There are parties, and then there are parties – you know, the ones where everything has been planned down to the tiniest detail and coordinated and massaged until the final result is a rollicking bash that the guests don’t want to ever end. We had one of those recently – a launch party for Shopfeed, a shopping app that pulls content from different blogs, magazines, and news sources into one constantly refreshing, shoppable feed – which you can buy from in just two clicks! We did this because one of our kids and her business partners have started this app and needed somewhere to host a launch party. They planned the bejesus out of it: flowers, food, signage, lighting, specialty cocktails, giveaways, and social media photo booth for instant sharing – well, you see – not a typical Washington party. It was an educational experience for me, who thought I knew how to plan an event.

I wanted to share some of the photos from the party because they did some amazing things with the food, inspired by the Bite by Bite cookbook by Peter Callahan. If you haven’t seen this cookbook yet, you should. It’s basically American comfort food, shrunk down to Lilliputian sizes for cocktail parties, and it was a huge hit. It’s so clever that you have to see it to appreciate it. And they served tiny ice cream cones to mimic the Shopfeed logo, along with pretty pink Kir Royales. It wasn’t unusual to see people walking around with a drink in one hand and an ice cream cone in the other – a sure sign of a good party.

It was a young, fun-having crowd, and cocktails stretched on well into the night. I know this app will appeal to a younger demographic, who use their phones the way I use my computer, but I really like the gift ideas on their lists. It’s where I found things like Beeswrap, the reusable, organic wrapping paper for packing lunches (what a brilliant idea), and rustic, paint-washed wooden placemats for an al feresco summer dinner, among many other things. Shopfeed also sweeps away the need for endless Googling to find, say, the perfect white linen blouse; you simply type in what you’re looking for, and Shopfeed furnishes you with a multitude of recommended options from their massive product database. There is also a website, so if you’re looking for some really cutting edge gift ideas, Shopfeed is worth checking out.