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Archive for the ‘Entertaining at Home’ Category

If you’ve been thinking about hosting a party this fall, but aren’t sure where to start, just jump right in!

Pick a fall theme, center your invitations, decorations and food around it and enjoy! See, doesn’t that sound simple? That is because it is!  Entertaining at Home doesn’t have to complicated and themes are a great way to make a party so much easier on yourself.

Without further ado, here is a list of fall party theme ideas from A to Z!

Apples

Back to School

Crafter’s Gathering

Decadent Desserts

End of Summer

Foliage & Fun

Game Night

Harvest Festival

Indian Summer

Jubilee

King’s Castle

Leaves & Laughter

Maze Daze

Nature’s Splendor

Oktoberfest

Pumpkins

Queen for a Day

Rag Time

Scarecrow

Tailgate

Under the Umbrella

Vintage

Wiener and Marshmallow Roast

X-ray Vision/Superheros

Yearbook

Zebra – everything is black and white

As always, if you need help with a theme, have questions or comments, please leave a post here or email me directly. I look forward to hearing from you!

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As we head into the Labor Day weekend, many of us are dragging our feet, knowing that it is a final bid goodbye to summer. Even though summer doesn’t officially end until later in September, Labor Day signifies the closing door on summer time fun and the beginning of fall routines and responsibilities.

Go wring all the fun you can out of these final days of summer time bliss.

10. Blow Bubbles. Doesn’t matter if you have kids or not, go blow a few bubbles and see if a few worries and cares don’t float away with the soapy orbs.

9. Go on a Picnic. It doesn’t matter if you make something elaborate, run by the deli or grab take-out, pack a blanket and your loved ones and head for a park or picnic area you haven’t visited this summer.

8. Host a bonfire. Make sure you follow local ordinances and keep a hose handy. And don’t forget to have plenty of S’mores supplies on hand.

7. Eat a popsicle. It’s cold and sweet and perfectly delightful. Indulge and enjoy. Have a contest to see who can make theirs last the longest.

6. Pick fresh fruit. Scan the classified ads or ask around for the best “U-pick” fruit location and then go pick something. You’ll be glad you did when you bite into that fresh off-the-tree fruit!

5. Take a hike or a bike ride. Go somewhere off the beaten path and really look around you. Take in the scenery, the smells, the sounds. It won’t be long until fall paints an entirely  different canvas.

4.Take photos. Although the moments won’t last, the photos and memories will. Take photos of your family and friends enjoying the last days of summer in all their joy and silliness.

3. Eat watermelon. Take it outside and let the kids munch to their heart’s content, with juice running down their chins and onto their toes. I dare you to join them! There is summer sweetness packed in every juicy sweet bite.

2. Make homemade ice cream. There is nothing like making your own ice cream and enjoying each cool, creamy bite of frozen confection. You can find tips on hosting an ice cream social here and a recipe for great chocolate ice cream here.

1. Enjoy a sunset. There is nothing quite as spectacular as watching the summer sun sink into the west. The pinks, oranges and golds that fill the sky can be breathtaking. Go sit outside and watch nature’s beauty descend. If you are of a mind to keep up the gazing, throw down a blanket and watch the stars.

Take time to really enjoy these last days of summer. You’ll be so glad you did.

Happy Entertaining!

Shanna

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The Heinous Cat - with both ears intact before his recent turn to the dark side as the Ferocious Feline.

Word of the Week: Ferocious

fe·ro·cious

[fuh-roh-shuhs]

–adjective 1. savagely fierce, as a wild beast, person, action, or aspect;

The  Heinous Cat has been at it again. Although he is afraid of everything, and I mean everything, he has suddenly decided he is a ferocious feline to be reckoned with.

He came home not once but twice last week with battle wounds. I think they may have been inflicted during a frenzied retreat on his part, but Hubby is convinced Drooley has unleashed his wild inner-lion on some unsuspecting animal. I find it a bit hard to believe. Especially when this wild animal is the very same one that spent five minutes Saturday trying to decide if a coat hanger was friend or foe.

The worst part of his ferocious wild streak is trying to doctor him. His left ear, or what is left of the tip of it, as well as a wound by his right ear have required some medication. It takes both Hubby and I working together just to get a quick application on him. Drooley has threatened to unleash his inner lion on us both when we turn our backs. I have to remind him repeatedly where his breakfast and dinner comes from, so he sends me cold glares and growls at me and then plays nice with Hubby – the bringer of his food.

Why do you make me growl at you? I could bite you. You better watch your back, medicine woman.

I think both Drooley and I will be glad when his ear is healed and he no longer requires my attention. I’m hoping by then the Ferocious Feline will have gone back to just being the Heinous Cat.

The Reluctant Medicine Woman

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Anyone who has been to our home knows I like dishes. Well, maybe more than like. Love doesn’t seem like quite the right description either. Compulsive dish collector, obsessive, crazy about are terms I think Hubby has used to describe my passion for serving pieces.

He has no room to talk, though, because he is an enabler of my habit. Just this past weekend we were wandering around a department store when this bowl caught my eye.

And then I saw the rest of the matching bowls and all bets were off. I had to have them. I had to! The balance of my little world hung on bringing these beauties home with me. So Hubby packed them around the store while I fawned over approximately 257 other things that I liked. But none that I loved like these bowls.

These mixing bowls are, fasten your seat belts …. oven, microwave and dishwasher safe. I can mix, bake and reheat in these bowls til the cows come home. They have these great little measures inside.

Check out the big mixing bowl. How handy is that?

Best of all, they are pretty and match my kitchen perfectly. Just like the 362 other dishes taking up space in my cupboards.

When you are purchasing mixing or serving pieces, look for items that give you value and versatility. Are they microwave, dishwasher and oven safe? Are they good quality? Will they stand up to your family using them? Can you picture at least three ways they will enhance your collection?

Here is a link to a collection of top-notch pieces that provide a lot of versatility for the value.

Happy Entertaining!

From the Dish Collector

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