Housewarming :: Thank You

We would like to thank our guests that attended the Housewarming Parties and gave us some great gifts.

We got some lovely tea towels and Tupperware, mugs and a funky magnetic message board!

We also got some Bunnings vouchers – which we have used to purchase Yard Saver 55 Shed!

Thanks to all our friends and family for the great gifts!

Yard Saver 55 Shed

Constructed with the highest quality, fire retardant PVC, these attractive sheds provide safe and secure storage space. These sheds are fade and weather proof, and are very easy to assemble

Features:
* Fire Retardant, Rust and Rot Proof
* Simple, Clean, Safe and Easy Assembly
* Metal Reinforced wall columns for superior strength
* Wind Rated to 185 km/hr
* Contemporary design will beautify your Backyard or Garden
* No Painting, Treating, or Maintaining Headaches
* 15 yr Limited Warranty
* Included Door and Door Handles
* Includes moulded Floor - Only needs compacted, level surface

Outside Sizes: 1.7m Wide x 1.7m Deep x 1.98m High
Inside Sizes: 1.55m Wide x 1.55m Deep x 1.82m High
Door Size: 1.34m Wide x 1.82m High
Storage Area 4.5 Cubic Metres.
Colour Alabaster

http://www.asmallshedplus.com.au/Vinyl-Garden-Sheds/Yard-Saver-55.html

The Weekend That Was

Well it was a great weekend of housewarming parties!

The only problem is I was having too much fun and didn't take many pics (sorry).




































Thanks to all of our guests it was a great weekend!

Housewarming :: Substantial Food

This is what I am serving for substantial food. Chicken Drumsticks

Sausage Rolls

Tomato and boccoccini salad with fresh basil, baby capers and olive oil balsamic dressing.

Homemade Coleslaw salad with a creamy homemade mayonnaise dressing.

Chat potato salad with crispy bacon, chives and mayonnaise yoghurt dressing.

Housewarming :: Atmosphere

A great and economical way to create atmosphere at your event is to use lighting. I have these glass tea light candle holders and lanterns from http://www.ikea.com.au/. I will also be using some of my “green eco chic” bees wax candles. What do I mean by green eco chic? If you have a wedding decorator in your neighbourhood you should stop by and ask if you can purchase their pillar candles (church candles) that are used. What do I mean? Every time a bride gets married they will no doubt use new candles that have only burnt for less than 2 hours (still at least 4 hours of light left in them – depending on size). I pick mine up from between .50cents and $2.00 depending on size, from local wedding decorators – they are happy to get rid of them. I have had brides that want to be “eco green” for their weddings by way of recycling etc. So that is where I came up with the idea. Also I prefer the slightly used candles as it looks more vintage and not so brand spanking new – if you know what I mean!

Housewarming :: Signature Drinks

Signature Drinks are more of an American wedding tradition.

It’s a great way to serve alcoholic beverages at your event, with a little wow factor and as you focus on the 1 style of drink it can save you money.

I have a lot of Martini Glasses (occupational hazard) and I found Frozen Cocktail Buckets while out and about. We are going to serve Pina Colada and Pink Cosmos.

We have a NY Smoothy Maker so we will be up the cocktail mix in the blender with ice rather than put it in the freezer.

Basically with these buckets you just need to add the alcohol – I will be interested to see how they turn out.

Housewarming :: Punch

I always love serving punch at parties, its colourful and can also look like a great decor feature. I use Maxwell Williams large cookie jars to hold the punch.

I am going to do a Pink Grapefruit and Lime Punch and a Lemon Water Punch.

Housewarming :: Desserts

So as I have admitted in previous posts, I am a Cooking TV Show junkie!

I just love to watch Nigella – she totally cracks me up, she always has something in her mouth!

I was inspired by her mousse recipes and she served them in shot glasses – which is great for a cocktail style party (portion controlled and can be managed in hands)!

So I purchased some cute shot glasses at Christmas time for this very reason.
These little snaps shot glasses are from Ikea (http://www.ikea.com.au/)!

Instant Chocolate Mousse

150g mini marshmallows
50g soft butter
250g good dark chocolate (minimum 70% cocoa solids), chopped into small pieces
60ml hot water from a recently boiled kettle
1 x 284ml tub double cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

http://www.nigella.com/recipes/view/instant-chocolate-mousse-4

White Chocolate Mint Mousse

175g white chocolate
90ml milk
2 egg whites
1/4 tsp lemon juice
225ml double cream

http://www.nigella.com/recipes/view/white-chocolate-mousse-2224

I also want to have a Cupcake Station where people can PIMP THEIR CUPCAKE out!

I am going for a Red Velvet Cupcake with Cream Cheese frosting.

Red Velvet Cupcakes

2 1/2 cups sifted cake flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
2 oz. red food coloring (two bottles) or 4 oz beet juice (if you use unprocessed light cocoa you can leave out the food dyes and you'll get a warm red/brown color)
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk, at room temperature
1 teaspoon white vinegar
1 teaspoon baking soda

http://bestcupcakerecipes.blogspot.com/2009/02/red-velvet-cupcake-recipe.html

Housewarming :: Sausages for a Cause

For our Sunday Housewarming BBQ we are having a sausage sizzle with all the trimmings.

Our friend Byron has entered a charity ride Tour de Cure, he had one of those sausage sizzles at Bunnings last weekend, however due to the rain he didn’t get through all of the sausages.

So we have offered to take a couple of kilos off his hands and donate some more money to his charity cause.

I am glad we are able to help out Byron, not the mention the sausages are from Super Butcher and I hear they taste amazing!

Check out Byron’s Tour de Cure page https://www.tourdecure.com.au/index.php/pages/view-member/257

Housewarming :: Use Facebook

Seeing how we are living in the social media era and most people are on Facebook, I added our events to the “event” function of FB.

People may say I am crazy – BUT I added it as a Private Event, so that only the invited can see it.

I used the invite theme as the pic and Bob’s your Uncle.

You can also send messages to those that are invited (updates/reminders).

Saturday, 19th March 2011 – Update:

Hey All,

Brett and I are busy making the final touches to the house before the housewarming weekend!

Check out the blog to see what you are install for:
http://jazzandbrett.blogspot.com/search/label/Housewarming

Looking forward to catching up! Don’t forget to RSVP by Saturday, 26 March 2011.

Cheers
Jazz & Brett


Saturday, 26th March 2011 – Reminder:

Hey Everyone,

If you haven’t already done so please RSVP for our housewarming event today.

Just needing final numbers for catering purposes.

Check out the blog to see what you are install for:
http://jazzandbrett.blogspot.com/search/label/Housewarming

Looking forward to seeing you and showing you the new house (you have heard about so much)!

Cheers
Jazz & Brett

Housewarming: Bowl Covers

Shower caps?

When I was out buying the plates, forks, cups etc I came across these bowl covers.

I have seen them used at parties but never in a shop!

Good idea to help keep any flies at bay.




I guess you could use shower caps, but there are a few different sizes in a pack!

Housewarming:: Nibbles

So ever since we started building the house I have been thinking about the Housewarming and what we would serve at our party.

I just love Dukkah and I have a new Bread Maker too – so I am looking forward to serving Dukkah!

http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/12277/dukkah

I think I may need to do a bread maker test run this weekend.

Along with the usual cheese platters and the like I will be making some dips too!

As I watch 5 million cooking shows and I have decided to do a few of Curtis and Coles dishes:

Beetroot Hommus

• 150 g fresh beetroot cooked until tender, peeled
• 400 g can chickpeas drained and rinsed
• 1 clove garlic
• 2 tbsp tahini
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp cumin
• 6 large fresh mint leaves
• extra virgin olive oil to serve

1. Blend ingredients in a food processor until smooth. Add 2-3 teaspoons water, ½ teaspoon salt and pepper to taste. Drizzle a little extra virgin olive oil over the top to serve.

http://recipes.coles.com.au/recipes/323/beetroot-hommus/

Cheesy White Bean Dip

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 onion finely chopped
• 2 x 400 g cans cannellini beans rinsed, drained
• 1 cup grated parmesan, plus 1 tbsp extra for topping
• 1/2 cup whole egg mayonnaise
• 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tbsp fresh breadcrumbs
• 1 baguette sliced, to serve
• corn chips to serve (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 180°C or 160°C fan.
2. Heat oil in a small frying pan over medium heat. Cook onion for 5 mins, until softened.
3. Place beans in a large bowl and mash lightly with a fork. Add onion, parmesan, mayonnaise, Worcestershire and Tabasco sauces and mix until combined.
4. Transfer to a heat-proof bowl. Combine breadcrumbs and extra parmesan and sprinkle over bean mixture. Bake for 20 mins, until bubbling and golden. Serve with baguette slices or corn chips.

http://recipes.coles.com.au/recipes/590/cheesy-white-bean-dip/


Green Olive Tapenade

• 235 g Always Fresh Anchovy Stuffed Olives
• 50 g capers, drained
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1/2 cup chopped parsley
• 1/2 cup olive oil, plus extra to cover
• 180 g haloumi

1. Roughly chop olives, capers and garlic. Place in a food processor with parsley and process until finely chopped. Add oil and mix well. Place in an airtight container, cover with oil and refrigerate until ready to use.
2. Cut haloumi into thick slices. Heat a non-stick frying pan on high. Cook haloumi, in batches, for 1-2 mins each side, or until golden.
3. Serve haloumi on crackers and topped with tapenade. crackers, to serve

http://recipes.coles.com.au/recipes/967/green-olive-tapenade-with-fried-haloumi/

Spinach, Garlic and Fetta Dip

• 1 clove garlic
• 150 g Baby Spinach Leaves
• 200 g Australian Fetta crumbled
• 1 cup light sour cream
• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tsp oil, for drizzling, optional
• focaccia to serve

1. Bring a large saucepan of water to boil. Add garlic and simmer for 1 min. Add spinach and blanch for 1 min, until wilted. Drain and rinse under cold water. Remove garlic and finely chop. Drain spinach again, squeezing out excess water. Roughly chop.
2. Place spinach and garlic in a bowl with remaining ingredients. Mix well. Drizzle with oil, if using. Serve with focaccia.

http://recipes.coles.com.au/recipes/308/spinach-garlic-fetta-dip/

Housewarming :: To Gift or Not To?

It’s always one of those things re: gift wording on an invite.

Brett isn’t a fan of gift registries and there really isn’t much that we need for the house.

So I have used this wording on our invites:

Your presence is present enough, but if you would like to contribute a little something to our “love nest”, a Bunnings Gift Voucher would be greatly appreciated.

There are a number of projects that we have left to finish so any help by way of vouchers will be put to great use!

• Sky Light
• BBQ Structure
• 2 x Whirly Birds
• 2 x Garden Feature Walls
• Shed

Housewarming :: Invites

To fit in with the Bird Cage and Vintage feel, I have created an invite that features a bird cage and some vintage style carnival/circus typography.

I wanted to keep it simple – black and white with a touch of red (x marks the spot)….

I normally do handmade or custom made hard copy invites, however, this time around I am going for the electronic kind (due to my lack of time).

I think they look cute – even if I do say so myself LOL (Biased Much? LOL)….

Housewarming :: Theme

So the first thing for me in organising any event is the theme – that is where you start.

The theme will set the mood and style of our whole event.

The list of themes and ideas is really limitless!

I have a lot of bits and pieces (event décor and props) so in the spirit of re-using things you already have I want to incorporate them.

Our events will also be held in April and Easter will be in late April this year…. So I am going to incorporate a little bit of Easter into the theming as well.

So what am I thinking?

Informal, Vintage, BBQ, Picnic………

Vintage Bird Cages
Birds nest with Easter eggs
Pink, Purple and White Peony’s
Lots of candles – tealight and church style
Lanterns
Glass Bottle Vases
White Table Cloths with some sort of natural table runner
Punch or a Drinks Station
Vintage looking drinks tubs
Dessert Station
Signature Event Drink
White, Pink, Green, Purple – pastel colours

Saturday Night - Informal Cocktail Style

Sunday Lunch - Informal BBQ Lunch Style

So there is the start of things to come....

Will you theme your Housewarming Party?

Housewarming Weekend Series

So a Housewarming Party is on the cards, so I am busy in planning mode at the moment.

I thought I would share with you my process in planning the Housewarming Weekend (I hope you are interested????)….

So if you are new to the blog you probably wouldn’t know that I am an Event Manager…..

I always say if I were a hairdresser then my hair would look fab at the party, but as an event manager – the event has to pop and be something fab (as that is what I do)….. just pointing that out so you don’t think I am too over the top!

So over the next weeks I will be blogging about all the elements that will make up Housewarming Weekend:

• Theme
• Invites
• Menus
• Décor
• Beverages

Housewarming “WEEKEND”???? Yes we want our friends to see the house so we are going to have a weekend event rather than a 1 day event – just so there is enough space and we can catch up with everyone.

The theme is: