{Entertaining} Father's Day

There is nothing better than summer entertaining, especially on a beautiful night. Father's Day was just that -- not quite summer yet, but rather a preview of the weather we are spoiled with during this magical season. My family, minus my sister's clan, who live in Virginia, and my husband's family, who spent the weekend at the Jersey shore, was present for a super simple dinner party to celebrate the wonderful dads in our lives.

I set up a little table outside on our patio with drinks and appetizers. Using color is one way I like to add interest and appeal when I'm entertaining. Rather than using "manly" colors, I decided to go with turquoise, coral, pale yellow, and light lime -- pretty summer colors. I made basil crisps, which I posted a recipe for a few years ago. I also made a simple fruit salad of cantaloupe, watermelon, and blueberries and arranged that in white pot that I used almost two years ago for Dean's dedication.


I used an old fence from my father-in-law as a backdrop and hung a Superman inspired banner. If you are blessed enough to have a great dad like myself, you know he is a "Super" dad.


I recently found these stackable drink dispensers at Target. They are plastic, which makes them perfect for outdoor entertaining. I filled one with Strawberry Lemon Basil Infused water {something I saw on Pinterest}, and the other with Black Currant Iced Tea with mint {recipe from my mom and found here}.


I don't know about you, but I like my wine nice and cold {not that I'm drinking wine of any sort right now}. Rather than using ice cubes, freeze some grapes and use as your cubes. Another idea snagged from Pinterest -- brilliant and oh-so-simple. I speared about three grapes on a toothpick, put in the freezer overnight and voila.


Pinterest saves the day AGAIN -- ha! I found this poem about dads on their site and fell in love with it, so I digitally recreated it and displayed it on the appetizer and drink station.


Dinner couldn't have been more simple. I ordered hoagies from a local sandwich shop and sliced them, had chips, pickles, pasta salad and deviled eggs {made by my mom}. EASY! And to make it even better, I used Chinet plates and plastic utensils -- cleanup took about 5 minutes!


Last but not least, I served rootbeer floats for dessert. My dad LOVES floats, and not only are they a nice summer treat, but they remind me of him. I pre-scooped the ice cream into mason jars {just some old pizza sauce/salsa jars I've been rinsing out and saving since I have an obsession with mason jars}. All I had to do was pour some rootbeer over the ice cream when it was time for dessert.

I think easy is my new middle name ;-}

**Off to spend another summer day with my little mister! ENJOY your day!

{Entertaining} Thanksgiving

My family had a wonderful Thanksgiving from start to finish. Wall to wall sunshine and an unseasonably warm temperature started the day and family and delicious food and sweets ended the day. Perfect.

To say I flew by the seat of my pants this year with my tablescape would be an understatement. Thankfully, it all came together in the end, and I really like the combination of traditional and untraditional colors and details. I bought my dinner napkins first {Crate & Barrel} and built everything else around them. Maize, turquoise, green, eggplant, brown, orange, etc -- I had quite a palette to draw from.


I served ten guests total, so it was a manageable number. I set up a little card table in front of our fireplace and used burlap as a table cover to accommodate the overflow of guests.


I created individual dinner menus for each guest's place setting. I sized them to fit inside the center of the salad/dessert plate, which I sat on top of the napkin and dinner plate. Then I placed a few berries on top.


I also attached a round name tag with rafia to each guest's drinking glass. The table was already set when guests arrived, so everyone knew where to sit during dinner.

The green glasses are another Crate & Barrel purchase. I had seen them this summer, but decided to hold out for a little while. When I went back a few weeks ago -- GONE. Uggh. As a last ditch effort, I asked the saleswoman to check the back for me and she came out with ten of them. That was the last of them, and they were marked way down. Score.


The centerpiece was a hodgepodge of different items I pulled from here and there. Most of the items I already owned. I found the sparkly cream pumpkins and gourds for $.50 at Walmart. I snagged a few of those and scattered some acorns and pinecones around too.


The turkey was a PB splurge when my friend Alyssa and I took a decorating class there this fall. He's one of my favorite Turkey Day decorations.


We had some light munchies for everyone before dinner was served. Cheeses, crackers, some fruit, and wine.


I used my galvanized tiered tray, which is pretty big, so I filled in some of the open spaces with fresh parsley and artichokes.



The dessert table was pretty simple, and I added a pop of color with the pears. Anders Ruff's Thanksgiving tablescape was my inspiration {mentioned in my Thanksgiving inspiration post}.

My dad made an awesome homemade apple pie from scratch! He's my new pie maker for all future Turkey Days ;-}



I dipped my pears in caramel sauce {it went on a little thinner than I had hoped but oh well} and then sprinkled shimmery sanding sugar on them. So pretty!


I also made pumpkin pie mini's just for a change from a normal sized pie. They were simple -- I followed a normal pumpkin pie recipe for the filing. Then I lined a cupcake tray with pie crust {I used a glass to cut small circles and push in each cupcake mold}, filled with the filling and popped in the oven. Super simple.

I made a friend from work a ribbon bunting for her Thanksgiving dessert spread, and I really liked the way it turned out, so I made a mini one using the same colors {cream, brown and burnt orange} for one of the pumpkin pie tarts.

That's it!

**I can't believe it's already Monday again :-{
**Wishing you a quick and painless Monday ;-}

{Parties} Fall Happy Hour

Our Fall Neighborhood Happy Hour was on Friday evening and went off without a hitch. The weather wasn't the greatest, and we were forced to host the party inside, but it all worked out for the best. The kids had a blast playing together in our family room and the adults were able to hang in the dining room & kitchen {where the food & adult beverages were ;-}. And we finally had a chance to talk to everyone and get to know our neighbors a little bit better!


My favorite detail of the night was our signature cocktail, a spiked cider. It was served warm, which made it a great treat on a cool fall night.


Spiked Cider Recipe ::

Ingredients ::
- 3 oranges
- 3 tbsp cloves
- 8 cups apple cider
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 1 1/2 cups rum


Directions ::
1. Stud the oranges with cloves and place in punch bowl
2. Put cider and cinnamon sticks in a large pot on stove and bring up to a simmer
3. Pour mixture in punch bowl over oranges and add rum
4. Serve warm

**I doubled this recipe and had plenty for my guests. I even had a big pitcher left over, which I brought to our Gourmet Night on Saturday night!


Stripy & dotty straws from Shop Sweet Lulu added to the fallish flare of the happy hour. And I got them on sale, which was an unexpected surprise!


There really wasn't a theme to this party, but I did focus on a mostly white and black color palette. The previous owners of my home left me some amazing old finds in our garage when they moved out. There were old doors, windows, chairs, etc. {anyone that knows me could tell you that "a kid on Christmas morning" doesn't even begin to explain my excitement!}. An old black chair left behind in my garage became the display for the spiced cider. It has a dark lime cushion that is worn and ripped {the older and more worn, the better!}.

The pillow, feather wreath, and twig tree with hanging crystals were all items I pulled from my basement. They added a hominess and warmth to the set up.


Little bags of Johnson's caramel corn sat on the buffet, which I had already decorated weeks before with lanterns and pumpkins.



The three tiered galvanized tray from PB has a new owner ;-} My friend Amy read my post about the tray a few weeks ago and just happened to spot one {last one in the store} on sale for almost 50% off a few days later. She was so thoughtful to pick it up for me, and it became home to all of the desserts I served that evening. Thanks again, Ame!!!


I filled an old mason jar with candy corn and a tealight and added some more caramel corn bags to the top tray.


The second tier was filled with mini tootsie pops, cookies, and...


...marshmallow pumpkins. A picture I spotted on Pinterest was my inspiration for this treat -- I simply inserted a popsicle stick in the marshmallow, dipped it in orange candy melts, let it dry on wax paper, and then added ribbon for the stem.


The bottom tray housed vanilla cupcakes with homemade toppers. Using black ric rac and sparkly black craft balls that I already had, I glued/tied them to the sticks and inserted them into the cupcakes. Easy.


Last but not least, I made mini candy corn puddings for the little ones. I bought miniature clear cups at the dollar store and used left over mini spoons from my Wigs & Wine dinner party last year. Then I made one box of vanilla pudding, halved it and added yellow and orange food coloring to each half. After scooping a layer of yellow and then orange, I added whipped cream on the top and a little candy corn as a garnish.

Appetizers were mini cheesesteak egg rolls, buffalo chicken dip in the crockpot, a hot black bean dip, and fresh cut veggies with dip. No pictures -- it was a busy night!


**GREAT weekend -- I soaked in every second of the beautiful fall weather we had!
**Maura's "Apple of my Eye" party is this Saturday -- details soon!
**A new fall soup is coming your way tomorrow.
**Happy??? Monday ;-}

{Parties} Gourmet Night

Gourmet Night went off without a hitch, and we had a blast with our dinner group! A little background info :: there are five couples that are part of G.N. {most met for the first time at our Wigs & Wine party back in October}. We rotate months and each couple is responsible for hosting dinner for the remaining members of the group at their home on their chosen month. The guests supply the "adult" beverages ;-}

There is no pressure to throw an extravagant party -- you can make it as simple or as detailed as you'd like. I purposely chose June because I wanted to entertain on our patio, and thankfully the weather was perfect! My hubby and I brainstormed possible themes for our night, and we both agreed that a ballpark night would be fun since baseball season is in full swing {not to mention it lent itself to a fairly simple and manageable menu, allowing me more time and energy to spend on my favorite part of entertaining -- the pretty details!}.

The invite set the stage for our theme -- simple navy and brick red colors with fun verbage and baseball stripes.


I set up my patio very similarly to the way I did when I threw my sister's sprinkle last July. It seems to work best for the space I have out there. I dressed up the tables with some fabrics from Joann's that were in keeping with my colors and then added some "baseball" touches.


Appetizer spread :: one thing I've learned from entertaining countless times, is that I always go overboard on the amount of food I serve. Many times it goes to waste or my guests fill up on appetizers and have no room for dinner. I'm finally starting to learn! I focused on two easy apps this time, which were in keeping with what you might buy at a ballpark -- soft pretzels with mustard and loaded chicken & cheese nachos. YUM!

I used a very old chalkboard that belonged to my grandmother {and I used to play "school" with -- haha -- when I was young} to add a little flare to this table. I wrote "Concessions" on the chalkboard since the table held my apps and then had a little fun by adding Powell Stadium and a scoreboard.


Nachos...


...and soft pretzels.


My second table was just for fun. I fell in love with the navy and white indoor/outdoor fabric I found for this table {and the fact that the hem at the bottom is slightly uneven is really bugging me!!!}.


I bought this picture for my husband when we first starting dating. I didn't know much about him then as we had only been dating for a little less than a month, but I did know that he loved baseball. It hung in his apartment until he moved out, and we moved in together as a married couple. I thought it would be perfect for this table.


I also added some glass vessels filled with my hubby's old baseballs, peanuts, crackerjacks, and Baby Ruth mini candy bars.



I spotted this old fence in my father-in-laws backyard {I always find all sorts of cool things at my in-laws home, and I love how my FIL is always dying to get rid of them -- he gladly passes them my way!}. He trimmed the bottom of it for me, so it was the right height and then I added a fabric bunting.


We created a signature cocktail called "The Grand Slam." My husband came up with the idea to make it lemonade based since that's a popular stadium drink.


I made a cocktail menu {not shown above but can be seen in the table shot} and added a little tag to the martini pitcher.


"7th Inning Stretch" tea was another drink option {not spiked -- just good old fashioned homemade iced tea}.


I had dinner set up on my kitchen island. We had a "Build Your Own Dog" station with five different dog ideas. I had the Jersey Slaw Dog -- DELISH!

Other dog options included :: Shaggy Dog, Doc Dog, Chicago Dog, and Chili Cheese Dog.


Bo, my right-hand man, was able to borrow a hotdog roller from a co-worker. It was perfect. The last thing I want to do when I have company is spend the night in the kitchen cooking and preparing -- I want to hang out with my guests! We threw the dogs on the roller and that was it -- the machine did the work. Easy!


We had pretzel rolls and regular rolls...


...and my aunt's pasta salad, which is my favorite pasta salad recipe ever. Other eats included baked beans, chips & the fixins for the dog station.


I can't tell you how much use I've gotten from this caddy I bought years ago from Southern Living {now called Willow House}. I use it every time I entertain for one thing or another....most often it's my silverware caddy.


Dessert was just as simple as the apps and dinner. One of Bo's accounts is Citizen's Bank Park {home to our favorite major league baseball team, the Philadelphia Phillies}, and he was able to snag some of these little baseball hats for our banana split sundaes.


I pre-scooped all the icecream and put the hats on a tray, which I stored in our basement freezer. All I had to do was add a few simple toppings, and they were ready to go in minutes for our guests.


Some additional details ::

We set up some additional tables to accommodate our ten guests, so I threw some burlap over each table as a table cover and then added a globe vase filled with baseballs and a fabric flag that I made to the center. Easy & festive.


My husband just built this firepit for me. He's so good like that -- I have a vision and he does his best to recreate it for me. He was right on the money with this one as it was just what I had envisioned! That evening was a tad cool, so the fire added just a little warmth.


We also hung a string of twinkley lights to add a some warmth to our space once the sun set. I'm a sucker for lighting -- this was nothing extravagant but I really liked it {and it was much more adorable in person!}.


The Gourmet Night ladies {Patty, Kelly, Alyssa, Jamie & me}.


Boys will be boys and our boys are no different. They played a game of whiffle ball and Ginger {our little tomboy Beagle hound}, had to jump in on the action. She likes hangin' with the guys!


Our "little slugger" helped Mama set up -- notice he was drawn to the beer -- ut oh!

**This theme could easily be translated to a baseball themed birthday party.
**Have I inspired anyone to start their own dinner group? It's so much fun!! We already discussed the future of our group in the year 2012 and Bo & I are all set up to host in January. We're thinking a "New Year's Glam" Gourmet Night would be fabulous!
**Well, I've entertained my little heart out for the last year, and I'm taking a much needed break this summer -- I think.
**To see any of the parties I've designed, styled & hosted, please check out my "PARTIES" tab!
**I'm in the process of updating the "INVITATIONS" tab as well -- check back for updates on that front!