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Archive for the ‘Entertaining Ideas’ Category

Fun Fall Decorating Ideas

Posted in Entertaining at Home, Entertaining Ideas, Home and Garden, Home Decor, tagged , , on October 28, 2010| Leave a Comment »

The wind is blowing, it is way chillier than I’d like it to be and tomorrow I will be wearing a ridiculous costume to work. That is a combination that has put me in a frame of mind to pilfer good ideas from someone else. I’m all tapped out today.

So I would like to direct your attention to the Better Homes and Gardens website.

You will find a bounty of great ideas here for everything from decorating ideas to recipes.

Some of the things that were speaking to me today include:

This cool, but very  simple fall arrangement. Beautiful!

This fabulous corn husk centerpiece. Love the rustic charm.

And this pumpkin with a glowing candle. What a fun way to utilize a pumpkin.

If you are looking for some great ideas, Better Homes and Gardens is sure to have something that will get your creative juices flowing.

Happy Entertaining!

Shanna

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Harvest Party Theme Ideas

Posted in Entertaining at Home, Entertaining Ideas, Party Theme, tagged , , , on October 26, 2010| Leave a Comment »

If you aren’t into spooks and ghouls or bats and vampires, you can still host a fun, seasonal Harvest Themed Party. 

Incorporate the elements of the season, think outside the box and be prepared to have a really great celebration.

Start with your invitations. You could do something fun like a making a simple scarecrow face. Cut a heavy piece of tan or yellow construction paper into a square. Turn the square so a corner is pointing toward you and one away from you.  Glue two wooden buttons or two pieces of candy corn near the middle for eyes and a gumdrop for a nose. Glue a piece of orange string in a smile for a mouth and then “stitch” over it with a black marker. Stitch around the edges of the square with the marker and add a little raffia bow at the top. On the back, glue your invitation. If you are creative with clip art, you could also create invitations that featured corn stalks, pumpkins, baskets of apples, or a harvest moon.
Decorations could include piles of pumpkins. Think about what you have on hand you could dress up. Right now I’ve got miniature pumpkins surrounding the little cement bunny that stands guard at my front door. An old wheelbarrow, a child’s wagon, even an empty birdbath can be fun containers for pumpkins. If you are going to put candles in pumpkins, I highly recommend the battery-operated variety. You don’t have to worry about fire issues that way. For something a bit off the beaten bath, take leaf shaped cookie cutters, pound them into the pumpkin with a rubber mallet, pull out with needle nose pliers and get ready for the compliments to roll in once you drop in a candle and illuminate your handiwork. 

If you are doing a more formal plated dinner, you have to try this great idea for placecards. Write names of guests on mini pumpkins then using a small knife, follow the outline of the name and peel away the rind without cutting all the way through the pumpkin. Place a votive inside each one. What a fun way to let guests know the seating arrangement. You could also do this with words like “Welcome,” “Harvest,” “Bountiful,” and “Autumn” and place throughout your buffet.

You could also use baskets of apples. There is absolutely nothing on the planet that says fall to me like a wooden basket filled with shiny red apples. Use little baskets to display apples throughout your entertaining area. 

Gather stalks of corn and have them stand sentinel by your front door. If you are going to be entertaining outdoors with a bonfire or some other fun activity, be sure to include decorations outside. Straw bales, especially when draped with a thick blanket, make perfect seating for outdoor events. Stack them up and cover with a colorful cloth if you need extra serving space.

Sprinkle fall leaves along your buffet table. You can even tuck a pretty leaf or two into the frame of a mirror or picture.


Bonus decorating tip – nuts and pinecones are your friends! Remember nuts and pinecones can be trailed along tables, nestled in bowls, poured into jars and stacked in boxes or baskets to create great fall accents. If you’ve got nothing else, at least have a basket of nuts and pinecones! 

Let the kids make a scarecrow and set him by the front door or somewhere sure to be noticed.

Do include a few candles in safe and strategic places throughout your home that carry through the scent of fall like pumpkin, apple, maple or spice.

For a simple menu, think about making a big casserole. They are warm, filling, easy to serve and easy to eat. It doesn’t have to be fancy, anything hearty and warm will do like a Cheeseburger Pie, Rigatoni Bake, or even Enchiladas. Serve with warm cornbread, a green salad with chopped apples and toasted nuts, warm apple cider and  bar cookies for dessert. You can also prepare take- with-you treats like caramel apples or this super-simple snack.

Fabulous Fall Munch
1 pound spiced gum drops
1 pound candy corn
1 pound pretzel sticks
3 cups goldfish crackers
1 16-ounce can salted peanuts
Mix together and serve in waffle cones. Kids will love being able to play and munch at the same time!

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The Gallivanting Goddesses

Posted in Entertaining at Home, Family, tagged on October 21, 2010| 4 Comments »

Almost five years ago, my cousin Brad called and discussed doing something special and fun for his Mom. I was all ears.

Brad is one of those super nice, incredibly sweet all-around great guys that you are thrilled just to know. Add in the fact that his Mom, my wonderful Aunt Robbie, has been like a second Mom to me for my entire life, and I couldn’t refuse whatever it was he was going to ask.

My most wonderful auntie has always been extra special to me. I was born the day after Aunt Robbie’s birthday, we share the same middle name, we both love the color pink and have yet to find a mall we didn’t like.

Aunt Robbie was blessed with two boys, but no girls. So Brad proposed a few of us girl cousins do something fun with Aunt Robbie. We plotted and planned and ended up with four of us girls taking Aunt Robbie for an overnight stay in a cute little town with fun shops, great food and a nice hotel. It was bliss!

My three cousins are daughters of my Dad’s two other sisters, both of whom have passed away. Aunt Robbie became Mom to us all on that trip. With each of us she loves, laughs, cries, teases and counsels – and that just makes us love her all the more.

We had such a great time on that first trip, we decided to make it an annual event. We all look forward to the time we can spend with each other, reconnecting, sharing memories, shopping, eating and enjoying the company. Our little group includes my cousins Julie, Nancy and Twylia – all fun, fantastic women in their own unique way.

So this year when we started planning our “shopping conference” we decided we needed to have a name for our group. Considering that we drive all over the countryside to meet and considering our love to shop, talk, eat and repeat the process until we are all exhausted, we came up with the name of the “Gallivanting Goddesses.”

We met just last week and it was fantastic as always. Aunt Robbie is still running circles around us, still able to hand-out great advice and fashion tips and still the sweet Aunt that we adore.

And these girls just know how to have a great time.

I encourage all you girls to have a group that you go gallivanting with at least once a year. Maybe it is family, maybe it is friends, maybe a combination of both – but you need that girl time.  It does your heart and spirit so much good!

So here’s to future gallivanting!

Just One of the Goddesses,

Shanna

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Pumpkin Party

Posted in Entertaining Ideas, Party Theme, tagged , , , , on October 19, 2010| 1 Comment »

As the weather turns colder, the leaves more golden, and the air crisp, my thoughts (and tastebuds) seem to wander toward all things pumpkin.

I had a piece of pumpkin cheesecake from one of my favorite restaurants the other day. If I hadn’t been at home enjoying it, Hubby would have had to scrape me up off the floor of the restaurant. Yeah, it was that good.

So that got me thinking about how fun it is this time of year to host a pumpkin themed party.

Start with the invitations. You could use mini pumpkins and florist picks. Type out a simple invitation on some card stock or hand-print a fun invite. Place the florist pick into the top of the pumpkin and insert the card in the holder then hand deliver to your guests.

 

Another fun idea would be to color a black band around your pumpkin and then write in metallic or glitter a very simple invitation message. This is guaranteed to get you some attention.

You may also use some fun pumpkin paper, cut your invitations out in the shape of a pumpkin or just use pumpkin colored paper.

Once you have sent out the invitations, think about decorations. The options for decorating with pumpkins are only limited by your imagination. You can carve them, bedazzle them, color them, and stencil them.

Etched Pumpkin from Southern Living at Home

Etching is a great way to display a fabulous design without having to dig out all the messy insides of the pumpkin. I’m pretty certain this would take way more creative talent than I can muster. If you do find yourself having to clean out a pumpkin, use a sturdy ice cream scoop. It gets in there and digs out all the icky goo like nobody’s business.

Line your driveway with illuminated pumpkins. Carve out the letters “w-e-l-c-o-m-e” as a fun greeting for guests. Have piles of pumpkins by your door, set little pumpkins on tables and in corners.

 

You could even march them down a table for a fun and easy accent.

Think about using white pumpkins mixed with the traditional orange or go all white for a dramatic effect.

 

Hollow out pumpkins for candle holders or serving containers. This large pumpkin works great as an ice bucket.

Don’t forget to light a few pumpkin candles so your home even smells like pumpkin. Two of my favorites are Spiced Pumpkin from Yankee Candle and Sweet Cinnamon Pumpkin from Bath & Body Works. You can even get pumpkin soap, if you want to really take your pumpkin theme to a whole new level.

For your menu, think about fun things you can add to tie in the pumpkin theme. You could offer pumpkin soup or even a chunky stew served in hollowed out mini-pumpkins. You can offer pumpkin bread, mashed pumpkin or grilled pumpkin. Serve up a pumpkin dessert like Pumpkin Cake, Pumpkin Roll (a holiday-must have at our house) or even a Pumpkin Trifle.  And for goodness sakes, don’t forget the pumpkin seeds. You can make your own or buy them plain or with interesting flavors like chipotle, lemon or barbecue.

Have fun with your pumpkin party and explore all the fun possibilities.

Toasted Pumpkin Seeds

Pumpkin

Salt

Olive Oil

Preheat oven to 400°F. Cut open the pumpkin and use a strong metal spoon to scoop out the insides. Separate the seeds from the strings and rinse.

In a small saucepan, add the seeds to water, about 2 cups of water to every half cup of seeds. Add a half tablespoon of salt for every cup of water. Bring to a boil. Let simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and drain.

Spread  a tablespoon of olive oil over the bottom of a roasting pan. Spread the seeds out over the roasting pan, all in one layer. Sprinkle on a bit of salt, and seasoning if you so desire.  Bake on the top rack until the seeds begin to brown, 10-20 minutes. When browned to your satisfaction, remove from the oven and let the pan cool on a rack. Let the seeds cool all the way down before eating.

Enjoy and Happy Entertaining!

Shanna, aka the pumpkin fan

 

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