Frozen Fever Birthday Party

Henley has been planning her birthday theme for months, in case you're interested she has plans for her fifth and sixth birthday as well.

I tried to keep this simple and just focused on small details that would give the most return.

For the banner I used my Silhouette Cameo to make the shapes and cut out the letters. I also purchased the Frozen Fever jpegs from Etsy and used the Silhouette print and cut feature to cut them out.  I also used these same images for the favor bags. The kraft bags were purchased from Target.

Pretzel rods dipped in light blue candy melts, drizzled with white chocolate and sprinkled with yellow sugar.

Cake was from Publix. They did a great job. 

I had beer and iced tea for the adults and made a punch for the kids. I used blue Hawaiian punch, 0.5 liter of Sprite and about 4 scoops of pineapple sorbet. The kids loved it and I think just the idea of the spout makes them want to drink it. Every time we have a drink in this container Henley and her friends love serving themselves. 

The party was great. I ordered all of the food from Publix to make it easier on myself, subs, fruit and a veggie tray. We were in Disney the few days before so I wanted to be realistic in what I would accomplish. We had a bounce house and the kids were worn out by the end of the day. Besides the record breaking heat, everything was fun. If these temps continue we might be having a December pool party for Henley. 

I still can't believe she's four but it is what it is. More to come from my oldest little one!

Friendsgiving 2016

Hello Again! I posted last week on some tips for hosting your own Friendsgiving dinner and thought I'd follow up with a post from our event this past weekend. It turned out great and we had a blast. Here are some of the highlights.

For the first time I attempted a charcuterie platter (it's French for meat platter). I used store bought hummus, four different cheeses, crackers, mini toasts, olives, candied almonds, raspberry preserves. dried apricots, and various meats. You really could use any combination of meats and cheeses. I read a few different pins and articles to compile a mix that I thought would work best for us. It was surprisingly a hit and I definitely will be trying again next year. 

In addition to this platter I made rolls with pumpkin butter, sausage stuffed mushrooms, turkey, and pumpkin pie rice krispie treats. everyone else brought the traditional Thanksgiving sides. I didn't get a picture of the food as it was quite chaotic at this point. (side note---I tried these and they were a fail, very dry and crumbly)

For decorations, I used kraft paper and practiced my hand lettering to give it a special little flair. I got the coasters from Hobby Lobby and the napkins from Target.

I also used the kraft paper as an accent for the drink table. I got the chalk wood slice from Target. I made white and red sangria. Both were wine plus apple cider, fruit, and cinnamon sticks.

For the kids I made a pink lemonade punch which they loved, I'm not sure if they liked the juice more or the fact that they could get their own from the dispenser. Even the littles were going over and placing their cups under the spout.

I bought the jars that the sangria was in from Weck years ago for a shower I hosted. I love bringing these out for parties, I think it gives the perfect bit of character over typical pitchers.

Kids table: As I went to write the kids' names on the table I was informed by Henley to "not make the names all crazy" so block lettering it was. I had a bucket of crayons on the table but Macie stole it and ran, not before decorating it though.

Believe it or not, even with ten kids, we were all able to sit down at once and eat. I really was a great night and the kids have as much fun as the adults. 

Until next year...

Are you planning to host Thanksgiving or Friendsgiving? Any tips or stories to share? I'd love to hear about it. 

::Holidays:: Friendsgiving Tips

November 1st is here which means we can all officially start planning for Thanksgiving! Thanksgiving is such a great holiday and the month of November would be awesome for that alone but we also host a Friendsgiving potluck. Friendsgiving for us doesn’t take the place of Thanksgiving but instead is an “in addition to” giving us twice the delicious food and awesome company.

This year will be the fourth year we are hosting Friendsgiving. It’s such a great time and every year we all end the night proclaiming what a blast it has been. After three successful dinners and planning one more now, I thought I’d share some tips that really work out great for us so you can plan your own.

Every year we get more and more littles joining our crew

Friendsgiving Tips

1. Pick the timing that works best for you and your guests. In the past we have hosted our Friendsgiving the weekend before Thanksgiving. This year we are doing two weeks prior to allow some breathing room between this and our Thanksgiving with our families.

2. Send an invite with plenty of notice. I typically set up a Facebook invite about a month in advance. I am usually a big fan of tangible paper invites but a Facebook invites is helpful for planning when everyone starts posting what they are going to bring.

3. Be sure to have enough seating for all of your guest. We have a large table but I usually have to a arrange for a few borrowed tables or chairs.

4. Plan the menu. As host I always have the turkey covered. I also commit to one side or appetizer, one dessert, and drinks. Everyone else usually fills in the blanks.

5. For drinks we plan for beer and wine. I also like to make a fall flavored sangria or similar style of drink. This year I am planning for this apple cider sangria.

6. Set the mood. I love to decorate the house with fall accents including a nicely decorated table. Here are some of my favorite tablescapes I’ve saved on Pinterest lately. In addition to decor some mellow music is perfect for a nice evening with friends (even if there are child screams here and there).

7. Have entertainment for any kids that may be in attendance. We always invite our closest friends and all of their littles. Last year I grabbed a paper tablecloth for them and a few crafts from Target to keep them entertained while we got the food ready.

8. Enjoy it! As a host be sure to get a plate for yourself and spend time with your guests as well. Make sure to allot enough time for you to have the food completed and ready by the time your guests arrive.


I’m really excited for this again this year and I will be sure to share pictures. Here is our tentative menu:

Appetizers:
Stuffed mushrooms
Bruschetta
Cheese and meat platter


Dinner:
Turkey
Stuffing
Mashed potatoes
Sweet potato casserole
Macaroni and cheese
Broccoli casserole
Sweet corn
Cranberry sauce
Rolls


Dessert:
Cranberry pinwheels
Rice krispie treats
Peanut butter pie
Chocolate pie
Sugar cookies


Drinks:
Beer
Wine
Coquito
Apple Cider Sangria
Kids punch

Do you host anything similar to this? Please share! I love all things Thanksgiving!!!

::Craftie:: Fall Pinterest Party

This weekend I hosted my very first Pinterest Party. For those of you not quite sure what this is, it's a party where you and a bunch of friends get together, eat some great food from recipes found on Pinterest, and make crafts or other ideas from...yep you guess it...Pinterest!

I have been working on so many baby crafts lately that I thought a Fall themed party would be a great opportunity to branch out from my baby bubble. 

I made finger foods from recipes that I found on Pinterest (praying they didn't bomb since most were being made for the first time). I thought I would share if any of you were interested in your own Fall themed party.

Yummy!

I was thinking of using this pin to make mini caramel apples but then I saw this idea from this blog to make a DIY Caramel Apple Bar!

I bought bagged, pre-sliced apples for this since I knew the apples would be sitting out while everyone grazed and I didn't want them to brown. I skewered each slice and set out mini chocolate chips, coconut, mini marshmallows and candy corn for everyone to make their own caramel slices. My favorite combination was the chocolate chips with coconut. This was a really fun alternative to caramel apples and everyone was able to make their own variations and try different combinations.

Nothing exciting here, just hummus with carrots, cucumbers, and pretzels.

There have been many recipes (here, here, and here) for various fall trail mixes floating around Pinterest and I took a little something from each of these and came up with this yummy mix.

Fall trail mix: Cheezits, pretzels, Reese's Pieces, candy corn, chocolate chips, and salted peanuts

Pigs in a blanket are always a yummy, quick treat. I attempted to make them "mummy" pigs in a blanket but it wasn't working out so we just settled on the norm.

This recipe for stuffed mushrooms got tons of great reviews but didn't really seem to have much substance, various reviews altered it by adding sausage or crab. I added chicken Italian sausage to the mix and dipped the mushrooms, once stuffed, in bread crumbs and grated Parmesan cheese prior to baking.

This dip is delicious! It's a pumpkin dip with cool whip and was light and airy while still quite tasty. 

The creator of this used Nilla Wafers and apples as dippers, the apples were my favorite.

Decor from Jo-Ann's and everything fall was 40% off.

My father-in-law brought tables over that I put end to end on the balcony since our inside space is quite limited. Thankfully the weather wasn't too hot or humid once the sun set.

Fall table cloths also from Jo-Ann's. 

I didn't get pictures of anyone's crafts before they left but here is what I made based on this pin. I printed out the letters on legal paper and used an exacto knife to cut them out. Then I taped the outline of the letters to this foam pumpkin and traced the letters with pencil. Using acrylic paint in brown and a teeny paint brush I filled in the letters and topped it off with a brown polka dot bow. It's in our foyer as a cute way to greet guests.

It was a pretty quick and easy craft which I recommend for these kind of parties since you don't want anything too complicated.

This party was pretty fun and was one friend even suggested we make it a seasonal thing. Have any of you attended a Pinterest Party? What do you think?

Monday is over friends---one step closer to the weekend!

Mere :-)

::Fun:: I'm 30!

Last week marked the end of a decade in my life, I said goodbye to my twenties. While I anticipated it being sad/upsetting/::insert depressing adjective here::, I realized that I am so excited to enter this new stage of my life.

My mom, husband, and sister put together a little dinner/party with some close friends at a Mexican Restaurant in town. It was a great night being surrounded but those I love!

Even the mariachi band joined in!

Thanks to my family and hubs for celebrating and helping me enter this next stage of my life smiling!

:-) Mere