ugly sweater party

alls,

the ugly sweater party is rapidly approaching. for those who are a little trumped on how to go about this, please read the following advice on a charming blog i stumbled upon:

"1. Think Ironic. You probably have fond memories of your older female relatives at holiday gatherings wearing sweaters with Christmas trees and Santa Claus. The Ugly Christmas Sweater Party pokes fun at these wardrobe choices, and no one wants to be mean to Grandma. So mentally separate the Grandma sweater from the Party sweater. Pretend she wouldn't be hurt by the concept. And for God's sake, don't tell her about it.

2. Think Thrift Shop. Whether going or throwing, you might want to pick up some special specimens, and you won't find a better source than Goodwill. And you can't beat the prices. Just plan on spending a little extra for dry cleaning.

3. Think with a Twist. Move beyond the sweater. Add in a turtleneck, jewelry or a tie.

4. Think Regional. Florida, Hawaii...not the right spots for this concept. Compromise! Try an Ugly Christmas Hat or T Shirt Party instead so no one passes out unless it's for the right reason: eggnog overdose.

5. Think Unsexy. There's nothing hot about a Christmas sweater, unless you're wearing it in Hawaii (against our excellent advice). No bare midriffs, especially on guys."

(http://hellishholidays.blogspot.com/2006/12/ugly-christmas-sweater-party-guide.html)

if you're looking for further inspiration, you can also think: "sweeney sisters." behold....

*************

anticipate magic this season.

anticipate my first ugly christmas sweater party, complete with mocktails, white elephants gifts, a cheesy christmas greeting card photo scene, live music, and potentially, POTENTIALLY, an appearence by the sweeney sisters.

48 views huh

count is up to 48 views. not bad for not having any postings since june.

anticipate something big for the holidays. promise.

About last weekend.....

Well it happened. Oh boy it happened. So the weekend happened.

Yeah.

So more valuable than the return I earned was the experience and knowledge I gained. I know that now is definitely not the time for me to be running my own business. I’m better off working for other people, I think, at least until I have some more business experience under my belt.

But I can’t let the Virgin Lips Project die. Sobriety is too important a subject to me and this community for me to let it completely go. So I’m in the process of revamping it. Instead of focusing on making money, I want to focus on why I’m creating the Virgin Lips Project in the first place.

I’m creating Virgin Lips because of people that I know well and are dear to my heart and are having trouble kicking some nasty addictions. I want to create an alternative social scene that is interesting and stimulating without the hard controlled substances. I want people to stop focusing so much on themselves and to start giving to others. I want to do things like Angelina Jolie is doing: focusing on people that have a greater need than herself, serving them, raising awareness about them.

I admire her attention to world issues and her charity. She said that when she was fourteen and dropping acid, what she really needed at that time was to be dropped in the middle of Africa and be told to help people. It completely transformed her, and I admire that so much.

Please add the Virgin Lips Project as your friend on myspace. Friends and I will be thinking of ways and finding ways to serve our communities, and to raise money by having parties where mocktails will be served and money will be raised to donate those who are in greater need than us. I want to make it a point to teach people about the international humanitarian work force, and get more people out there. I want to make it a point to make service to my community, my living space, my neighbors, a sacred habit, a ritual, integrated into my life. I want to be able to effortlessly find ways to serve people the way Christ did.

When we are in the service of our fellow beings, we are in the service of our God. Charity never faileth.

So um … who’s with me?

BIG FREAKIN' DEAL

Come to studio 600 next weekend! As I will be there offering my services as a dry bartender to a large public audience for the first time, all night Thursday and Friday, with me coming in and out on Saturday night. Drinks will be around $3 a pop. Come, dance the night away, and enjoy some delicious drinks!

We're getting started guys, and it's so gosh dang exciting!!

fresh ideas

another reason to be horribly excited to be a graduated individual: graduation presents.

voila "the party girl cookbook", a gift from auntie carolyn and uncle dale. they rock. and so will some more of my parties, thanks to them :)

this is what happens.....

.....when a bunch of guys who've known each other since jr high show up to a party and have lots of sugar in their system. and fire, no matter how small, is somehow involved.



(as you'll notice, these videos don't make much sense, nor are they perfect, but they're fun and i like to sneak peeks at them at work and remember good times.)



this is what happens...when the camera is sideways.



this is what happens..when you try to take a picture but the camera's left on video. silly, silly us with big smiles.

....for taste bud memories, our menu......

~Menu~

Secret Stolen Margaritas: Mango, Coconut
Explosion of Mango or Coconut with a hint of Lime. Ssssh! These recipes were stolen!

Sparklers: Pomegranate, Peach
Try some Bubblies in elegant Pomegranate or delicate Peach.

Martini
Lotsa fizzy Lemon.

Fuzzy Navel
Blend of Peach Nectar and O.J.

Brandy Alexander
Like Chocolate Milk in a tux.

Mai Tai
Shaken, not stirred, blend of Pineapple, Cranberry, Lime and Grapefruit.

Citrus Twister
Feast on tangy Orange, Grapefruit, and Lime concoction.

Bahama Dream
Everybody loves Strawberries, Bananas, Pineapple.

Blue Mermaid
Exotic splashes of Passion Fruit & Pomegranite mingled with Blue Raspberry.

Laughing Buddha
Sip this Pineapple mix & ponder the sound of a one-handed Clap.

Sober Hippie
This chilled blend of *Decaf* herbal chai tea latte with chocolate will have you ready to throw the establishment.

hipsters party sober

we're all revelling in the appearence of evil.






my team, brooke c and 'spen.


"this is what happens when you get a group of guys who have known each other since jr high."


sipping secret stolen mango margarita


j-stuff and tawn-tawn




what i like about digies is it's hard to make a photo not look cool.




too cool to not share


likewise


tawni and i could pass as sisters. sam is our superfriend.




mark, you're awesome. what a gentleman.


card sharks.




check out that action.


....like i said about that revelling part.....


don't worry ma, gma, we're all sotally tober.




cheers!


anela, the man MAGNET!


peace.

village voice

Read. This. Article. Now.

http://www.villagevoice.com/nyclife/0622,romano,73365,15.html

This is what I'm talking about. This is part of my goal.

thank you

danke shein, gracias, merci, dank u, grazie, σας ευχαριστούμε, obrigado, thanks man!

i thought i'd take a sec to thank my buddy joel for the interest he's taken in my idea and do some work on it all by his onesome. he also came up with the name for my first invented drink recipe, which has since been christened "pirranha spit". his encouragement is inspiring me. and it really couldn't have come at a better time.



thanks dood for being a friend, which helped me feel cool again. you're rad! and you'll need to be down here when i propose my idea to others in business.

PS. announcement: i'm having a party on the 14th. if any of you in readerland can get here, y'all should come.

naked pomegranate

since i haven't posted in awhile, i figured i should post something. so while i'm not an official advertiser, i did want to share something new that i found: naked juice. specifically, pomegranate. have you tried this stuff? oh my goodness it's rad! observe:



as a friend observed, pomegranate can be consumed like wine, as it is fairly strong for some, yet has a delicate taste. this is a flavor to be savored!

since here at virgin lips, we're about being creative with what we drink, i thought i'd provide a recipe. this recipe is a twist from a virgin appletini recipe i served at my last party, and it was very popular. if any of you try this and like it, hit me up for some feedback. so, i give you the christened:

naked pomegraniti (nay khed / pom uh grah nee tee)
- 2 oz naked pomegranate juice
- 1/2 oz simple syrup (made with one part water, one part sugar)
- splash of lime juice
-granulated sugar for rimming (you might be able to find pomegranate flavored sugar in specialty stores, like "sur la table")

directions:
- pour ingredients into cocktail shaker with ice.
- shake well.
- strain liquid into cocktail glass with a sugared rim.
- garnish with flower for looks.

hot drinks

being of the mormon religion, i don't drink coffee products or any hot, caffeinated beverages. however, i feel that lds people are missing out on one of the great pleasures of life by not being creative with what we drink. from my life-long experience as a latter-day saint attending mormon social functions, i've noticed that are drink options usually consist of water, punch, juice, or hot chocolate. we being an extremely busy and peculiar ;) sort of people, we tend to do things at a fast pace. we don't just hang about talking, unless it involves competition (ie sports, a board game), a meal, or church.

so lds people have no concept of social drinking. the idea of spirit in the community via bar or coffee shop is totally lost. there are obvious reasons behind this: places and activities where alcohol is the norm are generally discouraged as places to solicit by lds leaders. so, tier one of the virgin lips project is to provide a place that's a substitute for alcohol.

but what about hot drinks? what about the coffee shop? there are, once you look and get creative, a wide variety of delicious hot drinks that are consistent with the word of wisdom.



"sinner!" some may say to me for soliciting the business of starbucks, but you know what, meh. i love the drinks--hello, i'm a seattleite--and you should try them too. they're delicious. if you're like me and you like having something like this everyday, then the $2 + spare change a pop adds up rather quickly.

list of suggestions of things that you can make at home for a cheaper solution, as well as noncoffee products to look for in coffee houses:

*decaf mochas: (that's hot chocolate, with a shot of decaf coffee)
*white/dark hot chocolate blends
*decaf chai tea (add some milk to make a latte)
*decaf teas: there's a variety of herbals out there, as well as green & ginger
*apple cider
*hot milk, esp. hot soy milk with honey or caramel
*vanilla bean products
*decaf herbal hazlenut coffee

coffee syrups, available at restaurant supply stores like cash n' carry, are a good way to add some flavor and flair to your beverage. other ideas are adding cinnamon, nutmeg, whipping cream, half & half, ground chocolate, marshmallows, m&m's, and of course all kinds of sugar. i even see packets of raw sugar out there.

get creative and remember, drinking and social drinking can be a pleasurable event! the coffeehouse is not evil! meanwhile, don't ignore the calorie value of these drinks simply because you sip or slup it into your body rather than eat. if loaded with extras, think of it as dessert in liquid form.



cheers!

thanks, we're straight

we had a party a few weeks ago. johnners was photographer. lawn darci and yeisy all stepped in as bartenders. and we had a fabulous time.








mysterious yeisy and fabulous darci.




smile bergen!




great shoes, johnners!



explaining the bar to alana. cool glasses, huh?



three's a party! nicole, lindsey and john.



awwww, thanks lindsey!




prof got back to me with my powerpoint presentation to foot to a business man. i might just have something yet.

baby steps

in january of 2006, a mocktail bar was a mere germ of an idea. kind of like the stage that it's in today, only even less developed. a young woman, who had worked at a restaurant and had observed how much fun people had drinking socially together, decided to throw a mocktail party for her friends, because most of them didn't drink and wouldn't even consider stepping into a bar, just for the fun of it.

everyone had a blast. pretty soon friends wanted her to bartend for their parties and she started to think she might be able to make some money with this.

also during that semester, she took a business french class that was really hard and made her fairly irritable. until they got to the final class project: develop a business idea of your own and present it to the class.

bingo.

she convinced her class partner to work on this idea with her, and so they hit the main points of running this kind of business and made a powerpoint presentation in french. she served mocktails to her classmates to be a brown-noser, and as an excuse to spend money on martini glasses. after the presentation she asked her professor who she could talk to more, if she wanted to do this thing for real.

her professor gave her a reference. but then, at the last minute, she ran away for the summer and had some crazy and painful experiences and neglected the idea. she came back to school and had some more crazy and painful experiences and all but forgot about the idea. through her pain she found that she dearly wanted to help people with substance addictions. she realized that she had some valuable knowledge, and a unique perspective on this canker to society and families.

interestingly enough, she ran into this professor again one night at a french activity. he recognized her and remembered her idea and encouraged her to contact him for the reference. she was encouraged.

through her pain, she found new purpose. she decided that no matter what happened with the business, it was important to try. layered to her idea of wanting to sell virgin drinks, she found a deeper purpose: educate people about drugs, and promote sobriety.

she's translated her powerpoint presentation into english, and is adding more slides about her new-found vision. she's arranging to meet with this business reference.

this girl doesn't know where the virgin lips project will go. maybe nowhere. but this girl knows that she has to try.