Take one Office Manager/ Blogger. Throw in 3 major events, a holiday, and a Chili Cook-Off and you get no time or creativity to blog. Forgive my lack of updates. After Sunday's Cook-off, I promise to have words of wisdom on how to survive an outdoor event for 5000 people!
Until then... keep creating joy!
Photo by: Jenni Spurlock Williams - Happy Birthday to me!
Over the weekend, I was a guest of honor and a guest at two differet surprise parties. How wonderful to enjoy so much fun in one weekend!
In celebration of my *cough*39th*cough* birthday, my sweet husband invited some very good friends to surprise me at my favorite restaurant. He did so good! I honestly didn't expect anything more than a special dinner out with my hubby. He later told me that he set up the event via Facebook and with the help of a couple of local friends. He was also grateful I was rather distracted last week, since he was struggling with the details. One of the best touches was he arranged for our kids to be fed and for our older daughter to babysit her brother and two friends' children as well. I didn't have to think about a thing other than getting dressed to go out for the evening. What a rare treat!
The second part of the weekend was for my dear friend, Lana. Her daughters decided to through her a surprise birthday party in her home. So one daughter took her out for the early evening to the movie, while the other stayed home and set up the event. Now apparently the girls are not exactly good secret keepers, so Lana was not particularly surprised by finding her house full of guests when she returned. None the less, she was very pleased and enjoyed her party very much.
The two events show that what really matters in party planning is not perfection, but caring enough to try. Most people feel so special when a party is thrown for them, that the details and imperfections are not what makes the impression. Instead it is the people who cared enough to come together for a night in their honor to spend time together. That is truly the most generous gift possible.
So thank you, to my darling husband who "fooled the teacher" and made me feel very loved and appreciated. And thank you to my special friends who took time from their busy lives to spend a fun evening with me.
Why don't you try your hand at a surprise party? Have you ever thrown one? Or been given one? Tell me about it!
These simple cookies are amazing, look pretty and always a hit with a crowd. Perfect for tea parties, bridal showers, baby showers or cookie exchanges. They also make a great hostess gift!
Photo credit: www.bettycrocker.com
Ingredients
1 pouch (1 lb 1.5 oz) Betty Crocker® sugar cookie mix
1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 egg
1 cup flaked coconut
1 cup white vanilla baking chips
1/2 teaspoon coconut extract
Glaze
1/2 cup white vanilla baking chips
1 tablespoon shortening
Instructions:
Some of my suggested changes include: switching the coconut extract for vanilla extract, using milk chocolate chips instead of white chocolate, or use colored sprinkles over the top of the freshly drizzled cookies. If you want to go completely from scratch with these cookies, substitute your favorite sugar cookie recipe for the mix.
Store the cookies in an airtight container to maintain their soft, chewy texture. But don't count on them lasting long!
Family game night is a wonderful way to spend time with your family and celebrate being together. My husband and I try to have game nights with our children once a month or so. We also have game nights with our friends fairly regularlly. There is something to be said about gathering around a table with pizza and a fun game. It bridges generations and lets everyone be kids again!
Recently I traveled back to Arkansas to spend some time with my mother and extended family. Normally we will go out to eat or watch a movie together. This time we decided to have a family game night. We brought in a bunch of pizza so that no one would have to cook. As an added bonus, cleanup was a breeze too! We had three generations ready to play.
Game selection is critical, with a group who has a wide age range. We settled on one of our favorites, "The Game of Things." It was a good choice, since it got everyone laughing at each other's answers. We ended up having so much fun, we forgot to keep score! We had a wide age range, but the game was simple enough everyone could play on their own level.
Give family game night a try... turn off the tv and turn your attention on your family. It will be an everyday celebration you won't soon forget!
Happy Leap Year Day!
Leap years have always seemed special to me. There’s no real reason why… One extra day every 4 years doesn’t seem like that big a deal. (An extra hour or two a day, that is worth getting excited about!) But despite the logic of my adult self, my inner child remains a huge fan of Leap Year Day.
The big day falls on a Wednesday this year. It’s a little harder to do something special to celebrate, but not impossible! This kind of event is the perfect thing to make into a family tradition and a wonderful way to make memories. Everyday celebrations like these take a little thought, but don’t have to cost a lot.
If you have small children, why not have some games in the afternoon or evening that involve leaping? Leap frog, jumping rope, long jump… whatever you can come up with will be perfect! There are no rules! Older kids might enjoy a family game night. Break out Trouble, Checkers or any other fun board game your family likes to play. Turn off the TV and spend time together. Unplug from the phone, computer, iPod for a night and play.
No kids? No problem… Invite your friends over for dinner and challenge each other to make a list of things you would like to “make the leap” and try this year. If you and your friends are the daring type why not book a tandem parachute jump? You can encourage each other to follow through on trying new things, making changes and fixing bad habits. Or just invite a couple of girlfriends over to watch Leap Year on DVD.
Legend and literature encourage women to take up their courage and ask their true love for his hand in marriage on Leap Day. It is also said that the young man should present his suitor with a silk dress and a kiss if he should be so callow as to spurn her affections. So even if you don’t get a husband out of the deal, at least you will have something pretty to wear!
Birthday’s that fall on Leap Day are special. The babies are known as leaplings and can join the Honor Society of Leap Year Day Babies. Know someone who is turning 20 on the 29th? Throw them a 5th birthday party complete with an “age” appropriate theme, favors and cake! Why not?
So hop to it and make this regular day into something a little more special!
Photo from: www.pintrest.com
I am not a big fan of traditional Valentine's Day presents. Don't get me wrong, flowers are beautiful and I love chocolate more than my own children some days! But I think on Valentine's Day it doesn't take much imagination to order red roses and pick up a box of chocolates. Of course, it’s nice to be thought of by your sweetie, but isn't it nice when he (or she) surprises you with something you really wanted?
In my house, Valentine's Day is for everyone. I don't limit it to romantic love, so my kids share in the fun of giving and receiving little gifts. I enjoy looking for that special gift for each of them. For example, my husband recently read the first Hunger Games novel. He is hooked and is currently reading the second novel. He borrowed them from our daughter and was really disappointed to find out that she didn't own the last of the three books. So for his valentine, he got the third book as well as some dark chocolate (his favorite) and an iTunes card. He'd been talking for weeks about wanting new music on his cellphone, so that was an easy choice.
One of my daughters is a Twilight fan, so the recently released movie on DVD made her very happy this morning. One of our sons has been saving his allowance for a new basketball game for Xbox. A gift card with enough money to add to what he had saved up will make that possible now.
But they know me well, too. As a busy mom who works outside the home, I am often tired and a little stressed by the end of the day. So my very thoughtful hubby and kids treated me to some bubble bath supplies and two novels I have wanted to add to my collection! I promise you I will appreciate these gifts long after Valentine's Day has passed.
If you don't have a special someone to share Valentine's Day with this year, you don't have to be left out! Ask out a friend in similar circumstances to a movie, buy yourself that book or DVD you've been wanting; make yourself something decadent for dessert, or whatever makes you feel special. You deserve it! Create joy for yourself!
From my house and heart to yours... Happy Valentine's Day!
Our Anti-Valentine's Day party was held Saturday night and was a huge success! The most important part of any party is the guests and we were lucky enough to have a full house of wonderful friends. I appreciate their coming and their willingness to join in the fun of our theme.
This will be a post mostly photos, so I can show some of my set up and share some of my special touches.
Photo by: Jenni Spurlock Williams
Cupcakes on display. In addtion to the two recipes I shared with you earlier, I also made piña colada cupcakes, Peanut Butter Cup cupcakes, and Salted Caramel Cupcakes. They were all hits, though I believe the Maple Pancake style cupcakes were the overall favorite.
Photo by: Jenni Spurlock Williams
I served the rest of the food buffet style. I kept it fairly simple (though my guests seemed to disagree!) with a veggie tray, fruit tray, hummus and guacamole (premade) with pita chips, couple of sub sandwiches sliced into small finger sandwiches, hot wings, jalapano poppers, buffalo chicken dip, spinach artichoke dip (brought by my friend Brigette), nutella covered bacon (brought by my friend Vanessa) and sweet chili caramelized brussel sprouts. (The surprise hit of the night!)
Photo by: Jenni Spurlock Williams
My color scheme for the evening was black and red. We had broken hearts, cheesey boxes of chocolate candy, candy hearts, and a display of terrible pickup lines. The paper lanterns and pompom garland looked great and set off the dessert area perfectly.
Photo by Jenni Spurlock Williams
What better way to make sure your friends have a special night than to have give them kiddie valentine candy boxes. Sweet and just a little cheesey!
Photo by: Jenni Spurlock Williams
Bringing in more of that elementary school fun, we made paper sacks decorated with each guest's name and hearts. We purchased a couple of boxes of traditional valentines and encouraged our guests to write messages and fill up those sacks!
Photo by: Jenni Spurlock Williams
For an ice breaker for dating horror stories, my friend Kelli and I gathered some truly terrible pickup lines and made this cute display. We got the kiss mark at Hobby Lobby and then made the speech bubbles out of a white poster board.
I had so much fun putting together this party... and can't wait to celebrate Valentines Day with my hubby this week. Aren't we lucky to celebrate the love of each other, of family and of really wonderful friends?
No matter how you celebrate it, have a Happy Valentine's day!
No celebration is complete without a killer menu, at least not one I am hosting! And for Valentine's day (Anti or not) something sweet had better be your show stopper item. In a fun twist, I plan to serve cupcakes as entree and as dessert!
Photo credit: Inlovewithhandmade.com
Here are two of my secret recipes for this party... try them and let me know how they go over!
Buffalo Chicken Cupcake Recipe
Yield: 10 cupcakes
Ingredients
For the cake:
For the blue cheese buttercream frosting:
Steps
To make the cupcakes:
To make the blue cheese buttercream frosting:
Feeling daring? Top with a chicken wing!
Recipe courtesy of: http://www.cupcakeproject.com/2012/01/buffalo-chicken-super-bowl-cupcakes.html#ixzz1lqJKsksD
Over-priced flowers... Cheap assorted chocolates... Crowded restaurants... Sounds like a typical Valentine's day to me. I have nothing against love, I appreciate romantic gestures as much as the next girl, but I prefer tokens of affection that come naturally. And what about our single friends? Is there anything more depressing than having your lack of a partner pointed out to you every where you look? So why not embrace the growing trend of Singles Awareness Day?!
Photo by sodahead.com
This weekend my husband and I have invited a mix of single friends and established couples to our house for an Anti-Valentine's Day party. The theme is a little tricky, since it would be easy to go overboard into couple bashing and anger. The goal here is to use the typical elements of Valentine's day with a sense of humor and a little bit of snarky attitude. The colors we are going with are red and black. We have all the usual valentine decorations... Cupids, candy and hearts. All twisted to suit our theme.
Decor will play a fun part in the feel of this event. And its easy enough to take traditional elements and with a couple of snips of the scissors or a sharpie marker, turn them into something unique for not a lot of money. You can pick up inexpensive decorations at your local dollar store, big box store (e.g. Wal-Mart or Target), or Party City. If you plan far enough in advance, you can order some great items from Oriental Trading Company.
One of my ideas was to take foam craft hearts and make my own conversation hearts. It was fun to "research" the candy for the most current sayings printed on them, if research includes snacking on a few samples! I then played with the saying, turning them into something more appropriate for my theme. I also took cupids and drew mustaches on them. I cut paper hearts into "broken" hearts. All pretty simple and I spent less than $10.00 on these supplies. I purchased some paper lanterns and paper pompom garland in black at Party City. I plan to suspend these above my serving table. If you have time, you could follow Martha Stewart's directions and make your own! Much less expensive that way and you can make them any size or color you want.
Photo credit: Jenni Spurlock WIlliams
My centerpiece is candy, of course! How can you not do candy even at an Anti-Valentine's Day party? My twist is the arrangement is all black candy. I will fill a vase with black Sixlets and then insert black rock candy sticks as the flowers. Scattered over the serving area will be black foil wrapped chocolate hearts. There are lots of fun Anti-valentines candies available at major retailers. Or just go for normal candy in all black. It does the trick!
Music is a key element to the theme of the party. There are so many great songs that fit perfectly into the attitude of our event. Some suggestions to get your list going: Tainted Love by Soft Cell, What’s Love Got to Do with It? by Tina Turner, Since You’ve Been Gone by Kelly Clarkson, You Give Love a Bad Name by Bon Jovi. My friends came up with 8 hours of awesome music. If you aren’t a big music fan, then how about some classic breakup movies playing in the background? Try High Fidelity, Gone with the Wind, MallRats, He’s Just Not that into You, The First Wives Club… There’s so many to choose from!
Need help with your menu for your Anti-Valentine’s Day party? Check the blog later this week for what I will be serving at my party. I am sure you will find some inspiration!
Every host or hostess should have a crowd pleasing dip in their bag of party tricks. Ricky’s Buffalo Chicken Dip is a tried and true winner, which never fails to hit the spot. It’s a hearty, bold dip, perfect for the Super Bowl. With it in the crockpot, it will stay warm all night… If it lasts that long!
Photo credit: Yumsugar.com
Ricky's Buffalo Chicken Dip
Ingredients
Directions
If you want to kick it up a notch, you can add tabasco to taste. Another simple and yummy addition to this dip is bacon bits. Everything is a bit yummier with bacon. Top with some chives or a little red pepper for color.
Try it out for the Super Bowl and listen to your friends rave.
Photo from: http://blogs.westword.com/cafesociety/2012/01/super-bowl-meat-stadium-photos.php
Long before kickoff, hard core fans will be creating masterpieces in the kitchen to keep spirits high even when their team is down by 14 at the half. Luckily, most Super Bowl party attendees are more easily satisfied than the guests presented the masterpiece above!
It does bring to mind that one of the key rules of any successful celebration: Food Safety. No matter how clever presentation is, your guests are not going to appreciate taking home food poisoning to remember your event! A good rule of thumb is foods served at room temp are only good for two hours. After two hours, throw it out. It makes much more sense to do smaller displays and supplement as needed as the night goes on.
My strategy is to break down the evening into three sections; pregame, first half, and second half. That leaves enough time to observe food safety but also to enjoy the game. There is no point in hosting a party that is overwhelming to the point you miss the main event! Remember, your guests will notice if you aren’t having a good time too. A little planning goes a long way toward a fun, relaxed event.
Pregame, I suggest doing finger food style munchies. Some of my staples are chips, popcorn, a veggie plate or some hummus, and maybe crackers and cheese. Throw in a signature dip recipe, like my brother in law’s famous Buffalo Chicken Wing Dip. Easy to have ready as your guests arrive and lets them snack and visit through the early commercials and commentator’s opening remarks.
Just prior to kickoff, set out your heartiest food selections. You want to keep it simple with items that are easy to eat and simple to serve. My guys and gals will be enjoying meatballs, sub sandwiches, cocktail weenies in barbecue sauce, and my special sausage cheese bread. Chili, pizza, and chicken wings are also big hits for this type of party. Don’t forget a vegetarian option if your group isn’t full of carnivores, like mine is! Make sure to have plenty of napkins and disposable plates to keep mess to a minimum.
When the Halftime show rolls around, do some quick clean up and put out your desserts. Again, simple is better. A selection of cookies, crackers and cheese, and fruit will go a long way. At this point everyone is getting full and will just want a nibble or two so they make it through the second half. Candy set out around the room also helps combat the nervous energy during the nail biter final minutes of the game.
Beverages play a huge roll in a successful Super Bowl Party as well. Make sure you have plenty of choices in a large enough quantity to last through the night. This is always a great thing to suggest guests bring, if they ask to help out. Beer, sodas, and water are the staples of this event. Set up a cooler near the television (but keep traffic out of viewing range!) and let your guest grab a drink without missing a play.
Décor for this kind of party is pretty easy. Use team colors for paper products. Set up voting area to have your guest vote for their favorite Super Bowl commercial or their MVP of the game. Encourage your guests to wear jerseys or team colors. No need to go all out on this one, as long as you have a big TV and room to cheer those great plays!
Do you have a Super Bowl recipe that always draws cheers? Share it in the comments; I’d love to try it. I’ll be sure to share my BIL’s Buffalo Chicken Dip recipe before the big game. Remember to come back and check it out!
(For more food safety hints for the big game visit: http://www.foodsafety.gov/blog/superbowl2012.html.)
I am a small town girl living a big city dream in Dallas, Texas. I grew up in White Hall, graduated from White Hall High School (Go Bulldogs!) and began the adventures that have become my life. White Hall will always hold a little piece of my heart, no matter where I hang my hat. I am a wife to an awesome guy. I have a ridiculous number of kids. I love my huge extended family beyond all measure. My friends are very much a part of that family. I am an Office Manager by day and a Party Planner every chance I get. Organization is a passion for me. My hobbies include traveling whenever I get the chance, reading whenever I sit down for more than five minutes, cooking and baking fun and different recipes, planning my next crazy adventure, and spending time with friends and family. I am also addicted to Facebook.
