So, yesterday, I posted a little St. Patrick’s Day party suggestion—hosting a Black & Tan tasting. I didn’t give credit where credit was due; my fabulous, wonderful, handsome, supportive husband came up with the idea for Supper Club and I stole it. My excuse, a Leprechaun made me do it!!!!
Thank you honey,
Your mischievous wife
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Hey, so we have been talking about it for a long time–supper club. What is supper club? Well in our case it is a group of friends and acquaintances that get together every so often to cook a foodie meal together and then dine on it.
Our Menu:
Baked Chicken Breast On-the-Bone Stuffed with Goat Cheese & Sundried Tomato Over Baby Spinach
Truffle Butter Tagliatelle
House Salad
Dessert (either red velvet cake or Royal Tart’s Chocolate Tart)
Of course, since I am hosting one of my concerns is what the tabletop will look like; what dishes, stemware and linens I will use
(I am thinking of the Groove Dinner Party) and what, if any, party favors I will gift. I am thinking that perhaps the perfect favor is a set of recipes for everyone. I will let you know how supper club goes—it’s scheduled for Feb 6.
Cheers,
Tricia
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Celebrate Elvis Presley’s birthday (or the anniversary of his 75th birthday on January 8, 2010) by whipping up the sandwich he made famous–Fried Peanut Butter & ‘Nana. It’s a quick fix and the mini-celebration is the perfect pick-me-up for your post holiday blue suede shoes.
INGREDIENTS:
1 small ripe banana
2 slices white bread
2-3 tablespoons peanut butter
2 tablespoons butter
DIRECTIONS:
In a small bowl, mash the banana witha fork. Toast the bread lightly. Spread the peanut butter on one slice of toast and the mashed banana on the other. Fry the sandwich in melted butter until each side is golden brown. Cut diagonally and serve hot.
Spin a few Elvis tunes and enjoy!
Cheers,
Tricia
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Check it out…the boys and I baked and decorated a gingerbread house wearing Royal Tart’s totally cute gingerbread aprons in three sizes: adult, medium child, small child. We had fun building our masterpiece and the boys loved their 3-D aprons. Plus their sticky fingers smeared their aprons not their shirts. You can purchase these cute aprons and other coordinating gingerbread items at www.RoyalTart.com. The aprons and other cute stuff including tea cups, favor bags, Merry Christmas Cookie Tray, etc. is from the Jumpin Gingerbread: Let’s Bake Holiday Celebration.
Happy Holidays.
Enjoy!
Tricia
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Today in my inbox I received a Country Living Entertaining Email. The subject line read, “Host a Vintage Halloween Party.” I was so excited to see this email for a number of reasons: 1) it validates Royal Tart’s own choice in our Trick-or-Treat Party —clearly we are on trend; 2) it is always interesting to see all the different ways ideas are executed; 3) our vintage inspired Halloween party is so inexpensive and easy– a Country Living/Bruce Elsass vintage Halloween party would take you an incredible amount of time, energy and lots of money and if you have those three things as well as inclination you would be able to host a fabulous party with Bruce Elsass’ great ideas. On the other hand, Royal Tart will provide you with a inexpensive vintage Halloween party including vintage-like invitations, decorations, a handmade Halloween banner, table setting, etc. and it will arrive at your door in one box for a mere $177.00 including shipping for a party up to 16– You cant’ beat that! And Royal Tart includes a Let’s Get This Party Started Blueprint with a suggested menu, recipes and party tips with the purchase of your party.
I hope you enjoy our vintage Halloween offering. When we designed our Trick-or-Treat Party our inspiration was the fantasy of entering our eccentric aunt’s attic, digging through her boxes and trunks until we found all the treasures that complete our vintage feel party. We think the inspiration was the perfect way to create such a timeless party.
Cheers,
Tricia
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It’s getting to be that time of year…autumn that is.
This weekend while you are celebrating the last vestiges of summer take a few minutes between bites of potato salad and hamburger to daydream about the next celebration or event you might have to celebrate the fall. Is the next occasion a back to school tea or perhaps an afternoon in front of the fireplace with a juicy book and some warm apple cider? Are you going to host a Halloween carnival? Spooky dinner? Cozy brunch? Crisp afternoon lunch?
Anyway you slice it (the apple pie that is) you can delight in all things autumnal with a few minutes of party planning while you’re in the party mood.
Enjoy the weekend, kiss the summer goodbye and say “hello” to autumn.
Cheers,
Tricia
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We at Royal Tart believe in the “Reuse, Recycle, Re-imagine” ideal and employ it in all of our Celebrations. We want you to feel as good about your purchases as we do; to that end, but for a few Celebration appropriate exceptions, our dishes are ceramic and our table linens are natural cloth instead of paper. We have selected natural linens and ceramic dishes because by using cloth and ceramic we are reducing everyday waste as, unlike paper product, you don’t toss after one use but rather incorporate the celebration items into your entertaining wardrobe and everyday life—in essence you recycle them instead of adding to the landfill.
We also purchase recycled and vintage materials as Celebration elements whenever possible and as you already know we have an exclusive line of handmade birthday banners, keepsake boxes and countdown & holiday calendars made by US artisans using found objects and vintage & recycled materials.
We feel good about doing are part and only plan to do more so that you can feel great about purchasing from Royal Tart.
Cheers,
Tricia
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This past week I was perusing the Trader Joe’s Second Annual “Summer’s Ending. Schools Coming…” flyer and I came across this quote.
“Strength is the ability to break a chocolate bar into four pieces with your bare hands-and then eat just one of those pieces.”
Judith Viorst, Author
Here at Royal Tart our Monday morning has been consumed with baby shower and birthday party planning and designing and discussing the above quote. We agree that we have all proven that eating just one piece is indeed a test of character, strength and willpower.
May you enjoy your chocolate bar all week long…
Cheers,
Tricia
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As many of you know The Royal Tart Team was in Chicago last weekend and took a food tour. One of the places we stopped was the famous Spice House in Old Town, Chicago. The Spice House is an amazing shop with an excellent assortment of quality spices. The Spice House provides a great catalog and in that catalog is a recipe for Cherry Chipotle Barbeque Sauce. It is “oh my” amazing!
If you have a graduation party, Father’s Day Celebration or a birthday party coming up this is a great recipe. The description for the recipe reads, “Here is a barbeque sauce we like because it juxtaposes the sweetness of cherries with the hot chipotle chiles.” Great on baby back ribs, chicken or duck. I am going to serve this as one of the bbq sauces on ribs for our Father’s Day Celebration and on chicken for our backyard Fourth of July party. This fall I am going use it as a duck preparation. Yum.
Ingredients:
1/3 cup canned chipotles in adobo sauce
1/3 cup cherry preserves
1/3 Ketchup
½ tsp. ground cumin
½ tsp thyme
4 tsps. Lemon or lime juice
Directions:
Blend all ingredients in a food processor. Makes about 1 cup.
Enjoy this awesome barbeque sauce at your next summer party or celebration.
Cheers,
Tricia
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Hi All,
Things went really well in Chicago. The Royal Tart Team is super excited but before I tell you more about our Country Living Pitch and Conference I want to tell you about our great time in Chicago. We always like to mix business with pleasure especially since Royal Tart is based in celebration. We stayed at the Palmer House Hotel in the Loop. It is a historic hotel of gigantic proportions (think Las Vegas hotel huge). I had a few cocktails in the lobby bar and couldn’t take my eyes of the ceiling. It was stunning. I also met a delightful couple from Michigan and lost a bet to the husband. I s’pose I learned that one should never bet a professional poker player.
On Sunday, I took a walking tour, The Chicago Foods Tour. The brochure stated that I would, “enjoy a culinary and cultural experience through Chicago’s most historic, savory neighborhoods—one delicious taste at a time!” Check it out at ChicagoFoodPlanet I would highly recommend it for the “foodie” in all of you. We walked for about 1.5 miles at a very leisurely pace over a 3.5 hour period. We stopped at seven different foodie places and sampled, sampled, sampled. We also stopped along the way at several architecturally significant buildings and parks. The tour guide was great and shared some fun Chicago trivia and history. I can now say I have seen the (outside) of the original Playboy Mansion. Thanks to Arianna (our tour guide) for such a lovely, fun tour.
Cheers,
Tricia
1. Memorial Day (May 25, 2009)
2. Graduation Day (Just about any time during the months of May & June)
3. Father’s Day (June 21, 2009) (Technically summer but you gotta start planning sometime)
4. Flag Day (June 14, 2009)
5. My Son’s Birthday (June 11, 2009)
6. US Open (June 15-21, 2009)
7. Your Wedding Anniversary (How would Royal Tart know what day it is?) (tell us so we’ll know next year)
8. Last Day of School (Just about any time during the months of May & June)
9. First Day of Summer Break (Ditto above)
10. Inaugural Run of a New Grill (The day you buy your new grill)
11. Flowers are in Bloom (My roses are grand right now)
12. Indianapolis 500 (May 24, 2009)
13. The Preakness May 16, 2009
14. Belmont Stakes (June 6, 2009)
15. Your Best Friend’s New Baby (Throw a baby shower anytime this month or next)
16. Your Daughter is Engaged (Engagement Party or wedding shower)
17. Block Party (You don’t have to worry about drinking & driving)
18. Teacher Appreciation Day (It depends on your community)
19. The end of Little League Season (Our party was last Saturday)
20. Because you haven’t thrown a party in years
Cheers,
Tricia
On behalf of Royal Tart I would like to personally thank Mannequin at Fractured Toy. Mannequin wrote a lovely blog about Royal Tart last week and offered a giveaway as part of her Blog Carnival. Below is her May 3, 2009 Royal Tart blogspot. If you have never had the opportunity to check out her site please do you are in for a treat. Mannequin has a wry sense of humor. Thank you Mannequin!
It doesn’t matter what kind of party you plan, what foods you’ll be serving or what’s up for entertainment. Unless you set the stage, your party is going to be just another {ho hum} regular old gathering.
I think it’s a very wise woman that invests in a nice set of celebratory dinnerware. Chances are you’ve noticed at upscale restaurants just how much difference a nice set of dinnerware can make. Even a simple pickle or a slice of chocolate cake can look like a work of art. And it is art!
You can be an artist when you have the right tools, the right dinnerware. The dinnerware is the background and the foods you place upon it complete your masterpiece. Get creative and match your food colors to your celebratory dinnerware , tell your guests it’s a costume party (and meanwhile, it’s not), buy some red dinnerware and have a devilishly good time outdoors.
Being a hostess should be fun, it’s your time to shine. It’s your dinner party and you’ve got a captive audience. Now you just need to wow them.
Royal Tart celebratory dinnerware is worth every penny, girls. Consider the price of a meal out and consider a lifetime of memories. Memories as in; “Her table was divinely set. I asked her where she had purchased the dinnerware and she said Royal Tart.”
When you order a celebration set, you get so much more than dinnerware. Tricia also includes recipes, tips and menu ideas. It’s the complete package for the busy hostess right at her fingertips. What a wonderful company, the Royal Tart store reminds me of the finer, simpler things in life like our tiny little family, our friends and always, always good food!
~~~~~~~~~
Thanks again to Fracture Toy and its author Mannequin!
Cheers,
Tricia
Happy Belated Mother’s Day! As you know I had a tonsillectomy a fortnight ago and healing is proving to be a challenge. None-the-less, Happy Mother’s Day to all the women in this world! I hope you celebrated!
Cheers,
Tricia
“The Butterfly counts not months but moments, and has time enough.” R. Tagore
After I designed The Red Butterfly Luncheon I saw a greeting card illustrated with red butterflys with the above quote; it was serendipitous as I designed the celebration with a lovely afternoon, moment if you will, in mind.
I would love to spend the afternoon in the soft sunshine visiting with my favorite women. We would remember, laugh, share new stores, giggle as we drank more crisp white wine and the stores got more outrageous. It would be another lovely moment in my life.
Happy Mother’s Day,
Tricia
