Santa Barbara caterer, Seasons Catering is fortunate to work with some of the nation’s best vendors and venues. And while we could never choose just one favorite, Sanford Winery is definitely at the top of our list. One of our most memorable events from last season was held at the unsurpassed Sanford Winery. Located at the western end of the Santa Ynez Valley, Sanford Winery’s Santa Rita Hills vineyards and ranch serves as a jaw-dropping site for any of your special events.

Sanford Winery provides the most unique and beautiful setting for weddings or corporate events. From the barrel and tasting room, to seating in the actual vineyards themselves, the winery offers remarkable creativity. This is all without even mentioning their wine!

Sanford’s commitment to grape growing and wine making in an environmentally sustainable fashion and their concept of “THE WINEMAKER AS FARMER” results in a truly amazing product. While we have never tasted one of their wines that weren’t exceptional, it is their Pinot Noir and Chardonnay that absolutely shine! Check out their beautiful wildflower labels as well!

Winery Luncheon

Mary and the entire staff are wonderful to work with; truly knowledgeable and dedicated. In addition to their regularly offered tastings, they are now offering hikes and tours through the vineyards and hillsides as well as Vineyard Luncheons. Many other “wine adventures” are also in the works, so please be sure to continue checking out their website and facebook for details!

Introduce Your Children to Indian Cuisine
By Alisa Ahlstone Lewis, Founder & President of Sweet Peas & Stilettos

My five year old son devours smoked trout, craves seaweed, and will eat up every last one of his brussel sprouts without a second thought. I consider it one of my greatest achievements as a mom. I realize that 95% of this it is luck, but I love the fact that he will eat just about anything. When friends ask me how I got my son to have such an adventurous palate, my answer is simple – we have always served him the exact same thing we were eating and we rarely ordered off the kid’s menu. He eats what we eat and doesn’t know any different.

One of our family favorites is Indian food. So yummy! If you want to introduce your own children to Indian food and culture, check out Gnaana’s Chota Chef Recipe Card Package. Your Chota Chef (or “Little” Chef in Hindi) will have a fabulous time cooking and will learn so much in the process. She will start in New Delhi and will travel all over India – stopping along the way to prepare simple, nutritious and delicious dishes. Packaged in a beautiful tin box, the collection features 20 recipes (one from almost every state or region of India) with step-by-step pictorial illustrations to make it easy for early readers to follow. By the end of culinary adventure, you will be packing your bags and dusting off your passport for a trip to the Taj Mahal.

The Chota Chef is an “imaginative and engaging way to introduce the fundamentals of Indian cooking to your little gourmand.” It is a fabulous gift idea too!

Sweet Peas & Stilettos is a comprehensive online resource featuring the best products, information and shopping for chic modern moms. You’ll find over 100 categories of information including eco-friendly products for your family & home, designer baby & nursery essentials, stylish family organizers, fabulous diaper bags, business cards for moms, wedding invitations, children’s birthday party ideas, the best deals on designer handbags and shoes, cupcakes galore & a whole lot more. Sweet Peas & Stilettos has been featured in Success, Santa Barbara, Gentry, Pregnancy & Stanford magazines.

With spring in full swing and the busy Santa Barbara wedding season soon approaching, I took some time Friday afternoon to get the last of my summer vegetables planted in the garden. Tomato, squash, pepper, and cucumber all ready to go – and after a day gardening, I was certainly ready for a refreshing cocktail! So, with my soon-to-be bounty of summer veggies in mind, it was a perfect time to try out the cucumber cocktail in Cooking Light’s May 2012 issue.

While I am not typically a fan of cucumber flavored drinks, I have to say this is a HUGE exception! With its fresh melon sweetness, this cocktail would be amazing served at a summer brunch or even an afternoon barbeque. Paired with spicy shrimp tacos, it was perfect at cooling the palate. This is a must try in my opinion, and I will definitely be drinking more of these this summer when my cucumbers come in!

Cucumber-Mint Tequila Tonic

Cucumber-Mint Tequila Tonic

Ingredients

2 cups chopped English cucumber

1/2 cup mint leaves

1/3 cup agave nectar

1/4 cup cilantro leaves

1 lime, sectioned and juiced

Dash of salt

1/2 cup tequila blanco

3/4 cup chilled tonic water

Preparation

1. Combine first 6 ingredients in a food processor; pulse until smooth. Scrape mixture into a bowl; stir in tequila. Chill. Strain. Stir in tonic water. Serve over ice.

While I stand by my rave review of the recipe above, my closest friends know I am a vodka girl. Specifically, I love vodka tonics and vodka martinis. So…come Saturday night, I had to do a little experimenting. It was hard work, but well worth it! With hardly any modification, I came up with a great martini…

Cucumber-Mint Vodka Martini

Cucumber-Mint Vodka Martini

Ingredients

2 cups chopped English cucumber

1/2 cup mint leaves

1/3 cup agave nectar

1/4 cup cilantro leaves

1 lime, sectioned and juiced

1/3 cup water

1/4 cup vodka

ice

Preparation

1. Combine first 6 ingredients in a food processor; pulse until smooth. Scrape mixture into a pitcher; mix in vodka; chill.
2. Chill and salt rims of martini glasses. Fill a martini shaker with ice and add about 1 cup of the prepared cucumber-vodka mixture. Shake well and serve.

Cheers!

Altruette Charm Bracelets
By Alisa Ahlstone Lewis, Founder & Editor-in-Chief of Sweet Peas & Stilettos

Looking for the perfect birthday present for your dear friend who has absolutely everything? Are you a bride looking for a unique gift for your bridesmaids? Or perhaps you are like me – you just want a cheerful new accessory for spring? Altruette may be just what you are looking for.

altruette charm bracelet

Altruette’s wonderful collection of charm bracelets, necklaces and key rings each have a unique philanthropic twist: each charm represents a different non-profit organization, which receives a substantial portion of every sale. You can even shop by your favorite cause (children, education, animals, women’s issues, etc.) and select a charm that supports a cause you are passionate about.

altruette cupcake charm

Sales of this adorable cupcake charm support the Greystone Foundation. Since 1982 The Greystone Bakery has been “creating jobs for ‘hard to employ’ residents, provide on the job training in baking, produce delicious sweets that are sold all over the country, and plunge profits back into the community.”

In addition to the spectacular shopping I must admit I was in awe reading about these non-profits and the variety of unique services they provide. Check out Altruette to shop for so many great causes and to learn more about these inspiring organizations.

Sweet Peas & Stilettos is a comprehensive online resource featuring the best products, information and shopping for chic modern moms. You’ll find over 100 categories including eco-friendly products for your family & home, designer baby & nursery essentials, stylish family organizers, fabulous diaper bags, business cards for moms, wedding invitations, the best deals on designer handbags and shoes, cupcakes galore & a whole lot more. Sweet Peas & Stilettos has been featured in Success, Santa Barbara, Gentry, Pregnancy & Stanford magazines.

As a Santa Barbara and Ventura county wedding caterer, one thing I love hearing from our brides and grooms when creating their menus is, “I can’t decide! I love it all!” Combine this with a desire to provide a mouth-watering meal for every palate on the guest list and you have a feast fit for a king on your hands.

While in the past, buffets have been the solution to providing guests with a variety of unique and appealing dishes, we are now seeing a shift away from them and toward food “stations”.

Unlike buffets, which generally have a universal theme, food stations allow you to truly offer an assortment of completely different foods; diversity is the theme here! As we are embarking upon the busy wedding months, check out some of our most popular stations of the approaching season!

Modern Eco-Friendly Party Invitations & Stationery
By Alisa Ahlstone Lewis, Founder & Editor-in-Chief of Sweet Peas & Stilettos

As much as I love the convenience of my iPad, email and staying in touch through text messages and Facebook updates, when it comes to parties, I want a real invitation to appear in my mailbox (the mailbox down at the end of my driveway, not the virtual one on my laptop). Many of my friends have eschewed paper invitations recently in favor of a more convenient and eco-friendly alternative – an email invite, or even a voicemail message. I have always believed that an invitation sets the stage for the entire event and I am thrilled to have found the modern, eco-friendly invitations and stationery available at Paper Culture.

Paper Culture has really raised the bar on eco-friendly stationery. Their cards and envelopes are made from 100% post-consumer recycled materials, they only use recycled materials in their packaging, and best of all, they will even plant a tree in your honor with each and every order. How cool is that!?

I have also been continually pleased with their modern designs (crisp fonts and elegant colors), the weight of the paper (no cheap looking flimsy cards here!) and their use of rounded corners on all of their cards (a nice detail). When you receive a card from Paper Culture it feels special. And if convenience is on the top of your list, check out their free mail & message service. You simply pay for the stamps and they will mail your cards for you.

Sweet Peas & Stilettos has partnered with Paper Culture to bring you a special offer of 10 FREE cards between now and March 7, 2012. Pop over to Sweet Peas & Stilettos for the scoop and treat yourself to some free personalized stationery or invitations.

Whether you order gorgeous invitations for your next bash, or simply opt to send out an email to your nearest and dearest – I hope your party is fabulous!

Sweet Peas & Stilettos is a comprehensive online resource featuring the best products, information and shopping for chic modern moms. You’ll find over 100 categories including eco-friendly products for your family & home, designer baby & nursery essentials, stylish family organizers, fabulous diaper bags, business cards for moms, wedding invitations, the best deals on designer handbags and shoes, cupcakes galore & a whole lot more. Sweet Peas & Stilettos has been featured in Success, Santa Barbara, Gentry, Pregnancy & Stanford magazines.