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Archive for the ‘Entertaining Ideas’ Category

Time for an Intervention

Posted in Entertaining at Home, Fashion, Musings, tagged , , on June 7, 2010| Leave a Comment »

The word of the week is intervention:

in·ter·ven·tion

–noun

1.

the act or fact of intervening.

I was flipping through a magazine this weekend and one page had photos of celebrities attending a snazzy New York event. The photos showed lots of smiling faces in beautiful cocktail dresses and evening gowns. Except for one.

This one particular celeb looked like she had been attacked by a flock of crazed flamingos. I kid you not. Really, I could not make this up. Her long flowing gown was covered in what looked like pink feathers. Nevermind that the dress was clearly designed for someone much, much smaller. Nevermind that the pink feather trail looked like she was about to be swallowed by a punch-doused Big Bird.  Nevermind that the whole thing was a hideous spectacle.

The thought I couldn’t get out of my head was “Who let her go out on stage dressed like that?” Seriously, there had to be someone there who considered staging an intervention, burying the flamingo frock and finding something much better suited to the celeb and the event. Where was that person?

I know there are times I could use a little intervention.

Honest.

Like when it comes to chocolate, shoes, party planning, chocolate, shopping in general, chocolate, cleaning and chocolate, I’m pretty sure I could occasionally use an intervention.

And I am begging and pleading with my friends to please intervene if I ever put on something that looks like it has been mauled by a large pink bird. Please don’t let me out the door. Please.

Thanks forever!

Shanna

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Send Out Cards

Posted in Entertaining at Home, Referrals, tagged , on June 2, 2010| Leave a Comment »

This week’s Wednesday Shout-Out goes to Send Out Cards.

If you haven’t checked out the company yet  – or even heard of them – look here.

Send Out Cards offers people an affordable way to send greeting cards quickly. You can literally log in, choose a card, write a note, and hit send in scant minutes. The card is printed, placed in an envelope, addressed and sent with a real stamp to your recipient. Most cards will cost you less than $1.

This service makes it possible to act on those thoughts that flit through our heads like “I should send Susy a note to thank you for the gift basket,” or “I should send a card to Jill. She’d been having a hard time and I want her to know we are here for her.” You get the idea. Most of us think we’ll remember to send that thank you note or thinking of you card later. But later never comes, the notes go unsent and time passes on.

I love this service because it makes it fast and easy for me to send a thank you, a birthday card or even an “I’m thinking of you” greeting. I don’t know about you but I love getting cards and notes in the mail. There is just something extra special when you look through the pile of junk mail, bills and catalogs and see an envelope from a friend.

You can give Send Out Cards a trial run by signing up for a free gift account and seeing what it is all about!

Have fun!

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Party Buckets are a Must for Summer Entertaining

Posted in Entertaining at Home, Entertaining Ideas, Party Theme, tagged , , on June 1, 2010| Leave a Comment »

Ever had guests over for an outdoor meal and couldn’t figure out a way to serve individual bottles of beverages?  You wanted to create an elegant atmosphere and pulling out a cooler for the drinks just didn’t seem to go with your theme.

One fun and easy way to keep beverages cold while maintaining a classic look to your event is with party buckets.

You can purchase buckets from companies like Entertaining at Home, at department stores or even use containers you may already own. Think outside the box and see what you can come up with.

If your theme has more of a casual or western tone, think about using a small wash tub. You can find these at feed supply stores. Tie the handles with a raffia bow and it fits right into a country theme.

Big planters or flower pots can also be put into service. Make sure they are sparkling clean then fill with ice. These could work well with most any theme.

A child’s wagon is also a fun way to present beverages. Again, just fill with ice, tie the handle with a ribbon and you are set.

If you can find a party bucket on a stand, that is even better!  The stand allows any condensation to drip down and frees up table space for more important things… like chocolate.

Be creative and have fun with this. You can be as elegant or as whimsical as you desire!

Happy Entertaining!

Shanna

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Strawberry Bliss

Posted in Beverages, Easy Recipes, Entertaining at Home, tagged , , on May 28, 2010| 2 Comments »

If you are somewhere in the world where the sun is shining and it is warm and lovely heading into this Memorial Day Weekend. Enjoy it!

With our gray skies and rain, it doesn’t seem like it can be the end of May.

Here is an easy and fun drink that tastes best on hot days, but if you are being forced inside by the weather this weekend, plan an indoor picnic, cozy up by the fire and enjoy. This drink is also family friendly so the kids can smack their lips over it as well.

Ingredients

Sugar the rims of the glasses.

Scoop the slushy mix out of the pitcher and into the chilled glasses.

Strawberry Bliss!

Strawberry Bliss

1 can of Bacardi Mixers Frozen Strawberry Daiquiri concentrate

1 1/2 cans of water

1 bottle of Club Soda

granulated sugar

Mix concentrate with 1 1/2 cans (using the concentrate can) of water. Stir and freeze for a couple of hours, until it starts to firm up.

Wet the rims of your glasses and dip in sugar. Just put a teaspoon or so of sugar on a flat saucer and dip away. I like to put the glasses in the freezer after I sugar them so they are frosty when I serve the drink.

When you are ready to serve, remove the glasses and strawberry mix from the freezer. Scoop slush into glasses and fill about two-thirds full. Pour in enough club soda to fill the glass. You can garnish the glasses with a strawberry if you so desire or  a sprig of mint.

Sip, savor and smile!

Happy Entertaining!

Shanna

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