Author: Niki Lotte
Startup Monday: BloomThat, A Flower Delivery Service
Startup Monday is ABCey’s weekly post that features some of the best and brightest companies in the Bay Area. They are often companies that we have our eye on or have worked with in the past & would like to share with friends and followers of ABCey Events!
BloomThat delivers flowers to whomever you want anywhere within the Bay Area. All you have to do is browse the website or app for the style you want, enter the recipient’s address, and they will receive the beautiful bouquet within the hour! It doesn’t get easier than that!
Why We Love BloomThat: From bouquets to succulents, you can find the right florals for any event theme! Since the flowers come in beautiful canvas packaging, guests can take home the flowers as party favors too! BloomThat is perfect for last minute hostess gifts or event decor. Also, because BloomThat uses only flowers which are in-season, you are guaranteed to received a bouquet that is fresh and modern.
Would you use BloomThat’s flower delivery service to get flowers for your next event? Let us know in the comments below or on Facebook and Twitter.
5 Last-Minute (and Easy) Thanksgiving Dishes
Are you ready for Thanksgiving tomorrow? If you’re running a little late getting everything together, don’t stress out because ABCey has put together 5 last-minute (and easy) Thanksgiving dishes for you, friends, and family to enjoy!
Bake Brie with Cranberry Sauce and Walnuts
Warn your guests: this Baked Brie with Cranberry Sauce and Walnuts is so good, they might fill up on it before the turkey is even out of the oven!
Perfect Glazed Carrots
While calling these Glazed Carrots “perfect” might seem a bit presumptuous, your friends and family won’t be thinking so when they try them. This delicious side dish not only tastes delicious but adds a pop of color to your table as well!
Roasted Brussel Sprouts, Bacon, & Apples
Nothing screams Fall as much as this Roasted Brussel Sprouts, Bacon and Apples to accompany your main event. Plus you’ve got your veggies, fruit, and protein all in one dish!
Savory Cornbread
What’s a Thanksgiving without Savory Cornbread? Luckily, this simple and straightforward recipe creates a deliciously comforting side dish.
Oreo Ice Cream Pie
While Oreos might not be a traditional Thanksgiving dessert, we are so thankful for them anyways! Nothing round out the meal better than this Oreo Ice Cream Pie which takes so little time to prep and cook.
Which dishes will you be making this Thanksgiving? Let us know in the comments below or on Facebook and Twitter!
Tech Tuesday: getplanning, Event Management Software
Tech Tuesday highlights the best and brightest ideas in the tech world. ABCey would like to recognize these up and coming technologies for their innovative ideas and impact on the event world!
getplanning is a comprehensive digital planning and collaboration tool! It stores all of your event planning documents, such as schedules, contracts, and menus, for easy access so everyone involved with the event can be up-to-speed on what is going on from beginning (contracts) to end (billing).
getplanning allows for unlimited users and events so you can seamlessly plan for a variety of events. It also provides realtime communication and action so no one will be unreachable ever again! The best part: You can customize getplanning to match your company’s colors and branding requirements!
Why We Love getplanning: Not only is getplanning super easy to use, but it’s all stored in the Cloud, so it can be accessed anywhere, anytime, and by anyone! Furthermore, all documents uploaded to getplanning are encrypted for maximum security. We’re not the only ones who love using getplanning as Hilton Worldwide just announced in January that it would be incorporating the event management software into its system.
Would you use getplanning to help organize your next event? Let us know in the comments below on Facebook and Twitter!
5 DIY Thanksgiving Decor Ideas
With Thanksgiving just around the corner, ABCey cannot wait to celebrate with family and friends! We’ve gathered these 5 DIY Thanksgiving Decor Ideas so you can focus on cooking the turkey without breaking the bank.
Thankful Placemats
These personalized Thankful Placemats will spice up your table with just two materials: construction paper (or scrapbook paper) and a pen! Let your guests help you with decorating by letting them write what they’re thankful for before dinner begins. It’s a great conversation piece!
Turkey Legs
These Turkey Legs are great for the kids who will be so thankful when they rip open these crafty “turkey legs” to find the hidden candy! All you really need is a brown paper bag, printer paper and some sweets!
Leaf Garland
Send the kids out to gather some Fall leaves and write whatever word sums up Thanksgiving for you (ex. “grateful,” “thankful,” “family”)! Then use twine to make a Leaf Garland and hang it up for all to see!
Rosemary Sprig Place Cards
Incorporate natural elements onto your dinner table with these Rosemary Sprig Place Cards! Your family will be reminded to appreciate everything around them. Plus, the sweet Rosemary smell will complement your cooking!
Thankful Tree
While your kids are gathering leaves for the Leaf Garland, have them pick up a fistful of twigs as well! Even though the Thankful Tree requires a couple more materials than our other DIY projects, it’ll be well worth the effort when your family remembers all that they are thankful for with this beautiful tree.
Which of these crafty DIY Thanksgiving Decor Ideas will you be doing for Thanksgiving next week? Let us know in the comments below or on Facebook and Twitter!
Startup Monday: IFTTT, if this then that
Startup Monday is ABCey’s weekly post that features some of the best and brightest companies in the Bay Area. They are often companies that we have our eye on or have worked with in the past & would like to share with friends and followers of ABCey Events!
IFTTT (pronounced like “gift” without the “g”) is a San Francisco-based startup offering a service that lets you create connections with the simple phrase of: 
How IFTTT works: “Triggers” (the “this” part of the recipe) are the starting blocks for your connection. For example, a trigger could be: “I”m tagged in a photo on Facebook.” The “Action” (the “that” part of the recipe) completes the connection and produces a result. A potential action to the Facebook photo trigger could be: “send me a text message.” So the recipe would be, “If I’m tagged in a photo on Facebook, then send me a text message.”
Why we love IFTTT: IFTTT makes our lives as event planners so much easier with the simple statement of “if this then that.” Not only is the service so easy to use, but it allows us to make personal recipes regarding whichever channels we want! Whenever we receive a new email from a client, we can put it in the corresponding file or be notified via text message immediately. If we post a new blog, it can also be automatically posted on to our LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter accounts!
Would you IFTTT to help you plan your next event? Let us know in the comments below or on Facebook and Twitter.
StartUp Monday: Getaways, Travel and Hotel Offers
Startup Monday is ABCey’s weekly post that features some of the best and brightest companies in the Bay Area. They are often companies that we have our eye on or have worked with in the past & would like to share with friends and followers of ABCey Events!
This week’s StartUp Monday app is Getaways, Groupon’s new app that provides travel and hotel offers for your next event!
Getaways allows you to search travel and hotel offers for any destination, any day! Travel is Groupon’s fastest growing business category. With more than 25,000 offers right now and 1,000s of hotels offering a 5% Groupon Bucks credit, you’ll be able to find the best prices for all your travels!
Why We Love Getaways: Getaways makes travel to events easy and cheap! Not only can we search last-minute deals, but also ones that cater to our events’ guests, such as “Beach,” “Family Fun,” and “International Tours!” It’s a great way to keep destination events under-budget and our clients happy. Users will also have access to discounts on events when they book travel-related deals on the platform! To top it off, those who download the free app and book a trip through it can get a 20% discount until November 14 using the promotion code APP20 !
Where would you travel with Getaways? Let us know with a comment below or on Facebook and Twitter!
ABCey’s Weekend LineUp: November 6 – 9, 2014
From Urban Film Festivals to the Renegade Craft Fair, there are plenty of events to tap into your crafty side on the weekend of November 6 – 9, 2014! For a creative weekend, ABCey Events has got you covered! It’s everybody’s favorite topic of the week: ABCey’s Weekend LineUp!
The Sum
Thursday, November 6th – 7th | 8AM – 9PM on Thursday; 10AM – 5PM on Friday | SFJAZZ, 201 Franklin Street | $400
The Sum is a two-day conference in San Francisco designed to help guests reimagine creative possibilities for themselves and their cities!
SF Urban Film Festival
Thursday, November 6th – Sunday, November 9th | Times vary depending on day | SPUR, 654 Mission Street |$22 for Saturday day pass, $18 for Sunday day pass
The SF Urban Film Festival is a film festival focused on urban planning, civic engagement, and film! It includes panel discussions on the future of city design along with screenings and a party onFriday night!
Bon Appétit Grub Crawl
Saturday, November 8th | 11AM, Hayes Valley; 5PM, Mission| Various locations | $149
The magazine is taking over Hayes Valley and the Mission for a day of culinary exploration at various eateries around town with the Bon Appétit Grub Crawl!
Muni Diaries Live
Saturday, November 8th | 7PM – 9PM | Elbo Room, 647 Valencia Street (between Sycamore and 17th streets) | $16.82
Share your best – and worst – MUNI stories at Muni Diaries Live! Hilarious storytellers include: Dhaya Lakshminarayanan, Ronn Vigh, Mat Honan, Josh Cereghino, Kevin Fagan, Klee Wiggins, and Jesse James.
Renegade Craft Fair
Saturday, November 8th – Sunday, November 9th | 11AM – 6PM | Fort Mason Center, 2 Marina Boulevard (at Beach Street) | FREE
Join the Renegade Craft Fair to shop and peruse over 300+ indie makers as this group starts there Holiday Tour! This is the perfect place to start checking off items from your Holiday gift lists with products ranging from stationary to jewelry to furniture!
What will you be doing in San Francisco November 6 – 9, 2014? Let us know in the comments below or on Facebook and Twitter!
Tech Tuesday: Intro, the digital business card
Tech Tuesday highlights the best and brightest ideas in the tech world. ABCey would like to recognize these up and coming technologies for their innovative ideas and impact on the event world!
The new app, Intro, from About.me will revolutionize the networking world because it is a digital business card!
While About.me provides a visually appealing snapshot of your professional profile, Intro makes creating and maintaining business connections so much easier. You decide how much information you share with your new friends and business acquaintances on this digital business card by deciding whether to share your page, phone number, and/or email address depending on the person!
Why We Love Intro: ABCey thinks Intro is so awesome because it lets you keep track of who you’ve shared your card with as well as who has shared with you. Since we tend to meet a lot of people at events, Intro lets us keep track and remember who’s who by viewing their About.me page and downloading specific information right into our phone’s address book! One of the biggest bonuses of this digital business card: Intro is FREE!
Would you use Intro to connect with friends and build stronger business acquaintances? Let us know in the comments below or on Facebook and Twitter!
5 Last-Minute Halloween Event Decor Ideas
So you’ve sent out the invitations for your awesome Halloween event, but Halloween still managed to sneak up on you this year? Don’t worry because ABCey has you covered with these 5 Last-Minute Halloween Event Decor Ideas!
1. Melted Crayon Pumpkin
Add some color to your party this Halloween with these crafty Melted Crayon Pumpkins! All you need is a white pumpkin, crayons, and a hairdryer to get this psychedelic effect!
2. Ghoulish Lanterns
Light up your Halloween event with these Ghoulish Lanterns! What other faces can you come up with to draw on this creative decor?
3. Mason Jar Mummies
These adorable Mason Jar Mummies might look complex, but don’t be fooled, they only require 4 materials to get the job done!
4. Watermelon Brain
Watch as your guests get squeamish as they reach for this tasty Watermelon Brain. Would you dare to take a bite?
5. Foil Portrait
Probably the easiest of the bunch, the Foil Portrait provides a creepy, ghostlike profile of your loved ones in a matter of seconds with materials you already have at home!
Which one of these last-minute Halloween event decor ideas will you be trying? Let us know in the comments below or on Facebook and Twitter!
Tech Tuesday: Beyond Verbal’s Moodies
Tech Tuesday highlights the best and brightest ideas in the tech world. ABCey would like to recognize these up and coming technologies for their innovative ideas and impact on the event world!
Event planners now have a new option to gather feedback from attendees with Beyond Verbal’s Moodies, an app that records user’s voice and then analyzes various elements, such as energy, timing, pitch, and volume to determine the person’s emotional state.
Moodies can detect 11 different moods in a 20-second response using Emotions Analytics which is a compilation of mood, attitude, and personalitites. Did we mention this technology has been tested on more than 10,000 people around the world, so the app works across languages and cultures.
Why We Love Moodies: Beyond Verbal’s Moodies can be used throughout the event to watch the ebb and flow of guests’ reactions to various portions of the production. Not only can it provide valuable data about guests, but also about events’ speakers which can ensure they are conveying the right mood to their audience. This app could revolutionize feedback and provide valuable information for event planners!
Would you use Beyond Verbal’s Moodies at your next event? Let us know in the comments below or on Facebook and Twitter!