Rose Petals

There is something so sweet yet luxurious about roses. They are my favorite flower, not just because they are the symbol of love or because I was named after them, but because they transport me to another place and time. They are rich in history, romance and of course beauty.  MelroseFields is and incredible, rose-filled shop on Etsy. They create the most amazing, colorful dried bouquets of real flowers that I've ever seen. They preserve the essence of the flower and create long lasting, gorgeous arrangements that live on forever. Here is an example of their exquisite rose diffuser bouquets.

More roses... My favorite pale pink, rose shimmer ring just sold from my MiaRosina shop. I almost selfishly took it out of the store a while back because the petals turned out perfectly and I just loved looking at it. I hope whoever wears this ring enjoys it as much as I enjoyed creating it!

Some fun facts on roses:

• Roses are the favorite flower for 85% of Americans
• George Washington was rose breeder
• The rose is New York's state flower
• Shakespeare refers to roses more than 50 times throughout his writings

Pingg.com - Elegant Online Invitations

I love throwing a good party. In my pre-mommy days, New Year’s Eve was our designated event and we never disappointed our guests. For me, planning the party was just as much fun than the party itself.   I love diving into a special theme, with decorations, food and any other creative touches to make it a memorable occasion. Now that I’m a mom, New Year’s Eve is a thing of the past and you could say I’m having party-planning withdrawals.

Our daughter’s third birthday is fast approaching and it’s the perfect reason to revive my bash-throwing skills.  For me to pull this off, it would require stellar organizational skills - something I seem to be lacking these days. With kids, moms, dads, grandparents and lots of goodie bags to prep, I needed an exact head count of who’s coming. And since I have an artistic side, I was also in search of a customizable program that allowed me to design my own invitation. One that was classy, ad free and user friendly for both myself and my guests. I wanted something that felt special because this party is special. And then I found Pingg.com.

Pingg has everything I could hope for in an invitation site and much more. It allowed me to upload my own artwork or choose from thousands of other beautifully designed invitations. Pingg also gives you loads of choices for total customization for your event’s needs. Their free version contains unobtrusive advertising and all of the organizational bells and whistles. For an extra touch of class, a $10 upgrade to Pingg Plus will deliver your beautiful event invitation in an online envelope and your website is kept completely ad free.

In addition to online, Pingg Pluss allows you to send actual hard copies of your invitations through the regular mail system as well. You have the choice of sending to every guest or to only a select few. While this can get a bit pricey ($1.50 per invite), it is the perfect solution for those rare folks who are not digitally connected (like the grandparents) or for elegant soirees such as weddings or bar mitzvahs. I also mailed myself a hard copy for a keepsake item. The quality is beautiful and each invite comes with an online RSVP code.

Pingg’s total customization is incredible for both small get-togethers or large gatherings. They are linked to Facebook, Twitter and Flickr so if you are planning a public event you can easily broadcast your party through social media outlets. You also have the option to make your event searchable on the web. You can opt to use their included SEO service or you can select to keep your party information completely private. You may also include donations if you are hosting a charity, organize pot luck items, include a gift registry and fund collections.

Through your designated event web page, Pingg allows you to interact with your guests and organize your event in several ways. Visit here for some of the many helpful hosting tools and features.

Pingg has really have thought of everything - including downloadable charts of who’s attending and party planning articles by Martha Stewart.  In addition to party events, Pingg offers free ecards, save-the-date, thank yous, get well and sympathy cards as a beautiful online alternative to traditional mailers.

The decorations, food and cake are all up to me, but thanks to Pingg I have an organized, beautifully designed party planning tool that is fun to use and memorable for my guests. I’m so excited about this discovery that 2010 might be the year we break out the champagne and ring in the new year the way we used to in our pre-parenting days. Now, if they could only help me stay up past midnight...