Halfway there....

Hey peoples.

We here at Get Togetha have taken some blogger time off to get the world ready for what will be a much needed intervention on one to one and one to many interpersonal communication. In late September we wil reveal our trademarked logo as well as unveil our command station website.

Stay tuned.

Take Pics

At my last shin dig...we have so much fun that we forgot to snap shots....Totally Bummer....time is passing us at each moment and we need to capture those moments as often as possible.....

Let there be light!

Good lighting makes your guest feel sexy. So you should know by now not to have a 125 watt light buld caressing the dear high lit eyes of your guests. Use soft pink bulbs, red light specials and blue light bulbs for a retro and eccentric feel.

Become the Impromptu Expert

Get Togetha with your friends in small intimate gatherings and just chat.....the hours that you spend watching American Idol and "So you think you can dance" or god-forbid "Flava of Love" are just wasteful...Trust.... you'll have a much better time with your peeps. Make socializing and eating an art form. I don't care if you serve pretzels and peanuts with beer...have them over....cause when you're eighty you won't be thinking about American Idol...you'll be thinking about the people you once knew.

Don't run out of ice!

God is in the details and there's nothing more annoying than drinking a cocktail that hasn't been chilled. Can I tell you the amount of times I've been over to a friends home and they have hot wine. Tacky and tasteless.....

The Music Matters..

There's nothing worse than going to a party that doesn't have tone. Music Matters....it creates a human connection and something to talk about.....

Extra Hands....

Let's face it...when entertaining you have the possiblity of turning into a human octopus...Do yourself a favor. Use the extra hands; also known as your guests. People love to feel useful...don't deny them that by trying to do everything......you control freak!

Destroy the Whackness formula

Dare to do something different at your parties and make something surprising happen!

Be Brave

Don't be afraid to mix your guest list! Mix as many generations, job disciplines, and income brackets you can rope in! Stop worrying about who will get along with who! And be in the business of being an entertainer and server.

The Fun of It...

I just had a get togetha this past Friday, and I've got to tell you...entertaining is surely one of my passions. We have a dynamic group of friends and we learn so much from each other. It's a rare occasion to have friends who all have their t's crossed and their i's dotted; some of us are simply late bloomers. But having get togetha's remind us of our humanity; the ugly and the pretty.

We had good food and wine...and we laughed and talked our asses off. Some people would view that as a huge waste of time. I like to be alone with my thoughts often, and I am a self-proclaimed bookworm. But I realized that when you look back at your life...if you don't appreciate friends...it will be one of your biggest regrets.

The time is now to love and share...just for the fun of it.

M.

When You Live...It Rocks!

At Get Togetha we simply aren't into rules. Rules are made to be broken and repaired, and sometimes all together ditched. This is 2007 people; and even though our lives are hectic and our schedules are overbooked; connecting with friends and loved ones is pertinent. Not to sound fatalistic, but before you know it this thing called life is finite. Kaput. Done. And if you're too busy, the questions that you should be asking yourself are: Am I living? Does my life feel on purpose? How can I turn my calendars around to accommodate living. Real living?

Entertaining ideas and guru's run the gamut, but to remake them with your own personal sense of style; don't follow them to the letter. Inject yourself and your personality into everything that you do and that includes entertaining. The most steadfast rule that Get Togetha suggests that you stick to: Keep it simple and enjoyable for everyone.

Suggestions:

1. Make sure your kitchen and bathroom are presentable and that there's a space for your friends to chill out. i.e Seating area, floor pillows.
2. Get rid of all clutter. Fix it. Donate it. Burn it.
3. Serve simple food. Stay away from the rack of lamb unless you are a five star chef.
4. Have neutral candles ready and available.
5. Have at least one signature drink in your repertoire.
6. Yes you can use plastic! Clear plastic utensils are high on style and always chic.
7. Have serving trays, platters, and bowls.
8. Make your guests take off their shoes. It makes your guests feel totally relaxed and connected.
9. Keep fresh flowers in your home as a way of life.
10. Music always sets the mood and should always serve as background music. There's nothing life the quiet of nothingness to ruin a get togetha.

The Match Trick

Having friends over with food and drink means that at some point the digestive system will start doing its duty. It's the elephant in the room; the fact that we as humans do the number two dance on the potty. Five thousand years of evolution and technology and we still can't get around to admitting that our ish doesn't smell like the waste that it is.

Skip the environmentally damaging aerosol sprays. Lysol makes me feel like I'm in the hospital cleaning closet and those fruity and flowery sprays will have your bathroom smelling like fruit, flowers and ish. One of the most effective ways to instantaneously eliminate odor is to have books of matches in your bathroom at all times. The striking of one or two kills odor better than any air freshener I've seen on the market. Best of all it's cost effective and better for the enviroment.

So when having a get togetha; have them ready and available so your guest don't have a "someone will smell my ish" panic attack or want to leave early to "handle their business" at home.

Sangria Celebration

Sangria is sexy wine punch. And throwing a Sangria Party is an easy way to casually entertain. Not only is this Spanish wine punch made in batches, but it can be made the day before your party and left to chill overnight. Sangria has its roots in Spain and Portugal and gets its name from the Spanish sangre, or blood, for its deep red color. The basic ingredients are red wine, fruit, and spirits. For warmer weather, nothing is more refreshing than white wine sangria.

Sangria is easy to make and is an instantaneous crowd hit; even for people who aren't into wine. It also complements a wide variety of foods and can become your signature drink. There are a thousand variations to this drink so you simply can't go wrong.

Check out the following website for variations: Wine Intro

Get Fun.

Your Duty

There's nothing worse than asking folks to carve out their precious time to attend your politely boring party. The secret to great entertaining is in the conversation. A party needs something to put people at ease. That ease is conversation and its the perfect way to keep your crowd feeling like they haven't wasted a Friday or Saturday evening coming to your shin dig.

A Get Togetha, we get the conversation started; so much so that you'll want to have a get togetha's more often. Get Togetha is an extension of our modern, casual and informal lifestyles. It's where you become the master impromptu conversationalist and the decision maker of simple and fuss free entertaining. So the next time you think about throwing some elaborate, high-stress party, give Get Togetha entertaining a try instead. It's time for you to be you, surrounded by people you like, not worried about who's going to pay the check or order the wine.

GT

Overnight Guests

I love having company. So when I throw a get togetha I sometimes don't mind having overnight guests. A great idea to top off last night's event is to serve breakfast. It can be a pre-made breakfast casserole that you can pop in the oven, or as easy as Aunt Jemima French Toast, fruit salad and turkey bacon served with either coffee or herbal tea. Voila!

You will have friends for life if you can extend that part of yourself to your closest peoples. There will be some folks you will straight have to throw out...there's always overextenders, over-do-its, and take advantage of's...

GT

Face Your Kitchen Demons

So you kitchen leaves a lot to be desired. You haven't changed your dish sponge since you've moved into your apartment; you eat off of paper plates daily, you have cans of french string beans in your cabinet from 91, mopping the floors is something you only do when your grandmother comes over, you still eat wonderbread, drinks tons of soda, and the only oil that you cook with is vegetable.

Don't fret. But know that it's 2007 and that you need a serious makeover. All it takes is some tweaking, some openess to change, and a daily renewal that you life will be great no matter what. And the best thing of all is that you can have fun with this.

The kitchen is at the heart of impromptu entertaining. And if your kitchen game isn't tight, the only thing you will be welcoming to your home are the flies. Flies and you = Not good. When having friends over, people want to feel comfortable standing on your kitchen floors, looking at your shiny wine glasses, checking out your cookbooks, observing your seasoned cast iron pots and pan, having great conversation, helping out...you name it and it is done in the kitchen. Strangers even fall in love in the kitchen.

Step One.
It all begins with visualization. What does your cool kitchen look and feel like? Use magazine clippings for inspiration. Recruit help.
Step Two.

Personal Organization. Streamline your kitchen to the basics and get rid of oddities like old coins, rusty vegetable peelers, the Ronald McDonald glass, and that big gulp cup that you got from Taco Bell. And by all means, ditch the shameful sink sponge. Empty your drawers and organize from scratch. That includes what lies beneath the sink. A general philosophy that I use in my every day life: If you don't love it or don't use it everyday get rid of it. Just because you bought or inherited something doesn't mean that you should be its keeper forevermore.

Step Three.
Find color. Paint kitchen to cover up those grease stains and cooking disasters.
Step Four.

Get decent pots and pans. There's nothing worse than using your hard labor to scrub a cheap pan that bends and burns easily. You don't have to have a talk show's kitchen to function as an entertainer. You can get great deals from Marshalls, Macy's, IKEA, Martha Stewart's K-Mart, and flea markets. The best part is that you can do this all online.

Step Five

It's best to start with simple and understated and work your way up. For utensils: A Chef's knife for cutting. White plates. Roasting pan. A salad spinner. Wooden spoons, Box grater, Kitchen mitts, Pasta Strainer, and matching cutlery. I just bought a pleasing to the eye set from Target for under $40 dollars.

Step Six

Pat yourself on the back. You've just openend the door to a welcoming home and an eatable kitchen.

When's the right time?

Many people simply never get around to having friends over b/c they want all of their ducks lined up. They want all of their T's crossed and their I's dotted. Here's the familiar mental tune:

• My place is too small.
• If I invite friends and/or acquaintances over they won't come.
• I'm boring. Who would want to hang with me?
• I can't spare the expense.
• It's too much work.

Whoa. Whoa. Whoa. While many of you consider vegging in front of TV a night of relaxing, being with interesting people is simply much more rewarding. It's all about putting that pep in your step to share love. It's all about the creation of meaningful experiences that makes life simply worth living. After all...a well lived life will not be remembered by all of the lost "Sex and the City", "The Office", and "Soprano"episodes you've finally caught up with; neither will it be remembered by the fact that you've finally lined all of your ducks in a row and then and only then did you start living.

The entertaining I'm talking about here is the trial and error type. It's the type of entertaining where the only thing you are more concerned about is how to get that last friend out of your house at a decent hour. I don't know about you, but getting together with friends over chatty humorous dialogue and a good meal is so grown up, so mature, so progressive, and so cool...

We are not talking swinging from the chandelier. So breathe. Relax. Drink a glass of vino. Have a potluck. Have a wineluck. Invite your neighbors over. Make your signature dish. Even if it's meatballs. Buy glasses and plates that inspire you to eat and drink well. Buy fresh flowers. Often. Buy candles. Lots of them. Have your favorite movie party. Have a "sex talk" party. Ponder life's dilemmas. Get a bucket of fried chicken and pair it with an "out of this world" arugula salad. Buy an interesting cookbook. Go to wine tastings and bring an inexpensive bottle home. There really aren't any boundaries when it comes to having a great time.

Just remember: Life is short. And he who never made a mistake never made a discovery. So whens the right time to start living?

Get Togetha

When's the last time you've had friends over? A simple dinner party? A birthday party? An everyday celebration? A gurlfriend talk? This blog was created to inspire you to get moving towards creating lasting memories and great times.

Get Togetha is the place to get no fuss ideas on how to better enjoy life when friends are over. No frou frou food. No over the top decorations. Matching tableware-so unnecessary. Perfection? A silly unattainable goal. Get Togetha is more improtu meets creativty and a life intention of simply enjoying life. Period.

What makes a good time? The formula is so simple yet so many people dread the experience of doing things wrong. At Get togetha that's the wrong attitude to have, because the more you mess up, the more you have to laugh at...And the more you laugh the more you learn what works and what don't. Hooray! Gone are the days of being rigid and inflexible. Who cares about what fork goes with what salad?


Our blog is open to Q & A on all things created to enjoy the party of your life....

M.