Surprise! let's have a party

I was home last weekend to help host two parties - both for my sisters. One sister is due with her first baby in January - the other was hitting the big 3-0 milestone. We decided to have a surprise party for her...because we knew that she'd love nothing more then all her friends in one place. Keeping it a secret was a challenge and we were worried that my mom might slip up. But wouldn't you know it was me that kept saying things? (that's what you get when you plan two parties days apart!) Overall I would say she was definitely surprised and enjoyed hanging out with folks.

We started with a banner. Sister #3 and I went back and forth about what kind of banner to get and settled on this one....because we knew that every single year it will be hung up - and it will make her laugh!

Given that we bought a banner with primary colors that set the tone for the rest of the decor. I saw a pretty cool use of streamers on pinterest and thought I'd put my own spin on it. Could it have been fuller? Sure - but my aunts and I sure did have fun makin this a 3 person job..we were efficient!

My mom picked out all the pictures for her display and sister #3 borrow some frames from work. Everyone enjoyed the pictures and commented on how the picture on the left looked just like my niece (the poor kid thought it WAS a picture of her when we showed it to her!).

We didn't have a lot of food as this was a Sunday afternoon party and we knew that most of the folks there would have just hand lunch (I actually had to leave my family lunch to get all the decorations going!). We had some of her favorites: chips & cheese and cupcakes and then some salad and vegetable platters thrown in for good measure.

This is my niece - and she very clearly likes cake! (or at least icing...)

Comments

I love deals!

When I was growing up one of the things that we loved to do at the grocery was go to the bent can "aisle". This aisle could be a shopping cart or shelf space - never a whole aisle and always in the back - with reduced sale items. When I moved to NYC I learned in my Food Safety Class that you shouldn't eat bent cans because they promote salmonella (I think). This made me think 2 things: why did my mother try to kill us as children and why are they bent cans for sale for the full price at my neighborhood grocery? The first question was dismissed as we all survived, but the 2nd is still a real question (sometimes the only option for something is bent cans!). Well, this summer I found the reduced aisle at one store - it resulted in me buying a box of cereal that included a rebate for more than the cereal cost me ;-). And last night I hit it again. This time stocking up on goodies like diced tomatoes, black beans, pears and a can of pigeon peas. I've been noticing...

Review: Simple Truth Organic Thin & Crispy Vegan Crust & Pizza Sauce

We were sent samples of Simple Truth Organic Thin & Crispy Vegan Pizza Crust & Pizza Sauce. We rounded out our samples with Kroger Pizza Blend Cheese, Kroger Pepperoni and Kroger Bella Mushrooms. What can I say - we're a Kroger loving family! My little helper loved spreading the sauce and then all the ingredients. I'm not sure all the cheese made it on the pizzas! Overall, this was good, but I'm not sure we'll purchase the crust again. The "vegan" part didn't affect the taste as far as I could tell. I LOVED that the crust was crispy (like a cracker almost), but where the toppings were it was a wee bit softer. The texture was a+. I felt like the crust had zero taste. I did, however, enjoy the taste of the sauce. I don't like my pizza sauce overly spicy or sweet and this one fit the bill - this we will purchase again. Can’t top the great taste of this #SimpleTruthOrganic Vegan pizza crust! #MyMagaz...

Robin's Egg Blue

What color is more vibrant, calming, and fun all mixed into one? For me, it is a bright robin's egg blue. It can be a statement color, and accent color, or whatever you want it to be. I have to give my boy the credit for finding this chest sometime last year. I apologize I didnt really get a "before" picture. The chest was painted brown. Why you would ever really paint wood brown, is beyond me. Especially this chest. It is a cedar chest, smells wonderful and has beautiful, rich natural wood. I sanded this one down, because I wanted to salvage the beauty. However, even then, the brown paint remained in the carvings on the front and in the grooves of the legs. I would have saved that beautiful wood too, but you already know I did not. Why did I not, you may ask? (Especially when I keep going on and on and on about the wood...) Because of this. The top. Sigh . The pictures dont really do it justice, but there are grooves going opposite the grain, making it look scratched. ...

Strikes my fancy

Search This Blog