A Little Trip To Asia!

Don't get excited...I really didn't go to Asia. However, for Arthur Murray's International Dance Festival, the theme for our studio was cruisin' around the world- visiting all seven continents. Each week our party was twice as long, we had food, we played games, and everybody came in costume. We divided it up so each staff member was in charge of one party- mine was ASIA!

*Sorry I couldn't get all the pictures in the order that I wanted...I decided to not fight blogger and just let it do its thing...so you might have to scroll around- sorry!*

I was torn between trying to involve/represent the entire continent of Asia and going traditional Asia/Oriental. I ended up doing the latter, as it was far easier than trying to encompass the entire Asian continent...which is pretty diverse if you really think about it.

First, the decorations. I found these great paper lanterns at Hobby Lobby (oh how I love that store!) and went back day after day to buy them one at a time so I could use the 40% off coupon each time. :) They had them in all colors, but I decided to keep it real traditional with the red and gold.

Then I decided to make a huge pagoda out of a metal arch my mom had and 20 pieces of red posterboard....and lots and lots of staples! It was quite a feat, but I think it really turned out nice and was definitely a focal point.

The candy dishes were replaced with take-out cartons. And we have a giant map of the world, tracking where we go with little red dots. The tables were decked out in some Asian fabric that I found (thanks again to my mom who serged the edges for me!) and bamboo.

My sister Tara, who works at the AM corporate office, was kind enough to get me some real Arthur Murray posters that were in Japanese! We have a huge backdrop that looks like we are on the deck of the "Arthur Murray of the Seas" and I put a coastline out in the water with a few Asian landmarks.

For the food, I got fried rice, spring rolls, and I made a teriyaki sesame chicken stir fry. I had some wasabi peas and wonton noodles to snack on as well. The best part was the fortune cookies I had specially ordered- the fortunes were all about dancing things! I left some as is and dipped some in chocolate. Then, came the cutest little things...thanks to Mikelle for sending me the link to that blog, which is where I got the idea. I made rice krispie sushi rolls! They were rice krispie treats as the rice, fruit by the foot for the seaweed, and decorating gel for the fish in the center. They turned out so adorable and were really yummy too!

I dressed up as a geisha- it gave me another chance to wear my big black sash from my wedding!

It was a fun event, but I am glad it is over. It was a lot of worrying and planning! (However it does make me think that I could be perfectly happy being an event planner for a living!)

Happy Asia Week!