Composed Living 5 Year Anniversary + Holiday Party
Composed Living 5 Year Anniversary + Holiday Party
We had our Composed Living Holiday Party / 5 year anniversary party (!!!) at the end of November, and it was such a treat to have so many awesome people there to celebrate. I can’t believe it’s been five years since I started Composed Living and what a delight it has been connecting with so many incredible clients and making their homes feel like happy, warm, and manageable places with systems to come back to. We had food, we had drinks, we had shiny outfits, and we had a blast.
All of our wonderful employees and some of my lifelong friends were there. We also extended the invite to some of our return clients who have been working with us consistently throughout our 5 years. It was so awesome to see some of them in a social context. The theme was Celestial Cocktail Chic, which worked perfectly under the gaze of the full moon. To further that theme, we had tarot readings and gave out crystals as party favors.
Hosting is one of my absolute favorite things in the world, and it is incredibly important to me that it is done in a sustainable fashion. It’s so easy to create a huge product of waste when throwing a party, but if you are mindful, it’s possible to avoid that almost entirely - sustainability is all in the details. Additionally, it helps you avoid wasting money by acquiring pieces and products that you can use for every event you throw. Read through to hear about who and what we used for our party, so maybe you’ll have some sustainable ideas for your holiday party next year!!
Sustainable Kitchenware
We used all of our own reusable cups and wine glasses to avoid paying for rentals or throwing things out. We love all of Public Goods products. All of their practices are ethical and they ensure there’s no weird ingredients in anything they sell. Try their regular wine glasses and their stemless wine glasses.
To eat, we use palm leaf compostable plates, bamboo paper napkins that are renewable and compostable, and bamboo cutlery that are renewable and compostable. This is an area in which it is so easy to be sloppy as paper and plastic products are so readily available, but if you plan in advance, it is really so easy to pull together products that will make you feel good about your practices!
Flowers
We got ALL of our flowers from Trader Joes - easy peasy. Their bouquet bundles are SO pretty and incredibly affordable. A single bouquet runs around $10-$12, so why spend more??
Event Design
RMBO collective is the event planning company of my friend, Robin Baab Olascoaga, and boy is she incredible at what she does!! Robin understands that I don’t want to throw a party once and then dispose of everything I used or return it to a rental company. I want to acquire pieces that I can repurpose year after year for different events. After working together for so long, Robin knows what pieces I have and helps me build on that or helps me find new ways to use those same pieces that I never would have thought of myself. Her company even has a service and package in which they will help you pick out foundational pieces for entertaining that can be used over and over.
Robin had involvement in every detail of this party big and small, and I am so grateful for that. She made my backyard look like a celestial wonderland. In case you haven’t heard, Robin and I recently started working together to offer a new service. Composed Living and Olazko Interiors (Robin’s interior design company) will double team your space to ensure that it is both aesthetically pleasing and functional. There’s some info about this service on our site!
Rentals
We rented a few pieces that we didn’t have in our home collection from A Rental Collection. They gave us a large bar, several high top tables with bar stools, and linens. I highly recommend them if you are throwing a holiday party in Los Angeles.
Photos
A dear friend of mine, Krista Mason, is a wonderful photographer! She always attends our events as both a guest and our resident photo taker! All of the pictures featured on this blog post were taken by her and she does all of our Composed Living brand shoots as well. Check out her site and hire her for your wedding, family portraits, and everything in between! The photo featured just above this is of our awesome team - what cute dresses for a holiday party!!
Tarot
It wouldn’t be a full moon party without some tarot readings, am I right?? We had Jessica Zavala come and do some incredibly specific readings. She gave us future predictions, she gave us time frames, and she connected us with loved ones who have passed on. I suppose time will tell if her predictions come true! Jessica was recommended to us by one of our employees and she could not recommend her more if you are looking for a reader! You can schedule an appointment with her at The Crooked Path crystal shop in Burbank, or she does private readings in her home.
Food
We got catering from my all time favorite Lebanese restaurant: Sunnin Lebanese in Westwood. I love choosing a local small business to do my catering. Supporting local is so important PLUS you get to introduce all of your guests to one of your fave spots! We had hors d’oeuvres of falafel, Fatayer spinach pies, and Kebbeh Makliyeh beef croquettes make their way around the party. They were the perfect appetizers for a holiday party! On the self serve table, we had salad, tabouleh, pita, hummus, babaganouj, grape leaves, and seasoned potatoes. It was all SO delicious, I couldn’t wait to come back for seconds…and thirds.
Party Favors
We gave our guests a selection of ethically sourced Palo Santo, Selenite Wands, and a variety of small crystals with different energies and healing properties. All crystals were purchased from local business Aum & Garden on Ventura in Sherman Oaks. I love burning Palo Santo throughout my home! First off, I love the woodsy scent the smoke produces and second, I love setting the intention with it to bring positive energy into my space.
