Some Birthday Presents!

Hi all!

Happy Tuesday! As some of you probably read it was my birthday last week and I was so lucky to receive some lovely gifts. I thought I would share with you the ones that are now currently gracing my home.

Two of my good friends bought me these Moroccan style pink glasses that I absolutely love. They are so pretty and look so nice on my table with the yellow roses in (from the neighbours garden!!)  They also bought me some beautiful matching lavender candles to go in them too that I cant wait to use. They smell delicious.

A Chi Chi Affair

A Chi Chi Affair

My good friend Will bought me this beautiful anthropologie candle that I totally love and its currently residing on the mantelpiece in the kitchen diner.  Its so gorgeous. Thank you so much Will - the picture doesn't do this justice.

A Chi Chi Affair

My Mum and Dad bought me this beautiful carafe from Graham and Green which will be perfect for dinner parties and drinking alfresco in the garden in the summer. I love the oak stopper.

A Chi Chi Affair

From my sister I got this gorgeous vase which I'm going to use in the living room when we finally re-decorate. Its a great size and the bright colour really makes a statement!

A Chi Chi Affair. 

I hope you enjoyed a look at my birthday presents!

Finally I want to share with you the muffins I made this weekend, The lighter ones in the picture are the carrot and courgette ones that I posted the recipe for a few weeks ago. They turned out really well - do try them! They are perfect for a late breakfast!  The darker ones are chocolate muffins that I made for a family get together! Yum!

A Chi Chi Affair

Rachie xo

Robin Hood Party

I was so happy when Tracey sent me Jonah's Robin Hood party. There are loads of fab ideas to steal. It just looks so much fun!

How cute are these invitations? They really set the scene!

The table looks so great. The colours in the banner work so perfectly with the rest of the table and even the food is colour co-ordinated. The blues, greens and stripes keep it boyish.

Tracey says "The party included Robin Hood hats for all the boys and Maid Marian halos for all of the girls; foam bows and arrows; a Robin Hood cake, rice krispie treats, frosted doughnuts, arrow cookies and cupcakes; Wanted Posters" 

How gorgeous is the cake?

I just love all the details - the bunting, all the labels and the food. Tracey - you did such a great job!

If you would like to submit your party I would love to see it! Send all your submissions to achichiaffair@gmail.com

Happy Monday All!

Rachie xo

Fantastic Friday Food: Blackberry Margaritas

Now I have to admit I have been drinking alot of cocktails recently!! There have just been so many celebrations, our engagement,  my 30th and lots of my friends 30th birthdays too - any excuse though I reckon!

Here is the recipe for a great Margarita from Swanky tables and the blackberry is a fab addition.

Swanky Tables

Blackberry Margaritas

• YIELD: 8 servings (serving size: about 1/2 cup)
• HANDS-ON: 30 MINUTES
• TOTAL: 30 MINUTES

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 lime
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 cup 100% agave blanco tequila
• 3/4 cup Grand Marnier
• 2/3 cup fresh lime juice
• 12 ounces fresh blackberries

Preparation

• Combine 1 1/2 tablespoons granulated sugar and kosher salt in a dish. Cut lime into 9 wedges; rub rims of 8 glasses with 1 lime wedge. Dip rims of glasses in salt mixture. Combine water and 1/2 cup sugar in a microwave-safe glass measuring cup. Microwave at HIGH 2 1/2 minutes, stirring to dissolve sugar; cool. Combine syrup, tequila, Grand Marnier, fresh lime juice, and blackberries in a blender; process until smooth. Strain mixture through a cheesecloth-lined sieve over a pitcher; discard solids. Serve over ice. Garnish with remaining lime wedges.

Happy Weekend All!

Rachie xo

The White Company - Table Decorations

One of my staple go to gifts for my friends are candles from The White Company - you can never have enough and they are such good quality. If you haven't tried them and you are a lover of candles then do, as they are beautiful and the new White Mint scent is amazing!

So the other day I was browsing the candles and I came across the new table decorations range.  I was really struck by the paired down elegance and quality of the pieces.

These are my faves from the range...

I love these little zinc hearts for summer dining - they are re-usable time and time again and they really make plain napkins look special

The White Company

The simpleness of these plain matt white candle holders are part of their charm, pair them with all neutrals or pops of colour and they would look equally at home - they are super stylish.

The White Company 

These lovely bud place holders look so classic on each place but you could also group them together for a more bold effect.

The White Company 

I love a lantern. I have loads and these and these would be gorgeous hanging from the trees in the garden. Imagine eating by candle light on a balmy summer evening. My idea of bliss!

The White Company

The White Company 

Do you like The White Company?

Rachie xo

Wedding Wednesday - The Protea

The Protea flower is the national flower of South African and with my other half being South African I really want to include some Proteas for our wedding.

Commonly grown in South Africa I'm hoping they are not too expensive to import. They are not pretty pretty but i think they are quite a striking flower.

I love the idea of using them as button holes like this, Perfect for the men as they are not too feminine.

http://www.aspenandco.co.za/weddings.htm

There are lots of different varieties. I like the white ones as a striking bouquet

http://www.aspenandco.co.za/weddings.htm

They also look beautiful as table decorations.  They look really rather soft and pretty by candle light.

http://www.aspenandco.co.za/weddings.htm

http://www.aspenandco.co.za/weddings.htm

Look at these giant ones!!

floralaffairs.co.za

What do you think of them?

Rachie xo

Make your own fabric bows!

I found this great make for fabric bows by The Rowdy Stroudy via Poppy Talk. They would add such a  lovely personal touch to your presents.

Click here to follow the instructions

I love the fact that they are not only re-usable but you can also make them out of many different types of fabric! So pretty!

http://rowdystroudy.blogspot.com/

http://rowdystroudy.blogspot.com/

http://rowdystroudy.blogspot.com/

What a great finishing touch to your gifts!

Rachie xo

Enchanted Garden Party

After a weekend spent celebrating my birthday and our engagement I thought I would post this cute birthday party as there is loads of great inspiration here.

This fab dessert table is beautiful and the pink and red look is modern and fun without looking too cutesy!

http://herphotography.com.au/ via Pizzazzerie

I adore the details such as this hanging moss heart and the butterfly biscuits, and  the way the strawberries are displayed in their boxes is a fun idea and easily achievable for your next soiree.

http://herphotography.com.au/ via Pizzazzerie

The faux grass runner adds the finishing touch to the table as well as the toadstool! And I love how the cutlery is tied together with bakers twine and imprinted with the place name.

http://herphotography.com.au/ via Pizzazzerie

http://herphotography.com.au/ via Pizzazzerie

I cant wait for some outdoor parties this summer! Check out Pizzazzerie for more information on this fab party by Alicia of Boutique Affairs

Rachie xo

Fantastic Friday Food: Courgette and Carrot Muffins

I was in this great little cafe in London the other day and along with a lovely fig, feta and chicory salad I had a vegetable muffin. It was so yummy so I thought I would hunt down a recipe to make at home. This one is from the Sainsburys website.

Sainsburys.co.uk

Ingredients
300g plain flour
1 tbsp baking powder
75g grated carrot
75g grated courgette
75g very finely chopped spring onions, (drained of any liquid)
½ tsp ground nutmeg
300ml tub soured cream
300ml semi-skimmed milk
1 large egg
100g unsalted butter, melted

Method

Preheat the oven to 200?C, fan 180?C, gas 6. Line a muffin tin with 12 paper cases. 

Sift the flour and baking powder into a large bowl. Stir in the carrot, courgette, spring onions and ground nutmeg and stir until combined.

In a jug, whisk together the soured cream, milk, egg and melted butter and pour into the dry mixture. Stir quickly to combine, but be careful not to over-mix

Divide between the muffin cases and bake in the centre of the oven for 25 minutes. Remove and allow to cool slightly in the tin. Serve warm.

Happy Weekend All

Rachie xo

Hen Night Styling - Bethans Hen night

One of my best friend's, Bethan, had her hen night last weekend organised my good friend Laura and I. I thought I would share with you some of the styling details. We had so much fun organising everything!

I made all the signs using digital backgrounds in a purple gingham digital paper from Etsy and then used pink accents on the cocktail table to give it a fun Miami vibe! (even though we were in Brighton!) Gotta love those stripy straws!!

The bunting was made in keeping with the gingham pattern using wallpaper strung together with brown string and then I printed stickers with each letter spelling Bethan's Hen Night. I thought it turned out quite well don't you think?

Lastly we decorated the table using a vintage paper runner and matching napkins. Each place had a favour bag containing a few little goodies like a notebook, a face pack and some love hearts and we fastened the bags with personalised stickers from 3 little finches on Folksy  (a fab vendor!)  Roses in little espresso cups and a couple of bay trees on the table (that we found in the house!) completed the look!

We had such a fab time!  Here's a shot of all the hen's enjoying dinner and then the bridesmaids (thats me on the right) with the bride and a surprise visitor??!

Hope you like my pics!

Rachie xo

Wedding Wednesday: Initial Stationery Thoughts

So we are getting closer to confirming the venue and that means that I can start thinking about one of my fave parts of the wedding - The Stationery! I've mentioned before on these very pages how much I love stationery and I'm determined to get something that I absolutely love. Luckily my H2B shares my passion for paper.

Here are a few lovely ones I have found so far...

This is by Seven Swans which are a South African Company (and my fiancee is from SA so this makes me happy!)  I love the bright colours against the brown cardboard.



http://www.sevenswans.co.za/gallery/


The french bistro feel of these by U plus U design are very elegant.

http://www.uplusudesign.com/

I adore the preppy feel of these by Julia's Poppies and the colours are really bold.

http://www.juliaspoppies.com/

And finally if this could be London themed then it would be perfect. Isn't it cute? This is by the fab Ink box design boutique.

http://www.inkboxdesign.com/

Which one is your fave?

Rachie xo

PS: I'm celebrating the big 30 today!!!

Etsy pics - Dinner invitations

I found a couple of really cute dinner invitations over on Etsy. Its so nice to receive a little card rather than just emailing or phoning as it really brings that sense of occasion don't you think?

And I just love receiving stationery of any kind!

First up is this set of 6 "Let's Eat" Gocco Printed Dinner Invitations from TwoGuitars on Etsy. Not too formal and just quite fun!

Twoguitars at Etsy

And then how about these really cute get together cards from KathrynWhyte also at Etsy. I found these via Lottieloves. How could you resist these?

Kathrynwhite at Etsy

Happy Tuesday All!

Rachie xo