My Ladybug Shower

This past weekend I was lucky enough to have a shower in my hometown thrown by my amazing Mom! She choose a ladybug shower and did an amazing job with a favor table, lots of great food, yummy ladybug cake and well, fabulous guests. I was so happy to spend some time with one of my oldest friends, talk to a soon to be grandma and hear her excitement about the new addition, family friends and lots of family! We played some really fun games like Price is Right and guess the sex with old wives tales and baby bingo while I opened up presents. And the presents, well, KLM is going to be decked out in the cutest little clothes on earth and not to mention the new blankets that were made just for her.
It was just wonderful, from start to finish! I think the hubby particularly like the little driving toy she got. :) So while I'm trying to wrestle up some photos of the day from my family, here is a shot of a super-cute centerpiece!



It was a wonderful way to share our joy of KLM's birth with everyone and see how excited others are for her to come into our lives!

OH YUM....

So, there i was, eating my chex cereal while reading Google Reader and I came upon this magnificent picture. This desire to throw a Cinco de Mayo BBQ came over me and then I came back to earth when I realized it falls on a Tuesday, not a good thing at all. But for our next bbq, I might just have to whip these little babies up!
Margarita Bites


I found this recipe on Let's Entertain. It's a great site that will give you endless ideas! She is now on my faves too!

2 cups boiling water
2 pkg. (3 oz. each) JELL-O Margarita Flavor Gelatin (or lime flavored)
1/2 cup tequila or cold water
Zest and juice from 1 lime
2 cups thawed COOL WHIP Whipped Topping

ADD boiling water to gelatin mixes in large bowl; stir with whisk 2 min. until completely dissolved. Stir in tequila and 2 Tbsp. lime juice. Add COOL WHIP and 1 tsp. lime zest; stir until COOL WHIP is completely melted and mixture is well blended.

POUR into 8-inch square pan.

REFRIGERATE 3 hours or until firm. Cut into 36 pieces to serve.

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Game night photos... better late than never!

Remember that game night about a month ago I blogged about? Well, after figuring out how to use the new camera, I finally uploaded a few photos from that night before our guests came.








I wish I got some photos of the ice cream sandwiches that were a HIT! Next time!

We've been talking once we know we can guarentee a warm spring evening, we are thinking of doing a BBQ. We shall see! :)

Sneak Peak...

On one of the desserts for Game Night:



Devils Food tic tac toe cupcakes! Delish!

Another Dinner Party...

So I never did a recap of Superbowl. Food was great and everyone had fun. I just got so busy last week I barely had time to tie my shoes.

But now I'm already getting ready to throw another Dinner Party. This one?

GAME NIGHT

I already know some of the things I will do:

Veggie tray
Antipasto
Kabobs (Shrimp, Chicken, Salmon, Veggie)
Petit Fours
Chocolate Covered Strawberries
Homemade Ice Cream sandwiches

Seems like a great start, but I think I need just one more side dish. I prefer finger food types but not sure what to do. I could just do a little meat and cheese platter but want something a little more original... these are my choices:

Mac-n-cheese balls
Stuffed Mushrooms
Bruschetta and Tapenade
Mini Crab Cakes

What do you think would work with what I have planned so far?

Another party...

Alas the hubby has decided to throw a Superbowl Party. I'm excited because once again I get to plan it all. Problem is, he wants to order pizza as the main course so I have to work around that.

Appetizers:
Hot wings
Potato Skins
veggie tray
chips and dip

Main:
Multiple selection of Pizza from somewhere

Desserts:
Cookies (in the shape of footballs perhaps?)
Cupcakes (who can turn down a chocolate cupcake?)
brownies (my friend is making them)

Is that good? How can I plan a guy's party without making it too "much"? Hmmm... Only two weeks to plan this and still no idea what to do for decorations.

Looking for inspirations...

Back in the day, I used to do a weekly inspirations post about centerpieces. Well, now that we are gearing up for Christmas, I need to make two centerpieces. Here I found some love inspirations for our table:


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or how bout a few of these:

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Which ones do you like the best?

A Simple Christmas Dinner

This is my first official holiday meal I'm cooking and as always I need to start planning now. I only have around 9-12 people over for dinner but want to make sure I have everything!

For the Main course: I'm doing Ham, not sure to do honey ham, pork loin roast, something along the lines. I'm not a ham cook since I barely even started to learn how just in the past 6 months.

Now side dishes: Green Bean Casserole (not a fan but my family is), and mashed potatoes. Maybe gravy...and dinner rolls.

Salads: Waldorf Salad (or just a simple salad)

Appetizers: Spinach Dip

Desserts: Cookies and hot chocolate. Maybe some eggnog.

Recipe help: Here and Here and Here

Now that I have an idea of what to do for food, onto decorations for the table and the rest of the house!!!

Tonight!!!

OMG... tonight is my little bbq! There's only a few things left to do since we got some much covered in the last few days.

Done:
pulled pork for the sandwiches
cupcakes and eyeball cookies
carved watermelon
carved pumpkins
food trays completed
caramel apples
house clean
spiderweb pizza created
snack trays completed


left to do
cut up the break and toast it
finish bbq meatless meatballs
heat up pulled pork
boil corn on the cob
stop at store and buy salad and corn on the cob
make punch

i'm soooo excited!!!

i'll try to post photos this weekend to show all the hard work!!! :)

I MUST make this!!!

Melon Brains


yes, that is a watermelon! looks soo easy to do too!

Obsession...

I'm obsessed with halloween. Everyday I'm doing some little crafty project, first I created neat jack-o-lanterns and placed them on a stick to line the pathway to the front door, next were the black bats that are on our front window. Then the spiderwebs... OH THE SPIDERWEBS. IF it ain't moving, you better believe it's be covered with spiderwebs. There are Candles all over the place, pumpkins in every corner and gravestones and skulls scattered inside and outside of the house.

The hubby's favorite thing he wanted this year was a fogger so we got him a standard one at Target. Now, with all this obsession, I realized it might not be the best to blast every little princess or power ranger that come traipsing down our pathway, so tonight I will be building a fog chiller. By going to local hardware store, I also get the opportunity to pick up some more pumpkins... what can i say... I'm addicted to all things Halloween!!

How creepy and cute are these?

I think I might just have to make these CUPCAKES for my little shin-dig! :)
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Squash Carving!

Legend has it that the luckless souls who hear the Three Squashes' song of woe shall vanish into the nearest vegetable patch, never to be seen or heard from again. Since narrow squashes are easier to hollow out if you work from both ends, these guys had the tops of their heads cut off.


Carving a Squash
1. To hollow out a tall, skinny squash, scoop out the insides from the top and the bottom: Cut off the bottom with a keyhole saw, and use a plaster scraper to scoop out the wide bottom section until walls are 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick.

2. Cut off the top with the keyhole saw, and use an apple corer to remove the insides at that end. Carve features; replace the top for display, if desired.

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I think this will be super cute to do! I think I might have to break in my new tools to make these little guys!

Pumpkin Guts and BBQ...

T-minus 40 days till my favorite holiday and to celebrate, the hubby and I are planning a pumpkin carving BBQ. We'll grill up some meat and veggies and serve some scary fun drinks. Not to mention so really fun desserts! Because I LOVE throwing parties I know you can't be too prepared. So without further ado... My latest holiday investments for this fabulous soiree:


Pumpkin Masters Power Poker and Saw

and


Pumpkin Masters Family Carving Kit

I got two of each so multiple people can work at the same time. I just love how they are power tools for carving now. Talk about the Massive Turnaround time!

Now all I need are a few more patterns to print out if inspiration is lacking in some.

Next up... cocktails and the dinner menu! :)