Repasts

Repast definition:1. a quantity of food taken or provided for one occasion of eating: to eat a light repast. 2. a meal: the evening repast. 3. the time during which a meal is eaten; mealtime. 4. Archaic. the taking of food, as at a meal. 5. Obsolete. food. –verb (used without object) 6. to eat or feast (often fol. by on or upon).

I've been asked to do repasts pretty often. When I was first asked I didn't know what the heck a repast was. I actually thought they were saying "repass" - I would have understood that more, I think. At any rate, I soon found out that a repast is actually a reception of sorts. Some people call them "Irish wakes". In a nut shell a repast is a reception after a funeral. I really enjoy doing these because the air is still somewhat blissful. People are looking at pictures and talking about the person that just passed in a loving way. Let's face it, the whole reason someone would rent a venue of my size is because the dearly beloved is just that dearly beloved - and most people don't have the space to accommodate so many people. For the record: When I die I want there to be lots of desserts, coffee and lots of Motown 70's played.... HEY... I think I just had that party when I turned 40!

Ziggy

Loved this!!

I say no more....

Fauxcellarm

I just love that word! It comes from the theory that people are dependent on their cells. There was an article in the paper that described this feeling. They should have just had a small picture there of me. Fauxcellarms is a term that can be interchanged with "ringxiety" it's the feeling you get when you're walking along and feel your purse vibrating and it really isn't. That happens to me a lot. (On a (very) side note, I love when my mom says "just call me on my purse") Or when you think your cell is vibrating and you don't have it on you. They described it, as a phantom limb. A phantom limb is "an often painful sensation of the presence of a limb that has been amputated." Ok, guys that's going too far. As someone who used to do amputations I can't say that I agree with that. Phantom limbs are very real. That can't be compared to me feeling like my cell is ringing. Shucks, my sister used to fall asleep at night with her glasses on just because she forgot she had them on. I think that's more comparable. I can't say that I agreed with everything in the article (are you surprised?). It went on to say that the reason people have this fauxcellarm is that "as human beings, we're so tapped into our community, responsiveness to what's going on we're so attuned to the threat of isolation and rejection, we'd rather make a mistake than to miss a call" It also says "people feel the phone is part of them and they're not whole" Um, no. I'm afraid to miss a call like "Daisy, my invitations are in and my name is spelled wrong!" It has nothing to do with isolation. Heck, I have enough friends and family to fill those gaps. My best friend invites herself when she calls and says "Hey, Dase, I'm on my way, is that ok?" and I say "No, I have to clean my house" next thing I know there's a knock on my door and she says "get over it". Fauxcellarms will go down in history (in my book) as something I welcome, not loath. It keeps me in check. I think "do I have my Blackberry, is it charged?" I think that makes me a respectable and dependable business woman.

Tagged to be Green

So I get tagged pretty often and I have to apologize here. If you've tagged me before and never saw me blog about it; I'm sorry. I have a huge number of irons in the fire and trust me, my heart was there and just busy trying not to get burned.I have to tell the world three ways that I contribute to the Green cause. 1. I bought an almost 200 year old warehouse. Everything that could be salvaged has been. All of the trim and molding are original to the building. We sanded the floors - I don't advise that for anyone who wants to remain married. We did not keep the windows - they were guillotines! I was afraid Tony or me were going to end up armless. We did, however, have the windows custom made and replicated to the original ones. They are UV protected so that my burgundy furniture won't be pink in 5 years. They are very air tight as well. 2. Small thing.... but I think about this often: as soon as my blackberry is done charging I unplug it. When that little green light is still illuminated that means energy and voltage is still being used. I get on my whole family about overcharging their phones, too. 3. I'm a water whore. I hate when people waste water so I don't do it. I run my dishwasher only when it's full and after 6 pm - off peak hours. I bought a very energy efficient washer and dryer that uses almost no water hence very little drying time. I'm right there when the clothes come out of the dryer and they get hung right away so that I'm not wasting energy ironing clothes... at least that's the excuse I give. 4. I know I said 3 but I wanted to add this... I burn only soy candles from Kozee Kandles. Not only do they burn extremely clean with no smoking they kick Yankee's butt! Kathy makes the best candles in the world! I would know... I've burned enough candles in my 40 years. On a side note, I tried finding Kathy's web site but couldn't find it. Her number is: 717-475-3813 - tell her Daisy sent you. Soooo... who's on my list to tag? Ashley at Cherished Gifts and Favors Nicole at Grand Events Lisa at Social Couture Gabriela at Besame - not even sure if Gabriela has a blog. The Film Maker: Todd Klick

Murder Me Always...

Here's the article from the Intelligencer Journal. It would have been easier to physically cut and paste this article together... but NO... I wanted to learn how to do it in software. In the process I pixelated it.. very badly. Sorry.

The good news is that Whitney finally got a good photo-credit!

Here Kitty, Kitty!

Wow... we truly are in the year 2007 - who'da thunk it. I get this email from Daily Candy (I've blogged about them before) they give me the skinny about what "in." Well, apparently Leopards are in. Here's some of the email they sent: If you have a spare $22,000 lying around, you can get yourself the world’s most exotic domestic cat, the Ashera. By blending the bloodlines of the African Serval and Asian Leopard Cat with a domestic cat, a totally tame feline resembling a mini leopard is born.

Don’t be intimidated by their fierce, leopard-like looks; Asheras are fully socialized, affectionate, and intelligent. They get along with children and other pets and require the same care as a regular house cat. They even enjoy leisurely walks on a leash.

Your Ashera is hand delivered fully vaccinated with nail caps on its claws, as well as a year of veterinary insurance, a microchip identifier, and the ear of an animal behaviorist for ten years. Because you can never be too careful.

You've gotta check this kitty out! I love cats but I tell you what... these things look like you couldn't take a nap next to them. You'd have to sleep with one eye open the whole time for fear that you may be mistaken for a ground hog. The eyeball would get dusty - wouldn't it? That would hurt. How cool would it be to have one of these in your wedding? Awesome!!!

Is it just me?

Or does everyone loath the co-worker who eats, sleeps and dreams weddings? Trust me, I love weddings, parties and special events but not everyone is as eager as me to hear about your event. Take it easy on these folks, people! This is a small excerpt from a slideshow on Glamour.com about the most annoying co-workers. It was sent to me by a past bride. Priceless.

Knot ad

My new ad campaign started yesterday. I put 10 new pictures on the site under my featured vendor site. Go on to the Knot, click on Reception Sites. I should be on the first page there, then you can click the link that will take you to my pictures.BTW.... for those of you who emailed and asked how the murder mystery dinner (MMD) went; it was simply amazing. The energy in the room was awesome and the actors were fabulous. Flavers did a wonderful job on the catering - very tasty stuff. I will definitely do it again. I have a meeting with the production manager on Monday. I'll definitely let you know when the next MMD is. I also have to scan in the ad that was in the Lancaster paper... she captured my vision and my purpose perfectly! Thanks Kathy!

Autumn

Autumn. Don't you just love it? It's a time when everything gets confused. The trees want to bud and the flowers and bees don't know what's going on either. Early in the morning (not that I see that before 7:30 am) it's so cool that I wear sweats outside but by 10 am I'm burning up in this small office.I knew it was definitely Autumn when I went searching for my cup warmer. Anyone that knows me well knows that I sip my coffee - you people that drink coffee ought to be taught how to sip! Well after a whole lot of sipping, my coffee gets cold and I'm not crazy about microwaved coffee - not sure which is worse; cold coffee or bitter coffee. The perfect solution is the coffee cup warmer that you plug in. It's very similar to a potpourri burner, but not as hot - I wish I would have thought of the invention first. It's pretty ingenious. It helps people like me who like to sit down and get the work done without being annoyed over cold coffee. Pass the coffee, guys... I have the warmer in my office now!

Simplicity

We all need it. After talking with brides they normally say "I want my wedding to be simple" - got it. So while some people call elegant - plain and others call simple - elegant... I shoot for what strikes my fancy. I'm not of the thought that everyone has to agree with me. Besides, people tend to misconstrue what one tries to say anyway.The other day I had an hour to kill before my appointment. I decided to go into the Barnes and Noble for a coffee. I decided against the coffee when I saw the line of people.... again, marching to the beat of my own drum - owning the drum no less. I decided not to go into the wedding section - lawd knows I probably own all of the books there. Instead, I decided to go into the entertaining section. Same difference. I saw a book written by Real Simple - loved it - except that some of the stock images were printed in several of the other books; that works on my nerves - that's another post. Anyway, I almost bought the book then I got to thinking; if the people at Real Simple really want me to simplify my life, I shouldn't buy the book. I have too many books as is! Does this look like I need another book? Shouldn't I be downsizing? Shouldn't I only have 10 books on my shelf with one of those wooden words that says "simplify"? While I'm at it - I mean really, what's the deal with those organizational closets anyway? You have to own 4 pants and 3 sweaters to achieve what they want you to achieve. And the shoes... what's the deal with all 4 of them? I don't know one woman who owns only 4 pairs of shoes. My mother is sisters with Emelda Marcos so we all inherited the hording of shoes. Real simple really just wants you real broke. You have to buy all of their stuff to graduate into simplicity. I did a search on Real Simple for "entertaining" and nothing really came up. You know why? Entertaining is NOT real simple. What I did find was a listing of "surprising expiration dates". How is that entertaining? Well you know me.. inquiring minds... I had to check out the list. It actually says that honey can be kept indefinitely. What do I do with those crystals that form on the top?? What's better was the passionate ratings that this list got. People crack me up.... or maybe now I'm misconstruing what they're trying to say...

Hot new color

A wedding colleague and me were discussing the new color of the season. I said it was lime green she said it was fuchsia pink. Not much to argue about because, quite frankly, I love both of these colors. I like them with white or yellow and I like them with dark colors like chocolate brown, charcoal gray or black. Shucks, I like them together!We were discussing this because I was doing a photo shoot with Grand the other day and this is one of the tables that we dressed. It just so happens that this day we shot both lime and fuchsia.

This table was themed "ice" - just in case you're wondering what's up with the ice cube. I'm no photographer but I'm thinking these pictures are pretty darn good. This was my favorite table so if you want to see the fuchsia table - or any of the others - you're going to have to wait until my graphic designer *ahem* is done with my cards or wait until Grand compiles their pictures for production. I doubt you'll see any of them in the showroom but I think Grand is having a Holiday party some time soon.... Of course, if you really want to see all the marvelous tables we put together your going to have to book a party. No time like the present, people!

Creative on the spot!

First of all I am still having problems sending and receiving emails from some providers! Please call me if you haven't heard from me - I have no idea if you are receiving my emails.Ok... so I'm at a networking meeting and I'm told (10 minutes beforehand) that my 30 second commercial - that's what you do at networking meetings, you give a 30 second commercial about how wonderful your business is - well this particular morning I'm told that my commercial must rhyme. UGH! I take out a piece of paper and begin to write fervently. Here's what I came up with: I'm Daisy Pagan from Perfect Settings, I help those people who are getting married, retired, anniversary or just a party you use my service - or not - just party hardy. Some hate details but want perfection we help you with that, we provide ALL direction. We also have a space for 130 Don't worry, you won't have to get dirty or you do... the choice is yours we let you decide - you could sweep floors! We don't want you overwhelmed it may be daunting call us today take if from that list that's mounting It may all sound so crazy That's OK just don't forget my name... it's Daisy!

OK so I broke my own rule and called myself crazy - c'mon people I was desperate. I literally had 10 minutes to pull this off in front of a room of about 50 people. I put all of this energy into this rhyme and then some people got up and said stuff like: "Don't holler, we clean your water" and I was thinking; you've got to be kidding me. With my type A personality I have to go by the rules and write out what I've been told. Next time I could say "I'm from Perfect Settings... forget the rhyme... I'm not fretting!"

Need I say more?

This was forwarded to me by a previous client. To quote her: "So, maybe I'm still "wet behind the ears" on this marriage thing, but that sounds about right, doesn't it?! Talk to you soon!"Click on the picture to make it legible.

Gotta love those new brides!

China... oh, how I love it!

I had a networking breakfast meeting this week and I used it as an excuse to dress up the tables. I wish we were having a "real" meal then I could have used many more dishes, plates and glasses. I just love this work too much!

What's your motto?

Hallmark sent me an email blast (don't you just love them... they make your blackberry sing all day long!) and they asked "what's your favorite motto?" There were great ones like; "when the going gets tough, the tough go shopping", "don't talk to strangers" and I think the one that made me laugh was "don't eat the yellow snow" - alrighty then. So then I was asked for my favorite motto. I have a lot, like; "RSVP for crying out loud!" but the one I've been saying a lot lately is this; "what you do here, you'll have to pay for here" - it's a Spanish saying that loses nothing in translation. It's probably the same as "what goes around, comes around" but I like the operative word "pay" in my motto.So, I post my motto and tried to look for the forum where others have posted their's to no avail. The Hallmark site is very hard to navigate and I couldn't find anything about mottos. So much for trying to change the world.

Embarq

Sent me a message this morning.... Currently we are experiencing problems sending email messages to Hotmail, MSN, Excite or Comcast email addresses. The Network Engineers are working to restore service as quickly as possible. We do apologize for any inconvenience. Well, it is a huge inconvenience!!!

Hotmail users

I can't email you.... I've had emails bounce back to me for a few days now. I've been tagged by Embarq as someone who is sending spam - I swear I'm not. Soooo...... if you have a hotmail account; try emailing me from another account. If not, I can't get back to you - unless of course, I *gasp* use the phone!

Who do you look like?

I'm often told that I look like Halle Berry. It's embarrassing to talk about but people stop me pretty often to say it. Now, do I think I look like her? Sort of. Maybe back in the 90's when she was heavier (of course) and her hair was short I would have agreed. The first time someone said this to me was when I took Whitney to the Dentist one afternoon on an emergency. She had fallen at school and her teeth were bleeding. The dental assistant said "you look like that girl that plays in the movie "The Last Boy Scout" with Bruce Willis. I just saw it last night." Oh, I said and that was the end of it. I saw a few people after that who said I had to see the movie. Halle (we're on first name basis) was in the movie for about 20 minutes - if I remember correctly. Now I get it pretty often now that Halle is more famous.I used to work with a guy who looked like Hugh Grant and he's actually the one who told me that almost everyone has a famous person that they look like. I have a girlfriend that looks like Reese Witherspoon.... they look so much alike that it's uncanny. I also have a girlfriend who looks like Diana Ross. My bestfriend, Wanda, just married a guy who looks like Nick Lachey. I'm not into looking at people's husbands but I've been told that. My Whitney looks a bit like Kristin Kreuk (she plays Lana Lang on Smallville). My son Anthony looks like the actor Sal Mineo - trust me, I didn't know who he was either.... Anthony works at a grocery store and old folks tell him this all of the time. Sal Mineo was big back in the day - I swear it's Anthony's face at a different time in life! My hubby looks like "The Rock" Dwayne Johnson except that Tony is a whole lot thinner and a whole lot cuter..... So I'm wondering who do you look like??

I've got a complaint....

Why is it during this time of year when all the Daisies are in bloom all the commercials are "These are Crazy Daisy Days" or better yet; "Go crazy for Daisies"???? Then everyone assumes that this is ok for them to associate me with... guess what? I don't like being called crazy. I've had enough of that foolishness in my life. I'm too old for that. I don't think it's endearing. I've seen enough crazy people in my days and I'm not into that sort of thing. I try real hard to not let people drive me crazy... trust me it's not easy - heck just growing up in a family of 6 was enough! So please, don't call me crazy... not even the alternative which would be lazy.. hate that one too. UNLESS.... you're old enough to remember the Daisy Bell song...."Daisy, Daisy, Give me your answer do! I'm half crazy, All for the love of you! It won't be a stylish marriage, I can't afford a carriage But you'll look sweet upon the seat On a bicycle made for two." Not many people know that song. Only my very old patients who I took care of in the 80s and 90s would sing that. I've not heard it since then. Shucks, - I just remembered - I was once asked by a patient "what's your name?" after I said "my name is Daisy, and I've been assigned to take care of you today" he said "Daisy?!" .... "That's a DOG'S name!" I said "well... that wasn't very nice" he said "honey, I'm 80... I don't have to be nice anymore... I earned my place here to say what I want" .... got it and I never forgot it. I guess I have another 40 years before I can say to people... "Puuulllleeeeezzzz don't call me crazy!"

Who done it??

The actors have been rehearsing for the murder mystery dinner and I can't help myself... every night I go down and watch them. Laugh every single time.... amused and curious. - I wonder if I'm working on their nerves? It's been worth it...I think I know who done it!! I'd be happy to tell you but I'd have to kill you. Then we'd be down one ticket sale because I left the cat out of the bag. Come see for yourself. If this play gets me going every night, I'm sure it will do the same for you! The actors and the story line are excellent!!