Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Archive for the ‘Entertaining at Home’ Category

Spacious Skies and Patriotic Hearts

Posted in Holidays, Musings, tagged , , on June 28, 2010| Leave a Comment »

Word of the Week: Spacious

spa·cious

{spey-shuhs}

–adjective

1. containing much space, as a house, room, or vehicle; amply large.
2. occupying much space; vast.
3. of a great extent or area; broad; large; great: the spacious prairies.
4. broad in scope, range, inclusiveness, etc.: a spacious approach to a problem.
When I hear the word spacious, the lyrics to “America the Beautiful” always pop into my mind. I can remember singing this song when I was in the first grade for a school program. When you are six and waiting for the arrival of permanent teeth, some of the words can be a challenge. But I love the words and the meaning of them and the feeling of pride in our country this song always evokes.
The lyrics were written by Katharine Lee Bates and the music composed by church organist and choirmaster Samuel A. Ward. Here is the first verse, my favorite:

O beautiful for spacious skies,
For amber waves of grain,
For purple mountain majesties
Above the fruited plain!
America! America!
God shed his grace on thee
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea!

Stay tuned for a week full of ideas, tips and recipes to help you celebrate the 4th of July in simple Patriotic style.

Read Full Post »

Wedding Gift Wrapping Ideas

Posted in Entertaining at Home, Home and Garden, Party Theme, tagged , , on June 22, 2010| 3 Comments »



Here we are knee-deep in wedding season. Isn’t it awesome! As I may have mentioned before, I love weddings.

Going to weddings involves taking gifts and that involves, at least for me, wrapping them up pretty! Yes, I like to wrap gifts and yes, there are certain standards that must be met!

For weddings, two of my favorite gift wrapping tools are satin tape and organza ribbon. They both are staples to wedding gift wrapping success.

As you can see, a bow tied with organza ribbon turns a ho-hum package into something quite lovely. Add a special little touch in the center of the bow like ribbon rosette or a wedding bell. It will finish the package like nobody’s business. Anyone can use organza ribbon to make a gift look spectacular. If you can tie your shoes, you can tie a bow with organza. It is that simple. Honest and true!

Another little thing I like to do to dress up packages is make star bows. These are not the ugly little star bows that you can get a bag of 120  for 99 cents. (Which, by the way, should be outlawed and banned from stores.)

These are hand-made star bows that make quite a statement on their own. If you can cut a snowflake, you can make this bow.

Start with your unadorned package.

Cut a piece of matching wrapping paper almost as big as the top of the package. Trim it into a square.

Fold it in half.

Then fold in half again, so you have a small square.

Fold the square into a triangle by bringing outside edges together.

Trim the top of the triangle into an oval shape, then cut down the both sides, almost to the tip. It is extremely important you DO NOT cut through the tip.

Start unfolding your bow, one layer at a time.

Keep unfolding, you are almost there.

Once you have it completely unfolded, you will lap each little triangle piece over the top of each other and secure with a bit of tape. This makes the petals.

The first layer is done. You'll repeat this process two more times, decreasing the size of each bow by an inch or so. When you have three graduated layers, you are ready to attach to the package.

Tape each layer in the center of the package. I stagger where the petals rest instead of lining them up because it rests better that way and looks fuller. Use a fun bow for the center. I found some great sparkly ones at the dollar store that fit perfectly in the center. I attach these with hot glue because the stickies on the back never hold like they should.

Happy Wrapping!

Shanna

Read Full Post »

Thanks, Dad!

Posted in Family, Holidays, tagged , on June 17, 2010| 1 Comment »

Why I have a mouth full of fillings...

See that basket full of candy? My Dad brought it to me last month when he and my mom came to visit for Mother’s Day.

Every single piece of tooth-decaying sweetness is something my Dad and I shared many times when I was growing up. You can read about  those adventures here.

I was impressed he not only brought me the candy, but that at 79-years-young he artfully arranged them himself. Not bad for a retired farmer!

My Dad - showing off his boots. Notice the hat cocked to one side. He still wears his hat like that. If I wore a hat, pretty sure I'd do the same thing. That's why Hubby doesn't let me have one.

As we celebrate Father’s Day this weekend, I wanted to say thank you to my daddy. There are so many things he taught me and so very many good memories I have of him. Summertime and my dad just go hand-in-hand. It was one of his busiest times on the farm, but also when I got to spend the most time with him.

I also have my dad to thank for making me an unrelenting optimist. Things will always look better tomorrow, something exciting is always coming around the corner and what’s the best that can happen? That is definitely from my dad.

My dad can also be given credit for the weird way I walk when I’m in a hurry. Catching a glimpse of myself in a store window the other day was not only an abrupt realization that I should never walk in a hurry, but that I walk just like my dad (which, to clarify, is great for a guy, not so great for a girl wearing platform espadrilles).

He can also take credit for my bizarre sense of humor, my love of stories, my sometimes strange fashion sense, my completely odd fascination with family history and my inability to eat spicy foods.

Then there is the sweet tooth issue. That is from my dad. He never met a dessert he didn’t like. He has been known to say that he only likes two kinds of pie: hot and cold.  It is true. Unlike Hubby, my dad will eat just about anything (minus the spicy food). But sweets are always high on the list. So thanks, Dad, for all the cavities – and all the great sweets I wouldn’t have had even during the no-chocolate years.

Thanks, Dad, for being a great father, for creating all the wonderful memories I have of you and fun times we spent together, for living a good life and for staying young-at-heart. You are the best!

Love ya!

Your “Sweet” Daughter

Read Full Post »

Summer Party Theme Ideas

Posted in Entertaining at Home, Entertaining Ideas, Party Theme, tagged , , on June 15, 2010| Leave a Comment »

If you are planning to do some entertaining this summer, why not incorporate a fun summer party theme?

It creates a whole new level of excitement for your guests and makes the entertaining process much easier on you. When you choose a theme it narrows down the work and thought you have to put into your party because it creates some boundaries. Instead of choosing from thousands of recipes, you can select those that go along with your theme. A theme also creates guidelines for decorations, invitations, and color schemes.

Here is an A-Z selection of summer party themes. Have fun with them!

Summer Theme Party Ideas

Around the World

BAD (Beverages, Appetizers, Dessert)

Chocolate Tasting

Drinks & Divas

Easy Living

Flip Flops & Fun

Garden’s Bounty

Home on the Range
Ice Cream Social
Jazz Fest
Kid’s Day
Luau
Marshmallows & More
Night in Paris
Ocean Escape
Picnic Time
Quesadillas
Rainy Day (create your own rain with sprinklers outside in front of a picture window. You could even put it close to the front door so guest would get wet if they don’t have their umbrella.)
Sippers & Sandals
Taste of Tuscany
Under the Stars
View the Sunset
White-Out (this could be quite lovely – use all white, cream and clear glass serving pieces with white linens and ask guests to wear white. The food would provide brilliant pops of color. Would be beautiful outside with the colors of nature as the backdrop.)
Xmas in July
Yummy Bites
Zucchini Fest  (Okay – so this one is stretching it a bit…. but it could be quite tasty: fried zucchini for an appetizer, maybe some eggplant Parmesan with zucchini for a main dish and, of course, chocolate zucchini cake for dessert!)

Whatever themes you use for your summer entertaining, have fun with them!

Happy Entertaining!

Shanna

Read Full Post »

« Newer Posts - Older Posts »