Party-rific!

I have parties on the brain! Since throwing a babyshower for my friend last month, I am starting to think that party planning may be a fun thing to do much, much more often. Who knows, perhaps someday there will be somebody who wants to pay me to do it? Keep checking in for future parties...

In the meantime, I went to my most favorite place, the Library, to find some free inspiration. Here is what I left with (You can see a few pages of all of these at Amazon as well!):

1. Essentially Lilly, A Guide to Colorful Holidays by Lilly Pulitzer and Jay Mulvaney:
By designer Lilly Pulitzer, this book was mostly personal accounts a various holidays and celebrations in Lilly's life. While the bright colors and illustrations were fun, for the most part I will take away a couple new recipes.

2. Nell Hill's Entertaining in Style by Mary Carol Garrity:
This book was not nearly as food focused (and let's face it, I have a million cookbooks...so more recipes are not what I need!). This book included much more about the decor of the table and home for various themed (and seasonal) parties.

3. The Part Planner by David Tutera:
I think this book balanced the aspects of party throwing quite well, David included fun recipes to suit the party theme, as well as examples of fun party decor and for each party he also includes a list of tips to use. My favorite part of this book however, is seeing a cheesy photo of himself on every other page.
4. Shabby Chic: Sumptuous Settings & Other Lovely Things by Rachel Ashwell:

How I adore all things Rachel Ashwell...always have. This book provides some very budget friendly ideas for not just party decor, but home decor as well. I have a new appreciation for plain old "Nit" dye's because of this book.

5. Styling for Entertaining by Susie Coelho:
The main focus of this book is upon re-configuring your existing homes decor to create a more party-like atmosphere. I really like seeing the before and after photos. The only downfall is... my home is not nearly as "plain" as the before photos, so I don't know how well the ideas would work for me. There are some nice recipes in this book as well. Like David, Susie also enjoys super cheesy pictures of herself scattered throughout her book.

All in all, some pretty good books... especially for free! Thank you King County Library System. I think I will see what I can get on an inter-library loan, not just those found at my own local library.

Now, I need to stop reading about parties... and start planning some!