Thank you to Minted for partnering with us to make out parties come to life. We pick the decor and throw the party – Minted makes it pretty!
San Antonio is a city steeped in rich global heritage – we’ve got major French, German, Spanish and Mexican influence running deep in our veins. The most visible (and fun, IMO) is the colorful and rich Mexican flavor that infuses our daily lives in the Alamo City. Minted’s ‘Guapa’ collection felt like a nod in the fiesta direction and so I jumped in both feet with a “Quierlo” take on our Favorite Things/Love It party. Literally, ‘quierlo’ translates it “I want it/him” from the word “quiero” – I want. My spanish speaking sister-in-law and I went round and round trying to decide the best way to translate “Love It” for the banner – and settled here. (I totally understand that there are many uses of ‘quiero’ and variations of the translation, please don’t yell at me in the comments Spanish speakers.)
The peachy-orange, mint, yellow and vibrant pink color palette meant I had a wide range of colors to work with. The best way to get a hot pink party drink? With prickly pear juice.
This punch is perfect alone, topped with sparking water or champagne/prosecco.
I’ll never get sick of paper straws with flags – and the Minted flags are printed on adhesive backed paper – so no gluing or taping necessary! They look cute on cake pops, table cards, toothpicks, etc.
Minted also has beautiful fabrics that they offer as cloth napkins. I like to have a pretty kitchen towel or napkin under any vessel that contains ice – just to help keep the condensation from running all over the table – and it’s a bonus when it matched my party decor!
These days, post-kid-bed-time-weeknight gatherings are my favorite. With busy schedules the norm, it’s nice to look forward to a couple of hours of visiting with friends and as a hostess, the food can stay light and two or three savories with a sweet is perfect. Can you even believe this heart shaped brie? With some water crackers and grapes, spanakopita and a slice of cake – everyone gets a little and no one is hungry!
To decorate the top of the cake, I made a little bunting banner from some of the paper flags from the straws, two wooden skewers and left over string from the banner. Measure how long each flad will be and add about a half inch, then tear or cut off the excess, fold over the string, and press to adhere.
Does anyone else have friends who are hesitant to jump right in to the party food? I utilized a personalized table sign from the collection with a take on a Julia Child quote to encourage a “help yourself” feeling to the table.
For my “favorite thing” I picked this Minted Art Print called “The 3 Cacti”. I’m still loving all things cactus and succulents and instead of gifting a plant that needs attention, I thought a colorful print would be fun. In a 5×7 size, it’s perfect propped in a kitchen shelf, on a fridge, a desk, in a guest room — wherever!
These adorable Classroom Valentines are the perfect size to make gift tags. One was attached to each of the tote bags for taking home goodies and the leftovers are headed to school with Vivi for some treats for her teachers.
Hosting a “Favorite Things” party is so much fun – in fact Sarah and I hosted a casual FTP at a restaurant when we were at Alt – and it was a huge hit. Happy Valentine’s Day!
Leave a Reply