Holiday

NYE Tablescape + Food Tent Card Template

New Year's Eve Tablescape

Click here to download the Food Tent Card Template!  Instructions are at the end of this post.

10 … 9 … 8 … 7 … 6 … 5 … 4 … 3 … 2 … 1!

We were originally hoping to have a a big, moderately crazy New Year’s Eve party–one that would make our HOA’s Facebook page explode with passive aggressive complaints–but, unfortunately holiday fatigue (meant as a joke, but it’s a real thing!) and an epic flu knocking out most of our family forced us to scale things back to “small gathering” level.

Food Tent Card

Even though the party has shrunk, that doesn’t mean the decor will be reduced to red solo cups and leftover Chipotle napkins. Tina knocked it out of the park with the decorations, transforming our humble Ikea dining table into something fit for Stefan Löfven (the Prime Minister of Sweden).

New Year's Eve Decorations

It’s the simple touches that help class things up a bit. The food isn’t anything outlandishly fancy (we’ll share our menu in tomorrow’s post), but each item has its own tent card! Our mini mac ‘n’ cheese might as well be wearing tuxedos. Aside from looking like a White House gala, it’s useful so your guests know what they’re putting in their moufs. ‘Cause nobody wants to start the new year with a lawsuit over a peanut allergy.

Food Tent Card

Being married to a graphic designer has its perks. For example, while Tina slaved away setting up these cards, I got to play her brother in Madden (I lost in overtime with one second remaining; it was a game we will all remember for a long time). Since all the hard work was done, we figured it might be beneficial to extend the perk to the blog in case anyone else out there is looking for a quick tent card solution. So, follow the directions below and in just a few short minutes, your food will no longer be anonymous.

NEW YEAR’S EVE FOOD TENT CARDS:

  • Ostrich Sans Bold Font – You don’t have to use this font, but it gets a ton of use in our house. You can download it free from FontSquirrel.com. If you’ve never installed a font before, it’s ridiculously easy and Google will be happy to help you out. Seriously, stop using Calibri for everything and live a little.
  • Cardstock is preferable for printing, but regular printer paper will suffice in a pinch.
  • Food Tent Card TemplateClick here to download a PDF of the tent cards Tina made for our party. Make sure you download/install the Ostrich San Bold font first, then enter the food names on the second, fourth, and sixth rows and they’ll be mirrored in each row above (but, upside down since this is a double-sided tent card). Cut along the bold black lines, fold in half and BOOM. (Drop us a line if you have issues or need help!)

Food Tent Card

Oh, and…

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

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Reviews

Tastemade Video: Pie Gourmet – Vienna, VA

tastemade

Does the world really need another food-related app?

Yes. Enter: Tastemade.

It’s a beautifully designed app that combines my two favorite things: Food and Video. Users (or Tastemakers as they call them) submit 1-minute videos of restaurants that they love. ONE MINUTE?! Anyone who’s ever edited video knows that editing one minute of footage can take an entire week, but luckily the app has some preset templates that do all the dirty work for you. Pick your theme, select your videos, and BOOM. Watch out, JJ Abrams.

I also like Tastemade, because it’s not set up as a review site, rather it promotes the idea of sharing only restaurants you truly enjoy. So, you’re not bogged down with all of the negativity that comes with some of those OTHER sites wrought with bitter restaurant reviewers.

Since I love pie (especially Peach Pie with Candied Rosemary and Chipotle Pumpkin Cream Pie) it was fitting to make a video about the greatest pie shop in the universe, Pie Gourmet in Vienna, VA. Seriously, ask Stephen Hawking, he knows about the universe and pi.

Check out my first video below (or click here if you prefer a gigantic screen).

Since I learned so much whilst making this short video and everything went smoothly without any hiccups (where is the sarcasm button?), I figured I should share some tips to help you be a master Tastemade filmmaker.

Tastemade Video Making Tips:

  • Start with a great screenplay.
  • Yell as loud as you can to make sure the camera microphone picks up your voice (and also to alert everyone around you that you are making a video).
  • Choose a restaurant that sells pie.
  • Find something stable to rest your phone on, like a moving vehicle. Aim for potholes.
  • Have a surprising third act twist.

***

Pie Gourmet Limited on Urbanspoon

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