Sunday, December 13, 2009

Holidays in the Kitchen

Gabrielle Moes, owner of Season's Catering, has it in the bag!

Host a holiday party cooking class Holiday Party for you and your friends/co-workers. You can also purchase a gift certificate for someone to enjoy learning about Culinary with Gabi's wealth of knowledge and skills.

Here are some of the classes -

December

Daisy Mastroianni

Tuesday 12/15 6:30pm

Crockpot Roast Chicken, Mini Meatloaves with Mashed Potatoes, Parmesan Crusted Chicken with Peppers and Capers, White

Bean Turkey Chili, Crockpot Chardonnay Pot Roast

Hawaiian Luau Jana Heredia

Tuesday 12/16 6:30pm

Coconut Shrimp with Mango Salsa, Hawaiian Fried Rice, Braised Pork with Island Style Applesauce, Coconut Macadamia Nut

Tart, Mai Tai Cocktail

New Year’s Day Brunch Daisy Mastroianni

Tuesday 12/22 6:30pm

French Toast Casserole, Ham Gruyere Quiche, Lemon Scones, Overnight Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal, Chili Relleno Casserole

Host Your Own Private Seasons Cooking Party

Looking for new and creative entertainment or team building ideas?

Impress your friends or colleagues with something new . . . host a private cooking class.

Invite your friends to learn, cook and dine with you.

Then enjoy the meal and relax, open gifts and celebrate as we clean up!

LOOKING FOR HOLIDAY GIFT IDEAS?

GIFT CERTIFICATES AVAILABLE


Wednesday, December 9, 2009

Look Up!

One of my mentors along my career, Craig Reid, told me that most people forget to look up when walking. They naturally focus down toward the ground. "That is when you miss the things that matter most", he would say, reminding me to not forget to look up.

Here are a couple design ideas in honor of Mr. Reid.

I am in love with VivaTerra - Eco Living With Syle. This store offers great decorations for events or for purchasing gifts and favors. Couples can register for their wedding, and use personalized, unique items as decor for the ceremony and/or reception and then enjoy at home where they live happily ever.....

Hang these over your alter, then at use at home as a wind chime hanging over your front door as a reminder of your nuptials each time you enter your home.


Hang these cools lamps above the alter, a bar or couch seating
Lotus Flower Chandelier


Silk Cocoon Hanging Lamp

Sunday, December 6, 2009

You can have an affordable NICE wedding in Santa Barbara

Here is the proof. Call us if you are interested in finding out more about it.

Thursday, December 3, 2009

August 2009 Wedding

Here is another great wedding we did late Summer.
It was important to the client to have good music and good food - they got just that! check out the slide show.


Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Pizza and flowers....great combination!

I got this in my email today, and thought I'd share with the community.....

We'd like to invite all of our non-profit friends and colleagues to our fundraising event.
Philanthropizza!
Present this flyer for lunch or dinner today and Taffys will donate 20% of your order to the Garden.
Thank you for your support.

Taffy's hours are 11 am - 9 pm and phones are 805-687-3083 805-687-3245

Saturday, November 28, 2009

COMING SOON - Online Events!!!

Givezooks is busily working on a new Events web service that will be available in the early part of next year. This new events web service will allow planners to easily publish and promote fundraising events online. There is also an ability to sell tickets, accept donations and sell sponsorships for these events.


This tool should be a great resource. It is easy to use, cuts down on costs and streamlines productivity and accurateness, all while publicizing the event and bringing in more money. That is one of Events of Santa Barbara Inc.'s motto - "Work smarter not harder."

Monday, November 16, 2009

Weddings - The other side.....


Saturday Melissa and I celebrated a friend's wedding at the Four Seasons Biltmore.
As wedding planning professionals, we were thrilled to be on the other side.


Our Review A++
(but what else would you expect with such a team of well seasoned professionals)?


The ceremony site was stunning.









Melissa and I enjoying Cocktail Hour with breathtaking views, great food and amazing staff (complimentary dolphins swam by)
Escort card table


As soon as you walked into dinner you were welcomed by
a black dance floor and the head table.
The mirrors hung in the back gave the room such character and depth.



one of the centerpieces





Cake delicious and gorgeous - Decadence
The silver/gray colored draping and LED lighting transformed the
Art Deco ballroom into the Soft Glam Rock.


Two Cabanas filled the room and were very popular throughout the evening.
The Chandeliers hanging in the center finished the look. - Bellavista Designs

The invitations, table numbers, escort cards, menu and favor tags all carried the theme from beginning to end, very classy. Created by the talents of Lazaro Design


Rebecca from Imagine Events did an amazing job of executing all the details. She even had a lint roll brush in hand ensuring that all wedding party looked flawless before taking their step down the aisle. It was so nice to see the happy couple relaxed and having an amazing time and taking every moment in. Thank you Rebecca!

Nico Designs' creativity and ability to read his clients well captured the vision & essence of the bride and groom; and catching every guest’s attention to each design detail which unfolded throughout the evening.


First Dance, see Miki and Sonja working diligently in the background?

Gavin Roy - SBDJ's, had us on our feet and off our chairs dancing all night long, and boy, we were a group of dancers.

Actually, Check out this link, I got Gavin on the dancefloor, that was a first!


What a fun night! Thank you for including us in your big day!!!



Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Halloween Party Ideas

Ever since I can remember, I’ve had a Halloween party, whether it was my parents throwing it (my Birthday falls close to it, so only natural), or as an adult, Halloween equals P-A-R-T_Y! I love this holiday with all the costumes, decorations, ghost stories and the fact that you are encouraged to ‘play with your food’.

Here are some easy do-it-yourself ideas for your Halloween Party.

DÉCOR:

Greet guests with glow in the dark sidewalk chalk outlines of "deceased people", as well as, aliens, etc... drawn on your driveway or sidewalk...

Line your walkway with carved Jack o’ Lanterns or spooky luminaries (fill with battery operated candles, or glow sticks).

Create the look and feel of an abandoned old house with leaves (from your yard?) and white sheets. Cover the sofas, chairs, dining room table and all other large furniture items with old white sheets. Dim the lights, drape cobwebs and ghouly material (cheesecloth works well). Break out candelabras - candles set the mood perfectly. Replace some light bulbs with black lights, you can find at your local hardware store.

Ghosties - Crumple up newspaper into a ball. Place it into the center of a flat piece of tissue paper / white small trash bags. Pick up the corners and twist it around the ball. Tie a twist tie or a piece of string around the ghosts's neck. Draw a face with a felt pen. You can hang them up all over the house!

FOOD/BEVERAGE

Use a garnish with a zombie eye by de-stemming a green or red maraschino cherry and placing a chocolate chip (pointed side down) into the hole. Fabulously creepy!

Place body parts (found at your local Halloween store) around the buffet/room - like this mask purchased at a Halloween store, filled with newspaper, and placed in a bowl of candy for a treat no one can resist.

These finger lickin’ good cookies are easily made with sugar cookie (or your favorite cookie recipe). Shape into finger size and add almonds soaked in red food dye for the fingernails.

Now you tell me, Trick or Treat?

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Fund Raiser this Sunday



Come Support The Girl's Inc of Carpinteria annual "Garden Party and Auction" this Sunday! It is great fun for the food and wine lover in all of us....and we're helping inspire girls to be Strong, Smart and Bold. It's my second year in supporting this event. This time I was on the committee for recruiting restaurants, caterers and wineries for donations of food and wine for the event.




Monday, September 28, 2009

Wine Country Wedding is Published

Pick up a copy of Destination Wine Country Magazine Fall Issue to read about our clients' Taylor and Andrew's wedding weekend details in Santa Ynez. If you remember from previous posts, Taylor and Andrew launched their company "The Little Barrel" because of their wedding and love for wine.


What great clients to work with (resulting in a friendship)! Their wedding was a huge success and their guests had a great time.






Saturday, September 26, 2009

Divas for a Cause - follow up

So Thursday was a successful night, and The Girl's Inc. Santa Barbara raised some money. Putting together the VIP lounge with Nico Designs was a huge success. Monica Spears', The Executive Director for Girl's Inc of Greater Santa Barbara, feedback to us was

"Thank you Zohe & Nico for all you contributed to make our Divas event such a success. Your great design sense and attention to detail made all the difference - thank you again."

Our concept was to create an already very pink classroom into a Girl's "Pink" Room (rather than green room. We dimmed the lights, placed a couple uplights and made a main focal point with the buffet table. We got hot pink and black material, disco balls and cylinders, submerged flowers into the cylinders, black feathers, black votives and voila.....






Monday, September 14, 2009

Divas for a Cause

Events of Santa Barbara along with Nico Designs is decorating the VIP lounge for the upcoming Girl's Inc Santa Barbara "Girl Friend's Club" event. Come support and check it out! We'll be joining the Girl Friends Club - you can too!

Saturday, September 5, 2009

Girl's Inc. Carpinteria

Welcome to Girls Inc. of Carpinteria


It's official. I (Zohe) have

joined the board

of the Girl's Inc.

Carpinteria team.

I assisted them last year

at the Taste for Carpinteria

annual fund Raiser

as well as

coordinated the

Women of Inspiration Luncheon

this past March -





Girls Inc. of Carpinteria is a member of Girls Incorporated, a national research, education and direct advocacy organization that inspires all girls to be strong, smart and bold.

With local roots dating to 1864 and national status since 1945, Girls Inc. has responded to the changing needs of girls and their communities through research-based programs and advocacy that empower girls to reach their full potential and to understand, value, and assert their rights.

The event was a huge success with the direction of Tracy Beard, Dreier Group; the talented Chef Michael Hutchings Catering (food was delish - and anyone who knows me knows I appreciate good food)!

Currently I'm working on the October 11th Taste for Carpinteria Fund Raiser. Please email me with any questions. Tickets, donations for auction and/or tasting etc. The committee was great to work with, and worked well together. The event went really smoothly. The creative centerpieces were made of local (committee members, neighbors, family members') avocado and lemon trees. Nico Designs was responsible for the donated trees, the fun sprouting gerbers on the stage and various arrangements scattered around and in the lobby area. LBPS donated the draping to hide some of the gym elements.



Friday, August 7, 2009

Allison and Phillip Santa Barbara Zoo

Here is a slide show of a May wedding we did at the Santa Barbara Zoo.

Thank you to an amazing team who helped put this awesome night together!

Hair - Tomiko Taft
Make Up - Sarah Jackson
Photography - Josh at Treasure Photography
Catering, lighting and rentals - Angie with Zoo Catering Services
DJ - Sean at AMS San Luis Obispo

Enjoy the show -


Thursday, July 16, 2009

Michael Towbes 80th birthday Celebration benefiting the Granada

Since our last post, we've been away planning one of the LARGEST fund raisers Santa Barbara has seen. With just shy of 700 guests, the Fess Parker Doubletree Resort held a room full of supporters and prodigies of Michael Towbes.

The evening encompassed a Dinner Theatre feel with 6 acts of performances, including Eugene Chan - baritone, Elizabeth Roe - pianist, The State Street Ballet, The Choral Society, The Conservatory Kids, a tribute to Mr. Towbes by Erin Graffey and some surprise guests and a finale of dancing with the Georgetown Band.

Debbie Davison seamlessly emceed the evening while Santa Barbara's own John Palminteri and Andrew Firestone successfully auctioned around $100,000 in auction monies (Mr. Towbes is matching all proceeds).

It was three months in the making and the evening was a huge Success. Events of Santa Barbara could not have done it without the support of a great cast of team members:
Tracy Chegwin - Lazaro Design for invitations, all graphic printing
LBPS for a flawless show of lighting and audio
Camilla Svensson Burns for amazing and time-captured design
Classic Party Rentals for the dance floor
BBJ Linens for the art deco linens
Fess Parker Doubletree for the catering, food and excellent service
Riley Towne for taping a vidoe (to follow)
and the very gifted and super creative Tim and Cheryl Halberg for capturing the essence of the evening into this slide show.

Friday, May 29, 2009

Fun Design Thing

Velon is trendy and a cost effective way to add some character and personalization to the party.  


These ghost chairs got wrapped -

 


or the walls  


lots of fun patterns and colors these are just a few.

               

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Kasey and Jake

Hi everyone, 

Wedding Seasons is upon us, and here is a slide show of an April wedding. Ceremony was held at the charming and cozy All Saints by the Sea.  The Reception at the Four Seasons Biltmore (Kellie Berdon Catering Manager) was beautiful, scrumptious and flawless.

That Vibe (band) kept all on the dance floor with their super talented Ted as the lead singing such a range of music from Prince to Journey to Al Greene. IMPRESSIVE!  The El Mar Room was beautifully decorated with the beautiful floral work of Juniper Floral Designs.

It was truly and memorable night for all!


Thursday, May 21, 2009

The Simpson House Inn Retreat







Tuesday Melissa and I were invited to a little pampering overnight at the Simpson House Inn. WHAT A TREAT!  It's rare when event planners get taken care of, usually they are doing the taking care of.  But when we do, boy!  It's definitely a party (that is put together to impress and goes off without a hitch).
Our invitation arrived and smartly set the tone.  It was in a box and when you opened, it looks like a small sheet with the words "We Want To Tuck You In" sticking out.



We checked in at 3:30, just in time to relax before our 4 p.m. outdoor massage.  Greeted by a timeline of the events, and a lemoncello rosemary cocktail, we were ready to kick our feet up!

AHHH!  right before we went down to dinner, we took this pictures of the set up from our balcony.


2nd course dinner area




we mingled











we moved over after the 1st course





we had a great time with some s'mores by the fire and then slept like babies!

The next morning we woke up to find that the dining areas had been removed and now stood a beautiful, bright breakfast structure.




What a treat!  Truly!

The Simpson House Inn is a cozy luxury (Five Diamond) Inn.  You can rent out he whole Inn for the weekend and have your rehearsal dinner, cocktails, birthday party, or reunion for all to relax, and have a great time.  There are 18 rooms and can accommodate up to 70 guests.

The following companies deserve a big kudos for spoiling us!
Rrivre Works Design Studio - event design
Good Gracious! Events - Catering
Cameleon Chair - Chairs
La Tavola - Linens
Classic Party Rentals - Rentals
Wildflower Linens - Linens
Camilla Couture Floral and Event Design - Floral
The Lighter Side - Lighting
Leonard Neil Productions - Music
Ziba Massage - A Mobile Spa Service