The Writing's on the Bottle

Some of the best advice my parents taught me was to never visit a friend’s house empty handed. Because of this life lesson, I’m always looking for good host/hostess gifts. How cute are these Modern House Wines from Swanson Vineyards. With these adorable messages, you don’t need a card to go along with this vino! I LOVE the “Expensive Christmas Wine” for a holiday party! One tip – it’s good to...

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Important Update: Shot of Brandi Email!

Did you know that Shot of Brandi* was available to be delivered to your inbox? Well for years I've had a little app on the side that allows you to subscribe to Shot of Brandi by submitting your email address.If you've known about this - thanks for subscribing! If you haven't, well, you learn something new everyday!IMPORTANT BLOG UPDATE!!I've upgraded the link, so if you do subscribe, you'll need to...

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Fashion Friday: Best Dressed Walls

For the last year, I’ve been straight up obsessing over illustrations. Specifically, fashion drawings and sketches. I’m totally head over heels in love with Caitlin McGauley, Dallas Shaw and Jenny Bowers, but today I wanted to focus someone else: Kristina Hultkrantz. I kept toying with the idea of a custom, fashionable illustration for a gift – I would request it in a jpeg so that...

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Le Beaujolais nouveau est arrivé!

Translation: "The new Beaujolais has arrived!" In honor of Thanksgiving, I planned to do a little wine feature today on what to pair with your feast, but reader Trish diverted me to a somewhat similar but different subject: Beaujolais Nouveau. Trish is from central West Virginia, not central France, but she learned about Beaujolais Nouveau from some co-workers. Beaujolais is a region of France...

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Hostess Gifts from Shot of Mom

(Studio Bash photo) This spring, my mom found this adorable idea in a magazine – ribbon bedazzled wine bottles. It’s such a cute, personalized idea for a typical bottle of wine and a lot more festive than the bags they sell at Hallmark. For my wedding this past June, my mom made bottles of champagne decked out in ribbons (above) with corresponding wedding colors for the bridesmaids and special...

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Sweet Stand

We’ve all been there. You’re at an event and there is a cupcake table. You are dying to try one, but you don’t want to feel like a heffer as you run over to get your sugar fix. Hello Hanna has the solution. I present to you – the cupcake stand. This nifty little invention allows a single cupcake to stand on a pedestal. You can totally set these at everyone’s seat to help prohibit the walk of...

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Banner Season

Vintage, kitschy décor is making a comeback in the entertaining world. One pieces of this trend that I am loving is banners. Whether it is “Happy Birthday” or “Congrats” there are a number of cute signs out there that you can DIY or buy direct.These banners are also called bunting banners. I really wasn’t sure why they called it this (sorry if you already know), but basically according to dictionary.com,...

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Jason Lee: Putting Mall Photography to Shame

(photo source) I started this out as one nice little obsessions post and then I realized this needs its own feature. These photos are a super splendid mash-up of two things I love: photography and Asian babies (blame it on the Gosselin’s). I’m beyond obsessed with a man by the name Jason Lee. He just may be one of the most imaginative photographers that I’ve ever seen and the world’s most...

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Writing on the Wall

Have you ever felt the urge to just graffiti something? I’m not talking spray paint to a bridge, but just leaving your mark on say wet concrete? Well, event planners are officially bringing a technology to parties that allows your to let your presence be known. Let me introduce you to digital graffiti. I first spotted this gem at a Chanel fashion week event via Biz Bash. A number of oversized...

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Shot of Man

(source) Man Week is going pretty good. I’ve drove Brian into women’s clothing – making him the laughing stock of his office for an afternoon and I’ve had a request to guest blog. Maybe they even themselves out? Regardless, it’s getting the readers talkin’. For Thirsty Thursday, I wanted to include the manliest cocktails. So I consulted Google. A few top ten lists came up, so here are some of...

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Man Week: Lessons on Being a Man from My Man

Not only is it day two of Shot of Brandi Man Week, but it’s also the 30th birthday of my man – Mr. Brady Smith. When you think of the word “man,” Brady totally comes to mind. So if you are looking for tips to think more like a dude or ways to “man up,” take this advice I’ve created by looking at my better-half. 1. Watch Sports. Watch a lot of sports. Read about sports.· When you want to talk coaching...

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Guy's Guide to Style

Reader Brian expressed concerns that Shot of Brandi has become a bit too “girly.” I love hearing feedback from my readers (yes, there are more than one of you now), so I’m making this MAN WEEK. Today, reader Brian and I were discussing the episode of Seinfeld where they discuss wearing the same clothes over and over again when you are older. A clothing rut if you will. Brian is in a bit of a clothing...

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