Category: Celebrate
Celebrate

Bubbly Bar

January 23
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Last week i had some friends in to celebrate the New Year!  You might be scratching your head a bit…I realize it’s a little late for a countdown party, but better late than never I say!  During all the festivities of the Christmas holiday I realized there just wasn’t time for me to squeeze in a New Year bash…but I rarely follow entertaining rules so I decided to go ahead and have a past-due “Girl’s Night In” gathering to not just celebrate the arrival of 2017, but our friendships as well!  And I even added a touch of early Valentine fun to this little event…nothing wrong with combining the best of both celebrations!  Another fun twist to this girly gathering…I invited everyone to show up in their sweats or jammies!  Girlfriends, pink drinks, sweet treats, & jammies…it doesn’t get better than that!  So have a peek at how simple it can be to have a special night in with friends!  It’s always fun when you serve up…

cupcakes & cocktails!

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Celebrate

Baby it’s Cold Outside!

January 9
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The weather around here has been quite nippy lately…and it seems extraordinarily difficult to warm up when the temps are hoovering around the zero marker!  But no matter what the thermometer reads, or how strong the cold winds blow, you can always warm your bones with a piping hot cup of cocoa!  My son had a few friends stop by yesterday afternoon and it gave me the opportunity to serve up some hot chocolate for a chilly-day treat!  I had tucked away some adorable disposable cups that I’d ordered in December from my friend at Pink Poppy Party Shoppe!  (You should check out the link if you want to score some wonderful party supplies!)  This party set was so cute I was hoping to use it during the holidays but I literally ran out of time!  As it turns out, this “everyday” celebration was perfect for bringing a bunch of rambunctious boys to the table for some sweet treats and silly fun…and I got to make it look cute too!

cocoa, doughnuts, muffins…oh my!

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Celebrate, Holidays

Holiday Party Hop!

December 16
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Happy Friday everyone!

…and welcome to the final day of the 2016 Holiday Party Hop hosted by the talented and inspiring mirrabellareations!

HOLIDAY HOP

I’m beyond thrilled to have joined the other 18 fabulous hosts who are so completely gifted…it’s really been a joy reading along all week–and also feeling as though I’d like to copy each and everyone of them yet this season!  Not only have I gained so much inspiration for the holidays and beyond, but have had the pleasure of meeting these creative gals and sparking some wonderful new friendships!  If you’re hopping over from custom_maed…I’m sure you had a great time scrolling through her inspiring idea for a holiday s’more kit!  Wasn’t it wonderful?  If you missed it you can back up and check her out…

party hop 17

or see all the fun from the beginning right here!  you’ll find your way to the final stop on the  holiday hop at the end of my post!

partyhop 18

It’s hard to measure up to all the fabulous ideas from the entire week…but I’d like to share some simple tips that might help to make your gatherings jolly!  I can hardly believe that we’re past the midway mark in the month with only 8 more days until Christmas Eve…where did the time go?  But the good news is we STILL have plenty of time to celebrate the season!

get ready for some Fa La La…

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Celebrate

“A” is for…

December 9
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I have a child who asks for nothing.  He can never come up with anything that he really wants for holiday or birthday wish lists.  As he has gotten older, there is the occasional “necessity” that comes to his mind…but rarely an idea that is exciting or fun.  And while I’m happy he’s such a content soul, it does make gift giving seasons a bit rough for those of us who want to treat him to a surprise!  With the holidays approaching I begin to have a little anxiety over what to leave under the tree…and bonus, his birthday is in December too!  Now i have back-to-back celebrations to sweat out…trying to pry out the slightest hint of something, anything he might be hoping for!  Thankfully I have friends who not only know my son well, but are willing to lend their creative minds and skills to help me come up with something fun, simple, and sweet for the easy going birthday boy!  Today I want to share this collaborative idea…I hope you can find some gift giving inspiration for any holiday or celebration!

a birthday surprise…

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Celebrate

Centennial Celebration!

September 16
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So the day finally came…the centennial celebration of our home!  It was so much fun planning this event and I was also lucky to have family here to enjoy the evening…and help!  And though I love to throw a party, this evening was really about celebrating the history of our home, family, and friendships!  The weather seemed to have some difficulty making up its mind right up to the hour of the party…but it ultimately turned out to be a lovely evening to be outdoors with the brief 7 pm shower leaving us with a much cooler, comfortable night!  So let me get right to it today and share the celebration of this place we call home…

100 years…and counting!

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Celebrate

Preparing…

September 9
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The celebration for our home’s centennial is just a day away!  I’ve been having so much fun with the preparations for this party…I LOVE vintage and this gathering will definitely have an old fashioned flair!  Since I don’t have girls, I rarely can add dainty touches to our celebrations unless it’s just for me and my girlfriends!  But this time it’s all about the era so I can have some fun with my color choices and floral patterns and not worry a bit if it’s too “girly”!  So today I’ve planned to complete the majority of my decorating before my family arrives this afternoon!  Even though I will then have plenty of helping hands, it also frees us up a bit to visit and just enjoy the occasion!  I sing the praises of planning ahead…it really makes it much easier to be stress free on the day of an event, big or small!  AND we can’t control mother nature so I also recommend having an “indoor” backup plan if the party is slotted for outside!  It looks like a backup might be needed this weekend so I’m going with plan B for my food setup…which is actually my favorite of the two!  So even if it’s not raining, I think I’m sticking with this one…and we won’t have to worry about the bees and flies bombarding the goodies!  Since I can set things up in advance inside, I’ll share a peek at my party preparations…

centennial celebration in the works…

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Celebrate

Party Prep…

August 29
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I’m getting ready for an event coming up next month…one I’ve been thinking about for a LONG time!  Our house was built 100 years ago and I’ve been toying with the idea of a little celebration for about three years now…does that seem a little obsessive?  It’s just that my husband and I love living in old homes…there’s just something so charming to us about a home’s past and the wonder of who lived within its walls!  Even though it also means plenty of updating, repairing, repairing…did I say repairing?  There’s a constant flow of projects, big and small…some completed and some still on the “to-do” list.  But through it all, we’ve always chosen to live in old homes…and this current one is the oldest yet!  100 years…I think it’s a reason to celebrate so we will!  And since I’ve been thinking about it for so long, I’ve been able to prepare a little in advance which I find really helpful!  Over the years of entertaining I’ve learned that no gathering is totally perfect…it might rain or snow, a project might not be completed, an unexpected household disaster may take place hours before the guests arrive–but that’s life!  So even though I’m having plenty of fun dreaming about the decorations and the simple food I’ll prepare…I’m not going to sweat the stuff I can’t control!  So no matter what events transpire, whether my house is festively decorated or not, I’ll be able to fully enjoy my family and friends in celebrating this place we call home!  Today I’d like to share a peek at my party preparations, without giving anything away just yet…

the excitement of a plan…

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Celebrate

Back to School Treat!

August 24
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Yesterday was our first day back to school!  Not entirely sure if I’m happy or sad about this…I think I’m mostly happy since life with a scheduled routine is usually better for ALL members of my family (although the boys may disagree!).  I have to admit I’m also a little sad since my oldest is a senior this year…how did that happen!?  But since I can’t figure out how to stop time, I may as well make it as merry as possible!  So for the very first after school snack of the year I decided to “tweak” the “after school” part and make it an “after dinner” treat for the boys and a few friends!  And since it still feels like late summer should, I decided that an ice cream sundae bar would be a nice way to celebrate the start of a new school year AND the memories of a wonderful summer!  So a simple setup on the patio was all that was needed on a gorgeous evening…

school night celebration…

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Celebrate

Time to Celebrate!

August 10
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It’s always fun to celebrate birthdays!  And like I said last week…we have plenty of opportunities to get festive with family members and special friends who all entered this world during the summer months!  So over the weekend we spent some time making merry on the day our youngest was born!  For each family birthday we normally have the tradition of going out for a special meal…but this year we decided to change it up a bit and cook something right at home.  Since it had only been a week since we got back from a long weekend in New York City (where delightful food was abundant) everyone was on board with the “dinner at home” idea this time around!  I love the tradition of celebrating together over a wonderful meal.  It really doesn’t matter if it’s fancy or simple, at a restaurant or at home…gathering around the table is always a treat, especially when you have a special occasion that brings family together!  This year the birthday request was for king crab legs…something I’ve never served before!  But half the fun is in the preparations…and fortunately for me my parents were here to help AND my hubby is pretty darn good in the kitchen, or in this case, with the grill!  Take a peek at our birthday fun…

a seafood celebration!

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Celebrate, Create

A House Full of Birthdays

August 8
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I can’t believe the first week of August has ended already!  Where has the summer gone?  And even though this month brings with it the return to school…in our house it also brings plenty of birthday celebrations!  So this year I decided to create something festive on my chalk mantle, which had been neglected lately due to all of our summer activities.  Normally I would create a seasonal chalk drawing, something that I could leave up for at least a month or two!  But while trying to decide what to put up there for the late summer, or even if I should paint over it, the idea came to mind of displaying a birthday message for all who celebrate!  And bonus, the birthdays are all spread out so I can still leave it up for more than a few days!  Why not make it a prolonged party?  So if you have some celebrations that are within reach of one another…go ahead and extend the festivity!

let’s celebrate!

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