A Simply Green Earth Day Party with Maggie Antalek

setting2

Happy Earth Day, everyone! At LMP we feel strongly about respecting Mother Earth on a daily basis. We decided to throw together a mini Earth Day party to show you our best tips and tricks on how to be a green hostess.

ingredients

First, we made our way to the Union Square Green Market for some supplies. We always try to shop local first, if the budget allows. It’s reassuring to know exactly where your ingredients are sourced from, plus we love to support local businesses. The Market in Union Square also has its own community compost! We absolutely love seeing the neighborhood come together to to protect our planet.

compost

We weaved and bobbed to find our favorite flowers to decorate the table. I kept getting distracted by all the PRETTY COLORS. But we had a plan for flowers to match our GREEN theme.

flowers

We landed on some beautiful white hydrangeas, tulips, peonies, and ranunculus to go with the green and blue decor, taken directly from a Little Miss Party in a Box. To make full use of our flowers, we always use them for other projects! This week, we were able to make a frozen ice bucket and beautiful table centerpiece using the flowers from our Earth Day party - I'll be sharing the DIY for that one, soon!

flowers2

Our tulips were especially amazing, because once the party was over we didn’t have to waste them by throwing them in the garbage. We were able to plant them in the garden! Those BULBS! Just fantastic.

tulips

Next, we searched around for some green tomatoes to fit the theme of our table! We also found some mozzarella and a beautiful basil plant. ALL of these ingredients were sourced from the market. With a little extra searching, you can always find a way to shop from local farms.

basil2

Also, a freshly baked baguette for a little crunch with our caprese! Because, BREAD. So yeah, it was inevitable.

tom-mozz

Our next step was finding the perfect gift to send home with our guests. We found some beautiful mini succulents, and simply couldn’t resist after seeing this sign! Why give a party favor that your guest will just throw away anyway? Give GREEN! Succulents are the perfect plant for busy people, but still add the perfect amount of green to any space.

succulent

After shopping, we set up our ingredients.

ingredients2

After that, the prep was easy! We sliced the tomatoes, cheese, and bread.

sliced

We set the table and distributed food.

table

We drizzled balsamic, of course!

pour

And suddenly, we had a beyond perfect green party for Earth Day. So remember, shop local, use your community compost, re-use all your decorative flowers, and give green-friendly party favors! Don’t be wasteful and enjoy Planet Earth!

tulips2