speakeasy new year's eve // poor liza cocktail

hello and welcome back! it's day two of our new-years-eve-in-a-week-party-kit, and i'm so glad you're here.

today, my dear kyla from house of hipsters is bringing you one of her favorite cocktail recipes: the poor liza. i'm not really much of a drinker, and especially not of fancy drinks, so i'm not very familiar with what's good and what's not in this genre. but kyla swears this is one of the best drinks of all time.  it's a favorite of hers from the violet hour, an actual real-life speakeasy (seriously, the door is entirely hidden) in chicago where i got to go for kyla's birthday party a couple months ago.

{this place inspired our entire mood board & party theme}

even for us not-too-frequent-drinkers, it's pretty hard to have a speakeasy themed party without a lovely signature cocktail or two, ya know? so i do want to provide a quick tip for the crowd who wishes prohibition never ended: grab some fancy glasses and some trader joe's sparkling pink lemonade, and you'll have all the glam without the dizzy.

now head on over to kyla's for her signature poor liza recipe, and for some seriously styled cocktail eye candy!

and if you haven't been following along with this week yet, you can catch up below. i'll see you tomorrow for the next installment brought to you by grace of the big reveal!

{ T H E  W I L D W O O D  S P E A K E A S Y  P A R T Y  K I T }

nO. 1.  v i n t a g e  f l o r a l s

nO. 2.  s i g n a t u r e  c o c k t a i l
nO. 3.  p h o t o b o o t h
nO. 4.  n o s h  &  c a r d s 
nO. 5.  i n v i t a t i o n s 
nO. 6. r o a r i n g  t w e n t i e s  s t y l e

speakeasy new year's eve // vintage inspired florals

i believe that flowers set the tone of a party, and therefore i almost always start with them when planning a scheme. when i set out to create a floral centerpiece for the luxe speakeasy new year's eve party kit i'm putting together with the house of hipsters and the big reveal, i wanted it to be free-flowing, feminine, and a little bit wild, just like the guests at a fashionable 20's speakeasy would have been. it needed to feel old-fashioned with a rustic twist. it dawned on me that i need look no further than this stunning centerpiece by jocelyne y., who tagged it in our #foundforaged instagram challenge. here is how i set out to recreate something similar. 

materials:

family size soup can

small handful of rocks (not pictured)

garden shears

blush roses

silver dollar eucalyptus

seeded eucalyptus

instructions:

1. remove the soup can label (goo gone works wonders if it's not cooperating) and fill the bottom with a handful of small rocks. because the arrangement is asymmetrical, this will help make sure it doesn't fall over!

2. begin with long stems of the seeded eucalyptus. place them one at a time in the can leaning against the right side so that they drape and droop. all the better if you can find stems that will fall against the table surface. i actually pushed them down ever so gently to make them bend a little lower.

3. add in the silver dollar eucalyptus and do the same thing. use the stems that are the skinniest and longest for the best effect.

4. next you'll be adding a small cluster of blush roses (of course ranunculus or other lush blooms would be wonderful too- i simply wanted to use flowers that would be available to anyone and easy to find. good ol' roses are the only ones i can always count on to be at the grocery store. everything i bought for this was from trader joe's). cut one rose to the length you'd like it to be in your arrangement and test it out.

5. when the length suits, then use that rose as a guide. build a tight bouquet in your fist and once it is assembled (kind of like a mini bridal bouquet), cut all the stems to the same length as your first one.

{pause here to pay attention to the small human about to steal your garden shears and save his life.}

6. place your rose bouquet in the left side of the soup can.

7. lastly, cut some shorter stems of seeded eucalyptus and tuck them in among the roses.

and that's it! enjoy your beautiful arrangement. the greens keep for quite a long time, and i think this will be even more lovely when the roses open more, so you can certainly do it a few days ahead of your party. (oh and if i could rewind time, wouldn't that soup can have looked awesome spray-painted copper??)

with these vintage-inspired flowers to set the mood at your party, you'll be well on your way to an elegant, and a little bit wild, new year's eve. 

our party continues tomorrow with a signature cocktail from kyla. you can catch up on our complete new year's eve bash below, and check back each day to see what will be added next! 

{ T H E  W I L D W O O D  S P E A K E A S Y  P A R T Y  K I T }

nO. 1.  v i n t a g e  f l o r a l s

nO. 2.  s i g n a t u r e  c o c k t a i l
nO. 3.  p h o t o b o o t h
nO. 4.  n o s h  &  c a r d s 
nO. 5.  i n v i t a t i o n s 
nO. 6. r o a r i n g  t w e n t i e s  s t y l e

speakeasy new year's eve // party kit

do you guys remember over the summer, when i first introduced you to kyla from house of hipsters and grace from the big reveal and we had a little fun taking a room a day for one week and making over a cabin?

we enjoyed that so much we decided to do a little something for the winter too. this time, we're bringing to life (well, virtual life anyway) our altitude summit party inspiration in the form of a party kit just for you! each day we'll bring you one thing you need to build the perfect party. by the end of the week, you'll have all the instructions, freebies, and ingredients you need to throw your own speakeasy-themed new year's bash.

remember this awesome mood board?

i know what you're thinking... wha?! new year's eve? i haven't even started my christmas shopping yet! don't panic. i don't mean to jump the gun. but the reality is, christmas is coming soon. and after that you'll only have a scant week to prepare for the epic party you've already run the montage of in your head. the one where you're glam and composed, delectable treats arrayed in your (totally clean) kitchen, lavish decorations and twinkling lights appointing the house, snow falling softly out the window, your tiara sparkling...

wait, where was i? oh yes, the party plan. just take a deep breath, pin this post, and file it away for safekeeping when you need it on the 26th. we'll have you covered to throw together that party montage in real life --quickly, easily, and inexpensively-- and it will look like a million bucks. (sorry, we can't clean your kitchen though).

the party starts with me and flowers. (always, right!?) i'm up first with an easy tutorial for some lush, vintage-inspired floral centerpieces.

and then by the end of saturday, you'll have everything from invitations to cocktails to photo props-- all that you'll need to host a fabulous new year's...

{step over here for a second if you don't yet know the bloggy besties i'm throwing this with. kyla is from the house of hipsters. she is a graphic designer who can whip up an ultra-cool label, design a campaign logo, or slap together a killer moodboard with the snap of her fingers. she's also a DIY maven whose projects and styling have landed her on craftgawker's most gawked list. grace is the mastermind behind the big reveal blog. she is a lifestyle expert on the tv show twin cities live and was recently featured by good housekeeping because she has mad design skills. i'm so excited to be partnering with these ladies. they have some serious cred!}

i hope you'll have fun and be inspired! (and then i promise we'll get back to christmas business at hand). start here with the flowers, see below for the kit so far, and check back each day this week to see what's next!

{ T H E  W I L D W O O D  S P E A K E A S Y  P A R T Y  K I T }

nO. 1.  v i n t a g e  f l o r a l s

nO. 2.  s i g n a t u r e  c o c k t a i l
nO. 3.  p h o t o b o o t h 
nO. 4.  n o s h  &  c a r d s 
nO. 5.  i n v i t a t i o n s 
nO. 6. r o a r i n g  t w e n t i e s  s t y l e