Blog Posts by The Succulent Wife

As we get closer to the holiday season, we start accepting invitations to holiday parties, whether it is a simple nosh get-together or a formal bash. It is always nice - well, recommended, in fact - to arrive with a with a little something-something for the host or hostess. Visit our gift guide for thoughtful gift ideas to make sure that you will be invited back next year. 'Cause we want you to be popular too.

Table Topics

For the Playful Hostess Here is a creative game to get guests talking. Table Topics are a collection of conversation starters. Each card has a question like "Is intelligence or common sense more important?" The cards can be used as coasters or table settings. You can purchase them onAmazon.com in a variety of editions for $25.00, from the Original Table Topics, Not Your Mom's Party Edition (asks all the questions your mother told you NOT to ask), Family Edition or the Girls Night Out for an all adult party.

Cambria Cove rose petal soaps

For the Classic Hostess These Rose Petal soaps are perfect for the guest bathroom. Each rose petal creates enough rich lather to thoroughly wash your hands. Available at Cambria Cove for $35.00.

It is hard to believe that Thanksgiving weekend is a week away. Oy! This is the last recipe in our fail-proof, fool-proof, easy AND succulent Thanksgiving recipe series. And for your convenience, let us relist them here:

1. The magnificent appetizer, the Baked Brie with Caramelized Onions
2. The ridiculously easy to make, so delicious Tomato Consommé
3. The elegant and palate cleansing Crab with Grapefruit Salad
4. The recipe for the main attraction, the Turkey itself
5. And for the requisite Stuffing. The picture is not pretty, but the stuffing is out-of-this-world-delicious
6. The "secret sauce", our unbelievable Gravy

And here, we have arrived in a short 7 weeks, to the dessert: the DUTCH APPLE TORTE. This is my mother's recipe. We had it every (Canadian) Thanksgiving when growing up. When I first got married, my husband and I started hosting both families for Thanksgiving dinner. I always asked my mother to bring the dessert. When my husband, Scott and I moved to

We've said it before. And we, as women know this all too well. A carefully chosen piece of jewelry is always - ALWAYS - an appreciated gift. We have searched far and wide to select the jewelry featured here. All of it is handmade by artisans who are passionate about their crafts. There is something in every price point. And each of these pieces, beautiful in their own very unique style, are destined to become magnets for compliments.

Smersh Design	Smersh Design This piece is from the Smersh Design new Tattoo Collection. The bold shape designs are cut into stainless steel and then colored. Like. Very much. Shop & see the collection here .
sky dreams jewelry	Sky Dreams Fine Artisan Jewelry Hee Soon's heirloom quality designs use only the finest materials to create dreamy designs. Shop here.

My daughter's 7th birthday was last Monday and we, of course, made cupcakes for the special occasion. My daughter wanted the Funfetti cake mix by Pillsbury (what not homemade?!) with store bought icing (it was her request). So, this was going to be a piece of cake (pun intended)! And to top them all off were beautiful Only Sweet Papers Butterflies by Rogue Confections.

Only Sweet Papers are edible parchments that allow you to decorate your own cakes or cupcakes with beautiful images. You can even personalize the parchments by uploading your own photo, artwork, or logo and customize further by adding your own message. They are so easy to use and they even make cupcakes frosted by young children look elegant (see our photo here as proof of my kids' handiwork. Cute, right?). My daughter's classmates and teacher were so impressed.

Rogue Confections has a variety of Thanksgiving, Hanukkah and Christmas Only Sweet Papers to add to your festivities. And while you are checking out

You all know that we, at The Succulent Wife, love to entertain and we also love to entertain the easy way. I was looking for fun and easy hors d'oeuvres for the upcoming cooking club that my husband and I are hosting (see our story about our Cooking Club). It was lucky for me that I was sent a copy of the Tastefully Small Savory Bites Cookbook by Kim Hendrickson. It is full of both hot and cold, innovative and, did I already say, easy, tapas recipes. Perfect for our evening of appetizers and martinis.

We had friends drop in for drinks the other night and I thought I would try one on the tastefully small bites Fruited shrimprecipes in the book. Thankfully I had almost all the ingredients on hand to prepare the Fruited Jumbo Shrimp (I used precooked shrimp and red pepper flakes instead of the serrano chile, but I am sure it is even better with the fresh chile pepper). I love the taste of sweet and spicy together. Our friends were quite impressed. I am looking forward in seeing how our Cooking Club couples does with

Since writing this series on our foolproof and oh-so easy Thanksgiving Dinner Menu (see our recipes for the appetizer, soup, salad, turkey and stuffing), I have been reliving this amazing meal - I can almost smell the savory aroma - and now, I can hardly wait for Thanksgiving. I no longer sweat it when having friends and family over because this whole meal is so easy to prepare. And, in fact, my family likes this grand fare so much we repeat it all over again at Christmas.

A big plate of mashed potatoes and gravy makes my son a happy boy. But he can be particular about them. The mashed potatoes can have absolutely NO lumps and the gravy has to be the right thickness. When I first made this gravy, I was thinking that the onions in the gravy would not pass muster, but it turns out that when the onions are thinly sliced and caramelized they add just the right flavor and consistency to the gravy. And the Balsamic Vinegar! OMG! Yum! Needless to say that Chase (the son in question)

Cycle chic gifts for the casual cyclist in all of us

bicyclists GG 225Looking sharp while bicycling around town is certainly not a new idea but it has definitely gone more mainstream in 2010. Chances are that you are looking for a present for someone who likes to bike and chances are you're having a hard time finding something unique and gift worthy. Yes? If so, read on…

Brelli umbrellaThe Brelli is the world's first 100% green AND100% biodegradable umbrella. It is made using renewable bamboo, organic cotton, and a patented, biodegradable biofilm.

This unique and stylish umbrella is the brainchild of Pamela Zonsius. She was inspired by the styling of the beautiful Asian parasol to develop the Brelli. It's the answer to the ubiquitous and style-less black nylon umbrella that typically brakes upon its first exposure to mild wind, and ends up littering city streets and adding to landfills.

Pamela worked with leading researchers, scientists and developers to create the patented eco-plastic biofilm that covers the umbrella's bamboo frame. The fact that the Brelli is biodegradable does not take away from it strength and durability (the biodegrading process would only happen in a landfill or composting bacteria rich environment). In fact, the Brelli is designed to be strong enough to withstand moderate wind gusts (up to 40 mph - see the wind testing on this video