August 01, 2018

MILA'S ICE CREAM CHERRY BIRTHDAY PARTY ON MARTHA STEWART

August 01, 2018/ MARLAN

Inspired by the Museum of Ice Cream (https://www.museumoficecream.com/), we wanted Mila and her friends to be immersed in all things ice cream related. We set the table with a huge ombre papier-mâché pineapple and then loaded it with ice cream cones and more pineapples (they’re actually night lights) from Bonjour Fete (https://www.bonjourfete.com/), and lots more peonies in light pink and white.

Angelini Alimentari (https://www.angelinialimentari.com/) has such a lovely Italian atmosphere. So we wanted to keep that feeling going with a relaxed Saturday afternoon of chatting with friends, while diving into fresh gelato on an Italian cone and immersing ourselves in a favorite puzzle (http://a.co/htN2mfL).

Two days before the party, Mila and I visited a local cherry farm to pick as many bing and rainier cherries as we could. We loved being able to incorporate those fresh cherries into the party, especially crowning the birthday girl’s ice cream non-cake with them! We brought in organic berries from Erewhon (http://www.erewhonmarket.com/) and natural India Tree sprinkles (https://www.amazon.com/India-Tree-Natures-Carnival-Sprinkles/dp/B007BQNXBE) for the kids to top their treats. My friend and local chocolatier, Darling Hero (https://www.instagram.com/darlinghero/), handmade the shimmery lollipops.

As soon as I saw the Arteriors cherries (http://www.arteriorshome.com/geordi-large-sculpture-9109) I knew I needed them in my life — I had to make them the focal point of the party and style everything else around them. So the giant cherries set the tone for the beautiful marble counter centerpiece. I then filled it in with coral peonies and Matthew Williamson for CB2 flamingos (https://www.cb2.com/flamingo-catchall/s185448) to complement the cherries’ stunning color. Even Mila’s Bonpoint blouse repeated that cherry theme.

Brixton is pretty excited about this ice cream situation.

Each partygoer got a Seedling ice cream skipping rope (https://www.seedling.com/products/ice-cream-skipping-rope?gclid=CMitp-vs49QCFYhsfgodiscKow) to take home and enjoy for the rest of summer!

Mila's ice cream cherry birthday party is on Martha Stewart! Read more here.

May 02, 2018

GRATITUDE COLLABORATIVE MOTHER'S DAY AT AU FUDGE

May 02, 2018/ MARLAN

We had so much fun creating this tablescape for the Gratitude Collaborative Mother's Day gift box launch. Baby Boy Bakery chose her favorite mom must-haves, and Oh Joy! designed the box, for this gift that benefits No Kid Hungry.

For the playful centerpiece, we curated a collection of tropical, jungle and desert in a sea of pinks and gold. Marnika Weiss did all of the custom painting and Clementine Floral Works provided the flowers. Hope you enjoy the photos by Billye Donye at Au Fudge!

Parrot on stand from Target; Toucan from West Elm

Snow globe from West Elm

Flamingo from West Elm

Leopard from West Elm

Llama from Target

May 01, 2018

MOTHER'S DAY COCKTAILS & CRAFTING PARTY

May 01, 2018/ Laurén

I co-hosted a (pre) Mother's Day Cocktails & Crafting Party with my friends and fellow nursery school moms Chase Beckerman & Stephanie Nortman, as a fundraiser for our school. Twink + Sis designed it, Chase supplied a flight of delish spring cocktails from Stillhouse Moonshine and Stephanie provided her stunning home as the venue. We had such a fun night and were honored to have the party featured on ELLE Decor last week. Now I get to share even more images and details with you on the blog today! All images by Jenna Elliott of One Eleven Photography.

Since the party was in honor of our fellow moms, we wanted to make the decor really feminine, with touches of pinks, peach and gold. The vintage runner and gold candlesticks had a glamorous 1960’s feel that contrasted really well with the bare wood tables and marble serving platters.

The original plan was to have the party outside but it ended up pouring rain that day! Luckily the modern farm tables and wooden bistro chairs (from Circa Vintage Rentals) worked just as well inside Stephanie's home. It was an indoor garden party!

Our friends at Makers Mess brought in the craft and all of its elements -- including an instructor who helped guide us through through the whole process. Each guest was greeted at their place setting with materials for seed bracelet making, including a gold or silver charm they could hammer with special letters or numbers of their choosing. A lot of us did our kids' initials!

Iris & Daughter created stunning floral arrangements in a palette of pinks, white, coral and yellow — using anemones, ranunculus, peonies and wax flowers. The modern white hexagonal vases were the perfect offset to the feminine flowers.

Pretty Rosaline goblets from Borrowed Blu.

Loved these gold and white hexagonal runners paired with the fuchsia-bordered napkins -- both from Hostess Haven.

The goal was to create a comfortable and intimate table where our guests could enjoy their drinks and conversation, while still being able to focus on their bracelet-making. Keeping that in mind, Whisk and Whittle created four delicious sweet & savory bites that we served right there on the table.

Asparagus crostini with fresh ricotta, lemon zest & pink pepper.

Tomato & zucchini polenta cakes with roasted corn salsa.

Fig Crostini with goat cheese, truffle honey and fig jam.

Lemon tartlets with raspberry drizzle and fresh berries.

Stillhouse Moonshine created an amazing flight of spring cocktails for the evening. I loved the way the bar looked!

“A Sip of Spring” - A blend of Stillhouse Peach Tea Whiskey, organic fresh peach agave lemonade and fresh organic raspberries.

I obviously couldn't wait to get my paws on it.

"Pineapple Express" - Stillhouse Coconut Whiskey, fresh pineapple juice, lavender and fresh blueberries.

"Mint Condition” - Stillhouse Mint Chip Whiskey mixed with soda, chocolate shavings and fresh mint.

After the instructor got us acquainted with what we were doing, we got rolling with our bracelet-making!

If you are looking to host a similar party at home, you can! Makers Mess actually created a seed bead bracelet party kit with everything you need for your next crafting party. I included it here in my May Favorites!

We did it! (iPhone pic by me)

From left to right: Chase Beckerman, Laurén LaRocca, Stephanie Nortman.

Thank you to my beautiful co-hosts and all of the lovely ladies who attended!!

Happy Mother's Day!! xoxoxo!!

CREDITS:

Party Design: Twink + Sis

Photography: Jenna Elliott of One Eleven Photography

Cocktails: Stillhouse Moonshine

Craft: Makers Mess

Flowers: Iris & Daughter

Food/Dessert: Whisk and Whittle

Rentals: Circa Vintage Rentals

Glassware: Borrowed Blu

Linens: Hostess Haven

Candles: Yummi Candles

Candlesticks: Anthropologie

Platters: CB2

Laurén's Dress: For Love & Lemons

Laurén's Braid: 901too

March 13, 2018

HEDLEY & BENNETT X TWINK + SIS EASTER PARTY

March 13, 2018/ MARLAN

It was so much fun collaborating with Hedley & Bennett on this color-filled Easter party!

We love bringing organic elements into our events so flowers, fruit and vegetables were a priority, especially because Ellen is so passionate about vibrant food. We had the idea of bringing a farmers’ market look to the food table and Ellen thought to have the decor span the color spectrum. The bright ranunculus, from Iris + Daughter, and lemonade in practically every color of the rainbow then made those colors pop even more.

The kids — looking beyond adorable outfitted in their Hedley & Bennett aprons — took full advantage of crafting with Makers Mess, decorating vegan-, grain-free-, refined sugar-free- cookies with Sweet Laurel Bakery and chalk-drawing with A Dapper Line.

Domino gave a peek at the photos last week and here are some more before you go into your Easter weekend!

We had so much fun coming up with which fruit and vegetables fit into the spectrum color scheme, while keeping in mind the Hedley & Bennett and Twink + Sis design aesthetics. We pulled mood boards together and then let the season dictate our choices by shopping at the farmers’ market.

The bright ranunculus and lemonade in practically every color of the rainbow then made those colors pop even more. The organic lemonades were “colored” with fresh fruit purees. We used cherry, strawberry, blackberry and cucumber purees for the lemonades, and then freshly squeezed orange juice on its own to complete our rainbow.

We knew we wanted a “garden” to run the length of the craft table. It ended up being the perfect spring element and showcased the Easter eggs beautifully. We set out to have ribbons hanging — to give a Maypole backdrop effect — and Ellen had the idea of using Hedley & Bennett apron straps and turning it into an incredible, angled ombre installation, which Iris + Daughter brought to life.

When we told our own kids (Mila, 3 and Brixton, 2) that they were going to get to have cake. They were so elated that they went into a hug fest! They may be a little sugar-deprived.

We had the cutest guests!

Storytime with Ellen!

Location and Inspiration: Hedley & Bennett

Design: Twink + Sis

Photography: Mary Costa

Vegan-, Grain-free, Refined sugar-free Cakes and Cookies: Sweet Laurel Bakery

Crafts: Makers Mess

Flowers: Iris + Daughter

Chalk Drawings: A Dapper Line

Fruit platter, Crudités, Gluten-free Sandwiches: Heirloom LA

Drinks: Twink + Sis

Bunny Kits and Carrot Surprises: Meri Meri

Balloons: Geronimo

Glasses: Cruvina

March 01, 2018

ST. PATRICK'S DAY DINNER PARTY

March 01, 2018/ Laurén

TWINK + SIS ST. PATRICK'S DAY DINNER. PHOTO BY JENNA ELLIOTT OF ONE ELEVEN PHOTOGRAPHY.

St. Patrick's Day is coming! ELLE Decor was kind enough to feature our St. Patty's dinner party and today we are sharing more photos and details here on the blog!

Our "good luck" themed St. Patrick's Day table is definitely a more subdued side of the holiday than most of us are used to. We always try to challenge ourselves to create events that are festive and beautiful, and a little bit unexpected. The “good luck” theme immediately brought the well-known quote, "Find a penny, pick it up. All day long, you'll have good luck.” to mind. So the very first design idea was to cover every inch of the table in pennies. We had so much fun with it and loved how it turned out.

As for the centerpiece, we had the idea to have a lush Irish “garden" running down the middle. Meagan Vos, of MV florals, used two types of moss, baby tears, pansies, white alyssum, green dianthus, Queen Anne’s lace & white garden roses to bring our vision to life!

On a trip to our local swap meet we found an antique horse shoe which we added to the centerpiece, bringing extra good luck and introduced a bit of a masculine, equestrian vibe — which we played up with the wooden plates, dark napkins and teak and bronze flatware. To ensure we payed enough homage to the holiday’s green aspect, and give the table some femininity, we tied an emerald green velvet ribbon to each guest's crystal cut coupe, and added a beautiful hand-painted, watercolor place card.

We created the "Good Luck Gimlet” as our signature drink for the evening, which was a combination of freshly juiced cucumber and lime, with muddled mint and a really lovely small batch gin. There's nothing like a freshly crafted drink, we always say! I will put in the extra work and juice everything myself right before a party. When guests are greeted with a delicious, freshly-made cocktail, the night gets off to a really fantastic start.

Whisk & Whittle made the perfect cake to go with our St. Patty’s dinner -- a chocolate Guinness cake with a salted caramel & pecan filling. It was so incredibly delicious!