~Window Dressing our Mannequin for NYE at The Paris House Designs~

dress~ Bunny’s Junior Prom

necklace ~anthropologie

flower and New Year’s Eve crown ~ The Paris House Designs

~We are getting ready for a fun night, join us for some great travel, fashion and party recipes and ideas~

{ These are a few pieces in our  New Year’s Eve  Box}

What are all of you up to this New Year’s Eve?!  Does anyone have any fabulously exciting plans you would like to share, because You KNOW I would love to hear them!!  We are entertaining and then traveling this Holiday Season. Santa surprised me with a Mac-book.  I have been so busy converting from my PC and learning all the amazing new things I can do on my Mac.  I think it will take me a few more weeks to get use to it, but I am loving it.  We have 7 computers in our family of 5 and I do believe they are constantly ‘ON’!

Lets Get Planning some Fashionable and Fun ideas for the rest of the Holiday Season and New Years Eve

Easy and Delicious Crab Empanadas:

Because we are entertaining and travelling I need some quick easy recipes and cocktails to put together FAST for New Year’s Eve and I plan to make a delicious sit down meal fireside for New Years Day most likely out of state, then we are off for some skiing and fun in the snow . I really am a true Snow Bunny, I love the snow and the Winter, I get a bit tired of it in March and then we head someplace warm to get a little break before we start back to work in the gardens. This year I have to prepare easy cocktail foods and pack.  I  need a variety of outfits, from a sexy New Year’s Eve dress to some cute ‘Snow Bunny’ outfits to wear in the cold New England Countryside.

~ Snow Bunny and Ski Lodge outfits~

Boots- Sorrel

Dress- Anthropologie

Necklace- Anthropologie

Handbag- Fendi

Tights- Wolford

I like to pack very warm clothes for daytime whether skiing, snowboarding or just hanging out with Hot Toddies fireside.  At night I can easily put on this dress with the chocolate brown tights and trade in my boots for sky high heels.

I really do not like to go to the mall.  First of all I much prefer finding unique items when we travel or I shop on line because I just do not have the time to go to the mall.  Of course it can’t be avoided completely as was the case over the holidays.  I convinced all three of my sons to join me on an outing to the amazing and fabulous Short Hills Mall.  The only reason they came was because I needed to go to the Apple store for some help moving data from my pc to my new Mac and my sons are obsessed with all things Mac!  The Mall was packed so we started off with a yummy lunch at Legal Seafood , I enjoyed a delicious glass of Vouvray, which is one of my favorite wines. If you have not tried Vouvray I highly recommend it!!  Then it was off for some Mac Lessons and upstairs to William Sonoma and Anthropologie. I can’t go to the mall without seeing whats new at William Sonoma.  I had also ordered the gigantic red heirloom scrapbook from Anthropologie in November and never went to pick it up, you see I really don’t like the mall.  The line in the store was about 3 miles long and it was a mad house which made me behave like a lion in a cage.  The boys were over at Mrs. Fields enjoying Milkshakes while I collected dresses that I just had to have and waited in a long line….the good thing about this was that by the time I made it to the register I realized I only wanted one of the dresses and decided against too many unnecessary impulse items! I did get a lovely and very affordable necklace to wear with the dress that will be great for fireside cocktails on our ski trip.  THEN out comes the photo album, it was almost as big as me and weighed more…it was hysterical watching us take turns dragging it across the mall to our car at Neiman’s luckily we parked in valet, which I never do, the only reason I splurged for it was because I could not find a parking spot!!  I don’t think I would have made it to the parking lot.  My sons questioned me the entire way on why in the world did I buy a photo album that big…Because it is so beautiful I said!!

Daytime outfit, perfect for school concerts and afternoon appointments.

Look for classic pieces during the after Christmas sales, items you can wear for years and years.

Sweater~ J Crew

Shoes~Banana Republic

Tights~  Wolford

Gloves~ Coach

Skirt~ Escada

Bag~ Marc Jacobs

Necklace~ my Grandmother Margarets

Falalalalalaaaaa  Holiday Fashions.

A Black Dress is perfect for a dinner out on the town. Paired with a gold heels.

This outfit or one similar to it is perfect all winter long not just during the Holidays.  I can even pack it for a nice dinner out with my husband apres ski!!

Dress~ Moschino

Shoes~ 7 year old Gucci’s that I still love and wear a lot

Jacket~ Vera Wang

Necklace ~ I found while on the wonderful Bonbon Rose Blog!!

( photo taken in my home office)

The Dress I am wearing can be found in our Boutique.

They are super comfortable.

I may throw this in my suitcase too, it won’t really work on a ski vacation but it will be great for dinner and drinks on our way and it is great to travel in…I just add a little pin to ‘Hide’ my cleavage!!  You know there is a time and place for everything!!

Necklaces can be found in The Paris House Boutique

Cross necklace a gift from my Mr. Bunny

~Sweet Little Oliver all decked out in NYE decorations~ his older brother’s were mortified when they saw this picture..”MOM OMG you CAN”T put a picture of him wearing a pink tiara on your blog!!!”

Lets Entertain-

My Studio lit up at night…I go here to ‘getaway from it all with a glass of champagne’

Making a little progress…the shelves are getting filled!!

Be prepared for friends and family who stop by to say Hi

Now back to food and cocktails for a few minutes.  Are you prepared in the event that someone should stop by your home at any given time.  When I say ‘prepared’ I don’t mean is your home spotlessly clean, but that you can put out a few yummy items for them to enjoy and throw together a quick cocktail and glass of wine.

EXAMPLE:

Two days after Christmas Oliver and I decided to hit a lot of stores for Wrapping paper, I may not like to shop but I’m no dummy, If I can get huge rolls of wrapping paper at Walmart for about $1 I’m a happy girl.  We went to Hallmark, then headed to Target’s, Lowes and finished up at Walmart. I do believe I bought enough crap I mean beautiful gift wrap that I will be able to wrap for the next decade.  Anyway, Mr. Bunny called to tell me to try and be home by 1pm that a friend of ours was stopping by to drop of a Christmas gift.  Did I worry that I wasn’t prepared for a spur of the moment guest, not a chance.  My home wasn’t spotless but it was picked up.  My hair was blown out so that saves me tons of time getting ready and I had containers filled with Holiday cookies, bottles of wine ready to go, a quick Chambord Champagne Cocktail that only takes seconds to make and most importantly a freezer filled with some quick pre-made items.  I had pepperoni gruyere cheese wheels that I made and froze, delicious sausage cheddar balls that I made ahead and froze in zip lock bags and a bag of fresh Calamari that was breaded at our local fish monger  that I put in a zip lock and toss in the freezer.  I didn’t rush shopping, I finished up came home, put on a spritz of perfume, fluffed my hair all while my ovens pre-heated.  I put the pepperoni pinwheels and the sausage balls in the oven, cut up a little artisan cheese and quickly fried the calamari in my favorite ‘Fry Daddy’ deep fryer. I had some organic Aioli that I purchased at a Farmer’s Market in The Finger Lakes and I served that along with some lemon slices with the perfectly cooked (thanks to my fry daddy) Calamari.

My husband brought up a variety of beer and wine and I threw together a quick Champagne Cocktail.  This was all done in 30 minutes or less.  We were then able to relax and enjoy time with our friend.

This was so easy that I plan to make these items ahead and serve them at my New Year’s Eve Soiree.  I will get a blow out in the morning come home make a couple things. I always set up the night before and pack our suitcases in advance so the day of my parties I don’t stress out.

Stock your fridge, freezer and pantry with quick party items and you too will be able to dazzle your friends and family spur of the moment!!

~Entertaining is Fun~

New Year’s Eve Menu Suggestions:

Sausage Cheddar Balls { made ahead and froze}

Scallops wrapped in Bacon { make day of party}

Crab Empanadas{ made ahead and froze}

Sweet and Sour Meatballs { make night before}

Shrimp Cocktail { easy}

Crispy Calamari with two dips  get RECIPE HERE

homemade onion dip { make day of party}

pepperoni pinwheels { made ahead and froze}

A great selection of cocktails and sparkling waters

Cookie Tray, either homemade of store bought…Do what is easiest for YOU!!

Recipes:

for more recipes go to our ‘La Cuisine’ section for great ideas and to ‘Cheers’ for more cocktail suggestions

Recipe for Sausage Cheddar Balls:

1 pound sausage (hot or mild)

2 Cups biscuit mix

2 heaping cups shredded sharp

Cheddar Cheese

1/4 cup water

* In a skillet, cook sausage until slightly brown.  Drain grease and crumble the sausage.

* In a medium bowl, combine crumbled sausage, biscuit mix, and cheese.  Add just enough water to blend.  Form into 1-inch balls.  ( Note: at this time sausage ball can be froze, which is great for those spur of the moment guests that stop by)

* To bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Place sausage balls on ungreased cookie sheet and bake 20 to 25 minutes, or until slightly brown.  ( If frozen, baking time should be increased to 30 -35 minutes ) Yield: 35 to 40 pieces.

Recipe for Chambord Champagne cocktail:

Proseco, A splash of Cointreau. Serve in a Lovely Glass and add a few Blackberries or Raspberries

Crab Empanadas:

6 oz. canned crab meat, drained

2 tbsp. sour cream

1 tsp. Dijon mustard

1/2 cup diced green onions

Salt and pepper to taste Flour

1 box puff pastry

Cooking Spray

(Notes: I doubled the crab recipe and I added cream cheese, adobo seasoning and a dash of cayenne pepper and adjusted seasoning above to taste.  They were super easy to make and delicious.  You can also add different fillings such as smoked pulled pork, cheese and black beans or anything else you desire)

Wishing you a the best year yet

Peace Love and Happiness

The Paris House Happy Hour Video:

My son Sam filmed this little at home video LAST October while I was getting ready for a few friends to stop by for Happy Hour.  The premise is always the same…do as much as you can in advance AND enjoy your friends.

The video has a yummy ginger apple cider martini recipe in it

This entry was posted on Wednesday, December 30th, 2009.
Tags: appetizers, cocktails, fashion, happy hour, paris house boutique, the holidays
Posted in Cheers, Holidays, La Cuisine, La Cuisine - Appetizers, Living, Party Girl