B. Inspired This New Year From Beth Beattie Branding, PR and Events

Staying in or Going out for New Year's?

I was inspired by the gold, white and black damask print wrapping paper to create a New Year's Eve tablescape. My favorite go-to, Pioneer Linens, had the perfect chargers, placemats, napkins and napkin rings to complete the look with plates from Z Gallerie, wine glasses from Pier 1 and an ice bucket from Tiffanys. This year we will be popping champagne and ringing in the New Year at home since the arrival of my niece, Elsa Grace. So exciting! But there are other great events happening around town if you are looking for something fun to do…The Breakers’ Fantasy Ball, PGA National New Year's Eve Gala, Winter Wonderland at Nick and Johnnie’s, Moulin Rouge at Cucina, or click here for other happenings around town.

DC Cupcakes New Year's Eve Strawberry Champagne Sparkler Cupcakes on Oprah

Strawberry Champagne Cupcakes (36 mini cupcakes, 3 per Champagne flute)

Servings: Serves 12

Ingredients

1/2 cup fresh strawberries, diced

1/2 Tbsp. good Champagne (sweet rose Champagne suggested)

2 1/2 cups flour, sifted

1/2 tsp. baking powder, sifted

1/4 Tsp. salt

8 Tbsp. (4 ounces) unsalted butter

1 3/4 cups sugar

2 large eggs, at room temperature

2 1/4 tsp. pure vanilla extract + seeds from 1 vanilla bean (NOTE: move down to next line...see edits to other recipe)

1 1/4 cups whole milk, at room temperature

Champagne Buttercream Frosting

16 Tbsp. (8 ounces) unsalted butter

4 cups confectioner's sugar, sifted

1 tsp. whole milk

1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

1/8 tsp. salt

1/2 cup good Champagne (sweet rose Champagne suggested)

Strawberry Layer

24 fresh strawberries

1 cup good Champagne (sweet rose Champagne suggested)

Chocolate Ganache

2 cups high-quality semisweet chocolate chips

1 cup heavy cream

Directions

For Serving:

12 glass Champagne flutes

12 long spoons

12 indoor-safe sparkler candles

Step 1: Baking the Mini Strawberry Champagne Cupcakes

Preheat the oven to 350°. Line 2 mini cupcake pans with 36 mini baking cups or grease pans with butter if not using baking cups.

Dice up 1/2 cup of fresh strawberries and soak in 1/2 cup of Champagne. Set aside.

Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl.

Place the unsalted butter in the bowl of a stand mixer or hand-held electric mixer. Add the sugar; beat on medium speed until well incorporated.

Add the eggs one at a time, mixing slowly after each addition.

Combine the vanilla extract, vanilla bean seeds and milk in a large liquid measuring cup.

Reduce the speed to low. Add one-third of the flour mixture to the butter mixture, then gradually add one-third of the milk mixture, beating until well incorporated. Add another one-third of the flour mixture, followed by one-third of the milk mixture. Stop to scrape down the bowl as needed. Add the remaining flour mixture, followed by the remaining milk mixture, and beat just until combined.

Gently fold in the diced Champagne-soaked strawberries, just until incorporated.

Scoop batter into baking cups and bake for 10 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean. Transfer the pan to a wire rack to cool completely. If using paper baking cups, peel off all of the paper baking cups from the cupcakes at this time.

Step 2: Making the Champagne Buttercream Frosting

Place the unsalted butter in the bowl of a stand mixer or hand-held electric mixer. Add the confectioner's sugar; beat on medium speed until well incorporated.

Add the vanilla extract, milk, salt and Champagne, and beat on high speed until light and fluffy. Place frosting in a disposable piping bag with a large round tip.

Step 3: Preparing the Strawberries

Slice 24 strawberries lengthwise and soak in 1 cup of Champagne for approximately 10 to 15 minutes.

Step 4: Making the Chocolate Ganache

Fill a medium saucepan with an inch or 2 of water and place over medium-low heat. Place the chocolate chips and heavy cream in a medium glass bowl over the saucepan and melt the chocolate chips. Stir occasionally until the chips are completely melted. Remove the bowl of melted chocolate from the saucepan. Pour the ganache into a plastic squeeze bottle. (If a squeeze bottle is not available, you can drizzle with a spoon.)

Step 5: Assembling Layers in Champagne Flutes

Line up 12 glass Champagne flutes. Insert 1 mini strawberry Champagne cupcake in the bottom of each glass. Next, pipe a swirl of Champagne buttercream frosting on top of each cupcake. Add several slices of Champagne-soaked strawberries, and a drizzle of chocolate ganache. Repeat layers. Finally, place a third mini strawberry Champagne cupcake at the top of each glass, pipe with a final "Georgetown Cupcake signature swirl" of Champagne buttercream frosting, and top with a final drizzle of chocolate ganache.

Step 6: Serving

Insert 1 indoor-safe sparkler candle in the top of each glass. Light the candles at midnight, serve with spoons, and enjoy!

Last minute New Year’s Eve Dresses from Lilly Pulitzer Palm Beach Gardens, Oliver Boutique and a great find at Bloomingdale's!

Claudie Dress, "Dripping in Jewels" print from Lilly Pulitzer, $428

Footwear: Lilly Wedge Glam Snake, Gold Metallic, $188

Madison Marcus the Marabou Dress from Oliver Boutique, $325

Alice + Olivia "Charlie" Ombre Sequined Dress, Originally $495 on Sale for $346.50 at Bloomingdale's

CityStyle Realty Rooftop Party Featured in Palm Beach Illustrated

For more information about CityStyle Realty, click here.

Great Holiday or Hostess Gift – My Moet

Just in time for New Year's! My Moet custom champagne bottle is the perfect hostess or holiday gift. You can create with a word like "Cheers" or a person's name. I can't wait to send this to someone! To design your bottle today, click here.

Merry Moroccan Christmas Party

Bellydancers greeted guests with Pomegranate Martinis and Merry Moroccans, a sweet tea and vodka cocktail with a hint of mint. South Florida Landscape Lighting created a wonderful Christmas lighting display around the home. The Christmas tree was decorated with rich, Moroccan inspired ornaments and details, along with the mantel, chandeliers, stairway and other parts of the home inside and out. Deep burgundy linens and gold chairs topped with greenery, ornaments and lanterns surrounded the pool and dance floor, lanterns hung and lined the pool area that was lit with "Merry Christmas."

A mahogany dance floor covered the backyard where the band, The Edge had everyone on their feet and Bellydancers from Dreams Bellydance performed a short dance. Guests took photos with props, which was turned into a motion flipbook by Flipbook Creations. An authentic buffet was provided by Christafaro's and Sugar Monkey created a dessert table with macaroon trees, petit fours and lemon sandies. Cupcakes were flown in from Magnolia Bakery in New York City and cake pops by Southern Belle's Cakery were passed around. Photography by Lila Photo.

Roaring 20s Flapper Themed 30th Birthday!

To celebrate leaving my 20s with a bang, I decided to have a Roaring 20s Flapper Themed 30^th Birthday at Rory’s at Michael McCarty’s in Palm Beach. Crazy to think the day had finally come for the BIG 3-0! As guests entered they were greeted with boas, pearls, fake cigarettes, cigarette holders and fedora hats to add to their outfit if they weren’t already dolled up. The specialty cocktail was of course my favorite, champagne and chambord, fittingly titled “Prohi*Beth*tion.” Jazz tunes from the 20s played until we kicked it up to some recent jams. Jamie Kitsos from Southern Belle’s Cakery surprised me with a beautiful flapper themed cake. Happy 30^th Beth sign by Party Starters. Photography by Lila Photo.

Salvatore Ferragamo Opening to Benefit The Paradise Fund Featured in The Palm Beach Post’s Notables

Coastal Holiday Tablescape featured in The Palm Beach Daily News

To view article online, click here.

Salvatore Ferragamo Opening to Benefit The Paradise Fund

Salvatore Ferragamo and Town & Country Magazine hosted a private cocktail party to benefit The Paradise Fund, in celebration of teh recent opening of Salvatore Ferragamo at The Gardens Mall. More then 100 guests enjoyed cocktails and hors d'oeuvres while previewing an exculsive presentation of both the Men's and Women's 2011 Spring Summer runway collections by Creative Director Massimiliano Giornetti. Drawn from the modern Ferragamo couple on holiday in the French Riviera, Giornetti focuses on a Seventies vibe mixed with the luxury expected of a jet-setter.

Tablott Maxey, Margaret Luce, Loy Anderson and Richard Rendina hosted the exclusive event. A premium tequila tasting was provided by Casa Dragnes, 100% Blue Agave Joven Tequila, hangcrafted in small batches in Tequila, Mexico. Casa Dragones blends silver tequila with a hint of extra anejo for a remarkably smooth taste and soft, refined finish. This rase style of tequila comes in a sleek, hand engraved crystal decanter.

A percentage of the evening's sales were donated to The Paradise Fund to enhance the general well being of children directly influenced by benefiting charities.

To view photos on The Palm Beach Post online, click here.

This Holiday Season Rent the Runway

With the holiday season approaching, there are many parties to attend. This fabulous, Rent the Runway, concept is a girl's dream come true. Dresses, jewelry and handbags from Badgley Mischka, Tibi, Herve Leger, Shoshanna and many more great designers are available for you to rent and return. Three easy steps and you have a new dress for your special occasion- Enter your zip code, pick your rental date and enter your size (they even give you a second size for free).

Madeira Housewares Featured in Jupiter Magazine

Maderia Housewares specializes in finding the most exotic wood on earth and crafting it into individual works of art for the kitchen. Madeira is translated to mean "wood" in Portuguese, the native language of Brazil , where these beautiful products originate. Madeira takes pride in using only the highest quality raw materials

Each product design offers a unique use to help serve or prepare meals with ease. Maderia products combine classic design with functionality to produce timeless kitchen tools for every home.

Madeira products are now available in more than 20 Bed Bath & Beyond's nationwide.

Coastal Christmas Holiday Table Challenge Featured on The Party Dress

From The Party Dress:

Beth Beattie Branding, PR and Event offers this full range of creative services to clients in the retail, nonprofit and service industries. Based in Palm Beach, Florida it is her passion to create events that incorporate each client’s individual vision, personality and style. I love Beth’s Palm Beach style and have featured a few of her parties on The Party Dress (did you see her fabulous coral baby shower recently?).

Being based in Florida, it’s only fitting that Beth created a “Coastal Christmas” table setting for our Holiday Table Challenge. I’m not the only one that thinks it’s spectacular… The Palm Beach Daily News thinks so too! When Beth told them about our Holiday Table Challenge and the innovative table she put together, they decided to write a story about it! Check it out here.

After planning a coral baby shower and a starfish surprise 30th birthday party, I thought it would be fun to incorporate that theme into a “Coastal Christmas”. To get started, I saw starfish garland at one of my favorite local home decor stores, Pineapples Palms etc. I then came across the starfish Christmas trees at The Back Porch and that is when I decided to add the turquoise color to the white, cream and gold palette. The starfish cakepops were made by Southern Belle’s Cakery. I hope you enjoy the natural, seaside twist to Christmas. Photography by Alana Harris Photography

The perfect party linen by tablevogue

This is the answer to every host's reoccurring question... what lined to use? Tablevogue has the solution just in time for the holidays. Tablevogue is an attractive, durable, full-length cover that provides a snug, tailored, to the floor fit for 34" folding card tables and 6' or 8' folding tables. Perfect for guest seating, bar, an elegant buffet table for food and dessert service, holiday dinners, tailgating and more.

Click here to order online or click here to find Tablevogue at a Bed, Bath & Beyond near you.

True Prep by Lisa Birnbach

Last night at the new Vineyard Vines at The Gardens Mall, we got to meet Lisa Birnbach, author of True Prep. Already loving her book! I had read in House Beautiful and a few other magazines on my return flight from DC (I was in magazine heaven) about her new book so it was great to meet her.

From the author of The Official Preppy Handbook comes a new take on the old world that Lisa Birnbach turned into an international best selling phenomenon thirty years ago. True Preps looks at how the old guard of natural-fiber-loving, dog worshipping, G&T-soaked preppies adapts to the new order of the internet, cell phones, rehab, political correctness, reality TV and... polar fleece.

A small sample:

• Wardrobe: Recent prep brands we are forced to recognize. How to tell Casual Friday from, say, Saturday.
• Money: We never talk about it.
• Food: Does the Food Network mean we're going to have to cook? Bake? Now you're going to far.
• Scandals: Poor Ms. Astor. When Mummy's plastic surgery goes terribly wrong. Rehab and the slammer: the new prep schools
• We're outta here: When to name something after yourself, and when not. The right obituary.
• What to do with your dogs if you predecease them.
• NO TEXTING AT THE TABLE, PLEASE.

To buy a copy of True Prep, Click here.

"Styled By Beth Beattie" Featured in Pregnancy Magazine

Beautiful Cake Stands by Sweet and Saucy

I came across these beautiful cake stands by Sweet and Saucy on Pizzazzerie. Check out their online store, Sweet and Saucy Supply for other goodies, including platters and bowls, domes and cupcake liners.

Etched wine glasses from Glass Engraving by Jennifer

Love these etched wine glasses from Glass Engraving by Jennifer. They are perfect to replace place cards for a dinner party, holiday, bridesmaid lunch or other event. Shop glassgirljen on Etsy for wine glasses, vintage wine decanters, coffee mugs, beer mugs, beer pilsner glasses, desk nameplates and much more!

New Book from TLC’s Cake Boss - Stories and Recipes from Mia Famiglia

“In this heartfelt memoir, master baker and star of the #1 hit TLC show, Buddy Valastro tells his inspiring story—and recounts his family's warm memories from a lifetime of living, loving, and cake making.

Television viewers have fallen in love with Buddy Valastro, master cake maker, and his funny and fiery family, proprietors of Carlo's Bakery in Hoboken , New Jersey , on the smash hit TLC series Cake Boss. Now, to coincide with Carlo's 100th anniversary, cake designer extraordinaire Buddy Valastro brings together his passion for baking and his high-energy family stories in the pages of this charming, heartwarming book—complete with 25 recipes and tips that will make every reader the "cake boss" of their own kitchen.

Buddy's beautifully designed cakes are the stuff of legend—and so is the remarkable story of his father, a beloved pillar of the community and himself a talented baker who set the stage for his family's rise to the pinnacle of their industry. Cake Boss recounts the story of Buddy's life and of his family's bakeshop, originally established in 1910 and now a Hoboken , New Jersey , landmark and culinary tourist destination. Here also are twenty-five recipes for Carlo's Bakery's most sought-after pastries, pies, cupcakes, and cakes, an irresistible combination of time-tested old-world recipes and modern creations, all founded on a rock-solid "old-school" baking foundation and classic techniques.

This is the incredible true story of how Carlo's Bakery came to be, how one hard-working family realized their patriarch's dream of making their beloved bake shop a household name. The special bond and loving dynamic of the Valastro clan make this an uncommonly touching and truly inspiring memoir.” – Simon and Schuster

Click here to buy your copy now.