Divergent Movie Night

     With the recent Blu Ray/DVD release of Divergent, I decided to host a movie night party for my friends and I.  I wanted to create a table scape with a section for each of the factions, Abnegation, Amity, Candor, Erudite, and Dauntless, that are featured in the Divergent, Insurgent, and Allegiant books.  I had a great time coming up with ideas for each section from the color scheme to what food and drinks to serve to decorations.  It was a lot of fun and I think it turned out amazing! 

Here are the Factions....

For Abnegation I wanted to focus on the simplicity of things...

Gray table cloth, stones, clear serve ware, bread, and water.

Along with a image I found on Tumblr that I had printed then Mod Podged on a canvas.

And of course a "choosing bowl" with stones to complete the look.

I made some Selfless Bread

and some Benevolent Butters.

I also printed some of these labels I found on Bringing Up Burns,

 then Mod Podged them on some water bottles.

For Amity I wanted the focus to be warm and friendly...

 A bright yellow and red table cloth, a wood plank, a basket of red apples, wood create,

apples chips & dip, hard apple cider, and another Tumblr image.

And the "choosing bowl" of soil.

The Peace Rings are just Apple Chips,

and the Harmony Dip went with them perfectly.

I found these cool labels too on Bringing Up Burns

 that I Mod Podged onto some Angry Orchard Hard Cider bottles.

For Candor I did a play on the black and white theme.

I found a black and white stripe cloth, glass, black & white food, 

and the Candor image from Tumblr.

The "choosing bowl" full of glass.

I made of these Truth Tidbits which were quite tasty,

and some homemade Probity Pastries.

Erudite was fun to decorate too....

Found a blue and white chevron material, some beakers, plastic glasses, 

set up the dictionary (opened up to the definition of Erudite, of course), blue soda, 

some healthy snacks, and the Tumblr image.

A bowl of water set out for the "choosing bowl."

The little beakers I found at Hobby Lobby, 

which I just drew on the lines and numbers, then filled with some blue wine cooler.

Since the Erudite are all about learning...

I made some brain food, Knowledge Nibbles.

For the non alcoholic drinkers, I got some Jone's Soda that 

I wrapped some newspaper around for decor.

And lastly, Dauntless, it was easy to decorate for this one too.

I laid out a black cloth for the table, some black plastic guns and knives, 

some paper targets, burgers, chocolate cakes, and a Dauntless Tumblr picture.

The "choosing bowl" was full of stones shaped like coals and some candles.

I got the plastic guns and knives at the Dollar Tree, then spray painted them black.

In the book, the Dauntless ate hamburgers, 

so these Bravery Burger Bombs are a play on those.

They also ate chocolate cake, so I had to make some mini Fearless Cakes.

I found these cool labels on Bringing Up Burns 

that I printed, then colored in a bit and put on some wine bottles.

I was so happy to discover some temporary tattoos in my new Blu Ray!

I decided to go Dauntless for the party...and a couple days afterward.

 (They were stuck on pretty good!)

It was a fun night! 

I loved planning it all, the decorations, the colors, the food, the drinks.

And especially getting to spend it with some great friends!

Can't wait to plan my next movie night...

Candor

Recipe modified from Spoonful of Flavor

Truth Tidbits

What you need:

1 cup balsamic vinegar

12 large blackberries

1 (7oz) package feta cheese (cubed)

How to make them:

To prepare the balsamic reduction, in a small saucepan over medium-high heat, bring the balsamic vinegar to a simmer.

Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until vinegar has reduced to 1/4 cup, about 20 minutes.

Set aside and cool.

Arrange blackberry and feta cheese on skewers.

Drizzle with balsamic reduction, serve and ENJOY!

Macaron recipe from Cake Journal 

Chocolate Filling

Vanilla Cream Filling

Probity Macaron Pastries
What you need: 1 1/8 ground almonds 3 egg whites (aged 1 day at room temperature covered with plastic wrap) 1 1/2 cup powdered sugar (sifted) 4 TBsp granulated sugar
How you make them:
Grind the almonds in a food processor. Sift to get rid of any large pieces or lumps Mix the powdered sugar together with the ground almonds in a food processor. In an electric mixer whip the egg whites. As the egg whites start forming, add the sugar one tablespoon at a time and continue whipping until the mixture is glossy stiff. (should be able to hold the bowl upside down without the meringue sliding out). Fold the dry mixture into the meringue using a spatula. Add food coloring if desired and fold until fully mixed in. The mixture should flow like a ribbon when the spatula is held up (do not over mix). Filly the piping bag and pipe the macarons onto baking sheets (remember the shells will flatten once piped, so don't make them too big). Let them set for 60 minutes to form a dry skin. Heat the oven to 300˚F. Bake for 10-12 minutes in the middle of the oven. Watch closely, they brown quickly. Let the shells cool completely before removing them from the baking sheets. Pipe the filling of choice on the shell and sandwich together with another shell. Then ENJOY!

Chocolate Filling
What you need: 1 3/4 cups sugar 1 1/2 cups heavy cream 7.5 oz unsweetened chocolate (finely chopped) 12 TBsp unsalted butter (room temperature, cut into small pieces) 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract How to make it: In a saucepan, bring the sugar and heavy cream to a boil over medium heat. Reduce the heat to low and simmer the mixture for 6 minutes (be careful NOT to let the saucepan overflow). Remove from heat and stir in chocolate and butter until they have completely melted. Stir in the vanilla extract. Let the frosting cool completely, whisking every now and then during the cooling. When the filling is room temperature, spread a little on the inside of one macaron shell, then sandwich another macaron shell on top. Then ENJOY!

Vanilla Cream Filling
What you need: 3 egg yolks 3/4 cup granulated sugar 1 TBsp cornstarch 1 cup whole milk 1 vanilla pod/bean (split lengthwise) 3 TBsp unsalted butter (diced) 1/2 cup heavy cream
How to make it: Put the egg yolks, sugar, and cornstarch in a small heat proof bowl and whisk together until combined. Heat the milk, along with the vanilla bean in a small saucepan until it only just starts to boil. Remove the vanilla bean and pour the hot milk over the egg mixture, whisking constantly until smooth. Pour mixture back into the pan and cook gently over low heat, stirring constantly until the custard comes to a boil and thickens. Cover the surface with plastic wrap and leave to cool before refrigerating.  Whip the cream in a bowl of an electric mixer until it will hold soft peaks. When the custard is cool, remove from the fridge, fold in the whipped cream. Spread vanilla cream on the bottom of a macaron, top with the bottom of another macaron. Then ENJOY!
A little about Candor....

DEFINITION: [Pronounced: Can-der]; l. the state or quality of being frank, open, and sincere in speech or expression; candidness. 2. freedom from bias; fairness; impartiality. The faction is not just trying to develop honesty,­­ they're also trying to develop impartiality. 
HISTORY: Candor was a faction formed by those who blamed duplicity and deception, who believed that dishonesty is the key fault in human nature which began evil and war. They believe in the principle that honesty and openness would lead to a more peaceful and perfect society. 

TRAITS: Honest, trustworthy, and able to read body language to detect lies. They greet each other by shaking hands. They provide sound leaders in Law.

PHYSICAL TRAITS: Black & white clothes, because they see the truth as black & white. They dress formally, with suits & ties being standard uniform with men, & women seen in long skirts, while their everyday clothing is typically black pants & white shirts.

CANDOR INITIATION: Initiates must take lie detector tests all day, every day. During the final test initiates get "truth serum" and must sit in front of everyone as they ask questions. They believe if you reveal all of your secrets, you'll have no desire to lie about anything, ever again because the worst is already in the open.

NICKNAME: 'Candor smart mouths'. 
RELATIONS: A slight rivalry with Amity, who they believe would deceive in order to ensure peace; unknown relationship with Abnegation, though its likely they would see them similar to Amity, seeing self-denial as a form of lying (to oneself), on good terms with Dauntless, probably because honesty & bravery can tie together; to Dauntless, on neutral terms with Erudite. 
CURRENT LEADER: Jack Kang. 
FACTION MANIFESTO: 

* copied from The Divergent Life