When I received an invitation from the founder of Aquamermaid to try a class, I immediately said “YES”.

Seriously, how often does one get a chance to become a mermaid? LOL

The class started off by picking out our “mermaid tails”.

Then everyone introduced themselves with their real name, their mermaid name, and their favourite stretch.

Following the introductions, we got into the water and everyone swam a length.

Then the fun started, as we wiggled into our our respective mermaid tails.

We did some drills in the water – front, back, side. Trust me, everyone was smiling and having fun.

As you can see from this next photo, being a mermaid is harder than it looks!

Then we got a chance to take more photos. LOL.

Things you should know:

-guys can participate and in fact there was a guy in our class.

-this is a super fun party idea for kids AND adults.

-the Mermaid school exists in Ottawa and Montreal as well

-you can actually buy the mermaid tail!

For more information:

www.aquamermaid.com

Instagram: Aquamermaid

Facebook: www.facebook.com/Aquamermaidschool

Youtube; Aquamermaid (please oh please click on this link to really get a sense how cool this class is)

Phone: 1 866 279 2767

I seriously don’t know why it took me so long to have a cheese fondue party! I guess it’s because I didn’t own a fondue pot till recently. I actually picked it up at Real Canadian Superstore for $5. What a score!!

Then I discovered this product (PC Swiss Fondue) which makes throwing a Cheese Fondue Party even easier. Oh how I love PC Products!

Other items I served included:

-fresh fruit (raspberries, blackberries, and grapes)

-fresh vegetables (cauliflower and carrots)

-phyllo cups with goat cheese, sundried tomatoes and roasted garlic…drizzled with a balsamic reduction

-a variety of olives

-nuts that I picked up  on my last trip to Ottawa (lemon almonds, smoked almonds and cinnamon walnuts)

-a cheese tray with Beemster and Empire Cheddar with Mustard Seeds that I picked up at the Delicious Show).

–PC Holiday Treats such as The Decadent Chocolate Cake and Candy Cane Chocolate Squares.

–Smoked Parmesan Inferno Dip Mix. #YUM

-wine (white and red) and of course I showed off my new Soda Stream too!

The table looked like this!

I can guarantee you that I will be hosting another Cheese Fondue Party over the holidays. It’s a great way to entertain!

Disclosure: Several items that I served were provided to me, however all my opinions are my own.

 

 

 

Here’s the ingredients for hosting a pickle party. I have to admit I’ve never thrown a pickle party before but this party was so successful that I’m thinking of hosting another one!!

a) Select a few brands of pickles. For this particular pickle party, I included: Nathan’s Famous Kosher Pickles, Marty’s, and Putters.

b) Invite some pickle enthusiasts! Of course this meant I included some blogger friends (http://safaffect.wordpress.com/ and http://theyumyumfactor.blogspot.ca/) and some friends who weren’t bloggers! It was a great mix.

c) Put together a menu. This wasn’t so easy seeing as my kitchen is dairy. However I put together a menu that included….party sandwiches, cheese and crackers, roasted tomatoes on toasted baguette slices, and nachos and salsa! My table included green flowers and green/white napkins. Yes – I’m normal. LOL

d) Serve Vodka. Naturally we had to compare two brands so we compared Absolut to Skyy Vodka! Pickles and Vodka are a natural combination. LOL

e) Include a new food product to share with your friends! Please welcome www.mexicoboulevard.com! I sincerely want to thank www.brightideascanada.com for introducing me to these products.

Seriously it was a ton of fun to host this party.

PS the full sours were a hit but in all honesty all of the pickles were a hit with my guests. There wasn’t a pickle left!!

Disclosure: Many thanks to Marty’s Pickles and Nathan’s for supplying me with pickles!

About once a month I buy a box of party sandwiches for dinner or for a snack. There’s never ANY leftovers. EVER. I will repeat – EVER. I usually pick them up at Bruno’s, Pusateri’s, Daiters, or What A Bagel.

When I was trying to figure out what to serve at my birthday party last week,  it dawned on me that party sandwiches would be a welcome change from the usual sushi platter.

I contacted Lesley’s Party Sandwiches & Catering and made fast friends with Lesley who also shared the same birthday as me!! (too funny). I found out that she’s been in business for 29 years and was the first independent party sandwich supplier in the city! I also found out that I could drop my off my platters and she would will fill them up with an assortment of party sandwiches, such as:

• brie and fig preserve
• cream cheese and cucumber
• egg, tuna, and  salmon salad,
• smoked salmon and cream cheese and MORE.

So I dropped off my platters and witnessed how party sandwiches are made! There is a reason why I’m not making party sandwiches!!

Just before the party – they were delivered. HOW SWEET IS THAT? This is what my platter looked like. Pretty….Don’t you think?

Lesley’s Party Sandwiches are perfect for baby showers, baby namings, tea parties, office parties, engagement parties, graduations and more!! She also makes a variety of salads and beautiful fruit platter and vegetable platters too. #justsayin’.

For more information:

Lesley’s Party Sandwiches: 55 Glen Cameron Road, Unit 19, Thornhill, ON (905) 660 0551

Disclosure: Lesley’s Party Sandwiches provided me with an assortment of party sandwiches. However all opinions are my own.

 

Many years ago, I was a special events coordinator and part of my job description was hiring caterers and working with them to develop menus for cocktail parties, dinners and events. I truly loved this part of my job. I’m no longer in that industry but I still enjoy checking out new caterers, learning about food trends etc. Therefore, I was pretty excited to attend the launch of O&B Caters. 
Yes – that’s right – O&B – as in Oliver & Bonacini. After 25 years in the restaurant business, they have finally decided to launch a catering division!

The dishes that I sampled at the launch were superb and I have no doubt that guests at any function would also be impressed.

Seriously – how gorgeous is this presentation?.  This dish had it all – delicate flavours, presentation and textures. See the three “brown/white” chunks – well that’s QUINOA BRITTLE! I don’t know about you but that’s certainly not something that I usually see  in a salad, when I go to a catered event. O&B Caters certainly take things an extra step!!

And there’s more gorgeous presentation…

I simply adore presentation. Sorry – if I’m repeating myself. But it’s so true.

But there’s more to catering than just a good menu and amazing presentation. There’s a whole team behind a caterer that also adds to the success to an event – i.e professional staff, decor, and a creative team. No doubt about it – O&B Caters delivers on every level.

For more information:

O&B Caters: 416.364.1211

events@oliverbonacini.com

Twitter: O&B_Caterers

 

 

A few years ago I attended a cousins wedding and was introduced to some new people who were sitting at my table.

A few years later, that same cousin had a baby shower and  I recognized one of the people that I had met at the wedding. We said hello, started to chat and I discovered that she recently took courses in millinery!!  Not only did she learn this skill but she started a hat business called Wild Work Designs.

She shows me her beautiful brochure, and before you know it, I offered to host a hat party for her! I’ve hosted a lot of parties before but this was my first “hat party”. I liked how my dining room table looked with all the beautiful hats displayed!!

My guests walked in the door and immediately started to try on different hats. It was so much fun!

It was truly a hoot to see everyone trying on different hats.

   A party wouldn’t be a party with out food but I realized afterwards that everyone was so focussed on the hats that hardly anyone ate anything!!

It was a lot of fun to host my first “hat party! I can’t wait to watch this business grow.

For more info:

Wild Work Designs (the website is stunning – so please take a peek at this website)

Twitter: @hatsbywildworks

Tel: 416 220 1490

It’s been a year since I moved into my apartment so I thought it would be an ideal time to celebrate that occasion. Here’s a list of key ingredients to hosting a great party.

1) The Invite List: I included some twitter friends and some “real friends”. A perfect mix. Just look how everyone is chatting away in this photo. There were 12 women in total and it was just the right amount given the size of my apartment!!

2) CREWMEN & Co: I had a (gorgeous) bartender for the evening, courtesy of Crewmen & Co and let’s just say that my guests “loved” the eye candy and the fabulous cocktails that he created. I would hire this company again in a heart beat. Our bartender was engaging, professional and knew his way around the bar.  He was certainly a highlight of the evening!!

3) The Drinks: I had a great line up of Skyy Vodka, Great Lakes Beer (the Pumpkin Ale was just released, by the way) bottlegreen Sparkling Presses , 3 types of juices, wine, club soda, and tonic water, limes and lemons. Everyone was happy. I was thrilled to find out that Skyy Vodka has the fewest impurities among leading vodkas AND ZERO CARBS. This vodka was perfect for my #nocarb diet!!

4) The Food: I served some amazing nosh that I had been “saving” (no I am not a hoarder) from my trips to Ottawa, Buffalo, Montreal and even Detroit. The black garlic was a hit…that’s for sure. Oh yeah – the Chocolate Chex got a lot of love too.

 

5) Good Music: I finally subscribed to Rdio but there was so much chatter that I’m not sure anyone heard the music.

6) Creating an atmosphere: This is my favorite part. I finally had an excuse to visit my favorite flower shops on Avenue Road and Davenport. Not to mention, I brought out  some pewter serving dishes that hadn’t been used in a while. Here’s what the table looked like:

Seriously….. throwing a party isn’t hard work and I can’t wait to throw another one. Nothing like surrounding yourself with new and old friends on a Saturday nite.

Try it!!

I love having parties. I’ve had Canada Day Parties, Sex and the City Parties,Going Away Parties, Birthday Parties, and more. I use to throw a party a few times a year, and loved planning the two major components of throwing a party:

• WHAT TO DRINK...
• WHAT TO EAT….

I think by now,  you know what  I would serve for the “drink” component. Hint: Beer and Scotch.

WHAT TO EAT….

I would serve a variety of snacks.(savoury not sweet).  I would put out a variety of the usual snacks (i.e pretzels, chips, nuts, popcorn etc)  and serve some dips as well. Here is one of my all time favorite dips for a party: It was so popular that I started to make two of these platters at each party.

TACO PIE

Ingredients:

3/4 of a brick of cream cheese ( I bought the light version)

1 cup cottage cheese (I bought the full fat version…i.e 4 %)

1 cup Old El Paso Salsa

1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1/2  cup shredded lettuce

scallions to garnish

Directions:

1.Combine the cream cheese and the cottage cheese together, till smooth. (this is the hardest part).

2. Spread onto a serving dish.

3. Spread an even layer of salsa on top.

4. Sprinkle the grated cheddar cheese.

5. Sprinkle the shredded lettuce.

5. Garnish with scallions.

6. Decorate with nachos around the perimeter of the serving dish.

END RESULT:

As I’m writing this blog entry,  I’m thinking I should have a party before the summer is over…I would serve the watermelon martinis, the cucumber lemonade (with vodka of course), taco pie, chex mix (that I just bought in the US), these new pretzels I’m in love with, fresh fruit, and more.

What do you think? Are you having a party this summer?

Disclosure: I am part of the Life Made Delicious Connector Program and I receive special perks as part of the affiliation with this group. The opinion on this blog are my own.