When times get tough (or people start believing times are tough), we revert back to the things that made us happy…

Back In The Day. 

The days of childhood and carefree living.  Before things like taxes and mortgages and weight gain.

Which is why, when Belevdere IX (as in “One X”) launched its new line of vodka last week, we saw CANDY make it’s own rockstar appearance.

Regular readers know that I have long been a fan of the Candy-Cocktail Combo, saving Halloween candy for garnishes, always rimming a glass with a colorful and/or flavored sugar, and finding fun new goodies to pair with signature drinks. 

How yummy to deconstruct a cocktail like the mojito and serve the alcohol/lime/mint mixture over tufts of COTTON CANDY!

How ’bout a shot of vodka, accompanied by a beautiful slice of pink grapefruit and a POP ROCKS chaser? 

A chocolate liqueur shooter topped with a toasted marshmallow might hit the spot instead… 

Yep, the good ol’ days are back again.

*photos courtesy of MixMingleGlow.  All rights reserved.

…like I forgot something somewhere. 

Had I missed an appointment? 

Forgotten to sign some VIP (Very Important Paper)? 

Inadvertently left a child at the grocery store? 

With the calendar double-checked, the inbox cleared and the children all accounted for, I just sat and thought about what in the world was itching my brain. 

Then it occurred to me. 

I had been so busy last week planning and preparing for a good chunk of the Bridal Population migrating to the area to say their “I Do’s” that I <gasp!> had neglected my blogging duties!  WHAT?  ME, who just spent an absurd amount of time preaching the Gospel of Blogging to the Event Planning Population at last week’s ISES The Special Event conference in San Diego???  Good grief.  (And I know they are all reading this, tsk-tsking and shaking their heads in sad realization that the Teacher did not practice what she preached.)  {{sigh}}

Well, as a dear friend reminded me recently when I got distracted by some something-or-other, “OK, that’s fine.  Now put your head down and get back to work”.  So, I start  afresh and anew today (with a quiet but sincere “I’m sorry for neglecting you, loyal reader”).

I recently spent several days in meetings with Brides who were in town doing tastings, fittings, site visits, and the like.  While sitting in on the deliciously wonderful Cake Tastings, the virtues of “everything’s made from scratch” were told and retold.  And really, you wouldn’t want it any other way.  Unless perhaps YOU were the one baking it.  Then, really who has the time?  Which is why you pay some fabulously talented pastry chef to create the perfect wedding cake (or other special confection).  But when it comes to throwing a party of your own, hosting a gathering of friends at your home, sometimes you barely have time to clean the bathrooms, right?  And sometimes just opening up a box of cookies and putting them on a plate just won’t cut it!  Thank goodness for my friend, Bakerella.  Look at what she thought up this time:

Super cute for Valentine’s Day dessert, no?  Super easy too! 

No pastry chef required.

A review of the most popular, linked to and/or talked about MMG posts across the web from 2008:

• Winter Wonderland Wedding

Earlier this winter, I had the privilege of working on one of the most beautiful weddings I have ever seen or been a part of…

• DOUGHNUTS!! 

I need to use this crazy cool contraption ASAP….it is so stinkin’ cute I canNOT stand it!  The Dough-Nu-Matic machine is a reasonably compact machine that turns out a dozen mini doughnuts in under six minutes…

• MY MOTTO: If You’re Coming Over To See ME, Stop By Anytime; If You’re Coming Over To See My House, I’ll Need a Week’s Notice!

When was the last time you had people over to your house?  People you actually invited ahead of time to DO something; eat a meal together, catch the game on TV…

• Monkey Birthday Party

As an event planner, it is my job to give the client what he or she wants.  Sometimes this requires jumping through multiple, entangled, jumbo-sized hoops…

• The TRUTH Behind Jenna Bush’s Wedding Cake

The folks over at The Ultimate Cheesecake Bakery  just informed me of the real “scoop” behind that now infamous crooked cake photo released this week from Jenna Bush & Henry Hager’s wedding…

• New York Times Mention!

One word:  THRILLED (to be mentioned in Abby Ellin’s article featured in today’s New York Times Style section!).  I have a friend who innocently asked what the big deal is in being included in the NYTimes as opposed to any other newspaper…

• Live with Regis & Kelly, stage left

Immediately following our time at Sirius with Mario Bosquez at Martha Stewart Radio , we were onto the next event; that being preparing for the TV segment on WABC the following morning…

• No More Pink and Blue Baby Showers

Yes, yes, we know….pink for girls, blue for boys.  {yaawwwn}. In the wedding industry there is a saying that “Brides get married in packs”, which is really pretty true.  You know how it goes, one friend gets the bling and everyone else starts jumping on board.  The pressure…

• What to do with all that CANDY after Halloween?

I received an email asking for tips on what in the world to do about the candy excess after October 31. Throw it all away? Donate it? Let the kids just eat all they want until they are (literally) sick of it?…

• Welcome HWTM Readers!

Some days are just better than others.  Today was one of those days.  My cyber blogging friend Jenn Sbranti, or The Hostess With The Mostess, as she is more commonly known, featured our recent High School Musical 3 party on her painfully hip website…

• Entertaining vs. Hospitality

As you are preparing for your Thanksgiving celebration, whether you are Host or Guest, keep the stress at bay by remembering this:If the turkey isn’t done on time (or over-done!), if no one likes the cauliflower dish you slaved over, if you accidentally break a wine glass…

• A Casual (but still really pretty!) Holiday Potluck

A friend of mine wanted to throw a casual Holiday affair, potluck style, but still have some easy yet elegant touches.  I was so happy that she understood the difference between “casual” and “lackluster” and was happy to offer a bit of guidance.  A few tips for you last minute “casual” party throwers…

Stay tuned for a year of more resourceful, helpful, insightful and inspirational blog posts in 2009!  Have a question or want to share an idea on the Mix Mingle Glow blog?  Leave a comment any time or shoot me an email at robyn@mixmingleglow.com.

I received an email asking for tips on what in the world to do about the candy excess after October 31.  Throw it all away?  Donate it?  Let the kids just eat all they want until they are (literally) sick of it?

About two years ago I started a post-Halloween candy sorting system that has worked amazingly well for us, and I am happy to pass it along to you:

The day after Halloween, sort all the candy.
Throw away the yucky stuff and the items that no one likes.  Be ruthless about this.  No mercy.  If you have a ton of chocolate candy bars, do you really think anyone is going to want the smooshed chocolate frankenstien head?  You have to decide.  Keep all the GOOD stuff.  Divide what you have into ziploc bags accordingly (I use a variety of gallon, sandwich and snack sizes):

- Lollipops for mom’s purse/the car/pantry (moments where a little “bribery” may be needed in an emergency!)
- Chocolate bars.  Chocolate can be melted, shaved for cake decor, chopped for cookies, added to recipes or just snacked on later!  After the first week, throw this bag in the freezer and it will save for a long time.
- Soft fruit flavored chewy candies like Starburst, Skittles, etc. can be saved for future use as garnishes for cocktails (cut a slice out of the side of a lemon candy and place it on the rim of the Lemon Drop martinis for your Thanksgiving dinner party!)
- Hard candies (Jolly Ranchers, Lifesavers) can be crushed and used for holiday “stained glass” cookies 
- Small novelty candies (Nerds, candies shaped like fruit, food, body parts, etc) are perfect for decorating cakes and cupcakes for upcoming birthdays and holiday parties.
- “Real food” items like pretzel bags, raisins, and gelled fruit snacks can go in the pantry for lunches and snacks.
- Anything remaining can be divided further or thrown away.

Separating the candy into clear bags will help you see what you have, and takes away the “mystique” of the Big Bowl of Candy that seems to draw the children in.  Once they can actually see what they have to choose from, they go for what they like the first week and then the rest is picked over fairly quickly.

I find that after about the first week following Halloween, the whole “Can I have a piece of candy?” mantra begins to fade.  I hustle that mentality right along by strategically having some more exciting seasonal options available for snacks like oatmeal raisin cookies and pumpkin muffins. 

The last (and best) use for your trick or treat goodies is to use up as much as possible when decorating gingerbread houses in December.  What is still left over at that point can be tossed out without the guilt of being wasteful.  With Thanksgiving and Christmas around the corner, you can end up using so much of your Halloween candy in holiday baking and decorating
and save some holiday money in the meantime!

 Here are my own organized bags sorted from the goodies my three daughters collected last night:

This year we had so many M&Ms I decided to dedicate a big bag just to them! 

These are all great drink garnishes for the Cocktail Cabinet. 

Other bags included Tootsie Rolls (GREAT for gingerbread house decorating in December!), bubblegum, Nerds, lollipops, Starburst/Skittles, chocolate candy bars….

Oh, and this little ol’ bag?  Ummm, it’s called “Mommy’s Bag”! 

Cayce over at Chickatees sent us an adorable idea for a Pumpkin Carving Party that we wanted to share with you:

“I do a pumpkin carving party every year, and have for the last eight years.  The first one I ever did was a month before Jonathan and I got married and he actually carved wedding bells into the pumpkin.  Then in 2001 after 9/11 we did an American flag.  I always do cute invitations and say BYOP (pumpkin).  We usually keep it in the neighborhood and I do chili and cornbread and have the kids vote anonymously for the best one and that person goes home with a prize.”

How fun!  Such a great idea for creating an easy get-together with your friends at this exciting time of year! 

Spoon into serving bowls.  If desired top and sour cream and shredded cheese.  Makes 7 (1 cup) servings.

Good luck and send me pictures of YOUR pumpkin carving bash!

Congrats to Lauren Simmons who commented: 

“I love #2! They are all super cute. Come visit our blog to see the barrettes I made!”

Lauren wins a Halloween Bow PLUS any other bow from the adorable collections over at The Girly Girl Bowtique! 

We have more fun GIVEAWAYS planned so don’t give up hope if you haven’t won yet! 

We SO appreciate the businesses who sponsor these giveaways so don’t forget to stop by the Girly Girl Bowtique and order your bows for your Flower Girl, holiday gifts and more! 

Our month-long Halloween series has just been moving right along, and I have received SO MUCH feedback from readers about it!  WOW!  Thanks for all the emails and don’t forget, you are always welcome to post a comment about anything on The MMG Blog too, so don’t be skeered…we don’t bite…very hard.

The point of this Blog is not to sit around and brag about all our fab events all day every day (booorr-ing!).  We would much rather help YOU whenever, however we can.  Because so many of you, our loyal readers, have let us know how much you trust us, come to us for wedding and party planning advice, tips and ideas, and spread the word about us, we always try to give you even MORE!!

Well, hold on to your hollyhocks, kids, because The Girly Girl Bowtique loves us too!  And because they are soooo fabulous, they have offered to allow us to host a spooktacular giveaway to one lucky MMG reader! 

The Girly Girl Bowtique specializes in creating beautiful and unique hair bows and accessories for the girly girls who love to wear them.  Whether you are looking for a particular style or color, or need something custom created for a wedding or special event, the talented team at The Girly Girl Bowtique can seriously do it ALL!

They are currently carrying an adorable Halloween collection and are giving ONE LUCKY MMG READER the chance to win the Halloween Bow of their choice!  WAIT….pick yourself up off the ground…we’re not done!  They are feeling especially generous because the winner will also get ANY OTHER hair bow from their ENTIRE on site catalog FREE!  That’s TWO FREE BOWS PEOPLE!! (I feel like one of those late night infomercials!!)

All you have to do, is leave a comment including which Halloween Bow you would choose (#1-#8) by Sunday, October 19, 2008 at 12pm CST.  The winner will be chosen at random and announced on Monday October 20 and will receive their Halloween bow of choice, along with any other bow from Girly Girl Bowtique in time for Halloween!