Going away party basket

My good friend moved away from Seattle this Summer, so I found it to be a great excuse to throw her a going away luncheon. I created these little baskets for each guest with some of my favorite edible treats that are made in Seattle.

Check out what I put inside:

Snoqualmie Ice Cream's Ice Cream Social

This year for our fourth annual Ice Cream Social we teamed up with Snoqualmie Ice Cream. We were spoiled with an array of unique flavors from Honey Cinnamon to French Lavender and Blueberry Cheesecake. The custards and ice creams were delicious by themselves, but just for the fun of it we offered toppings galore. There were caramels, hot fudge, sprinkles, crumbled cookies, marshmallows and fruit just to name a few.  

We all scream for ice cream

Each year we like to kick start Summer with an Ice Cream Social. We typically hold it a few weeks into Summer, hoping for better weather and until my nieces come into town.  Last year, the Ice Cream Social doubled as our gender reveal party, this year we are doing something really fun and teaming up with Snoqualmie Ice Cream for our party. Snoqualmie Ice Cream will be providing all the ice cream and adding a delicious and local touch to the party. Let's cross our fingers for sunshine and a great time to be had by all!!

What traditions do you enjoy for Summer entertaining?

Let's celebrate!!

In the upcoming weeks there is going to be a lot of celebrating around here. I have teamed up with some fellow bloggers : StephModo, Ravenna Girls, Assemble Shop and Make and Takes (just to name a few) as well as several local businesses to celebrate my five year blogging anniversary. I will be hosting a variety of giveaways which will include some of my favorite things, local adventures and great locally made products. Whether you live in Seattle or hope to someday visit, the next couple of weeks have been created just for you. Make certain to check back here so you can celebrate right along with me!

Hey all you party people: Let's make some noise

Have you ever been to a party where you receive a noisemaker only to promptly set it down and then become uncertain which one is yours? An easy way to prevent this situation, is simply purchase chipboard letters and attach the appropriate letter to each guest's noisemaker. A quick, personalization which keeps guests tooting their own horn.

Neon birthday box

If you have spent any amount of time shopping lately, it is clear to see neon is making another come back. Several years ago, I thought it was a phase, but neon seems to be proving it is here to stay. Inspired by this I set out to create a neon inspired birthday box full of fun and color.

Items in birthday box:
Streamers by Spritz
Paper plates by Spritz
Funfetti Cake Pop Kit
Nailpolish in neon colors
Bath poofs
Color Slap game
Birthday banner
Noise makers
Napkins by Spritz

Birthday party in a box

Do you ever wish you could celebrate a special occasion (like a birthday) with someone who lives far away? Much cheaper than buying an airplane ticket is creating a birthday in a box:

Items for you party in a box:
Festive paper plates
Fun paper napkins
Colored paper streamers
Paper lanterns or pinwheels
Birthday candles
Candy
Noise makers
Festive cards/thank you notes
Cake mix
Can of frosting

A fun, easy party in a box!

Sources for great party supplies: The Confectionary, Target, Metropolitan Market or Packaging Specialties.

The more birthdays the merrier

I have made it a tradition of throwing a little party for Cameron's birthday the past several years. We not only embark on a long stretch without too many birthdays around here, but I like to take the opportunity to exhibit my appreciation for having him in my life. While making the invite list I noticed that several of the attendees either will have or have just had their birthday. I thought it would be fun to celebrate all the birthdays with a rousing round of happy birthday and the cake. Here I present five wonderful people, five birthdays and one great excuse to get together.

Pie Party

We hosted our Third Annual Pie Party last week. Each year the competition gets more fierce and the entries more delectable. We had a spectacular array of pies and each one was delicious in its own right. We enjoyed two different berry pies, strawberry pie, pumpkin cheesecake pie, cinnamon pie, chocolate pie, grasshopper pie, peanut butter pie, pecan pie and key lime pie. I think it is safe to say, everyone went home a little stuffed full of pie and I am reminded what awesome bakers our friends are.

His and hers: Happy Halloween!!

Hosting a pumpkin carving party is something I have done for the past twelve years. This year it was a pretty last minute decision to throw a party, so we kept it very simple: homemade cupcakes and pumpkins. Unfortunately, I did not get my act together and decorate like usual, but we had fun nonetheless. I think it is pretty easy to tell which one is his and which one is hers.

Deep in the heart of Texas

Over the past six months I have had the privilege of being a personal trainer/coach to a young man in our ward to help him loose weight. Forty plus pounds later he is slimmer, trimmer and most importantly healthier. Last week he left on a mission for our church to Texas. I knew I wanted to make something special for his farewell and I got in my head I was going to make Texas shaped cookies. Lo and behold the first kitchen store I went to had two state cookie cutters- Washington and Texas. Go figure???? but I love it when things work out so easily.

When I asked him what lessons he has learned from this experience he told me the following, "I now know I am able to push myself and do things I never thought I could do" My heart simultaneously skipped a beat and soared because this is priceless knowledge. I am so proud of him, all his hard work and that I was able to be the catalyst for change he needed.

A happy occasion

Every Summer while my nieces are in town Cameron and I host an Ice Cream social. Inevitably, the weather the day prior is stellar and at the party we end up eating our ice cream while enjoying cooler temperatures. This year our Ice Cream social coincided with the day we had our gender ultrasound. We had debated upon whether or not to reveal the sex and a sweet suggestion by my eldest niece that she thought it would be a great time for "the big announcement" sealed the deal. It was not until a couple of hours beforehand that I started scheming up how we would tell everyone.
Gender reveal parties are all the rage right now, so with a little googling I was reminded of how people go to a bakery with the gender written on a piece of paper and have cupcakes filled accordingly either pink or blue. Since we already knew the gender and did not have time for that I decided to whip up a cake and frost the center with either pink or blue frosting. Then while picking up some last minute items at Target I saw these adorable pink and blue plates and decided it would be fun to make people pick a "team". After people picked their teams Cameron had the great idea that my parents should cut the cake. On a side note: Let me start off my saying my parents have six granddaughters and zero grandsons, so I believe everyone was secretly (or not so secretly) pulling for a boy. Once the cake was cut, the gender reveal was made. We enjoyed the rest of the evening eating ice cream, cake and cookies, but most importantly spending time with our absolute favorite people on the planet.

The impromptu gender reveal cake.

The boy team.

The girl team.

My parents eager to cut the cake.

The results: A deck full of happy people and one soon to be very spoiled little boy.

The aftermath.

Birthday party in a box

My three nieces all have their birthdays pretty close together, so I thought it would be fun to create a birthday box to help them celebrate. When I think of them I think of all things happy, fun, bright and playful. I hope this box makes them realize just how special they are to me.

Ideas for contents:
Paper decorations
Streamers
Old fashion candy sticks
Streamers
Happy birthday napkins
Paper Plates
Birthday banner
Birthday candles
Blowers
Notecards
Cake Mix
Frosting
Festive canned drinks
Candy
Brightly colored take out boxes

Divide and conquer

The week we were moving, I also happened to be co hosting a baby shower for my dear friend. I felt guilty I did not have more time to give for this particular event, but wanted to co host nonetheless. My friend suggested we try a divide and conquer approach to this shower. She said she would do the food, if I would do the decorations.

I hate to admit it, but I feel like I had the easy part. She made all these amazing treats and my only contribution was my handiwork. I have always done pink for girl showers, so I appreciated using colors I do not normally work with. I had fun creating these button flower napkin rings, crepe paper flowers and garland. I still feel guilty I did not do more, but then again I have a good excuse I was moving.

Pie Party

This year was our second annual Pie Party. The rules were simple: each person/couple brings a pie, we all get to taste the pies and then we vote based upon three categories: taste, presentation and overall. It is such a fun event to host and such an easy one to throw together around the holidays. This year our numbers were fewer, but our taste was big. Entries included Black Bottom Eggnog Pie, Pumpkin Pie, Chocolate Pie, Apple Pie and Peanut Butter Pie. Cameron and I enjoyed eating our way through the rest of our pie throughout the coming week.

This year I was not very good about taking photographs, but I did manage to document the before and after.

Entertaining Must Have: Lacquer Tray

With the holidays fast approaching, it is the perfect time to dust off your party supplies and take inventory of what you have. A welcome addition to my holiday entertaining this season is a lacquer tray. Not only are trays ideal for carrying items, but they also work well to contain holiday favors. I like to send my guests off with a little something and I found these little votives in cellophane bags, tied with festive ribbon on a bed of sparkly confetti do just the trick.

Sources: Lacquer Tray from West Elm and Faux Mercury Glass votives from Target.