Girlfriend Celebrations - Because Girlfriends Make Life Better

Make Girls Night Easier With Peapod

As busy women with hectic calendars, we are always looking for ways to make more time for play in our days. With this in mind, Peapod, the online grocery shopping and delivery service, invited the Girlfriends-In-Chief and some fellow bloggers on a warehouse tour to show us how they could make our lives easier with the click of a mouse. As busy wives and moms, we were all quick to see how Peapod could help de-stress our domestic lives.

Perky Produce
Perky Produce
But what really put the icing on the cake was how Peapod’s delivery service can make entertaining easier: Helping a girlfriend take out the frazzle of eleventh- hour shopping and put the dazzle back in a last-minute soiree. Yes! What we learned can help us—and you— delete one more obstacle to having a fabulous girls night.
Look  Who Greeted Us!
Look Who Greeted Us!
Read on to see what we learned about their food quality and offerings for entertaining. And, see the end of this post for a great offer from Peapod that will save you $20 on your next grocery order.

It’s Cold in There

Our tour guide, Tony Stallone, Peapod’s Produce Guru, helped to put all our apprehensions about grocery stores of the 21st century to rest. Being skeptical yet savvy consumers, we initially thought that one would have to physically go to a store to get the freshest produce. But Tony was convincingly quick to point out that in order for Peapod’s service to succeed, the produce has to be better than the produce you would pick for yourself.  Simply put, if you were to pick bad cherries, you would only have yourself to blame. If Peapod were to send you bad cherries, it would not only be the pits for you but for them as well because as a consumer, you’re going to complain. Peapod’s produce goes through a careful inspection process. The fruits and vegetables are not only hand-selected but they are also tasted to ensure a positive experience for the customer. After touring the many different temperature zones in the warehouse (which, it seemed to us, were cool, chilly, cold, colder and freezing—because Peapod takes pride in never breaking the chain of coldness the entire time the food is in their warehouse) and walking among the peppers and apples (each have their own temperature-and humidity-controlled zone, by the way), we were sold on the quality of Peapod’s produce. The fruit in their warehouse looks much better than the room-temperature fruit selection we see at our local Jewel or Ultra. We won’t think twice when it comes to ordering a fruit tray or appetizers from Peapod for our next girls night.

Just a side note, the Produce Guru has his own blog about *drumroll please* produce which you can find here. He is very knowledgeable when it comes to selecting and storing produce: even grandma would be impressed. Here are a few of the tips he shared with us en toure.

  • Strawberries – Inspect the entire box of strawberries, don’t be afraid to turn the box over. The strawberries on the bottom and sides of the box will go bad first. Look especially at the shoulders of the strawberries, that’s where bruising occurs first.  Strawberries will last longer if kept at a colder temperature.
  • Apples – Refrigerate them. Keep them cold or they will go mealy.
  • Avocado – If the button pops off the end easily Makes, it is ripe.
  • Guacomole Dip – To store dip overnight without it turning black, place a plain piece of saran wrap over the dip and gently press down until all of the air is out of dip. Keeping the air from coming in contact with the dip will ensure it stays green.
  • Read the rest of this entry »


Entertaining Shortcuts on Second City Soiree

We had the opportunity to guest blog about entertaining shortcuts on the beautiful entertaining blog Second City Soiree last week and we wanted to give you a peek, girlfriends! Our girlfriend Jen does such a great job bringing you easy, chic entertaining tips as well as gorgeous photography. We were so flattered to be asked to be part of her guest blogger project!

“Are you known as a hostess with the mostess, or do you cringe at the thought of company? Some of us are more gifted than others in the entertaining department—but don’t let that stop you from having the girls over. At GirlfriendCelebrations, we think it’s better to have an imperfect party than not have one at all. We‘ve perfected the art of “shortcut” entertaining. So stop procrastinating and start planning your next girls night with these tips.”

Read the rest, including how to cheat on cleaning, and how to give a potluck pizzazz, on Second City Soiree. Read the rest of this entry »


Rachael Ray’s Realistic Spring Party Tips

Rachael Ray was on the cover of USA Weekend last week with party plans to celebrate spring. We love Rachael’s practical approach to entertaining, and in a lot of ways, her philosophy mirrors ours (even though we’re much more likely than she is to let Trader Joe’s do the cooking). Just like GirlfriendCelebrations, Rachael emphasizes keeping your get-togethers “easy, cost-effective, casual and fun.” Here are some of her tips that we especially agree with:

Invite by email, text or phone. Perfectionist expectations are the reason many girlfriends never invite friends over. While beautiful, cute, or inventive invitations are fun to have, they are not a deal-breaker. Do like Rachael and “just tell people to come over.”

Entertain earlier in the day. Having friends over for breakfast, brunch or lunch can be much cheaper than throwing  a dinner party. Plus, it’s refreshingly different!

Offer a signature cocktail. Mixing a big batch of just one cocktail is easier and cheaper than stocking a full bar—plus, it makes your party more special. We served up Pink Perfection cocktails at our e.l.f. Makeup Party and they were a big hit. We literally whipped them up without a recipe using vodka, strawberry lemonade (from Trader Joe’s), Sprite or club soda, and fresh strawberries. Read the rest of this entry »


Hear us live TODAY on BlogtalkRadio! – rescheduled to Monday

(PLEASE NOTE- Interview was rescheduled due to technical difficulties.We’ll now be appearing Monday, 12/14 at 2:00 pm EST) Hey, girlfriends, we’ll be appearing live Monday, December 14 at 2:00 pm eastern with Debba Haupert of Girlfriendology on BlogTalkRadio! We’ll be talking about celebrating the holidays with your girlfriends, and you can even call in with questions. We’d love to hear from you! Listen live on the web at www.blogtalkradio.com/girlfriendology or, you can download the podcast and listen at your leisure. (We will post the link to the podcast when it’s available). Have a great weekend!


Now Open: The Girlfriendly Goodies Shop!

Do you believe, as we do, that Girlfriends Make Life Better™? Well, now you can proclaim it to the world with your t-shirt, water bottle, coffee mug, and more. Yes, our Girlfriendly Goodies Shop is finally open on CafePress! Three cute designs let girlfriends of all ages show their solidarity with their gal pals. Whether you like chilling with martinis, cozying up with a cup of coffee, or sharing an ice cream sundae with your best friends, you’ll find the right way to make a fashion statement.

You’ve been asking for t-shirts and we’re super excited to be bringing you so many great style options. From spaghetti tanks to fitted tees to organic cotton to baseball-style long-sleeved tees to hoodies, there’s a shirt to fit every body.

And, keep in mind, holiday gift-giving is just around the corner. With everything under $40, and most items under $30, you’re sure to find a girl-friendly gift or two.

So, click on over to www.cafepress.com/girlfriendceleb and take a look. Let us know if you like what you see. We really do like to hear from you! Read the rest of this entry »


The Ultimate Girls Night Playlist

Whether it’s Girls Night Out or Girls Night In, you’ve got to have music. A few months ago, we went looking for the best songs for girls night: The songs that make you want to celebrate with your girlfriends; songs with girl power! Well, the girlfriends have spoken and Cyndi Lauper’s Girls Just Want to Have Fun is the BEST song for Girls Night Out! That’s according to our little poll: “What is the Best Girls Night Song of all Time?”

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Reader Request: Frugal Party Favors

Are you looking for party planning advice? At GirlfriendCelebrations, we often receive requests from girlfriends who need party planning tips and ideas to help create a memorable girls night. Recently, our girlfriend Renea didn’t want to gamble on creating a memorable 60th birthday party for her mom, so she wrote to us for party favor advice. Renea is planning a night at a casino for the birthday girl and ten others. She is on a budget, yet wants to be creative and loves crafts. We think Renea’s need for frugal party favors is shared by many of our readers; so we put on our party hats and came up with these budget-friendly favor ideas. The ones we’re suggesting match Renea’s casino theme, but you can adapt them to many kinds of Girlfriend Celebrations! Photo via flickr. Read the rest of this entry »


“Valentine to Yourself” Giveaway From Enzo and Lola

[Congratulations to Karin A. Look for a new giveaway soon!] We told you February was going to be fun, and here’s a great girly giveaway to prove it! We love to bring you new resources to make planning your girls nights easier. EnzoAndLola.com is a new boutique website featuring “gracious gifts and fabulous finds.” They offer personalized gifts, home decor, and other hand-picked items for every occasion. We think they are a terrific source for party favors and hostess gifts that look posh without breaking the bank. (Example: The Bloembox seeds, as seen on Oprah, would make a beautiful party favor for any spring girls night, bridal shower or even baby shower). EnzoAndLola has partnered with us to give away a fun little Valentine gift package that benefits you and your girlfriends! Lucky winner receives all three fabulous items: Invite your single gal pals over for a Valentine-themed girls nights and use the Girl’s Night Out Game Kit to get conversation flowing. You’ll enjoy getting ready with a  3-Piece Embroidered Cosmetic Bag Set and make plans for your next girlfriend getaway, so you can use your (pink!) Embroidered Luggage Tag.  More details below:

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Tina’s Birthday and the Tree of Wisdom…or Tips to Make a Party Memorable

Girlfriend-in-Chief Tina had a big milestone birthday a few weeks ago, and her surprise party (thrown by her darling husband) rocked! Even though it wasn’t strictly a girlfriend celebration, Tina’s girlfriends added some special touches that you might want to try the next time you have a special girlfriend to recognize. Whether it’s a birthday, graduation, bachelorette party, divorce celebration, or baby shower, here are a few ways to make your  girlfriend’s occasion more memorable. More pics after the jump!

The Tree of Wisdom
The Tree of Wisdom

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Join our Facebook Group!

Ladies, we’ve added another way for you to keep in touch with GirlfriendCelebrations. Join our Facebook group by clicking here. We update our group with website news regularly and you can also post topics for discussion. We’re looking forward to seeing your smiling faces!