paper towels and cool for 1 to 2 minutes. Repeat with the remaining slices, adjusting the heat as necessary to maintain the oil at a temperature of 350 degrees. Serve immediately.
   
   
   They were so yummy! There is nothing like a good Southern meal. We ate them alone and also made BLT's with them. We have already found a recipe for a sauce to put on them next time. The recipe should make a sauce very similar to Outback's blooming onion sauce. Here are some pictures...