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Archive for the ‘Entertaining Ideas’ Category

Raspberry Cream Cheese Squares

Posted in Desserts, Entertaining at Home, Recipes, tagged , , , , on July 27, 2012| Leave a Comment »

If the world suddenly became devoid of chocolate, I might (and that is purely speculation with no proven theory) be able to survive with raspberries.

My love of them is why, during the summer months, there is usually a bowl of them languishing in the fridge. The other night I decided I had to do something with the berries or wave a regretful goodbye to their juicy goodness, so I whipped up some raspberry cream cheese squares. Yummy and easy to make, you can have these ready to go in just minutes.

Ingredients

 

Mix softened cream cheese, egg, vanilla and sugar.

 

Gently fold in raspberries.

 

Use two crescent triangles for each square. Crimp the edges together to form a rectangle.

 

Spoon filling into pastry, fold pastry in half, like a pocket or square.

Seal edges by crimping with a fork.

 

Sprinkle tops with raw sugar (please make sure your hands are dry before attempting this other wise the only thing that gets sugared is your fingers – not that I know about these things.)

Bake at 350 degrees until golden brown (about 15-20 minutes). By then, the smell will be tempting you!

 

Melt vanilla frosting in the microwave for about 10-12 seconds and drizzle over the top.

 

Serve and enjoy!

Raspberry Cream Cheese Squares

1 can crescent dinner rolls

4 ounces cream cheese, softened

1 egg

1/2 cup sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

2 cups fresh raspberries

vanilla frosting

raw sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Line baking sheet with parchment paper. Lightly coat with non-stick spray. Unroll crescent dough and form four rectangles by connecting triangles together. Make sure to pinch seams together so filling won’t leak out.

Combine cream cheese, egg, vanilla and sugar, mixing until well blended. Gently fold in raspberries. Spoon filling onto half of a rectangle of dough then fold the other half over to create a square. Seal edges by crimping with a fork. Sprinkle with raw sugar and bake 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.

Remove from oven and let cool slightly. Warm about a tablespoon of frosting in the microwave for about 10 seconds, until thin, then drizzle over squares.

Plate and be prepared for the smiles of gratitude your family will send your way!

She Who Loves Raspberries

 

 

 

 

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Easy Decorating

Posted in Entertaining at Home, Entertaining Ideas, Referrals, tagged , , , , on July 26, 2012| Leave a Comment »

A few weeks ago, I was invited to preview a new decorating magazine from Hearst Publications.  I accepted the offer and waited, somewhat skeptically, for it to arrive in my mailbox.

When it did, I was thrilled beyond words.

Easy Decorating is a fabulous, beautiful magazine that offers the best decorating and home tips from the editors of Good Housekeeping, Redbook, Country Living and Woman’s Day. I love it! It’s like the best of the best, all compiled in one glossy publication.

The home makeover tips that fill the pages are meant to help you turn your home into that dreamy space you’ve always wanted while keeping in mind that most of us have a limited budget. The colorful photographs combined with tips from experts in the field easily make Easy Decorating your go-to guide for all things related to decorating and transforming your living spaces.

You’ll find a section on weekend updates – quick and easy projects that can be accomplished in a weekend. These tips include everything from embellishing a shower curtain to creating one-of-a-kind napkin rings. One idea, in particular, that I loved from this section was adding molding to a plain side table for added decorating oomph.

There is an entire section entitled color and that is what it exudes  – bright, brilliant color. Beige has never seemed so blah after staring at these marvelous pages. There are actually 25 ideas to steal in this part of the magazine and all of them are so simple and easy. They even offer seven paint color suggestions for going bold.

You’ll find 25 more ideas to steal in the Pattern section that shows how to take your home from drab and dated to the cool kid on the block. Part of that section is a step-by-step guide in making covered boxes. Here are the directions:

Covered Boxes

Supplies:

·         Metal ruler

·         Shoeboxes

·         Craft knife

·         Wallpaper

·         Paintbrush

·         Scrapbooking paste

STEP 1 Measure the bottom and sides of shoebox, then add 1 inch to each side; cut a piece of wallpaper to this size.

STEP 2 Use paintbrush to apply scrap-booking paste to the base of the box and center it on a piece of wallpaper.

STEP 3 Line ruler along the side of the box so it extends beyond the edge.  Cut straight along the inside edges of your ruler to make a flap that’s the exact width of the box plus 1 inch.

STEP 4 Apply paste to the long flaps of wallpaper.  Pull one long flap up and around the short end of the box.  Tuck and adhere extra paper inside the box.  Repeat on opposite side.

STEP 5 Apply paste to short flaps.  Pull short flaps up and over box edge to adhere.

STEP 6 Repeat Steps 1 to 5 for box lid.

Wow! Isn’t this just a fun idea? Check out the garbage can, the covered boxes and binders as well as the coordinating pattern on the pencil holder and desktop. So colorful and fun!

Of course, with color and patterns, you’ve got to have some texture and they include 25 more ideas on bringing touchable textures into your home.

There are even ideas on how to completely change the look of a room with some very easy decorating ideas in the Before & After section.

Take this plain-vanilla living room for example.

Before…

and after!

What an amazing transformation to a beautiful space.

By adding a coat of soft blue paint, some interesting fabric and accent pieces and one colorful chair along with a new rug, the space becomes so much more inviting and appealing.

The final section in the magazine includes details – all those extra little touches that really make a house into a home. A few how-to projects are also included like how to turn flea-market finds into something fabulous, recovering an ottoman and covering a mirror frame with wallpaper.

This first issue offers readers the chance to win a sewing machine, get discount coupons on home decorating products and so much more!

If you love home decorating or just like to dream about what you could do differently in your home, most definitely take a look at Easy Decorating! I highly recommend it!

Easy Decorating is available for $9.99 and can be purchased at  supermarkets, newsstand or bookstore. A digital edition is also available at Zinio.com or Nook.bn.com. Readers can also access specials by checking out the magazine’s Facebook page at http://wwww.facebook.com/hearstspecials.

Photos courtesy of Hearst Magazines.

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Host a Porch Party

Posted in Entertaining at Home, Entertaining Ideas, Party Theme, tagged , , , on July 24, 2012| 2 Comments »

 

The other day I was flipping through a magazine and saw an article about an event planner who hosted a party on her front porch.

What a fun idea!

I loved the thought of a casual gathering where people can come dressed for the summer season, sit back and relax with good food and great friends.

With your guests casually gathered outside, there is no need to worry about the dust bunnies hiding behind your couch or the wall in the kids room that really needs painted.  Just make sure your bathroom is sparkling and the kitchen is clean and you are ready to entertain!

Here are a few ideas to make the most of a party on your porch (or patio):

• Decorations – keep it simple. If you’ve already got pots of flowers outside on your porch, just leave them where they are. You can add a fresh bouquet to a table, if you like, but play off what you already have available.
String some fun lights along the edge of the porch and put flameless candles or lanterns around for some soft lighting if you plan to be out after the sun goes down. If you can, take time to sweep down the porch, remove any cobwebs and dust that may have accumulated and wipe down chair seats.

• Seating – create groupings of chairs and make sure you have enough places for everyone to sit. Some people might lean against a porch rail for a while, but eventually everyone will want to sit down. Kids can sit on porch steps if you are short on room or chairs.

•Invitations – send an email or make a phone call. No need to get fancy or formal. Make sure your guests know this is a super casual gathering.

• Food – serve finger foods.  These are easy for guests to nibble and pick at without being heavy. Don’t put your food all on one table. Use smaller tables and space them around the porch. You might have a beverage station, a dessert station, a table with cheese, fruit and crackers and another with meats and more filling appetizers like mini quiches or stuffed tomatoes. Keep cold foods chilled by placing trays or bowls in a container filled with ice. Use a child’s wagon, a galvanized tub, even a plastic storage tub will work. Just fill with ice and nestle in your serving pieces.

• Beverages – make this easy on you by offering just a couple selections. You could make a couple of pitchers of flavored ice tea like mint or lavender and serve along with ice water. Make sure you have plenty of ice. When you think you’ve got enough, add one more bag. Use a cooler, a bucket or metal tub filled with ice to keep bottled beverages cold. You can also use small canning jars and pour in a variety of drinks, like lemonade, juices or  tea, to offer a variety of choices without a lot of fuss or mess. Just screw the lids on the jars and let your guests select their favorite drink. Have plenty of chilled water on hand, be it bottles or pitchers.

• Extras – have a clean-up station set up with a dishpan for dirty dishes and utensils, a large garbage can and some paper towels or wet wipes for messy fingers. If you make it easy for guests to clean up after themselves, they generally will. Offer your guests a parting gift that is summer-themed, like some lemonade mix or a little bag of salt-water taffy.

Go on, invite some friends over for a super-easy, super fun porch (or patio) party soon. You’ll be glad you made the time to connect!

She Who Loves Porches

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Pink Lemonade Bars

Posted in Cookies, Desserts, Entertaining at Home, Recipes, tagged , , , , on July 20, 2012| 2 Comments »

The other day I found a recipe on Pinterest for a bar cookie that looked pretty yummy. I’d just purchased a box of Pink Lemonade Cookie Mix (for no other reason, than I thought the box was pretty and it sounded fun). Since the recipe called for a cake mix, I decided to tweak it a bit.

I have to tell you, the bars turned out pretty good. Really good. So good, in fact, that Captain Cavedweller may have eaten quite a portion of them which says a lot since he’s sweet tooth is the size of a pea rather than my elephant sized one.

This was easy to make and really worth the time! Give them a try. The sweet-tart hint of lemonade was amazing!

Mix butter, egg and the cookie mix until blended.

Spread the crust evenly into a 9X13 baking pan coated with non-stick cooking spray.

Mix cream cheese with eggs.

Add powdered sugar and beat until well blended.

Pour batter over crust.

Pop into a 300 degree oven and bake about 40-50 minutes.

 

Bake until top is a golden, luscious field of crispy brown.

 

Dust with powdered sugar, cool and slice into bars. Then consider sharing, if you’re in the mood.

 

Pink Lemonade Bars

1 box Pink Lemonade Cookie Mix

3 eggs

1 stick (1/2 cup) butter

1 8-oz pkg. cream cheese

4 cups powdered sugar
Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

Mix softened butter and 1 egg with cookie mix. Press into 9 x 13 baking pan, sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.

Beat softened cream cream cheese and remaining two eggs until blended. Add in sugar and blend until smooth. Pour over crust. Bake for about 40-50 minutes until crust is golden and crackling. It will be almost too lovely to eat. Almost.

Remove from oven and dust with powdered sugar. Cool. Cut into bars and sink your teeth into the sweet-tart bliss!

She Who Loved The Flavor of These Bars

 

 

 

 

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