Martie Knows Parties on MyRecipes.com: Midnight in Paris Brunch

Photo Courtesy Arden PhotographyDo you know I am the go-to party girl for the great folks at MyRecipes.com? We love their site-- if you haven't used it, try it! MyRecipes.com is a party planner's dream come true. In addition to one of the largest recipe collections on the web, they have a lot of tools and articles to help you. All of their recipes are tested by the Southern Living kitchens so you know you can trust them, and many of them are rated by readers, too. You can use their menu planning feature to help you with a menu for your next party. It really makes planning easy!

Check out our latest Martie Knows Parties video and menu: Midnight Brunch in Paris! This is a wonderful party theme for this time of year. Reuse your holiday lights and decorations-- add a few simple menu items like a delicious savory quiche and some bubbly and this party practically hosts itself. Get the how-to and the whole 411 on the Martie Knows Parties hub at MyRecipes.com

WATCH THE HOW-TO VIDEO NOW

Special thanks to Arden Ward of Arden Photography for the beautiful photography for the Paris brunch video and slideshow.

Thanksgiving How-To: The Complete Thanksgiving 911

From our Thanksgiving table photo shoot with Vietri & Bromberg's for Birmingham Home & Garden MagazineOK, I am crazy busy these days--- like most people. Video shoots, photo shoots, recipe development, party planning sessions, meetings, meetings about the meetings, etc, etc! And I don't have to carpool or take a dog to the vet, go to the soccer game, and all of those other things most women I know have on their schedule every day. WOW. How doyou have time to do it all? Well, I started looking for a resource to help some readers who've asked me for help for their Thanksgiving get-togethers. Instead of piecing the information together, my friends at MyRecipes.com have come up with a complete how-to guide to Thanksgiving. You can find answers to your most asked questions: everything from problems with lumpy gravy to thawing your bird, dry dressing and lots more. If you can't find the answer to your Thanksgiving dilemma here-- shoot me an email and we'll help you!

Go to MyRecipes.com Thanksgiving 911 slideshow

More Thanksgiving resources:

Pumpkin Pie Recipes & Tips

Turkey Hotline

Favorite Holiday Casserole Recipes

USDA Food Safety Hotline

Easy Halloween Party Ideas: Carve Your Own Pumpkin People!

We did these pumpkin people last year and they got such rave reviews, we're repeating them for you this year. It's a great family project and a great way to spend an afternoon. Pumpkins are pretty inexpensive this year so you can make a couple of these for your front entry. Be sure to freeze the flesh for pies, soups, and more fall favorites.

Here's how:

You'll need three pumpkins in graduated sizes and a dowel, broomstick, stake, or piece of pipe or PVC for each pumpkin person plus "accessories" to dress them up. First, carve your favorite pumpkin face. Next, stack up your pumpkins to see how they fit together naturally. Next, drill a hole in the top of the bottom pumpkin and insert the dowel until it hits the bottom. Drill a hole in the top and bottom of the middle pumpkin and thread it onto the dowel. Last, drill a hole in the bottom of your carved pumpkin (the face) and place it on the top. Decorate with buttons, flowers, a hat, etc. FYI- I just made some of these and cheated a little and used carpet tape to stick the pumpkins together since I didn't have a drill handy and it worked great. For more unique pumpkin carving ideas, check out with all kinds of decorating ideas. Some don't even require carving. More Halloween ideas for decorating, costumes, and menus all week! Stay tuned!

Baby Shower Themes: Duck, Duck--- Ducky!

Photo Credit: Arden PhotographyDoesn't it seem like there's always a new baby on the way? You can celebrate the new arrival in style and it doesn't have to cost a fortune. Start by cutting back on expensive party decorations and use your food, beverages, dishes and serving pieces as your decorations. We used an adorable polka dot ducky cake as our centerpiece for this party. Break out your nice dinnerware to set a beautiful table. Your everyday dishes will usually work just fine. Add a colorful salad plate like we did here. You can even use plastic or melamine---- even paper! These days, there are no rules about using just one pattern. Mixing and matching patterns and textures are in!

Make or order a fun cake or cupcakes and incorporate a fun theme. This rubber ducky theme is adorable, no matter if your new mom is expecting a little boy or a little girl. Bright and colorful, this party theme is even fun for a little one's first birthday party. Add a pop of color with glassware or a signature beverage in party colors: pink like my favorite Pomegranate lemonade for a little girl or blue, like these Blue Breeze cocktails. Make sure to serve a non-alcoholic option also.

Send guests home with a rubber ducky of their own, along with a luxurious bath bomb (love the Lush bath bombs) as a party favor.

See our upcoming article in Birmingham Home & Garden magazine! Special thanks to Bromberg's, Arden Photography and Diane Olexa of Olexa's Cakes.

Update on Wednesday, September 16, 2009 at 10:46PM by Martie Duncan

My friend from back in the day, Toni Graves Whitten passed along this too adorable idea for a baby shower and I wanted to share it with you. Here's what to do:

These are made with paper nut/mint cups and look like baby booties. Take two paper cups, a Kleenex, two jumbo cotton balls and a piece of ribbon for each bootie. Place one cup roughly centered on the Kleenex. Then place the two jumbo cotton balls side by side directly in front of the cup (this will make the toe part of the bootie.) Pull up the sides of the Kleenex up and tuck into the cup. Take the second cup and put inside the first to hold the Kleenex. Finally, take the ribbon and wrap it around the cup that is sticking up slightly and tie a bow with the ribbon. Use different colored Kleenex and ribbons to match your baby shower color scheme. Fill with nuts, candies, mints, etc. Enjoy!

Holiday Decorations for the Kids

Once again my precious niece Kaitlin has put together some adorable decorations for our family's holiday gathering. She used apples, peanuts, almonds, some googly craft eyes and a paper napkin folded as the big bird's tail feathers. Aren't they great? Keep these apple turkey centerpieces in mind for next year, or add a wide black, some cotton and you've got a cute Santa. We'll have photos of those soon for your kid's holiday party decorations. And there's no waste because you can peel and eat these later! Thanks Katie! You're the best!