Fresh Starwberry Party

May is the 1st time locally (Middle TN) that you can get fresh produce! And strawberries are one of my favorites! Here's a little inspiration straight from the strawberry fields to have your own Strawberry Party! ... 'Like strawberry wine'

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Enjoy!

Angee

Fishing Theme Wedding

I was honored when my cousin asked me to help her plan her son's 10th birthday party. She had already chosen the theme...FISHING. I have tons of ideas and can't wait to bring them all together in August.

But when I think of fishing the last thing that comes to my mind is "ooo what a great wedding theme' hahaha. While a fishing wedding theme might not be for everyone there are some really cute ways to incorporate it into your wedding. Here are some subtle ideas if you find yourself looking for ways to incorporate your spouses' favorite hobby into your wedding.

A Great Catch - Photo Net

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Photo Props

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Decor

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Dessert & Decor

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Cheers!
Angee

Freebie Friday: Cinco de Mayo Free Printables

Cinco de Mayo, anyone? Even if it will just be taco night at home, you can dress things up a little with this collection of free Cinco de Mayo printables. Happy fiesta!

 From Peonies and Poppyseeds

From Paper Social

From Whipperberry

From Happy Thought

From Love Creative

From Squareview Studios
(check out Andrea’s other posts for more coordinating items)

 

From The TomKat Studio

From A Fabulous Fete

 From Tatertots and Jello

From The Idea Room

From The Crafting Chicks

  

From I Heart Naptime

From The Twinery

 Have fun with it!
Cheers!
Angee

5 Simple Party Planning Tips!

Your birthday, engagement party, corporate event or kids party is coming up, how exciting! Now what… where do you start?

1. Pick a Theme
Some people really dislike the idea of a theme, but a theme doesn’t necessarily mean 80’s, big hair and leg warmers. You could simply pick a simple color scheme, modern theme, rustic theme and of course actual themes. Choosing a theme will make the process easier because you can incorporate the theme into everything, such as food, drinks, invitation and decorations. Whether it’s very specific – such as a “Welcome to the Jungle” or as general as a favorite color palette, having a theme in mind will help guide your decisions and keep you from getting overwhelmed by too many options!

2. Start Early & Set the Stage
Once you have established a theme, start researching ideas online, such as Pinterest. Create a list of items you would like to purchase (compare prices – you can grab great deals online!). Start ordering right away so you can avoid express shipping costs, as well as have peace of mind that your items will arrive in time for your party. 

You may think this is crazy, but do a “dry run” of your set up. Set up a mock table, with anything you were going to theme it with, and make any adjustments. Although everything may have looked perfect in your head, sometimes, things need some tweaking. Giving you time to make finishing touches will most definitely be helpful on the day of your event. At least you will know exactly how it’s meant to look, and there will be no crazy running around on the day of your party. Imagine how calm you will be the night before the party!

3. Take that shortcut!
If you’re having your party at home, don’t spend hours cooking and cleaning! Instead, prepare simple finger/cocktail food options. A cocktail style event is a great option to keep guests socializing with one another, they can chat and enjoy your canapés! For an even simpler option, you can always hire a caterer to provide the food for your function. Another idea is to order take away from your favorite local place! 

Of course, if you love to cook, then this will be heaven for you! But remember, ask for help! Not necessarily in the kitchen, but perhaps with general set up, or serving, just to take some of the pressure off.

4. Stations Are AMAZING!
Have you ever been to a party where all the food and drinks are placed together in one corner, and it seems the entire room is empty because all the guests are crowding around the food table!? Why not set up stations? Perhaps place various styles of food together split into three areas. A drink set up may include separate beer, wine and cocktail stations. Instead of a range of cocktails, perhaps a “signature cocktail” which again should tie in with your theme! They can be pre-made so guests can grab one and keep walking. It will keep guests moving around, socializing and will stop the traffic jam around the food.

5. Have some you time
Act like the party is beginning half an hour before guests are actually meant to arrive and have some time to yourself. Enjoy your handy work with a glass of wine or a signature cocktail. Take a few deep breaths and just RELAX! Your guests can tell if you are frazzled or stressed, and an important factor in hosting a party is being charming and welcoming. Having 15 minutes to half an hour of you time will most definitely calm your nerves.

A Pair of Pears have some really great Party Planning FREE printables to help keep you on track!

Cheers!
Angee 

How to Make Snow Ice Cream!

Snow glorious snow!  Who doesn’t love the snow – well for starters MY MOM! Too bad she lives in West Virginia where they are blessed with plenty of it! I thought because of all the snow storms headed our way I would share one of my favorite child memories that I passed along to my daughter. - Snow Ice Cream! 

When my daughter was little, she and her friends would start with their “snow day ritual” any time the weathermen started predicting snow (they never figured out that the weatherman was usually wrong, we live in the South.)  If you aren’t familiar with it, it consisted of flushing ice down the toilet, wear your pajamas inside out and backwards, sleep with a spoon under the pillow, run around the table 10 times clockwise and place a white crayon on the windowsill. Now, what the girls didn’t know was that I had a counter ritual to prevent snow days!  This consisted of flushing hot water down the toilet, wear your pajamas the correct way, sleep with a fork under your pillow, run around the table 10 times counter-clockwise and place a yellow crayon on the windowsill.  Happily, mine worked more than theirs!

But, when the snow would actually come, WE never missed making Snow Ice Cream! 

Make Snow Ice Cream!

Yep, you heard me right – Snow Ice Cream. Follow the link to see how to make snow ice cream! This recipe from Sugar Pie Farmhouse is the most common, not to mention delicious!

Be sure to let me know if you try this! 

Enjoy! 
Angee