10 Favorite Super Bowl Party Ideas

In order of preference, these are my favorite things about the Super Bowl:

1.       Hanging out with friends
2.       Fun food
3.       Preceding Puppy Bowl
4.       Crazy commercials
5.       Halftime show
6.       The Game

Sorry, guys, unless it’s the Packers or the Bears, the game itself is just a distraction. But that’s just me!

Anywho, whether you’re hosting a party for the Big Game this year or going to a friend’s, here’s a roundup of some of my best finds for Super Bowl party fun.

1. Football Drink Tags

Copy these or design your own to hang on bottles or wine glasses!

Photo taken from Book-a-Cook

2. Beer Stein Vase

You can go all the way and make beer colored ice cubes as they do here, or just fill the glass with water and colored stones for effect. 

Photo taken from Eco Snobbery Sucks

3. Mason Jar Snacks

Pick up some mason jars and kraft paper at your local craft stores and serve up your snacks in these trendy containers.

Photo taken from Mason Jar Crafts Blog

4. Snackadium

For the truly ambitious, you can follow Meagan's instructions from Sunshine and Sippy Cups and make this Grand Snackadium...looks amazing!

Photo taken from Sunshine and Sippy Cups

5. Field of Guac

 For the slightly less ambitious (like me!) serve your guacamole in a field design such as this one. Significantly simpler, but will still amuse your guests.

6 and 7. Field Table Runner

Whether store bought or handmade, like these two, a table runner to suit the occasion is always a nice touch. This would look really cool with a couple beer stein vases filled with flowers, don't you think? 

8. Football Cookies

I so love decorated cookies. Unfortunately, I never seem to have time to make the really artistic ones that I love to show off here. But these are fabulous! The field cookies with sprinkles for the crowd are super clever!

Photo taken from Munchkin Munchies

9. Field of Sweets

This is a fun recipe from Hershey's for their gridiron cake. I especially like the striped kisses for the officials.

Photo taken from Hershey's

10. Football Fingernails

And don't forget to get that themed manicure before the Big Game! 

Have a happy day and enjoy the game!

13 Creative and Spooky Halloween Food Ideas

Well I've finally finished my menu planning for this year's Halloween party. I've scoured Pinterest and Google for the best creative Halloween food ideas, and although I won't be making all of these, I thought I'd share with you my top 13 finds. (Of course 13 - it's Halloween!)

When it comes to party food for Halloween, there is a lot out there. Personally, I'm not a big fan of food looking like stuffed cockroaches, severed fingers, or gushing brains. I like my Halloween foods to look cute and clever, but still appetizing! These are my picks, and I'm not telling which I'm making for the party this Friday, but I'll be sure to post pics when the table is set!

Monster cookies

Photo taken from Lilluna.com

Pumpkin Pie Bites

Photo taken from Bakerella

Cheesy Mummy Hot Dogs

Photo taken from Raining Hot Coupons

Wonton Bats

Photo taken from First for Women

Graveyard Taco Dip

Photo taken from Chickabug

Cheesy Bones

Photo taken from Kraft.com

Oreo Bat Truffles

Photo taken from One Sweet Appetite

Candy Corn Pretzel Hugs

Photo taken from Sally's Baking Addiction

Screaming Red Punch

Photo taken from Real Simple

Halloween Veggie Platter

Chocolate Peanut Butter Spider Cookies

Photo taken from S Spicy Perspective

Pumpkin Bread Truffles

Photo taken from BHG

Halloween Hors D'Ourvres

Photo taken from BHG

Have a happy day!

Halloween Party Ideas - Scary or Cute?

Every year as we approach Halloween decorating in our house, there is much discussion around scary vs. cute. I, of course, like cute and festive. Ken, of course, likes scary. Somehow we always manage to find compromise, although I have to say our house tends to lean more toward the scary side.

This year we'll be hosting a costume party so I've been on the lookout for new decorating and party ideas and thought I'd share with you what I've found. A little bit scary and a little bit cute!

Make your favorite punch in a bowl with floating frozen hand, from Real Simple.

This is a pretty easy trick I found on BuzzFeed. Melt red candles to drip onto large white candles to create a blood effect.

A fun, festive, and only slightly scary cocktail table display from BHG:

This is a fun idea - Spider ice cubes. Mostly scary, not too cute! From lovethispic.com:

Now this is mostly cute, and I love it! A great cupcake idea from Bird's Party Blog:

These Gooey Monster Cookies from Lil' Luna are both scary and cute! Great idea and easy to make!

Well, this got me off to a great start for planning our Halloween party! Add your favorite Halloween party ideas in the comments.  Would love to hear from you!

Have a happy day!

Spring Tablescape Series: Outdoor BBQ

This is the last in our series of Spring tablescapes, and just in time for Father's Day, we've chosen some great looking table ideas for your Father's Day BBQ! And if you haven't seen our store blog, we just shared a fabulous marinade from our favorite BBQ Bible by Steve Raichlen. It works well with meat, chicken, pork or salmon (all heartier meats). You can find it here.

Now onto our favorite BBQ tables:

If your Dad is into sailing, create this great "Set Sail" theme for your table. Party Bluprints has easy-to-follow instructions for this nautical setting:

Taken from Party Bluprints

Table Twenty-one does tradition right with this red and white checkered tablecloth and rustic setting that screams grillers' delight! You may need to buy a few items to recreate this look, but local dollar stores and outlets like TJ Maxx and Homegoods should have similar items at a reasonable price. I especially love the mason jars for drinks and the old fashioned ketchup and mustard bottles.

Taken from Table Twenty-one

For the Golfer Dad, Party Pinching has some great inspiration for creating a golf themed table setting. Many of the items used to create this look can be found at your local dollar store as well.

Taken from Party Pinching

And lastly, if the Dad in your life is outdoorsy kind of guy (hiking, camping), very Rosenberry has found some amazing ideas for this table theme. I did save the best for last as this one is definitely my favorite!

Taken from very Rosenberry

What's your favorite Father's Day theme?

Spring Tablescape Series: Backyard Wedding Brunch

In our family we've had 3 weddings in 2 years, that's 3 sisters married within 2 years! No, not my daughters, but my nieces, and the third is actually next weekend. So needless to say, I have weddings first and foremost on my mind! What do I wear to the rehearsal? Which dress for the wedding, one of my previous or buy new? Which cookies should I bake for the sweet table? What exactly is garden party attire? I think I know that one, but my husband is still a bit unsure! Ah well, I still have a week to figure all of that out. Now on to the subject at hand...

When the first of my 3 nieces got married, her parents hosted a backyard brunch the morning after the wedding. It was a nice, casual way to enjoy the day after the festivities with family and friends. With that in mind, I gathered up a bunch of ideas for hosting a backyard wedding brunch. If you have such an occasion on the horizon, pick and choose from these ideas, and make them your own. If nothing to host on the horizon, simply enjoy or modify these ideas to suit another occasion!

Note some of these ideas are suitable for either a day-after brunch or an actual backyard wedding.

From The Treat Table, I love this look. This is actually a fall backyard wedding brunch but easily adaptable with summer colors. Of course, perhaps you are planning a fall wedding, in which case this is perfect!  I really love the cake :)

Photo taken from The Treat Table

Bloody Mary's are big in my family on the holidays, so when I saw this from SouthBound Bride, I had to include it. If you and your guests are into bloody Mary's, set up a bar with lots of garnish selections (or hot sauce if so inclined)!

Photo taken from SouthBound bride

HWTM has a post on whimsical wedding ideas, and I love a lot of what they've done here, so take a look at the whole post. There's lots of pictures. One of my favorite ideas is individual jars or clear vases with single stemmed flowers placed all around the table. Choose the flowers based on their wedding flowers or colors.

 

I also especially love this ideas with the coffee mugs spelling out "LOVE". (All photos taken from HWTM)

Kara's Party Ideas always has something worth checking out.  This one is a vintage style wedding, but I love the "Love is Sweet" banner for the sweet table, and added decor around the table such as the vintage bike add to the theme.

And since June is the month of Roses and Pearls, make sure your sweet table includes these fabulously decorated cupcakes. If you're a baker and decorator, you can simulate these or print out the photo and take it to your bakery.

Have a happy day!

Spring Tablescape Series: Floral arrangements for your table

Whatever your occasion, flowers on the table are a must! Whether it's formal, casual, feminine, masculine, or juvenile, there's a floral arrangement that will work beautifully! Take a look at these:

I love sunflowers in summer and putting them in a tall vase filled with lemons and limes is just so summery! Since sunflowers are thick and heavy, the fruits will help to hold the stems in place in your vase. You can either use sliced fruits or put the whole lemons and limes in the vase. I think this works best for a casual occasion - great for a masculine look as well.

Taken from The Southern State of Mind

I haven't done this one yet, but I've seen many version of candy filled vases and getcreativejuice.com tells you how to do it. I love the idea of daisies and favorite candies for a kids' party. But you can use this idea for any occasion based on the types of candies, flowers, and color combination you choose. Love this!

Taken from GetCreativeJuice.com

Here's another one I love - mini flowers in mini vases! Again, there are many ways to do this. I'm a big fan of multi-colored vases in different shapes and sizes. Make an arrangement of 5 or 6 of these with a single stem flower in each and you have your centerpiece! As I looked around for some good representative pictures, I found The Nectar Collective, which used mini alcohol bottles for vases! Great idea for a men's party, and perhaps a good time putting these together as you empty the bottles!

Taken from the Nectar Collective

This is a great idea that doubles as a party favor if needed. Potted plants or flowers to suit your specific occasion. This photo is from Simply Stunning Ideas and I love the colorful pots they used.

Taken from Simply Stunning Ideas

Lastly, if you'd like an alternative to flowers, this is a beautiful design from Dining Delight. And quite romantic too!

Taken from Dining Delight

If you have a favorite centerpiece idea, share it in the comments!

5 Baby Shower Themes to Love

Baby shower themes, whether for boy, girl, or neutral, can be a ton of fun! There are so many cute options and with the wonderful world of Pinterest, you can go crazy with fun ways to play up your theme. Below are a five of my favorite themes.


Jungle - There are so many cute ideas for a jungle theme. Print out a picture of one of these cakes and take it to your local bakery to see if they can recreate it.

                                                       Best jungle themed cake 1 

                                                        Best jungle themed cake 2

Love these ideas for room and table decor from Uptown Girl Fashion Magazine

Winnie the Pooh - My all time favorite theme is classic Pooh, so I'm particularly fond of this theme.

                                                 Best Winnie the Pooh cake 1                               

                                                  Best Winnie the Pooh cake 2

I found some super cute ideas for favors and table centerpieces at Domestic Geek Girl. 
Check it out.

Owls - Owls are so popular now, there are many great ideas to be found. Here are a few of my faves.

                                                       Best owl themed cake 1

                 
                                                  Best owl themed cake 2

                                                  Best owl table and room decor

Hot air balloons - I love a hot air balloon theme because it's so dreamy! Take a look at these awesome ideas!

                                                      Hot air balloon cake 1                                                     

                                                  Hot air balloon cake 2                                                              
                                                 

I love what's showing at Spaceships and Laserbeams for hot air balloon decor. This one is for a boy buy can easily be adapted with more pink for a girl or green for neutral.

And my final theme:

Taken from Celebrations.com

Taken from Kara's Party Ideas

Taken from HWTM

Have you had the task of planning a themed baby shower? Have you attended a themed baby shower? Tell us about it in the comments.