stella and dot | The Discountess of Washington

Well, I did it. Baubles and Brunch was a big success without walloping my wallet. In fact, I had TOO much food — likely because my mom took me to Costco to prepare for the party, and I got excited. Something about buying in bulk is SO appealing. I feel like I’m getting away with murder (almost), when in fact, I’m only getting away with 4 lbs. of sausage. Thank God I don’t have a membership, or I’d really be in trouble.

Anyway, here’s the low down on the brunch. The menu was the following:

Sausage-Egg Muffins (via Pinterest)
Pear Cake (via ShockinglyDelicious.com)
Fruit Salad
Caprese Skewers
Mimosas
Coffee

Here’s the spread:

Lessons Learned:

Girls don’t eat. I made enough food to give everyone seconds, which means I made too much food. I sent most people home with doggie bags for husbands, boyfriends, and roommates to enjoy.
The ladies who brunch refrain from over-imbibing on Sundays. I bought 5 bottles of champagne and a gallon and a half of OJ. We only drank 2 bottles of the champagne, and half the OJ. People had coffee too, but not that many. I could definitely have dialed back the champagne purchase and saved cash.
Sausage-egg muffins are my new go-to. These were so easy. Easy to make, easy to eat. I did learn that paper liners help make the experience seamless. The recipe says you can bake without them, but I think it would be hard to be successful.
The pear cake looked like I bought it (which is a good thing). Everyone was so impressed that I made it! It looked beautiful. The recipe would also be good with apples. I think I’m going to try that this weekend.

Totals:

Cost of the food, booze, etc: Less than $100, even with the extra champagne
Total cost of the extra eggs I had to buy when I didn’t have enough: $8.39 (you’re on my list 7-11)
Guest count: 20
Total purchases made by guests: $1400+ (hello, S&D credit)!

Below is a picture of our youngest guest, Eleanor, in her adorable polka dot party dress. You can see she’s kind of nonplussed – this picture was taken just after she found out that the S&D pearl bib necklace I’m wearing is being retired. She was really annoyed.

Bonus, “Santa” (read: mom) came, and I’m happy to say that some of my favorites from my previous post will be waiting under the tree for me in December! Shameless plug: the online store for the party is still open – in case anyone wants to make a purchase.

Next stop, hosting my annual Christmas cocktail party without breaking the bank. Baubles and Brunch was my minor league debut – the Christmas party marks my entrance into the big leagues.

This weekend, I agreed to host a Stella and Dot party for a good friend who is a S&D sales rep. This is my first party as the Discountess, so it’s quite the budgetary challenge. I thought hosting a brunch would allow me to put on a lovely party for my 20 attendees without blowing my budget entirely. Here’s my thinking:

1. Brunches are kid-friendly. Many of my friends have small children, so brunch fits more easily into the nap schedule. Most of the kiddies are portable too, so I invited them to come along. After all, in order to have a party you need to have guests!

2. Less Expensive Food. I want to have plenty of food for my friends, and luckily, brunch food is a bit cheaper than a regular cocktail party menu. I can have an egg dish, fruit salad, some hor d’oeuvres, and viola! Brunch is served.

3. Curbed Cocktail Consumption. Buying enough wine and champagne for a cocktail party is pretty pricey, but I’m guessing brunch shouldn’t be too bad. I’m definitely planning to serve fun, brunch-y cocktails – champagne and Mimosas (coffee and tea will be served as well for those who are off the sauce). I’m assuming that people will have errands to run, naps to get to etc on Sunday afternoon, so I won’t need to stock the bar as much for this party as I would for a cocktail party. We’ll see if they drink me out of house and home.

In addition to proving that this Discountess can host a good party on a dime, the other MAJOR benefit of hosting an S&D party is that the hostess gets awarded a certain amount of S&D credit based on how much people buy. I’m hoping I can get enough credit to offset the cost of a few Christmas presents, and maybe a present or two for myself.

For anyone who wants to do some early Christmas shopping, here is a link to the online store for the party.

And in case you need recommendations, I’m currently coveting the following: