There's a Party on the Hill, Will You Come

"There's a party on the hill, can you come?  Bring your own cup and saucer and your own cream bun"

Anyone remember that nursery rhyme or am I showing my age!!

I have been planning a corporate get together this week for some of the female members of staff at my company.  Team building they call it.  We call it cocktails and food in the city.  With more cocktails.

The thing is, when organizing a party, be it a children's party or a corporate event, it is essential to either hold it at an interesting place, have some sort of theme, or an interesting gimmick.  

When it comes to children's parties, I think of the parties that my mum used to have for me as a child. Pin the tail on the donkey, musical statutes and jelly and ice cream.  Very retro now.  These days, it has become essential to have some sort of theme.

My friend Wendy holds the most amazing parties for her son.  Running her her Etsy store WendysPrintableParty as a sideline and having a young son gives her endless inspiration to hold the most amazing parties.  Science parties, dinosaur parties, music hero parties and superheroes.  Each party is a must attend event for all the children. 

When it comes to organizing an adult birthday party or a hen night, it is still important to get the details right.  The right venue or theme can really make the night.  For the more active why not organise a paint ball party based around a weekend away, or a cocktail making experience for those that love a drink and a dance.

When arranging a corporate party event, if you are organising for more than 50 people, make use of the resources available to you and hire an event management company.  There are so many interesting places and spectacles that you can organise events that will be a real talking point and make the experience.  Hiring a professional in these cases when organising for 50 plus people is essential.

For Northern events for a more sporty kind of event, why nor organise an Office Olympiad event or or something more cultural in the capital, a tour of the London Dungeons with an interactive aspect. Or a free bar haha, whatever works for your company.

The point is to make whatever you are organising interesting, fun and a talking point.  With that, you are guaranteed an amazing time. 

Shoes for the Party Season

We are once again approaching the Christmas season.  A time where presents are planned and bought, nights out and get togethers are planned and the annual work Christmas party fast approaches.

It is nearing the end of November when I usually start to look for something to wear for the party season.  I usually try to wear one dress from last year, but to a different event, and buy something new.  One thing that I do like to buy every year however are party shoes.

When it comes to the party season, finding the right style of shoe to carry you through all the events and parties is a must have.  Something classical but stylish that will go with anything.

I have picked out a few of my favourites that are available this year, some of which are also happily on sale!

These strappy shoes from Office will add a sexy edge to a basic black dress or complement a more colourful outfit

 

 These sparkly court shoes from Carvela are the perfect pairing if you have dresses of different colours or patterns

 These iridescent numbers from Dune are quite right for adding a touch of colour and sparkle to your outfit whilst still being understated.  

You can't lose with these simple court shoes from Dune with silver bows,  Classically elegant and would look great at the office party.

Then of course, there are the shoes that you find and fall in love with.  These are my absolute favourites for the party season and worthy enough of planning the rest of your outfit around.

You can find these from Head Over Heels

What are your go to party shoes?

New Years Party Dress

When it comes to buying a new party dress,  I am not really one for wearing sparkle and glitz.  Every time I have bought a sparkly dress for Christmas it invariably ends up sitting in my wardrobe for a year until I get it out the next Christmas and decide I need something new.

This year for New Year's Eve I wanted to find a party dress that had a wow factor but that I would still be able to wear to other parties and functions throughout the year.  Enter the beautiful Briar Rose Dress from Taking Shape

The dress is true to size and is 43" in length.  The attention to detail with the finishing of this dress for me what takes it over the edge into special.  The mesh cowl neck insert with beading into the v neck  and the way that the belt is stitched in order to create a perfect bow without having to try; I love it.

I am wearing the dress with some sparkly heels from +Simply Be  (I did give in to sparkle a little) and my gorgeous rose quartz necklace from +Joshua James Jewellery which I reviewed here

I cannot wait to wear this dress when I go out for New Years Eve.  I feel elegant and sophisticated in it and with the lovely swoosh this dress gives when you do a twirl, I may even take to the dancefloor!

* This item was gifted to me, but all opinions are my own.

Helping to Make Children's Parties Easier

One of the things I remember about my birthday parties as a child is the little touches that went into the party. The special invitations, the decorations, the party bags.  I always remember that it was like a bit of a competition, between both the children and also the parents, as to who could hold the best party.

These days children’s parties are becoming even more competitive and elaborate.  When you are working full time creating a full scale children’s party can be a daunting experience, not to mention costly but there are solutions if you know how to find them. 

A friend of mine holds the kind of birthday parties for her son that you would dream about when you were a child. Last year was a safari theme, complete with cut out animals and trees, party boxes and banners, and a themed invitation. I remember at the time all the parents asking where she had got everything from.

It turns out that my friend Wendy had quite a creative streak and had designed and made everything herself.

Wendy has now gone one step further and has created her own shop on Etsy, with printable designs for parties, with everything from full party packs including banners, party boxes, invitations etc to separate pieces. Everything is customisable to your specifications.

As everything is sent as a pdf design, you can buy these designs from anywhere in the world and no postage is involved.  You can simply print them out and put together at your leisure.

Take a look for your own children's parties. She is adding more designs every week and you can email with specifics requests.  Here are some examples of her work, with photographs sent in from people who have purchased for their child’s party.

 

 

She can be found here: http://www.etsy.com/shop/WendysPrintableParty

 

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Back to Dresses

If I could walk around every day and night in a dress, I would.  On Saturday though I was helping my mum out with a party at home so dressed down rather than dressed up was the order of the day.  With heels of course, they go with everything.

I haven't done an outfit of the day post for ages so quickly took a few snaps when I had gotten ready.  I liked the long jumper when on and was certainly comfy which is always a bonus, but I don't think it is quite me.

In the end, although I liked the skinny jeans/heels combination, turns out, I'm not not a long top kinda gal.  But hey, I gave it a go and the top from Very (from the sale and is now out of stock) is certainly lovely and I love the lace insert detailing, just not particularly for me.

Back to dresses is the answer, the Summer needs to hurry up as I have lots of lovely dresses I can wear.  

Obligatory check the make-up - pointless photograph

That's a "I'm not sure about this!" face

I'll go with casual if I must, but not with the shoes!

I'm Now Officially Old

I'm now officially old.  I haven't had a birthday or anything like that, but I have reached a point that in my youth, I swore would never happen.  I have fallen out of love with "going out on the town".

When I say going out on the town however, let me be a little more specific.  Because we all know that there is "going out on the town" and bar trawling.  My town, god love it, is a bar trawling type of place.  Many bars that you can frequent over the weekend, nightclubs offering cheap drinks, dancing until dawn rises if you want to.

I would go out with my friends all weekend and for years, the magic of a "night out down town" was there.  Overcrowded was "it's busy so it's cool", the age limit of over 25 in the nightclub was a weekend game to be played and usually won.  Weekends were edged in a kind of magic, where everything was fun, romance and whatever you wanted was there for the taking.

For money, work, university and a million other reasons, I haven't been out into the town on a weekend for a very long time.  Over Christmas I went to a party and afterwards, we decided on a foray into town to hit a couple of bars.  That's when it hit me.  The magic had gone.  I stayed for a couple of drinks and then made a rapid escape, via the kebab shop though, some things will never change.  Food at the end of the night will always cure most of your hangover.

I realised the next day however that it wasn't the magic that had gone from the town.  The town hadn't changed.  The bars had changed over the years but were still there, the cheap drinks, the masses of people out for a good time.  No, it wasn't the town that had changed, it was me. For one thing, I could no longer go out with just a purse in my hand with a lipstick crammed in, how did I ever manage????

My 30's are just as much fun as my 20's, just in a different way.  My idea of a great night out is now somewhat more expensive, but as I don't go out nearly as much as I used to, this type of night has become more affordable.

See, she's still there, just better dressed and drinking cocktails ;)

So hence, I'm sat here planning a night away in Manchester next Friday.  The hotel is booked, just a Premier but who needs something fancy for a one night stay, the eating place is chosen, in this case Revolution which does nice on the go food well, with good cocktails and then off to sample some more cocktails at the delights of the Alchemist Bar.  

Good friends, great conversation, lots of laughs, cocktails, a night away and a good breakfast in the morning.  That's my style these days.  What's yours?