This week's roundup includes a vertical apartment in France, cowboy-inspired teambuilding activities in Orlando, three-inch pies in Texas, and a "Holly Jolly" cocktail in Chicago.
To celebrate the release of author Ben Mezrich's book Seven Wonders, the W Boston Hotel hosted a book party on September 4. Reflecting the book's international theme, food displays were decked with atlases, and international postcards served as food signage. Snacks included assorted naans, Middle Eastern breads and dips, handmade dumplings, and Greek cheeses.
To celebrate the opening of its store in Clermont-Ferrand, France, Ikea teamed up with Parisian event agency Ubi Bene to create a vertical apartment that also functioned as a rock-climbing wall from September 10 to 14. Ikea furniture decorated the wall and served as handy rest stops for those climbing the structure.
Planning an office holiday party? Get crafty with the 3-D snowflake kit, $13.95, from Paper Source to create a cubicle of flurries. The kit makes four garland strands.
Suited to fall holiday celebrations, Fulton Market Kitchen in Chicago has a "Trust Fall" cocktail. Made with Remy Martin VSOP, burnt-sugar syrup, Tempus Fugit, crème de cacao, egg white, and sea salt, the drink tastes like salted caramel.
Chicago event firm A Perfect Event serves bright red "Holly Jolly" cocktails at holiday gatherings. The fruity drink combines Real Russian vodka with ginger beer and strawberry jam; it's garnished with fresh rosemary and strawberry.
In Austin, the locally sourced goods at Tiny Pies come in a variety of sizes, including the individually wrapped titular three-inch pies, Mason jar pies, and customizable pie pops in either blueberry or cherry, available in the shape of Texas.
Turn guests into cowboys for a day by experiencing Westgate River Ranch’s new cattle drive teambuilding adventure. The excursion begins with breakfast at the ranch at sunrise, followed by a scenic guided horseback ride to gather the herd and drive it across the open land into cow pens. The activity ends with outdoor country-style lunch and lessons in whip-cracking and rope-throwing. In addition to cattle drives, more than a dozen cowboy-theme teambuilding activities are available, including a blindfolded saddle assembly competition and an outdoor adventure course.
Looking for holiday cards? Shine bright in 2015 with the glam beveled acrylic greeting, featuring a gold leaf chevron pattern, from RedBliss Design. Pricing available upon request.
Candy boutique Sugarfina opened a second location at the Americana at Brand in Los Angeles this summer. The confections make for colorful gifts in cocktail-inspired varieties such as champagne gummy bears, spiced rum and Coke gummies, and peach Bellini gummies—all top sellers. The boutique‘s gifts come in its signature turquoise bento boxes, which can be customized with 140 candy varieties from around the world.
Los Angeles-based open-air photo booth Flipbooth creates mini books of photos, similar to old-school animation flipbooks. Guests record a six-second video, and then Flipbooth staffers produce a tiny photo album to replay the action. Backdrops, book covers, and props can be customized to match the event’s theme and decor. Pricing starts at $995.
