Easy Entertaining: Tea Cups

I love a quick way to upgrade a party or even just having a few friends over. One of my favorite ways to add a little “Oomph” is to serve things in dainty tea cups.  Be it pudding or tea, it certainly ‘stirs’ things up. I found these cute teacups at Goodwill for hardly any money and they have certainly come in handy. I made white chocolate mouse the other day and when friends stopped by they were quite impressed. You can even serve dips for crudité (veggies) in them. Think caramel with apples or humus and pita chips. The possibilities are endless.  Even plain jello seems cooler in a tea cup!

Easy Entertaining: Thanksgiving Potluck

So instead of 5 things inspiring me this week, I thought instead I would show you guys some pictures from my potluck, the one were Hank was served.

Here’s what the space looked like-

Bar Cart: Best idea ever, Lotti luckily had a tea cart from her grandmother, so we just put all the glasses on the bottom and the drinks up top. I had been seeing the idea all over in design/ party ideas and I can see now what all the hype is about. We even served this strawberry-mint water which was a hit! The drink pictured was a hot apple cinnamon cider made by Lotti’s bf. Once I figure out his secret recipe, I will let you know because it is delicious! Another great drink idea would be this Italian soda idea and would look cute on a bar cart.

Buffet: Look later in the week for how we put it together, we had labels for the food to say who brought what food. This way people knew who to thank. Hank, of course, was the centerpiece. We had napkins, silverware in mason jars and plates stacked on a table next to it for easy buffet access.

Decorations:  So we wanted to change things up a little for the party, but we didn’t want to spend a ton of money (Okay, like any, we are on a college budget here). Thank goodness for free printables. Just print on your computer and cut away! And it came with so many different things, we were able to keep it consistent throughout the party décor! The Thankful Tree was definitely a party favorite as well.

Pretty cute, huh?

Easy Entertaining: Strawberry Mint Water

       When I was in Canada a few weeks ago without luggage, my hotel lobby always brightened my day with their delicious water. They simply added strawberries and mint leaves to a big pitcher and let the water soak it up. It was delicious and turned the water a beautiful pale pink shade. Here's my recreation of it:


Ingredients:

6 strawberries cut up

4 sprigs of mint leaves


Directions:

1. Cut up strawberries and place them in the water pitcher with the mint leaves. Let it soak overnight.
   
2. ENJOY!

Easy Entertaining: Oscar Party

  

       In case you live under a rock and hadn't realized, this Sunday (2/27) is the Oscars. You know that 3 plus hour award show thing where people get these little gold statues and thank the academy and maybe their husband, if they remember. Some people look really good in long beautiful dresses; some just wear swans around their necks. Anyways, the point is, the Oscars are a great opportunity to have some friends over for a nice get together. The best part is party centers around watching the TV, so you don't even have to worry too much about keeping your friends entertained. Here are some easy tips for hosting your Oscar party this weekend:


Party Ideas:  

You want to make sure you have plenty of room for guests to sit and watch the show comfortably, this is not the time to abide by the "only have enough chairs for half the guests" rule. Bring in pillows and blankets to make sure everyone will be comfortable watching the TV.

That being said, it can get a bit boring during the long show, so you could print out these bingo cards for guests to play and have these score cards so guests can bet on the winners (just make sure you have a prize!).

Another great idea is to fill a top hat or basket with movie trivia questions to ask during commercial breaks.

Or simply write stars names on paper and stick them to guest's foreheads (or backs) and have them play 20 questions by asking only yes and no questions to guess who they are.
 

Décor:

Sprinkle silver, gold or black stars everywhere! Tape them to the wall, hang them from the ceiling.

Take movie posters and tape them to the walls (if you don't have any, a print shop should be able to print you a bunch for relatively cheap. Or just go to Wal-Mart).

Roll out a red carpet (or a vinyl one) to welcome guests.



Food:

Since this show lasts so long, it's best to just have a bunch of easy things to nibble on during the 3 plus hours. So think crudités and or chocolate dipped pretzels, maybe even brie bites?

Make popcorn and have available other movie theater snacks, like junior mints or snow caps.

Shrimp cocktails are a great idea as well; you could simply take some glasses and make each individual guest their own.

Drinks:

Think sparkling wines (Champagne) or even sparkling apple cider (sometimes, I prefer it!)

Or make drinks that have movie inspiration like a Casablanca or a godfather.

Make Oscar punch.

Some 2011 nominated films inspired drinks.


Do you have any great Oscar party ideas?

Easy Entertaining: Brie Bites

So you may have noticed the lovely little pastries at my Valentine's Crafternoon party, they were made by my best friend, Lily. As I lover of brie, jams and all sorts of carbs, I was delighted when she suggested bringing some over. They are quite easy to make and sadly, were the first thing gone at the party. I asked her to send me the recipe, and luckily for all of us, she obliged. 

BRIE BITES

• 1 round brie (a wedge will work for minis or just one serving of the regular size, otherwise you'll need a round
  
• Pillsbury biscuits or crescent roll/croissant dough (1-2 packages)
  
• Jam (homemade compote if you've got it)(*recipe to come later) 

For the minis: get a mini cupcake pan put one biscuit dough round in each cup

• Cut the brie up into small cubes (after removing the top of the brie round, the stiff white layer)
  
• Place one brie cube into each cup and top with a teaspoon of the jam
  
• Pull the sides of the dough up and pinch at the top to seal

For the regular size, you'll need either two biscuit rounds or a stretched out crescent triangle

• Place one biscuit down in the cup, stretching it until it covers the entire cup.
  
• Place a larger square of brie and a tablespoon or so of jam (go by sight, you don't want it to overflow)
  
• Then flatten out another round of dough against your palm to make it thinner and flatter
  
• Put it on top of one of the filled brie cups and push the sides down to seal it 

 Bake according to the instructions until light golden brown (350 for about 8 to 12 minutes, depending on size)

Serve with a drizzle of honey. And careful… they're hot!

 

Thanks, Lily!


 

Easy Entertaining: Apple Dips

      During my crafternoon party, I had seen in the September issue of Living magazine these beautiful apple dips. They didn't look too hard to recreate and seemed like the perfect addition to my red and pink themed afternoon. I choose peanut butter, caramel, and my special fruit dip to place in my three apples.

Apple Dips

  Materials:

Large Apples

Melon baller (Make sure it's a sturdy one, I broke my dollar store one)

Lemon Juice

                 Pastry Brush

Directions-

1. Slice the top off the apples. Then to level the bottom, cut off the bottom part to make it level.
   
2. Use the melon baller to scoop out the inside; don't worry if it's not perfectly smooth since it will be hidden by the dip.
   
3. Take the pastry brush and dip it in lemon juice then coat the inside of the apple to prevent it from browning.

 And the recipe to my special fruit dip:

Fabulous Fruit Dip

1 part Marshmallow Fluff

1 part Cream Cheese

Simply mix together in a bowl and try not to lick the leftovers. Perfect for apples, grapes, bananas, strawberries, etc.