Entertaining/Party

Chili Recipe + How to Make Guests Feel Comfortable on Game Day

January 17, 2018

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #TheOtherBowl #CollectiveBias

I love game days, but especially big game days! There happens to be one coming up and we love to get our friends together to celebrate and eat delicious food! This year, we are making our delicious Cantrell Chili recipe that everyone loves! It is always a big hit with our friends and family. The one thing I think about when serving chili is preparing the other bowl for my guests so they feel comfortable in our home. I would never want anyone to feel awkward, so I like to be prepared by stocking up on Poo-Pourri!

Lumberjack Party at the Pumpkin Patch

October 30, 2017

Happy Monday, friends! We have had the craziest week! Ryan was out of town last week, I have STILL been sick and poor Pippa is still at the vet. She is improving, but she is very sick. My kids threw my laptop and it has not been working right (since my lack of posting over the last few days) and our house is disgusting after Pippa’s sickness. Not to worry, we have carpet cleaners coming. Until then, I am wearing shoes in my house. All the time. We also had the boys’ Lumberjack party at the pumpkin patch this weekend! THAT was my highlight and saving grace of the entire week. Spending time with friends and family and getting my mind off of all of the craziness of the week was just what the doctor ordered.

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5 Netflix Shows To Watch If You Love Fashion

January 20, 2017

We got Netflix again a couple of months ago, and let me tell you, I don’t know how I did it without for over a year! Of course, the main reason I subscribed again was to watch the new Gilmore Girls episodes, but I have really enjoyed watching it when Ryan is traveling or if I am in the mood to wind down with some television at night. If you have been around my blog for a while, you know how much I enjoy fashion. It has always been a passion of mine and I’ve always been really interested in it. These are some of my favorite shows to watch that have impeccable fashion sense.

Pink Lemonade Birthday Party

May 5, 2016

This past weekend was my baby girl’s first birthday and we celebrated by throwing her a pink lemonade party! It was so much fun and turned out really cute! Read more about her birthday here.

Banner: c/o Liquid Stars

We kept her party very simple with fun added details like this banner from Liquid Stars on Etsy! It looked perfect paired with her name banner that we painted on a simple burlap garland that we found at a craft store. I bought most of her decor from Hobby Lobby last year when it was on sale, so that saved us a lot of money on decor.

Gift

As far as food, we kept things really simple. We serve chips and salsa and cupcakes. I cut pink straws in half to stick in the cupcakes and cut up lemon slices to garnish them with. These details made the plain pink cupcakes look really adorable and perfect for our pink lemonade theme.

Cake Garland: c/o A Fete Beckons

I used Pinkalicious and the Pink Drink as her sign in book because it was all about pink lemonade and she already owns another Pinkalicious book that she loves. We bought her a baby doll for her birthday and it was the perfect gift for her because she has toted it around all week. It is kind of adorable.

All in all I think the party turned out great! It was very simple and we invited a smaller crowd this year which was nice. The older I get the more I like simple. Even thought everything was easy and stress free, it was still a lot of fun, but I think the company had a little something to do with that! 😉

Candy Corn Punch Recipe

October 29, 2015

Halloween is in 2 days! T W O! I am so excited! We have ha a lot going on with Trunk or Treat last night and getting ready for this weekend’s festivities! My cousin is coming into town and we are really more like best friends rather than cousins. We talk multiple times a week and keep each other sane in this crazy world. I love her to death and have missed her so much, so I am getting really excited to see her. And, I may have just squealed a little. Now, on to the candy corn. I mean, punch.

This past Sunday, our life group met at our house and because it was the week of Halloween, I wanted to make some yummy punch to mix things up a little and make it a little more festive to get everyone in the pumpkin spirit. Plus, I challenged myself to at least one new recipe a week, and I slacked off last week, so I figured this would sort of make up for it. Right? I looked at some recipes and kind of did a variation of several mixed together just to experiment a little and it turned out to be delicious! In fact, I downed the entire glass after I took these photos! So good.

So, here’s how you make this wonderful candy corn concoction:

Ingredients:

5 Cups of Orange Juice
6 Cups of Ginger Ale
1 Cup of Pineapple Juice (I used organic)
A Handful of Candy Corn

Directions:

Pour 4 cups of ginger ale in a bowl and put the handful of candy corn in it to soak for two hours in the refrigerator. After that, strain the candy corn out of the liquid and pour the candy corn/ginger ale mixture into your punch bowl. Mix in 2 more cups of chilled Ginger Ale, 5 cups or Orange Juice and 1 cup of Pineapple Juice in the punch bowl and mix it very well. Garnish your table with candy corn and fun Halloween straws and you are good to go!

This recipe is so easy and really delicious! Plus, it’s orange, so it is perfect for all of your fall and Halloween themed parties! I hope you enjoy it!

P.S, Are you dressing up for Halloween? What are you going to be?

Halloween Trunk or Treat Tutorial

October 2, 2015

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #TrickOrSweet #CollectiveBias

Halloween is a big holiday for my family. We usually throw a big Halloween party and it is always so much fun. I love seeing all of the creative costumes everyone comes up with. Halloween has always been associated with fall – my favorite season with fun memories. Between Trunk or Treat, picking out the perfect costume and the best Halloween candy in the store, I love every part of the hooplah!

Since my nephew was born, my family has attended our church’s trunk or treat! It has become a fun little family tradition that was made all the more special when my son was born. We took him to his first trunk or treat last Halloween and now this year, we will take our daughter as well! I’ve been planning their costumes since before SR was born and I am so excited about this particular year. While you will have to wait for their costumes, I will reveal how I prepare for our Trunk or Treat.

Trunk or Treat Tutorial:

1. Choose a theme.

2. Buy your candy! I ran out to Walmart to grab 2 large variety Hershey candy bags. I love having an assortment so that the kids can choose which kind of candy they want. My personal favorite? Milk chocolate Hershey’s bars and Reese’s! I love these bags because they are so festive with ghosts, jack-o-lanterns and dracula.

3. Find something to put candy in. Get creative with your candy display, after all, my candy brings all the kids to the trunk, right?

4. Decorate your trunk! Get as creative and festive as you want. Our church members go all out. Some people decorate the beds of their trucks, some bring haunting music, others keep it very simple and traditional. Sky’s the limit!

As you can see, I used a lot of fall decor as well as Halloween. I love witches and skeletons and knew that I wanted to use them. The hanging ghosts and orange lights were a bonus. The ribbon garland is actually the garland I used for Hampton’s first birthday party last year. I mostly used things I already had plus a lot of my mom’s decor. She is a decorator and has more Halloween themed decorations than I do.

Your trunk can be as easy or as complicated as you want it to be. The main points to focus on are coming up with a theme and making a great candy display to show off everyone’s favorite part of the holiday!

I’ve shared how I incorporate Hershey’s candy into my Halloween. What is your favorite Hershey’s candy? What theme would you choose for your trunk?