By Audrey van Petegem, Senior Editor
It is that time again when the Concert in the Park season begins. In our town, they are held every Sunday afternoon during the summer months. This is a time when we see all the families from this community come together to listen to some great music; everything from from Reggae to Top 40 Hits to Classical and Country. As the children play on the playground,

I had the recent pleasure of meeting Tara Riceberg in Hilton Head, SC when Party City invited me to their Perfect Party Weekend extravaganza. Tara, a Los Angeles based celebrity stylist and party planner extraordinaire, was hired by Party City as their Celebration Expert to plan the eight parties that made up our four day event. She is the definite go-to expert on all matters related to hosting parties; from being a perfect guest to gift wrapping to table-scaping and everything in between. We are thrilled to welcome Tara as our monthly party planning & entertaining contributor and so look [...]

By Audrey van Petegem, Senior Editor
Who says that Easter baskets have to be just for kids! Last week I wrote about your child’s Easter basket being for more than just Chocolate. We think that the adults should have a little something-something too. For the them, the Easter basket is all about delicacies. Be prepared to be indulged!

Boozy Bunnies – TruffleTruffle created the perfect complement to the Easter basket for adults. These Easter sweets are inspired from some classic libations such as Mudslide, Pina Colada, Rum Punch and, my personal favorite, Mint Julep. Thank you Easter Bunny! Buy [...]

By Audrey van Petegem, Senior Editor
Last week, my daughter Thea and I were invited by Party City to Hilton Head Island, South Carolina to attend a four-day/eight-parties weekend extravaganza. The sponsored series of events included attending a Football Kickoff Party, a Baby Shower, a Carnival, a Spongebob Birthday Party, a Rock Star Party, a Halloween Party, an Oscar Worthy Movie Night and a Girls Night-In Party. Whew, I am exhausted but inspired!
Each evening before we retired, (or a few hours before the party depending on timing), Thea and I would receive an invitation to our next party. It created such [...]

By Audrey van Petegem, Senior Editor
I was in Whole Foods the other day and saw an Easy-to-Grow Mushroom Garden and I thought how cool is that! What is just as cool is the story behind the company that makes these kits, Back to the Roots  (the acronym, BTTR is pronounced Better). It was started by two strangers who were in the same class at Berkeley University where the professor talked about how one could grow mushrooms in used coffee grounds. They individually emailed the professor who actually had no idea how to actually grow mushrooms, but suggested they contact each [...]

Always on the lookout for interesting “indie” brands in all categories, we thought it would be fun to pay tribute to another type of art, that is, the art of fine booze-making. Micro-distilleries, like micro-breweries have become more and more popular in the last decade. With reason. Many of these micro-distilleries make award-winning vodkas, far superior in taste and quality to the commercial brands. But, since award-winning in the vodka world pretty much means colorless, odorless and –we mean this as a compliment – tasteless, we want instead to turn our attention to the new and exotic flavor-ways of vodkas. [...]

By Mrs/Dr. T, Snarky PhD Scientist and Guest Contributor
The media has done a pretty good job making sure EVERYONE knows that chocolate might be good for you. It’s hard to find a women’s magazine that hasn’t promoted this message, particularly this time of year when Valentine’s Day sends chocolate sales through the roof. Of course, we all want chocolate to be good for us, right? But is it really believable that chocolate, a member of the candy and other-naughty-foods category, is a health food?
Cocoa wasn’t really on the “good-for-you” radar until scientists stumbled upon an island off the coast of [...]

By Audrey van Petegem, Senior Editor
I remember the good ol’ days when my husband used to make me breakfast in bed. In fact, as Valentine’s Day approaches I asked him about the amazing puffed pancake he used to make for me way back when. It took a bit of prompting (obviously it has been way too long) but he finally remembered and started the search for the lost recipe. Torn from the pages of a 1992 Select Homes magazine, we finally found it! Here it is…
BERRY BREAKFAST PUFF (for two)

3 eggs
½ cup flour
½ cup milk
2 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp vanilla
icing sugar, [...]

The meal prep/assembly shop concept has been around for a while. But I had personally never experienced it before. Why would I, I thought? Our family understands the value of family dinners and we do all sit down to dine together at least 4 times a week. And I know how to cook and – most of the time – enjoy it. Why would I ever need a meal prep service?
Well, what a wonderful discovery this was… Exploring the meal assembly service all happened by accident when my husband and I, on a beautiful fall day, decided to explore the [...]