Category Archives: Entertain

Entertain

Let’s have a St. Patrick’s Day Party

March 1, 2013

I’m having fun searching out some fun St. Patrick’s Day party finds.  I love the color green, in every shade, but this minty hue is particularly pretty.  Last year, I played with this gold and mint combo for St. Patrick’s Day.  And for this St. Patrick’s Day, I think I’ll stick with this beautiful, soft pairing.
Shamrocks // Milk Glass Cake Stand // Fair Trade Chocolate Gold Coins
Mint and Gold Table Setting // Mint Cupcake Liners
Mint M&M’s // Mint Striped Paper Straws // DIY Pompom Bunting
Do you enjoy my “let’s have a party” series that I started this year? I’ve shared a New Years, Valentines, and Football themed round ups. I certainly have fun putting them together. I try to pick items that are affordable and unique. And as an etsy seller myself, I also try to include some handmade etsy finds and some DIYs.
Oh and for more St. Patty’s Day fun, check out my Pinterest Board.

Entertain

Ombre Love Valentine’s Party

February 6, 2013

I’m a sucker for a trend and ombre is currently one of my favorites.  I love the simple palette and tonal effect that ombre offers.  When I pick a party palette, I like to stick with two colors usually.  One color is the feature color and the other a complimentary neutral.  So ombre is my friend, it gives me that monochromatic palette that I love.
For this Valentine’s Day party, I took my inspiration from these pretty pink ombre party decorations from Minted.  By repeating the ombre theme a couple times, I was able to put together this party in very little time. I made ombre cake pops, filled a bowl with Valentine’s Candy Corn, set out my ombre owl and made some ombre heart napkins. 
Cake pops are really fun to serve at parties.  These fun ombre ones are great because they can be made ahead of time and stored in the freezer.  It’s always nice to have things that can be done in advance.  
Nothing says party more then serving drinks out of milk bottles and striped paper straws.  Minted’s party decor comes with customizable buntings and signs, stickers, table confetti and even cute straw flags.  I added my Ombre Owl to the table decor and made these ombre heart stenciled napkins.  
Over the years I’ve figured out that party food doesn’t have to be complicated in order to be delicious and fun (especially when it comes to kids).  For this party I packaged up little bags of cotton candy, put out some candy in a bowl, made cake pops, and served milk in glass bottles.  It’s the perfect amount of dessert.

Special thanks to Minted for providing the Party Perfect Ombre Love Party Decor.

Entertain / etc.

Let’s have a Valentine’s Day Party

February 5, 2013

Oh my, there is a lot of really cute Valentine’s Day party supplies and ideas out there.  I’ve been pinning a lot, but I thought I’d share I few more of my favorite finds here.
You’ll be seeing more of the Ombre Love Party Supplies by Minted.  I love Minted’s new party decor line.  It’s all customizable and the quality is premium.  I’m working on some ombre accessories and treats to go wit this party theme.  I’m having lots of fun with it, so can’t wait to share it with you.
Arrow cupcake toppers // Mini Bunting // Ombre Party Supplies
Gold Hearts Stationary // Pink and Gold Tassel
Pink Heart Stickers // Heart Dishes // Gold Heart Muslin Bags
Are throwing a Valentine’s bash or making Valentine’s for your kiddos? Or this just more of a special grown up day for you and your significant other?

DIY / Entertain / etc.

Giant Geometric Wall Heart

January 17, 2013

I’m lovin pink for Valentine’s Day this year.  Last year I went with a vintage look with classic red and gold. But this year, pink feels soft, light, and fresh. And it looks so great with grey and a little splash of gold.  

Oh yes, I’m still on my triangles kick. I am loving this triangle patchwork heart.  The idea came from a quilt square.  Please be warned, you’re going to see it a lot in this year’s Valentine’s treats.  I decided to go BIG with my decorations this year, so I covered a whole wall of my dining room with this giant, geometric heart.  Why not, right? 
It was simple and inexpensive (that’s really all that I do).  You will need 10 sheets of scrapbook paper (to make 20 triangles).  I used 4 light pink, 3 dark pink and 3 metallic gold ones.  You’ll also need scissor or paper cutter and glue dots (I tried double stick tape, but it didn’t hold well).   Simply cut your scrapbook paper in half diagonally, then play around with a design and pattern that you like.  Then stick them to your wall.  I started by marking one straight line with a level and chalk.  It gave me a guide to start with and kept everything straight.    
And if you don’t have space for something this big, I have a mini framed version here. 

Just for fun, I made a little video of me putting up the heart.  I was in the mood to try something new.  
And this catchy little jingle is Blew My Mind by Dresses.

I know Valentine’s Day is still about a month away, but I’ve got a busy week ahead of me and I thought I’d get a head start.  Plus, with all these football posts I’ve been putting together lately, I needed a girlie fix.  I think this giant pink heart might have done the trick.  

Entertain / etc.

Let’s Have a Football Party

January 16, 2013

Well, it’s been long enough since Christmas and New Years, I guess I’m ready for a another excuse to have a party.  I’m not even a football fan, but I am a fan of the snacks and get togethers football brings. I’ve done a little round up of some cute party finds that are out there.  Happy playoff season! 
Cookie Cutters // Water Bottle Wraps // Invite
Game On Cupcake Papers // Striped Paper Straws
Football Cupcake Toppers // Printable Football Containers // Striped Paper Bags

Entertain / Food & Drink

Coconut Lime Wings and Mango Salsa

January 14, 2013

It’s football season and that means it’s time for football finger foods. I have to admit, the one reason I watch football, is for the snacks.  So what’s more classic game food then wings and chips and salsa?This year I put a little tropical twist on these classics. For playoff games I made Coconut Lime Wings and Mango Salsa. Here in California the pleasant afternoon weather allows us to take our football party outside.  This Sunday, between games, we packed up our snacks and headed to the park to enjoy the sunshine and throw the old pig skin around.  

Come back for the drink recipe and the football straws tomorrow.  It’s a refreshing favorite from my childhood.

Coconut Lime Wings
3 lb. chicken wings (about 2 dozen)
1 can of coconut milk (I used light)
1 tbsp. Thai red curry paste
juice of 2 limes
zest of 1 lime
2 tbsp. grated fresh ginger
3 garlic cloves crushed
1 tsp. salt
2 tbsp. honey
4 tbsp. chopped cilantro, plus 2 tbsp. for garnish
1/4 cup flake coconut

Combine all the ingredients above, except the flake coconut in a bowl.  Mix well.  Place the chicken wings in a large shallow container (I used Rubbermaid’s 1 Gal large rectangle TakeAlong container), pour the marinade over the wings, cover and refrigerate.  Allow the wings to marinade for at least 5 hours, over night if possible.  

Preheat the oven to 400 F.  Line a large baking sheet with foil.  Place the wings on the tray and pour about 1 cup of the marinade over the wings (discard the rest of the marinade).  Bake the wings for 35 mins.  

While they are cooking, toast the coconut in pan, tossing and turning it until it is just golden.  When the wings are done, remove them from pan and then brush the tops of them with the drippings left in the pan.  Then sprinkle the coconut and cilantro on the wings.  Serve warm or at room temperature.  

This recipe is adapted from here. 

Mango Salsa
2 ripe mangoes chopped
1-3 tbsp. of jalapenos finely chopped (depending how spicy you like things)
1/2 cup red bell pepper chopped
1/4 cup red onion chopped
juice of one lime
1/2 tsp. salt
a couple dashes of hot sauce

Mix all the ingredients in bowl and store in an airtight container in the fridge.  It’s best if it has time to marinade for a couple hours.  Serve with white corn chips.  

To make prep, serving and then storage of leftovers easy, I headed to Target for a great deal on Rubbermaid containers. Just visit Target Online and print out this coupon.

Rubbermaid’s Easy Find Lids Containers are the perfect way to take food to the big game party. The lids snap to the bottom of the containers, so you’ll never lose a lid or leave one behind at the party again. And the TakeAlongs are a great value and great quality – perfect for giving food in as a gift, and leaving behind. All Rubbermaid’s containers have leak-proof seals to prevent messes and spills on the way to the party. And they come in a huge range of sizes. Large sizes for wings, chips and salads and even tiny ones for dips and sauces.

I also wanted to let you know that Rubbermaid is hosting a Game Day Party Sweepstakes.  They are offering the chance to win an Easy Find Lids Party Pack, a 48Qt Cooler and $100 VISA gift card! To enter the sweepstakes click here. Entries are limited to one entry per person / per email address / per day. Sweepstakes starts December 19, 2012 and ends January 21, 2013.

And if you’d like to know more about Rubbermaid and their great offers, you can visit them on twitter, facebook, and pinterest.


“This shop is part of a social shopper marketing insight campaign with Pollinate Media Group™, but all my opinions are my own. http://cmp.ly/3/8vNxcO”

DIY / Entertain

New Year’s Eve Ball Drop Cupcake Toppers

December 31, 2012

I’ve been planning some New Year’s treats and decorations for tomorrow night.  To bring in the New Year, we’re celebrating with cupcakes topped with these mini Ball Drop toppers.
I think these turned out quite festive.  I baked the cupcakes in gold foil papers and then topped them with a sparkly ball.
The supplies are really inexpensive.  I used Wilton Lollipop Sticks and a $1 Christmas floral pick from Michael’s.  I simply pulled off all the silver glittered foam balls from the pick and then just pushed them onto the lollipop sticks.  I’m sure if you couldn’t find a floral pick like the one I did, you could easily glitter some 1″ foam balls.   
I also came up with a new cupcake recipe.  These buttery, sweet treats are Sparkling Cider Cupcakes (I’ll be posting the recipe right away).  They’re my family friendly version of Champaign Cupcakes. 

DIY / Entertain

Wrapping Paper Placemats

December 20, 2012

I recently helped my mom decorate 3 themed tables for a Christmas banquet.   My favorite one was the wintery woodland themed table.   In order to add some depth and interest to this table, I decided placemats were needed.  But, on a small budget, I needed to find something reasonably priced.  So, wrapping paper did the trick.  I found this great woodgrain wrapping paper at Target.

I simply cut 12″ x 18″ rectangles of the paper (this was easy because the back of this paper has been marked off in 1″ squares).  Then to make them look a little more finished, I rounded the corners.  I have this nifty Martha Stewart corner cutter, but this could easily be done with scissors as well.

With so many fantastic choices of wrapping paper, these placemats could be made for any party.  Can’t you see this being fun for a themed birthday party or just a family dinner that you want to feel festive or special?  To make placemats for a table of 8, I used a yard and a half of wrapping paper.  I’m sure that cost less then a dollar.

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