Doing it all in Heels!

As each pair of 4 inch stilettos crosses the threshold they are greeted by a glass of pink champagne and the sound of Beyonce singing "Single Ladies" to hypnotize the ears. The further you travel into the studio, the more the energy takes a hold of you, the room is buzzing and as you look around a very feminine and sexy atmosphere awaits. Your attention is immediately drawn to the pink decor, the signage that says " Le Pink Kitty" and the quote " We grow great by dreams" inspires you from the wall above the lighted mirrors and hardwood floors. As you sip your champagne and nibble on the cheese, crackers and fresh fruit and vegetables that has been set out for you, you hear the chatter of friendly conversation. A nervous tone looms in the room, as no-one knows quite what to expect. Each of the ladies in attendance is dressed according to her own comfort level yet all have one thing in common...the high heels! Just a bit before 8:00pm everyone is handed Le Pink Kitty draped water bottles and advised that Ms. Kelly is en-route.

I'm sure by now you are wondering where this is? Well, on Friday May 13, I had the pleasure of attending the Girls Night/ Launch Event for the newest and soon to be hottest women's dance fitness studio in Country Club Hills. Le Pink Kitty owned by Celebrity Choreographer and former wife of R&B sensation R. Kelly; Ms. Andrea Kelly!

Do not be fooled by the title " ex wife of R. Kelly", Andrea is standing on her own and commanding the audience as soon as her head turning stilettos enter the room. She greets everyone with a smile and introduction before excusing herself to change into the proper work out attire. In case you forgot this is a workout class, but trust me it is like nothing you have ever seen.

Tonight's class is " Hooker Heels" and the exercises such as : the pussy cat, corkscrew, over the bridge and milkshake are designed to tone and stretch you while releasing the inner sexy feline that all women possess. This entire experience is for women to let down their hair, relax, and get in touch with the goddess within and to get healthy: mind, body and spirit! The class lasted just over an hour and was closed out with an inspirational message, which reinforced the themes of " Sexy is as sexy does & all women are sexy within their own right".

The evening was invigorating and the studio is a great place for friends to have fun and get healthy together. As a thank you for attending, each guest was given a gift bag and the opportunity to sign up for future classes at a great rate!

I can't wait to go back with my friends!

Class offerings are :

Puss & Boots

Slow Wind

Pole Dancing

Get it Girl

And More!!!!!

Classes are now open to the public, so grab a girlfriend & sign up now! The price is great and you will enjoy!

Le Pink Kitty is located at 4071 W. 183rd St. Country Club Hills, IL.

Happy healthy, sexy dancing!

Fit for a Princess

Want to make your little daughter look and feel special on her birthday?

I suggest a Princess Tea Party, this party idea works well with girls ages 4-8. I have planned many tea parties and the kids seem to love it! A great thing about this theme is it doubles as a party as well as an etiquette lesson. Set the the tone beginning with the invitation, I like to personalize the invites myself, I always use a fairy tale or poem inside to create the magical feeling. Invite your guests to dress in their pretty princess attire or you can have several different princess costumes at the party for them. You should have tiaras or crowns on hand for the princesses as they arrive.

You want each and every guest to feel special, so I decorate the tables with kid friendly China ( I purchased at a second hand store), I have bells for the girls to ring if they need any service, the bells also double as place settings which holds the name of the Princess who that seat is reserved for. Each chair is decorated with a bow made from Tulle and a nice pretty plastic flower.

Each princess is served by fairies (I like to use older siblings, dress them in black and white with a crown, wand and fairy wings..it's adorable)

MENU

The menu is simple since kids are picky:

PB & J sandwiches or a meat & cheese sandwich, all heart shaped...heart shaped cookie cutters from a local craft store work just fine

Chips

Cookies

Pink lemonade

ACTIVITY

I also suggest a craft activity for the children, one that works well is creating a picture frame..(this will require adult supervision, a great opportunity to get parents involved). You can purchase picture frame kits for cheap at orientaltrading.com.

No party is complete without pictures....so get creative, grab a Polaroid camera and take a picture of each girl dressed in her princess attire, and put it in the picture frame they created to take home as a memento.

Try it out....the little princess in your life with simply adore this party!

The spirit of spirits!

As the weather begins to warm up, everyone is feeling cabin fever and ready to get out and spend time with friends and family. In the spirit of Spring I will share the recipes for some of my favorite Spring & Summer cocktails.

Lemon Drop Martini

Ingredients:

1 1/2 ounces vodka (use a good-quality vodka)
1/2 ounce Triple Sec
1 teaspoon superfine sugar or to taste*
3/4 ounce freshly-squeezed lemon juice
Ice cubes
Superfine sugar for dipping
Twisted peel of lemon

Preparation:

Mix the vodka, Triple Sec, sugar, and lemon juice in a cocktail shaker half-filled with ice; shake well (supposedly the cocktail is to be shaken 40 times to make sure the sugar is well blended).

Pour strained liquor into sugar-rimmed martini glass and garnish with a twisted peel of lemon.

NOTE: To create a sugar-rimmed glass, take a lemon wedge and rub the drinking surface of the glass so it is barely moist. Dip the edge of the glass into the superfine sugar.

Makes 1 serving.

Jolly Rancher Cocktail

Ingredients:

16 pieces of your favorite flavor of Jolly Rancher hard candy ( I like apple)

1 cup of Vodka

Ice

Preparation:

Place the unwrapped candies and cup of vodka in the blender fill with ice. Blend well until smooth and serve. This is an easy tasty cocktail!

Makes 3-4 servings.

Tropical Fruit Mimosa

Traditionally served with brunch...but as you know by now...I feel like you can do whatever you want, so serve it up at your next cookout...it will be a hit with the ladies!

Ingredients:

1 (12oz) can apricot-mango nectar

1 (12 oz) can pineapple juice

3/4 cup cold water

1 (6oz) can of frozen orange juice concentrate thawed and undiluted

1 (750 milliliter) cold champagne

Preparation:

Stir cans of apricot- mango nectar, pineapple juice water and orange juice concentrate together in pitcher until combined. Pour in chilled champagne just prior to serving.

Makes approx 15 servings

Try these simple cocktail recipes...let me know how they work out for you!

Enjoy!

Lists, Lists and more Lists

The list is your best friend as you get your party details in order. This will help make sure you get everything done that needs to be done. There are so many small details that go into any great party that it will be almost impossible to remember everything. Take time at the beginning to map out your plan, picture it - tip- if you figure that you will have tables then think that you will need tablecloths, centerpieces, napkins as well as people to set up and tear down the tables. Start with the end result in mind, and then break it down into smaller details, making your tasks easier to tackle. As you complete a task , scratch it off! It feels great to check things off of your list. I also suggest that you make copies and take your list with you everywhere you go. You never know when you may need it or need to add to it. You may find inspiration while you are out.

How sweet it is.....

While I was doing some research for my business I stumbled upon the cutest concept...A CANDY BUFFET! Now since I am a candy lover I thought this would be a great presentation piece. As a matter of fact I loved the idea so much I decided to add it to the list of services I provide. :-). A candy buffet is a spin on the traditional dessert table, but just as the name implies it is full a candy (however you can feel free to throw in some cake and cookies as you see fit). One of the great things about a candy buffet is that it is totally customizable, it can be as fun or as formal as you like. I have seen displays large and small, I have seen displays for weddings, graduation parties, baby showers and birthday parties. The buffet can double as a display and as guest favors...it's totally up to you! This can be a do it yourself project, with just a few display items, or you can hire a professional to do it for you ( waving my hand here) and have it grand. When having a candy buffet it's all about color and theme, that will be basis for your display.Here is your chance to relive moments from your youth, add old school candies such as : Fruit chews, Boston baked beans, Now & laters and taffy! This is another way you can wow your guests with details!

****pictures courtesy of bridal buds blog******

You want steak but you can only afford Ramen Noodles

Money, Money, Money ! Today we are going to talk about cost cutting do's & don'ts and when enough is enough. I know I have previously said that you can achieve many ideas on any budget, but let's be realistic.

If you want steak but can only afford Ramen noodles, then something has gotta give! It's not always about how much money you have it's about what ways can stretch your dollar. When you begin to plan your event you must decide what is important to you. Some areas can be cut or eliminated all together to achieve your desired results. You must decide how you want your event to appear, I will say that again, you MUST decide how you want you event to appear. It's okay to have a backyard BBQ if that is what you want, but you do not want your elegant wedding to come off looking like a backyard BBQ...get it?

I will discuss a few ways to cut costs...think about this...you want STEAK but you can only afford RAMEN NOODLES, so what do you do? Well this one is easy....you can have steak but you just won't be able to feed as many people, so the first piece of advice I offer is to trim your guest list. Do you really need 300 of your closet friends? If you insist on having 300 people you have a choice to make...you can serve Ramen Noodles or serve 300 people a very very very small toothpick sized portion of steak. What is more important to you?

Another area where many people attempt to cut costs is the family and friend "hook-up", now this is tricky. Most people have good intentions when they offer to provide a good or service for you, but what YOU the planner must consider is that most times you get what you pay for. FREE is FREE , are you willing to accept the level of service that your cousin will provide just because it is free? I know that we all have people in our lives that can do something really well and that will do it for you at a low cost, but what I advise in this situation is that you still treat it somewhat like a business transaction. You have to be clear on what you are looking for and what you expect, and the provider has to be clear about what they can provide.

I'm a huge advocate of Do It Yourself, but this only works if you know what you are doing! Before you take on any tasks, learn how to do it! Practice, study and then try it out. You don't want to just assume you can make a wedding cake because it seems easy enough. There are plenty of place you can go to learn how to do things that will save you money. The internet is a valuable tool...but again I say beware...try it out before the day of your event.

I will share more on this topic later, but for today I leave you with this.. when you plan your event be REALISTIC about your WANTS and your FINANCES and your RESOURCES, it's easier to plan when you know exactly what you have available to utilize.

Oh this is ladies night!

One of my favorite parties to put together is the traditional ladies nite! It doesn't require much planning at all, just grab a few friends, your favorite cocktail and some form of entertainment and there you have it! Just like that you have the recipe for fun times. This type of party is so flexible...it doesn't even have to be at night! Traditionally women got together for Tupperware or hen parties in an effort to get away from the house, men and children...the goal is still the same today.

When you mix good friends and cocktails fun is sure to follow. We have had some really great ladies night events, some of our ideas were:

Belly Dance Lessons- I held this at the house....I hired a dance instructor from my daughter's school to come out and teach me and 30 of my closest friends to belly dance! I served a light menu, something like tacos will work just fine.....but I think the best ingredients were the jell-o shots I passed out at the door and the jolly rancher martinis...yum!

Chair Dance Lessons- I attended this at one of my friends house. It's was so much fun, we laughed all evening long. The ladies and I learned a sexy dance routine and the instructor even gave us a CD with the music to take home after the party. This was another easy one....requirements: food, cocktails, chairs, music and friends.

and lastly Game Night....This can be presented for any group. Grab some interactive board games and have some fun! I personally like Taboo and Guesstures, these are great for group competition and participation. To add to the fun be sure to place a friendly wager at the start of the game!

These are all really inexpensive ways to have a good time, you can even have everyone bring a dish or beverage so that no-one gets hit with a hefty cost.

What are you waiting for....grab your girlfriends, some wine, music and have fun!