A Sweet Treat For Your Feet!

Yes, I know this little find has been introduced already, but it was on my schedule to post this week, so for the 2 people who haven't seen it yet, here goes:


How about a sweet treat for your feet? Huh?? That's right! Karen Neuburger, loungewear and gifts designer, has created this unique gift called Feet Treats. It is a pair of chenile socks that is packaged to look like a cupcake! What a great idea for a "Spa Party" favor, a gift for your bridesmaids, a prize for one of those games you play at showers, or even used as an ivitation. And the sweetest part of all is that it is Zero Calories! They come in 5 delicious flavors, er, colors!

P.S. Our buddy over at Stem has these as a give away if you leave her a comment!

Come back tomorrow for a peak at our Super Bowl party table.

Serve A Sandwich With Style

The Kraft website always has the cutest food presentation ideas! This "checkerboard" sandwich would be great in a kids lunchbox or even as an appetizer with cute party picks stuck into each section....good idea for Super Bowl maybe?

Take The Easy Route To Super Bowl Decor

The great ladies at Paper and Cake are always busy coming up with new ideas for their downloadable party decor. Check out their latest creation for Super Bowl Sunday. For only $5 you can make a party statement that even the guys can appreciate!

Love Is In The Air!

While you're checking out the football downloads, take a look at Paper and Cake's Valentine creations. These are Beautiful!!! Can't you just imagine setting the table for your sweetie with these "hot" pink and black damask patterns? I don't know which detail I love most: the chandelier motif, the damask pattern, or the color combo! This set also includes a pillow gift box for that special trinket! All it takes to download these is your printer and some sturdy paper(and $5).
These would even work great for a "girls night" get-together.

It's National Pie Day!

I actually heard on the news that today is National Pie Day! Now that is a special day I can get on board with! Grab some ingredients and make one of these delicious recipes. Invite some friends over for coffee and share!Tiramisu Toffee Trifle Pie (from Southern Living)

1 1/2 tablespoons instant coffee granules
3/4 cup warm water
1 (10.75-ounce) frozen pound cake, thawed
1 (8-ounce) package mascarpone or cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup chocolate syrup
1 (12-ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed and divided
2 (1.4-ounce) English toffee candy bars, coarsely chopped
Preparation
Stir together coffee and 3/4 cup warm water until coffee is dissolved. Cool.
Cut cake into 14 slices. Cut each slice in half diagonally. Place triangles in bottom and up sides of a 9-inch deep-dish pieplate. Drizzle coffee mixture over cake.
Beat mascarpone cheese, sugar, and chocolate syrup at medium speed with an electric mixer until smooth. Add 2 1/2 cups whipped topping, and beat until light and fluffy.Spread cheese mixture evenly over cake. Dollop remaining whipped topping around edges of pie. Sprinkle with candy. Chill 8 hours.

Cream Cheese Brownie Pie (from Kraft)

1/2 pkg. (15 oz.) ready-to-use refrigerated pie crust (1 crust)
1 pkg. (8 oz.) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened
1/4 cup sugar
3 eggs, divided
6 squares BAKER'S Semi-Sweet Chocolate
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine
2/3 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup flour
1 square BAKER'S Semi-Sweet Chocolate, melted
1 square BAKER'S White Chocolate, melted
PREHEAT oven to 350°F. Prepare crust as directed on package, using 9-inch pie plate. Beat cream cheese, 1/4 cup sugar and 1 of the eggs in medium bowl until well blended; set aside.
MICROWAVE 6 squares semi-sweet chocolate and the butter in large microwavable bowl on HIGH 2 minutes or until butter is melted; stir until chocolate is completely melted. Add 2/3 cup sugar; mix well. Blend in remaining 2 eggs and the vanilla. Stir in flour until well blended. Spread half of the brownie batter into crust. Carefully spread cream cheese mixture over brownie batter in crust; cover with remaining brownie batter. BAKE 45 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out with fudgy crumbs. Cool completely on wire rack. Drizzle with melted chocolate.

Chocolate, Coffee, Oatmeal Pie (from Pillsbury)

1 Pillsbury® refrigerated pie crust (from 15-oz box), softened as directed on box
3 eggs
¾ cup sugar
¾ cup dark corn syrup
3 tablespoons coffee-flavored liqueur
2 tablespoons butter, melted, cooled
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup quick-cooking oats
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
Heat oven to 450°F. Make pie crust as directed on box for One-Crust Baked Shell using 9-inch glass pie pan; do not prick crust. Bake 9 to 11 minutes or until light golden brown. If crust has raised in center, press down gently with back of spoon. Cool 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350°F.
Meanwhile, in medium bowl, beat eggs with wire whisk. Beat in sugar, corn syrup, liqueur, butter and salt. Stir in oats and chocolate chips. Pour filling into crust-lined pan. Cover crust edge with strips of foil to prevent excessive browning.Bake 45 to 55 minutes or until top is golden brown and center is almost set. Cool at least 3 hours before serving. Store in refrigerator.

Superbowl 2009

So now we know it is the Steelers vs. the Cardinals. Start gathering your party supplies for a great Super Bowl party. We always play host to 12-15 friends for the big game. It is a pot luck party with heavy, man-friendly, football food. Think wings, nachos, hot dips, and more hot dips. Even though I don't do all the food, it is fun to set the mood with a few party supplies. I like the ones below becouse they are not too cheesy but certainly show Spirit! Start outside the door with a cool yard sign from 4funparties.com
Hang a pennant that represents the 2 teams, from sports.ziggos.com
Have some fan paraphernalia for guests to play with. A Steelers Pom pon or a red megaphone for Cardinals fans.
Set the table up with a green table cloth and use white tape or ribbon to create a football field and scatter these football guys, from plum party, all around.
Use these party picks to top off cupcakes or sandwiches.
While you're setting up the table, don't forget about this little gem for serving nachos.
And what better food to serve than "pigskins" in a blanket!
Finish it off with some cupcakes decorated with green icing and yard line numbers.
Go Steelers!!

Easy Comfort Food {Side Dishes}

Brrrrrr, it's cold outside! And when it's cold out, I don't know about you, but I want warm comfort food. Today I'm offering 2 delicious side dishes that are easy to make and seriously hit the spot! I made both of these as part of our Christmas dinner(hence the red table cloth) and everyone went back for seconds! Bon Appetit!

Fruit & Nut Wild Rice
1 box long grain and wild rice (Uncle Ben's), with seasoning pack
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 celery ribs, finely chipped
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 (7 oz) package mixed dried fruit(I actually used several snack packs so I had a combination of dried raisins, dried berries, and dried tripical fruit)
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans, toasted
1/4 tsp pepper
Cook rice according to package directions substituting the 1/2 cup chicken broth for 1/2 cup water called for. Just as water & rice come to a boil, add in the onion, celery, and dried fruit. Continue with package directions. Once rice is cooked, stir in nuts and pepper and serve.

Broccoli Casserole
2 (10 oz) boxed frozen chopped broccoli, thawed
2 eggs beaten
1 can cream of mushroom soup
2 tsp dried onion
1/2-3/4 cup mayonnaise
1 cup(or more) shredded sharp cheddar cheese
large can of French's fried onions
Combine first 6 ingredients together. Mix in about 3/4 of the can of fried onions. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Top with remaining onions and cook 5 more minutes.

Did You Say Jello?!

I swear some of the best blog posts come to you when you're not even looking!! I was looking for some other random information and stumbled onto this interesting idea from Rachel Ray via recipezaar. This beautiful centerpiece was created using Jello!! That's right...Jello! Check out the how-to here. The great thing is you can use any flavor...I mean color.

Turn Inspiration Into Creation

I have always looked to grand events such as weddings for inspiration for party decor. I believe you can re-create most ideas and details on a smaller scale for your own personal celebrations at home. For instance, this wedding cake display looks lavish and grand. However I have re-created this idea for a baby shower some years back(pre digital camera). I set up a round table with desserts and a punch bowl and hung a white mosquito net from the ceiling to hang over it. I also hung a baby mobile inside the netting to add extra detail. Below is another great, very "designer" looking wall hanging of beautiful flowers. At first glance it looks very intimidating, but it would actually be pretty easy to copy. Just use any type of tray from the home store and cut floral foam to fit. Insert cut flowers into the foam and you have a gorgeous centerpiece or wall hanging for a shower or luncheon.

This next creation is one of my new favorite ideas! Use some old books from the thrift store and simply glue on leaves or moss to cover. Add embelishments from the craft store and you have a one-of-a-kind centerpiece.

Finally, something for happy hour! Perfect for a bachelorette party or any girls-night-in party. Create this "Cosmopolitan" bouquet with a large martini glass from Michaels, a half-round floral foam, and some cut carnations. You could even fill the glass with glass beads to save a little money. Of course adding the limes and straw detail really carries the idea through.

So here's my advice: Don't be intimidated by the elements of large weddings, or fancy designers. You can create the same looks and ideas, and on a budget. Go create something!!

Top 3 photos from Brides.com

Bottom photo from flowersexpress.com

Set Up A Bar...Anywhere!

There is something so attractive about a well appointed bar. And no, I'm not talking about the liquid courage! I love the look of all the different bottles, glassware, accessories, and even the mixers. Many people don't have an actual bar in their home, but as you'll see here, you can set up a bar anywhere when you entertain. An easy fix is to set up a tray stand in any nook and turn it into a bar.

Clean off a bookshelf and turn it into a bar. I love that you can put your glassware on one shelf and the drinks on another.

If you're really tight on space, clear off the top of any side table and rally up everything in a nice tidy tray. A tray always makes anything look neater and pulled together.

When setting up a bar(or any party planning detail) my motto is "know your audience". Don't serve Gin and Vodka if your crowd is more Bourbon and Coconut Rum. I also like to pour juice mixers into a pretty pitcher, and smaller sized sodas are more attractive lined up in rows than a couple of big 2-liters, however it is more expensive. Wherever you set up your bar, enjoy your time with friends. Cheers!

Perfect Little Milk Bottles

Here is a popular idea that came from BHG.com. However, many people have wondered where to find little individual sized milk bottles. It is possible to find them in thrift shops but this makes it difficult to get a lot at once, or have them all look alike, so I decided to find an alternative.

I found these 4-packs of Starbucks Frappuccino that are the perfect shape and size(9.5 oz), and pretty affordable at around $5 per 4-pack at Target. The labels peel off easily and I spray painted the lid silver to give it that vintage look. I also ran the bottle through the dishwasher and still had to use the rough-side of a sponge to remove some sticky residue where the label had been. It does come off easily, though.  Fill with milk and enjoy your individual milk bottles for kids birthday parties, a cookies and milk party, even a brunch get-together.

....And here's how they look all dressed up!...

Loco for Hot Cocoa!

If you love whipped cream on your hot chocolate(and frankly who wouldn't love whipped cream on ANYTHING?), then here is a tasty little trick from Southern Living, that you can do ahead of time. This is a different take on those chocolate covered spoons. Just use store bought whipped topping(Cool Whip) and stir it a little to whip it up. Then get a nice size dollop on a spoon and sprinkle some shaved chocolate, toffee bits, or powdered cocoa over the top. Set in the freezer for up to 2 days and when you're ready to make that mug of hot chocolate extra special, take one out. They thaw quickly and will not cool off the beverage. And if you really want to get crazy you can make your own hot chocolate recipes from Southern Living.

Cheesy Bacon Bread Appetizer

Here's our appetizer recipe from New Years eve. It's yummmy!

Cheesy Bacon Bread Appetizer:one loaf french baguette
1 cup mayonnaise
7-8 oz. gouda cheese, shredded
1 lb. bacon, cooked and crumbled
Slice bread into 1/2 inch slices. Combine remaining ingredients and spread onto bread. Bake at 350 for about 7 minutes. Let cool slightly so as not to burn the roof of your mouth(like I did).

Happy New Year!

Looking forward to many wonderful Celebrations in 2009! Cheers!!