Party Theme: Let Them Eat Cake

Feathers, cupcakes, fans, pastels, flowers, lace and champagne. Mix them together and what do you get? A Marie Antoinette themed birthday party.

Sofia Coppola's decadent film, Marie Antoinette, sparked this theme idea. More costume and decoration ideas can also be found here and here.

Scrappy's Bitters

My buddy Susannah (who I have known since the 4th grade!) lives in Seattle and runs a small company with her friend selling old fashion style bitters. Scrappy's Bitters, founded in 2008, specializes in handcrafted, natural herb bitters for home and the bar. It's seldom that I order a Manhattan, but seeing photos on Scrappy's Bitter's facebook page and reading about their current flavors (apricot? lavender? yum) makes me want to host a cocktail party immediately. Happily they're sold in Portland. Check out their website for more details.