In the early 1980s, I also arranged home party needlecraft demos for the Creative Circle. Their kits included crewel embroidery, cross stitch, needlepoint, and applique projects. The guests had a lot of fun! Some of them bought the full-sized kits, some did not - they just came for the party kit and to socialize, which is also great! I looked up Creative Circle online, and the needlecraft company site said nothing about home parties, but they do sell kits online now. There is also a different company called Creative Circle that is a "recruiting and consulting services company". They have nothing to do with needle crafts. I still have, and display, my samples from when I was a party consultant. They are very high quality and beautiful.

Well, I had a friend who sold Pampered Chef and she talked me into hosting a party after my first kitchen remodel about five years ago -- I think I was vulnerable because I did want to show off the new kitchen. She is someone who has had a lot of bad luck and never seems to have money for the unexpected or sometimes even the necessities, so I was an easy mark and a softy and agreed to do it. BIG MISTAKE!!! She did a fine job with the presentation, and a good number of my friends came and bought stuff. But the processing of the orders was a nightmare, and she messed things up so badly that it took months and months to straighten them out, and was an embarrassment for me with those who had come and made purchases. It definitely affected our friendship, and I was relieved when she moved away because I was always afraid she was going to ask me to do it again. And while I did get some free stuff (which, other than the toast tongs, I don't use very often) I spent a fortune on the ingredients for the food that was prepared. So, be warned, while attending them can be painful and anxiety-producing for some, hosting the party can take you to a whole other level of torture.

Absolutely have it inspected with your own inspector and DO NOT CLOSE until all items you want fixed are completed. If the builder is motivated, you will be amazed how fast they will get things done if you won't close!! You have no leverage after you close to get items fixed in a timely manner. We had our own inspector find numerous things on a new home we bought a few years ago. Most things that turned up were minor, except one roofing issue where the flashing was done incorrectly. If we hadn't had it inspected, we wouldn't have found that issue until we had leakage into the attic and then onto a bedroom ceiling...big headache to clean up after the fact.

I bought a navy dress to wear to a friend's December wedding. I found navy blue suede shoes to wear similar to the ones Funkyart posted but with a slightly higher heel. Looked fab. I also have a pair of suede boots, mine are red, and they are great for winter dress up if I know I'm going to have to we walking a ways in and out. But not really needed if you're just going to get out of the car and walk into the wedding or party venue. Worst comes to worst you can wear boots and then check them with your coat for the party. Bring along a tote with your rough weather supplies including an umbrella! Note: blue suede boots that are dressy are hard to come by. I know because I wanted to get a navy pair after getting and loving my red ones so much. Fake suede is not worth a darn, will get nicked or torn too easily. Grey or taupe might be OK but navy would be the stunning option. Further note: Go for a dress with some grey or black in the print if you can find one and the color looks good on you. Black real suede dress boots (or shoes for that matter) are much easier to find. Or just get these boots and find a dress to go with them. I wear mine with grey or black dresses with dabs of other colors in them, including red. Red or burgundy, black, grey together or even throw in some cream, great winter outfit colors.