Relax...

The girls at SSP are going to take some time this weekend to relax like "Toots" is in this picture. Sometimes it is so hard for us to relax and not think about all the details surrounding the events we are planning...but we have to. Next week kicks off seven weeks of back-to-back events for us.

We hope you get to relax this weekend and enjoy Easter (if you celebrate). I am going to relax...right next to Toots.

Happy Weekend!

-Danielle

Event Space Vignettes

SSP is always on the lookout for the up-and-coming ideas in event space.

A new trend in the industry is to create mini-themed environments or vignettes within a larger event space, giving guests a place to kick back and relax and creating interest with nontraditional furniture and seating options.

We recently toured Blueprint Studios warehouse to check out the latest and greatest in event decor and this new themed-environment trend.

Natural with a pop of fresh and funky flowers and plant paintings

Sky-high red velvet wall panels and mirrored furniture ='s Pure Glamour

Mod space

Enter through the key hole, Alice in Wonderland

Wall panels and an oversized dining chair add an interesting appeal.
As you can see Danielle loved the chair.

Faux grass and a natural linen chair feels like an outdoor summer garden party

We shall see what crazy and fun environments we come up with for our next events....

-Elizabeth

Afternoon Adventure

A beautiful day like today is no time to stay inside!

To celebrate the amazing weather, Merideth and I went for a walk around the neighborhood.
A few of our favorite things from our walk:

Persnickety Painters - "We care a little too much." What an adorable van and what a great slogan. This is our kind of company!!!!

A little tasty treat from Mr. and Mrs. Miscellaneous. The best ice cream ever! Merideth got Grape Sherbert and Orange Peel...

I got Chocolate and Orange Peel. So good! The owner describes the orange peel almost tasting like a Flinstones Push Pop, he was right on the money with that one!

7x7 did a feature on them, check it out here.

Want to know more about the Dogpatch neighborhood? Check your newsstands for the most recent issue of 7x7 Magazine; there is a whole feature on the Dogpatch neighborhood. You can see all the great spots we get to enjoy everyday!

Happy Friday everyone! Now get out and enjoy the beautiful weather!

-Elizabeth

Inside The World of the Aerium


A few months ago we used these great vases for an event. We found them in our travels at the Ritz-Carlton Laguna Niguel and just had to have them.

Then we stumbled upon this different use for the vases - an Aerium - created by Flora Grubb. We loved it and wondered how did they get everything sitting so pretty through the tiny little hole?

Well, for my birthday from Samantha I got this Aerium and she found out - someone with a lot of patience put everything through the little hole with tweezers. Thank you for my birthday gift and thank you for creative peeps with patience.


Here are some pics from Flora's website on creative ways to use the them for your events!

Community Footprint Event


Last week we got to participate in an event that we did not plan, which is always a treat for the team at Samantha Smith Productions. The Ritz Carlton of San Francisco and some of their international properties let us join them to decorate Tom shoes that will then be donated to a local SF charity. It was a blast and we were giving back at the same time.
Take a look at what we created:
The shoes before we started


Elizabeth's shoes


Danielle's shoes


Merideth's shoes


Samantha's shoes


Ritz Carlton Team painting







Thanks Ritz Carlton, you rock!

Red Burgundy and Pinot Noir....Same or Different?


Who doesn't enjoy a little wine tasting to finish the day?! We certainly don't mind, and courtesy of our in-house Food & Beverage director, we were treated to our first monthly SSP Wine Tasting yesterday afternoon.

To launch this monthly office event, our wine aficionado brought in three different Pinot Noirs...actually, make that one Red Burgundy and two Pinot Noirs. Made from the same type of grape you would assume the wines would be called by the same name, however the first difference is that a Red Burgundy can only be produced in the Burgundy region of France. All other wines produced from the Pinot Noir grape go by the name Pinot Noir. As the tasting commenced, we found that the name is not the only difference.

Red Burgundy wines tend to be lighter in color, and have more acidity whereas a Pinot Noir from California or New Zealand (regions our tastings derived from) are darker in color, fruitier in taste, and have a higher alcohol content. The level of acidity in the wine depends on how long the grape was ripened before being harvested to create the wine.

I am sure I can speak for us all in saying that we will enjoy this new addition to our office activities! It was a great lesson on wine and I know we will be able to apply our knowledge to selecting wines for our next event!

Out and About in Pacific Heights

If SSP gals are one thing it is adventurous!

We are always looking to try something new and this week was no exception. We celebrated Danielle's birthday by indulging in a fabulous lunch at Citizen Cake. It was delicious! We ended the lunch with a tasty array of desserts including this cupcake, sooo good.


After our stomachs were satisfied we hopped over to the Jonathan Adler store for some visual inspiration. I think we all were in love with the bright, happy colors that were on display. Not a trace of beige in this store. Even though the colors were super bright, the mixing and matching of patterns and colors looked great. Two of our favorite snap shots from the store.

"Happiness is Chic"
These candles smelled amazing, I loved the grapefruit.

Hope you all are enjoying your week!
Elizabeth

Hotels that Inspire









We see many hotels each year and some leave us wanting more and some make us incredibly inspired. Rancho Pescadero near Todos Santos, Mexico makes me say "Wow, this is what a great small hotel can be."
Each room has great furniture that is modern and rustic all at the same time. Every room has an outdoor/indoor feel as the bedroom leads out to a deck with either a mountain or ocean view. You could stay inside all day if you wanted to, but who could resist the pool or a great fire pit at night?
While this hotel is wonderful, it might not be for everyone. It is not a 5-star luxury hotel, but in my opinion it is even better. Rancho Pescadero is a beautiful and stylish boutique hotel with great food and drinks in Mexico! It would make a fun place to take a quick trip to from California. So grab a few friends and get going! Hope to see you there.

- Samantha


Over The Big Top


In my world I see a lot of weddings and events, whether it is planning one, attending one, or seeing one on all the blogs I follow. I recently was on a 6-hour flight and the best part was the Internet, my ipad, and Flipboard. I caught up on all of my favorite blogs for hours and this wedding was my new favorite from 100 Layer Cake.

I have seen a circus theme done before. but Erin + Brent really went over the "Big" Top. I know I see a good wedding when my response is "how did they do that?," "that took a lot of time, patience, and errand running," and "how did they get a vendor to do that?".

See below some of my favorite pics, but please enjoy the entire write-up here.
I love that they made these benches - great touch! They hung curtains as a backdrop throughout the wedding, what a great way to frame the whole theme.

Details, details, details - the idea of putting peanuts in the drawers is so creative ... and how they covered the ketchup and mustard - I just love that someone thinks the way I would!
(sometimes I think I am the only crazy detail diva)


My favorite! Who did you get to hang these umbrellas?
A wonderful vendor with lots of patience! I LOVE it!!
-Danielle

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day to everyone!

Over the weekend I tried out an amazing recipe from Design Sponge to make my very own chocolate peanut butter cups. They turned out to be really easy to make and quite delicious!

Check out that chocolate, peanut butter goodness.

Packaged up for delivery to friends.

The recipe makes a dozen of these tasty treats.
Click here for the full recipe to make your own!

Happy love day.
-Elizabeth

V is for Vision

vi·sion
noun
- the act or power of anticipating that which will or may come to be: the vision of an entrepreneur.
- a vivid, imaginative conception or anticipation: visions of wealth and glory- the act or power of anticipat
At the beginning of each new year SSP takes a morning together for us all to work on our vision boards. We create one board that represents the goals and aspirations for SSP and then we each create our own boards filled with images and text that represent what we hope the next year will bring for us both personally and professionally. Our vision boards are at each of our desks where we see them as a daily reminder of what it is we aspire to achieve.

The SSP company vision board for 2011

I would have to say that this year we all drastically changed our boards from the previous year! It is a great exercise in clarifying your goals, aspirations and what you truly want. Looking at them each day helps us to check in with our goals and serves as a positive, inspirational reminder to take steps to move towards them.

Below are our own personal vision boards for you to take a peek.

What's your vision for 2011?

-Elizabeth




A "sweet" way to start the party


SSP wrapped an event last weekend that was quite a smash, darling!

The theme of the event was "Swingin' Saturday Night" in honor of the supper club era and the chosen retro chic venue - the historic Fox Theatre in Oakland, California. With an amazing band, an abundance of delicious food, and a few more tricks up our sleeve, this event was a huge success!

In typical SSP fashion, we always try to find a way to get guests excited about a party way before they walk through the doors!

In partnership with Apropos Promotions, we created custom martini glasses with the "Swingin' Saturday Night" logo and filled each glass with sweet treats. A week before the event, a glass was left on every desk at our client's two Bay Area offices to get them jazzed for their upcoming shindig - the clever and cute little tag gave the recipients a fun reminder of the details of the event.

Stay tuned for more on this fabulous party...

-Elizabeth

Ici Ice Cream


We took a quick trip over the bridge into Berkeley for an afternoon ice cream. Our destination:
Ici. We had heard good reviews and that the "line is always out the door," and today was no different - 3 o'clock on a Monday afternoon and the line was out the door!


Flavors of the day! All made on site with fresh, local, and organic ingredients.


If you're in the area, we suggest stopping by for a scoop. And they cater too!

It's 101 Degrees in San Francisco!



Summer has finally arrived in San Francisco and it is hot! We took a mid-day break today and walked down the block to Mr. and Mrs. Miscellaneous to grab a frozen treat. The flavors are all unique and there is unlimited sampling. We all decided on Orange Blossom...just like a creamsicle only better! We left cone in hand, doing what we could to keep our work-day cool.


Stop by and try some of their delicious ice cream flavors
and other tasty homemade treats! http://www.facebook.com/pages/San-Francisco-CA/Mr-and-Mrs-Miscellaneous/126193770733086

Some Old-fashioned Fun in the Sun!

The sun came out and so did the smiles for a “Country Fair and Picnic” we put on for one of our clients last week. The fair was set to take place in the East Bay at Ardenwood Historic Farm http://www.ebparks.org/parks/ardenwood. The farm's picnic area, Deer Park, was transformed and ready for guests to arrive, complete with picnic tables topped with sunflowers and arrangements of corn on the cob and lemons, red and white striped tents filled with classic carnival games, and a photo station with props of anything and everything “country fair.”


As fair-goers entered the park, they were met by staff adorned in cowboy hats greeting them with a "howdy." Bandanas were supplied so attendees could dress the part for a day at the Fair. Here’s a shot of our team ready to welcome guests to the fair!

We're showing off some of the many props that were a part of the photo station provided by Associated Entertainment (http://www.associatedentertainment.com/aec/). They also provided the bluegrass band that played tunes throughout the fair. Event photos were taken by Doorstep Photography (http://doorstepdigital.com/).


First stop: Picnic Loot. A canvas tote bag was provided for every employee in attendance.


There were so many activities to choose from and plenty for all to keep busy the entire afternoon. Fair-goers filled up their plates with delicious country-style bbq and grabbed a cold beverage from the watering hole.

Then it was off to explore the happenings on the farm…
"Step right up"...Fair-goers spent the afternoon playing tic tac toe, ring toss, and milk can. These great carnival games were provided by Plan-It Interactive http://www.interactivegame.com/
 
Roars of laughter and screams attracted most of the fair-goers to the dunk tank to watch their bosses get soaked. A fun time was had by all...even those who got soaked!


A pie bake-off was held, and those who entered went all out!
All of the pies entered were beautifully crafted and just as tasty as they looked.



The farm was filled with laughter, smiles, and screams of excitement the entire afternoon.
True signs of a successful event!

Birthdays






Birthdays!

Happy Birthday Merideth!

Last week we celebrated Merideth's Birthday in English style at Crown and Crumpet in Ghirardelli square.


We enjoyed tea and eggs in a great space created by Amy Dean and her husband. We loved Amy because she was so passionate about her business, it was contagious.

Happy Birthday Merideth!




Stop by and say hello to Amy at Crown and Crumpet...you will not regret it.


http://www.crownandcrumpet.com

Happy Birthday Lynne!

Funny we celebrated Merideth’s birthday on Lynne’s actual birthday. But since Lynne works out of our Mexico location she could not join us. So cheers to you Lynne, you look younger every year.