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Archive for the ‘Entertaining Ideas’ Category

Bathroom Makeover

Posted in Captain Cavedweller, Entertaining at Home, Home and Garden, Home Decor, tagged , , , on October 27, 2011| Leave a Comment »


It all started with this bath mat.

This beautiful, wonderful, blasted bath mat that Captain Cavedweller gave me for my birthday a few weeks ago.

The yurt where we stayed on vacation had the best bath mats in the world in the bathroom. Luxurious, soft, perfectly marvelous bath mats that made me stand on them for no reason except to enjoy the experience. I wanted one. Quite ferociously.

I don’t know where or how he found one, but Captain Cavedweller did and bought it for me for my birthday along with a set of dreamy towels to match the bath mat.

The only hitch in this whole get-along was that the bath mat and towels did not match the walls of my bathroom. Sure, it was all green but sage green and mint green are not the best of friends and truly do not play well together.

So last weekend, I decided to paint my bathroom to match my new rug. After all, it should only take an hour or two. Right?

Ha. Ha. Hee. Har-dee-har. Ho.

No.

It took all weekend. All blooming weekend.

The painting itself took about two hours (forgot about painting the ceiling in the sparkly world in my head where I was planning all this), but it was the scrubbing and cleaning and polishing and shining and more scrubbing that took forever. I mean, seriously, you can’t slap new paint on the walls and not clean every square inch of everything else in the room. Can you?

It would just be so wrong. Way faster, a lot simpler and much less stress – but still wrong.

The thought that I could have possibly returned the rug and towels for a color that would have gone with my mint green walls never even entered my mind until I was completely done with my makeover project. Wouldn’t that have been an easy fix to the problem. Except I really liked the color of the rug and towel. According to the many color surveys I have willingly participated in over the years, my “home” color is green. That would explain why all but two rooms in my house sport some shade of green in the decor, paint or window treatments.

So not having green wasn’t even an option. And despite all the work involved, I am loving the end results.

Here are some before and after photos of the bathroom…

Mint Green - before

 

 

Ahhh - beautiful spa-green walls.

She Who is Really Liking the New Color

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Slippers and Sippers Party Theme

Posted in Entertaining at Home, Entertaining Ideas, Party Theme, tagged , , , on October 25, 2011| Leave a Comment »

With chilly weather, days that are getting shorter and the holiday craziness approaching, think about hosting a party just for your girl friends.

Use a Slippers and Sippers Party Theme for a fun, relaxed evening they will long remember. Invite everyone to wear their favorite pair of slippers. They can be cute, wild, crazy, ratty – whatever floats their boat. Have a contest and give away some fun prizes for the prettiest, ugliest and most unique slippers.  Prizes could be something as simple as a bottle of lotion or some foot soak tablets.

Provide a few tasty beverages for guests to sip. A pot of mulled cider is not only delicious, but it fills your home with the most wonderful, welcoming scent. You could set up a hot chocolate station or a coffee station as well.

You could host a home party where your friends can sit and relax while doing a little shopping (think about companies like Scentsy, Pampered Chef, Willow House, etc.) or you could each bring a handful of catalogs to browse through and get ideas for Christmas gifts.

The main objective is just to get together with your friends and have a fun evening.

Keep the mood light and enjoy a few hours of connecting before the hectic hurry of the holidays sets in.

She Who Needs to Find a Cool Pair of Slippers

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Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars with Crumb Topping

Posted in Cookies, Desserts, Entertaining at Home, Recipes, tagged , , , on October 14, 2011| 2 Comments »

Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars with Crumb Topping

The other day I had a craving for pumpkin cheesecake which somehow morphed into the idea of pumpkin cheesecake bars which turned into pumpkin cheesecake bars with crumb topping. Unable to find a recipe I liked, I made up my own.

So there!

It actually turned out pretty good, or at least that is what the taste testers told me. Some asked for seconds, but I only brought a limited few to work. Sorry guys! Next time there is taste testing to be done, I’ll make sure I bring extra samples!

So, without further ado…

Ingredients

Crust Mixture

Crumb mixture in the pan. Press in lightly.

Mix up the pumpkin filling.

Pour filling over cooked crust.

Sprinkle with crumb topping.

Bake for 25 minutes.

When cool, cut into bars. Serve immediately or refrigerate for up to two days - if they last that long.

If you want to make these even better, drizzle on a little (or a lot) of caramel sauce.

Then enjoy! Sharing is optional.

Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars with Crumb Topping

Crust

1 1/2 cups quick cooking oats

1 1/4 cups flour

3/4 cups brown sugar, firmly packed

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 cup butter, room temperature

Filling

1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, room temperature

3/4 cup canned pumpkin pie filling

1/2 cup sugar

1 large egg

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Combine oats, flour, brown sugar, salt, baking soda, and butter. Beat until mixture is crumbly. Reserve 1 1/2 cups of the crumb mixture, pressing the remaining mixture into a greased 13 x 9 x 2- inch baking pan. Bake for 10 minutes.

Mix cream cheese, pumpkin pie filling, sugar, egg, and cinnamon. Beat until well blended and smooth. Spread filling over hot crust then top with remaining crumb mixture. Return to oven and bake 25 minutes.

Cool and cut into bars. You can make this a couple days ahead of time but keep refrigerated until ready to serve.

If you want to get wild and crazy, drizzle the tops of the bars with caramel or chocolate sauce, or both. Also, try serving bars with Dulce de Leche ice cream. See if that doesn’t make you melt in a puddle.

Note – if you like nuts, you can add 1/2 cup of finely chopped pecan to the crust mixture. You could also put toasted pecan halves on top of each bar before you drizzle with caramel.

She Who Loves Pumpkin Sweets

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Fall Leaf Party Theme

Posted in Entertaining Ideas, Party Theme, tagged , , on October 11, 2011| Leave a Comment »

It is really starting to look like fall in our neck of the woods. The leaves are beginning to change color, the weather is cool and rainy, and the apple pickers are across the road from my house busily gathering in the harvest.

I don’t know about you all, but I hate raking leaves. Absolutely dread it. Captain Cavedweller isn’t much better. We always hope for a wild windstorm to blow our leaves away before we get too ambitious and  get them raked and bagged.

What if you could combine a party with getting the leaves raked up out of your yard and that of your neighborhood?

Think about roping, er… I mean inviting, your neighbors to participate in a block leaf raking party. You could be the “host house” that provides the bags and refreshments and then all participating neighbors would go from lawn to lawn raking and bagging leaves. When it was finished, everyone could converge at your home for a fun fall-themed meal.

Sounds like a win-win situation, doesn’t it? You get your leaves raked, you get to spend time with neighbors and you all get to celebrate fall and a nice clean neighborhood.

Keep your refreshments simple – you could make a fall stew with hot bread, green salad and apple crisp for dessert. Sliders are another fun option. If the weather cooperates and you have somewhere to build a bonfire or a firepit, think about roasting wieners and marshmallows.

Send each neighbor home with a “bagged” sugar cookie cut out like a leaf and decorated in fall colors.

The main thing here (besides getting your leaves raked) is to connect with the friends who live around you and enjoy the fall season.

So give it a whirl and let me know how it goes!

She Who Must Rake Her Leaves This Fall

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