Category: It’s Party Time!

Scentcerely Yours 🖤

There is basically nothing I love more than a good craft, diy, or an event!  However, I DO love to do these things outside of my house.  I mean no clean up, Amiright?!?  So let me give you the lowdown on my new FAVORITE shop, Scentcerely Yours!  First of all, it’s nestled in downtown Geneva which is a gem in itself.  Second of all, the owners are AWESOME!  Trust me, you will love them within seconds of meeting them.  They are super passionate about their shop and truly genuine people.  I strongly believe Everything in business starts at the top and it shows at Scentcerely Yours.  Third, you get to make your OWN candle to take home 🖤!!!  AND, drumroll…..you get to pick your own scent!!!  Yup-hence the name Scentcerely Yours!

Emme and I spent the morning there about a week ago and made our own candle while Maxwell was at school.  Note:  Scentcerely Yours is totally cool with your littles being in tow!!  Below I will walk you through the process of making your own Scentcerely Yours Candle.

See what I mean about being “nestled” in Downtown Geneva?  If you blink you might miss it, so be sure not too:).

(Susi & Rob-owners, Britt-Marketing Coordinator)

Upon walking in you likely see one of these three smiling faces above!  Susi and Rob(the two on the left are the owners I mentioned that really make this a place you want to go back too.  They actually ran this business as a test in their basement before officially opening!  Britt is the super fun and spunky marketing coordinator that is sure to help you!

This wall of approximately 100 candles are actually pre-made candles for purchase but also the scents that you choose from to make your extra special Scent-Scentcerely Yours!  You pick 3 to make your scent.  I found this part challenging because I am V indecisive when it comes to REALLY major decisions such as making a candle.  lol.  They provide you with a paper to track all your favs and will support you in making a scent that goes well together.  So don’t stress about that!

The next major decision in your candle making journey is choosing what container to put it in!  Truly, they are all cute!  But I knew within seconds I needed this grey and gold number(it’s a surprise so you will see it below).

Then the real candle making begins….

You mix all three of your scents and do multiple sniff tests along the way!

As you can see, Emme enjoyed her time there eating a cookie!!

Next, you mix the wax and the oils together.

Being a part of the process really is such a good time!

I ended up choosing Bourbon, Roasted Chestnut, and Honeycrisp to make my Special Scent.

And I then named it:  Apple Orchard.  See you even get to make your label.  I probably should have gotten a bit more creative with this part.

The final step is that your candle has to sit for 90 mins, which is actually amazing in Geneva because there are SO many good restaurants.  So go have lunch and a drink will you wait!

Then you get to pick up this CUTE package!!!!

So, ladies, gentlemen, everyone, get your little booty over to SY’s and make yourself a candle!  Or, look at ALL of the fun ideas and or reasons to head to Scentcerely Yours!!!  Plus, you can actually make other things besides candles.  Check out all of the scents and other products by clicking here.

Here is my candle at my house, I know, It’s weird that it’s Apple Orchard and it’s by a pumpkin sign but whatevs!!!!

XOXO,

Lissa

Shop my look HERE!

***This post was sponsored but all opinions are my own***

Alice’s Table

Last Thursday I got to attend an event that basically screams Alissa!  I mean, the company is named Alice’s Table, the initials are AT.  Which just so happen to be the same as mine.  The funny part about this is that while at the event I was sharing pics and videos to my instagram stories and I hadn’t even noticed that we “share” the same initials!  I had numerous messages from friends asking questions!  No wonder I had such a great time!

What is Alice’s Table?

Alice’s Table is a company that was on Shark Tank back in March, but has been around for 3 years.  In fact the night of this particular event, September 20th, happened to be their 3 year Anniversary!  Cheers!  Alice’s Table has consultants that host floral making events anywhere and everywhere!  This is where Melissa comes in(Melissa is the consultant that hosted the event I attended), Melissa was a stay at home mom for 18 years!  She now works part time as a CPA and needs a creative outlet.  Her creative outlet is hosting parties for Alice’s Table.

Where was the event I was at?

The event I attended was at an awesome Jewelry store in Downtown Geneva, IL, called Falmouth Road.  Falmouth Road is super unique, you should take a second to check out their website here and learn about who they are!  If you are local you MUST stop in there!

What did we do?!?!?

This is where all the fun pictures come into play!  I am such a visual person and these flowers don’t need a ton of explanation.  All of the images you see in this post were taken by Just Ducky Photography.

Melissa had everything set up for us on the tables.  The vase, all the equipment, our cute little aprons, and our flowers were all displayed like a little market!  Ellen from Falmouth Road had LOTS of wine and yummy apps!

Melissa then walked us through set by step what to do in order to make our flower arrangement.  They seriously look like they came from a luxury florist!  It was so fun to see how everyones turned out!!!

You can see the progression of the arrangements!

And TA-DA!!!  Everyone’s bouquets!

I am sure you are all wondering, how do I have a fun party like this?!?!?!  

All you have to do is find an event by clicking here

If you are local, Melissa’s next event is going to be extra cool as she is partnering with a vintage clothing company called Barley Wheat Vintage.  Click here to join!  Or email Melissa if you would like to host your own event!  melissalynn.alicestable@gmail.com

You can always follow along on Melissa’s Floral Journey through instagram or facebook too!

 

A couple things to note:

Melissa picks up fresh flowers from the flower market!  No wonder they are so gorgeous, right??!?!

A fun event idea would be to do this for a Bridal shower, or even with your bridesmaids the night before your shower!!!

 

Have a good week Y’all!!!

XOXO,

Lissa

 

 

***This event was sponsored but all opinions are my own***

Blogger Event

My friend Julia and I threw the cutest little party in the cutest little town at the cutest little restaurant this past Saturday!!!  And now I’m here to tell YOU all about it!

What was the event?!!  In a nutshell, as bloggers you can sometimes feel like you are out on an island alone, learning things on your own, and really wishing you had “your” people to help you through it.  So we decided to start a Tri Cities Blogger Group(The area that we live in) and thought what better way to meet our soon to be new friends than to through an awesome party with awesome swag!  Amiiright?!?!

Who came to the event?!?  I’m going to Link everyone’s instagrams below because you should definitely give them a follow!  Everyone that came has something completely different to offer which made it that much more fun!

Julia:  @theblissfulmomma

Renata:  @renewingmom

Becky & Kat:  @sweatequity101

Laura:  @lauraswansieckman

Krystle: @darlingdwelling

Who Sponsored our event?!?  Truly the best of the best!!!  Also linking their insta!

Restaurant:  The Walrus Room

Workshop:  Renewing Mom

Flower Crowns:  Willrette Flower

Silk Bandanas:  Jori & June

Leather Earrings:  Hide & Heart

Photography:  Wild Indigo Photography

What did we do?!?  Naturally, we wined, dined, chatted, and even did some goal setting with our girl Renata!  Did you know that your To Do List is most likely full of goals?  Which means we set wayyyy too many for ourselves!

Photo Gallery in no particular order:

 

Hope you enjoyed this as much as we did!  Follow the hashtag #tricitiesbloggerbabes to follow all the upcoming fun!

 

XOXO,

Lissa

Shop my full look HERE!

Create & Cultivate: The Conference

Let me just start off by saying this will probably be the most instagram-able blog post you will ever read, no really!  This conference was GORGEOUS!!!  While I was at Create & Cultivate I had a lot of people ask me what it was and or how you can go.  It’s basically a conference for all women entrepreneurs and influencers.  A few years ago I remember Lauren Conrad being a keynote speaker at one of the Create & Cultivate conferences so naturally it sparked my interest and ever since I have wanted to go!  It is a very intimate amount of people, I would say around 500(definitely the smallest I’ve ever been too).  This is what made it extra special, not to mention there were no lines!  The conference was located in Chicago at The House of Vans.  Super cool venue that made the event that much better.

The above picture is the outside of the House of Vans, below is what we walked into!!!

Some of the cutest stages that I ever did see!!!!

Any event that has a balloon drop is definitely where I want to be!!!

So many photo opportunities and vendors giving us ALL the swag!!!  Seriously came home with so much of it.  Shop my entire look from Conference day HERE!

If I am being honest, it was overwhelming at first!!  I didn’t know where to walk to first and or what I wanted to see/do.  Once I realized I had the whole entire day, I was good to go.  haha.

They had a braid bar, see how my hair is up now?!?!?!  And Mary Kay had a brow bar where Luis Casco from Project Runway was doing brows!!!  So MUCH fun!

When you match the RX Bar wall, you obvs take a pic!

If you had a VIP ticket, you got to drink all day at this Ca-UTE bar!

See what I’m saying?!?!?!  Every single time you turned around there was something else prettier than what you just saw!

The Speakers were off the hook, and they really only spoke for 30-45 minutes which was fabulous for keeping you interested!

Some of my favorites of the day are shown below and obviously Whitney Port and Ashley Tisdale!

I also got to meet some of my favorite local influencers which was great!!!

This right here was truly the message of the whole conference:  Collaboration OVER Competition.  We will go farther if we all work together!

It really was A WORK PARTY!!!  You should definitely join in next time!!!  Any other questions, send them my way!  Would love to hear from you!

XOXO,

Lissa

One last thing, there was a happy hour the night before sponsored by WeWerk.  That is truly where we made all the friends and met all the people!!!  Here are a bunch of fun pics from the night!!!!  You can shop my entire look HERE!!!

My Partner in Crime for the Weekend!!!

Naked Cake

The Easiest and Prettiest Cake you will ever make!  I just want to start out by saying I am NOT a baker!  I do love to decorate things but if there is a will, there is a way!!  So as if I am not busy enough lately, I committed to making a cake for my friend Kate’s Birthday Gathering.  I kept swaying back and forth on if I should make/decorate or just buy something!  However, I have been wanting to make this specific cake for awhile and I felt it was totally her style!  If the shoe fits!  haha.  So, here you are, step by step!

Ingredients/Supplies(linked the important stuff):

3 Wilton 8 inch round cake pans(you can totally get away with 1)

Wilton Spatula as shown below

Pam Baking Spray(This stuff is life changing)

2 boxes yellow cake mix(or make your own)

2 containers white frosting(or make your own)

Powdered Sugar

Faux Succulents

Cake Stand

It is great to have 3 pans because all I did was spray the pans, throw the mix in, and baked all 3 at the same time!  They fit on one rack in the oven.  The first time I ever did this I only had one pan.  I literally baked each one at a time.  lol.  Ridic!

Pro Tip:  Let them cool for about 15 mins in the pan, then take them out, let them cool completely, put them back into the pan until you are ready to decorate!

My cakes never cook even(flat) and for stacking they obviously need to be.  All I did was slice the top of each of the 3 cakes with a huge knife to make it flat.

Next, I slathered frosting between each layer.  Doesn’t need to be pretty, we will save that for the end.

Then I took the spatula(wiped the frosting off with a paper towel), held it vertical, and just went around the cake.  This gave it that smoother look and also made the frosting kind of spread out.

I wish I would have gotten a better picture of this step….let me tell you it was a HOT mess!!!  It’s all part of the fun.  This is the part where I absolutely don’t know what I am doing but I just want the cake to look a certain way, so I literally threw the powdered sugar all over it!  and Ta-Da!!!  Doesn’t she look pretty?!?!?

I was lucky enough to have faux succulents laying around the house!  All I did was stick them in the cake where I wanted them.  SO easy!

The Finished Product!

Happy Baking!!!!

XOXO,

Lissa

Shop my full Look HERE!

#TadicPartyofTwo

4 years ago sometimes feels like yesterday and other times feels like a century ago.  Maybe because we now have 2 kids!  I always wanted to write a blog post about our wedding because as you know I LOVE planning parties and this was obviously the biggest party I’ve ever planned.  So, better late than never!

It all took place on a super hot and sunny Fourth of July.  It was a Friday, and the City of Chicago was looking especially gorgeous.  We started out getting ready at the W Lakeshore(the girls) and Dusko’s Parents house(the guys).  We had our first look in the Garden at Millennium Park.

Our First Look

We drove the trolley around and took pictures in all kinds of different places.  Some of my favorites were on the lake by the Planetarium and on Lasalle Street.

I should also add that we each had 12 people stand up for us, I know, I know, crazy.  And we had 4 Flower Girls.  The more the merrier!

My Mom & MIL

Our Ceremony Started at 5pm, we had it inside of Salvage One.  It actually is set up to look like a church, with tons of chandeliers.

My Dad & I about to walk down the aisle.

All the Flower Girls.

The Kiss!

Yay, We did it!!!!

Cheers, Our First Drink as Husband & Wife!

Cocktail hour immediately followed on the main floor, with dinner upstairs.  If you have never been to or heard of Salvage One it is a truly unique place.  It was actually only the second venue we went to and we basically booked it on the spot.  It has such an eclectic feel but also vintage, farm-ish.  I don’t even know how to explain it.  It was definitely all I ever dreamed of and more.

And now introducing…..Mr. & Mrs.  Dusko Tadic!!!!

After Dinner & Speeches, we all danced the night away!

 

We also had a food truck come and sparklers…because = Fourth of July!  Salvage One has the cutest little courtyard out back where The Slide Ride pulled right up.

Venue:  Salvage One

Hotel:  W Chicago Lakeshore

Caterer:  Occasions Chicago

Florist:  Eva’s Floral Wonders

Cake:  Oak Mill Bakery

Food Truck:  The Slide Ride

Transportation:  Chicago Trolleys

Dress:  Paloma Blanca

Bridesmaid Dresses:  Two Birds

Photographer:  Stacy Vitallo

I hope you enjoyed reliving our day with us!

XOXO,

Lissa

Fourth of July Fun!

With Fourth of July only a couple days away, I have been trying to decide what I will make!  I thought I would share some of the fun & festive recipes/drinks I have found and plan to try!  I love a good side and or drink that tastes good and looks super cute/festive.

Last year I made this delicious Boozy Frosé Recipe!!!

It is the best one I have found.  Not only did it taste good, it just made the party more fun!  Especially with this heat we have been having, who doesn’t want an iced treat?!?!?!

This Watermelon FROSÉ looks absolutely delicious too!

And these Adult Capri Sun’s, OMG!!!  If I have time, I am TOTALLY making these.  So much fun in a little bag!

I think I will also make these side dishes because they look SO good!!!!

Blueberry Strawberry Salsa

Blueberry Caprese Salad

And maybe a sweet treat or two!!!

Red, White, & Blue Cheesecake Salad

4th of July Cake in A Jar

 

What will you be serving up on Independence Day?!?!?!?!  Would love to hear all about it in the comments!

XOXO,

Lissa

Darling, Today You are One

We had Emerson’s First Birthday Party this weekend, we had a blast and I can’t believe it has already come and gone!  I wasn’t totally in the mood for planning a party this year which is odd because I LOVE to host and throw parties.  I realized that it was because I just wasn’t coming up with the perfect theme! Once I landed on Boho Floral, the rest was history!  Here are some pictures of all the special details!  I linked everything below!

Darling, Today you are One Poster.  When I saw this on etsy, I knew we needed it!  The Garland/poster stand are hobby lobby!  I couldn’t find the exact Poster Stand, but thought this one was super cute!

I just love this little drink area, the napkins are too cute, the gummies have alcohol(the adults needed something too!  lol).  The cocktail sign is old from target’s Dollar Spot!  Pellegrino just matched the theme and was of course a hit.  The letterboard is linked here, everyone needs one of these.  I have used it for so many parties and just fun to change with the seasons!  Oh, and you better believe the wine of choice was Santa Margherita Pinot Grigio and Some of my other favorite, Kim Crawford, Sauvignon Blanc!

The cookies are from my favorite local cookie baker, Sara’s Custom Cookies!

This super cute wall hanging I made with the help of my mom and grandma.  I bought the ranunculus bouquets from afloral.com, tied them on the string and attached them to this branch from my grandparent’s yard!  Super easy and makes such a statement.

As for Emme’s smash cake I am very proud of myself!  I bought an $8 cake from jewel and asked them to leave it white.  I added the flowers, eucalyptus leaves, and the One stick (didn’t make this) myself!  A much cheaper option than the $50 cakes I was looking at.  If you put your mind to it, you can do anything!

I Love this picture of Emme eating her cake and her big brother, Maxwell helping/eating her cake with her!  My heart melted as this was happening.

I absolutely fell in love with the floral garlands I made for the balloons, it of course did not turn out exactly as expected but to be honest, party planning never does!  You just have to roll with the punches and be creative!  I bought peony garland, eucalyptus sprays, and some extra Hot pink peonies to add more color.  All I used was floral tape to get it all to stay, floral tape is a must if working with real or fake flowers.  I had never used it before, and it’s amazing!!!  A real game changer.  The balloons I ordered in advance because Party City doesn’t seem to offer any of the fun shapes.  However, when Dusko went to pick them up, PC had popped a couple so we ended up with these random ones which actually turned out great!  Oh, and don’t worry the helium balloons couldn’t hold the weight of the garland!  lol, so I had to stick 3M hooks to my wall.  So basically, now I need to have someone come patch my walls…..eek!

Emerson’s adorable dress is from old navy!  Get it before it’s gone because its on clearance!!!  Her moccs are freshly picked, they are basically the only shoes that stay on her feet!!!  Dusko and Maxwell’s shirts are also from old navy!    Check out my top, my jeans, and my earrings!  These earrings are the Lightest and cutest things ever!

I love me some flower crowns so I knew we had to incorp this somehow!  These crowns were so cheap and turned out great!  The gold crowns were super cool for the dudes too!

Here are some of the crowns in action!

Had to share how I decided to display Baby Girl’s month pics!  Used this awesome printer that you can take any picture and print it as if it were a polaroid!!!

Here is a close up!

Last, this cake is seriously from Costco!  If you have never tried their $18 cake, trust me and order it for your next party!!!  You won’t regret it.  It’s also HUGE!  haha.  The trick is, they sort of decorate them a bit cheesy, so I asked them to leave it white and write Happy Birthday on it.  Then I got to do the rest!  Turned out great for $18!

Hope you enjoyed looking at pictures of Emerson’s Special Day!  I loved planning it and so happy with how it came together.

Have a great week!

XOXO,

Lissa

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Easiest and Cutest Treat-Oreo Pops

 

Oreo Pops are my go to treat!  They are so stinking easy and just adorable.  I started making them when cake pops first became popular.  See, the thing is, I love to decorate things but I HATE baking!  After many different google and pinterest searches for Cake pops I determined the process of making them was just too lengthy for someone like me.  Thus, I found a picture of cake pops once for my annual ornament party and now have made them multiple times for different holidays and events!

What you will need:

Double Stuffed Oreos

Treat Sticks(I always use wilton simply because they are easy to find)

Wilton candy melts(you can of course use any kind of chocolate but I usually need colors)

Decor of any kind

clear treat bags for packaging individually

cute ties for packaging

Aluminum foil or parchment paper

 

STEP 1-Prep

Cover your countertop with aluminum foil or parchment paper.  Separate the Oreos, I usually twist them to open.  Warning:  you will end up breaking a few, I usually feed those to my husband.

 

STEP 2-Oreo Pop Assembly

Place the treat stick in the center of the Oreo side that has all of the creamy goodness, then place the other side of the Oreo on top.  This makes the actual Oreo pop, see how much easier this is than Cake pops!!!  I have at times used frosting to help keep the oreos together once the stick is inside.  They usually stay together just fine once the chocolate covers them anyways but if you are a perfectionist use the frosting as glue!

STEP 3-Melting the Candy Melts

I have wasted so much in the past because its so easy to over cook chocolate. FOLLOW the directions on the bag-trust me.  Basically, heat the chocolate on defrost for 60 seconds, then 30 second intervals after.  It usually doesn’t take longer than a minute.

STEP 4-Dip the Oreos

This pretty much speaks for itself.  Dip the Oreos into the candy melts, this is my favorite part because your product is really coming to life here.  Set each one back onto the aluminum foil or parchment paper, decorate with whatever you would like.

STEP 5-Let them cool

STEP 6-Package

Wrap them up in little baggies or whatever packaging.  I love this step because they end up looking so professional.  For this particular round of oreo pops, I used a mini bail of hay to hold them up because they are pumpkins!  Such a fun little centerpiece.

 

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