Hil's Graduation

A few weeks ago my little sis, Hil, graduated from OT school! To celebrate we held a little party at our house.

Hil with our proud parentals!

When I let Jake know about the party he at first complained. (Classic husband response) But, I know my husband and he IS the hostess with the mostest. He LOVES cooking for others. In a different life, he may have been a chef. So, after the complaining...he went into back yard prep mode. 

At Jake's work they had some extra scraps laying around. By extra scraps I mean an entire countertop! So, Jake and his dad added some legs, stained it, and we now have a bar in our backyard!

We also added a few posts and added some string lights. 

We ordered her invitations from Lily & Wes, off of Etsy. Loving the watercolor these days!

Here are a few other pics from the party...

 Cute cookies by Eileen's Cookies

 Hil with our Bry!!

 The cake was a little lack luster....I mean, don't get me wrong, Sam's cakes are delicious...but they always look like they are for an 80 year old! Plus they didn't do the hashtag correctly.... Oh, about that... Hil likes to remind everyone in the family, especially our brother, that she will have her master's degree. So...we thought it would be funny to turn it into a hashtag, another thing Matt despises :) Anything to bug a family member! 

 Hil's new addition to the fambam: Joanie!! 

 I used extra tassels from the wedding (Yup....we've got A LOT left!) and put them behind the cake table for a fun backdrop. Another fun fact: it has been a month since the party and they are still up on our dining room wall! :)

I used the Hooray banner as decor in the living room. You can find my tutorial on that here.

Hil just started her first gig in Dallas. We are pretty excited for Princess Hil! 

Friday Faves: Week 8

This week contained the first day of the year that too hot for me to handle. I uttered the words "Is it fall yet?". I realize that is not a fair statement for me to make, for all you weirdo summer lovers out there. (Don't get me wrong, I enjoy the things summer has to offer, just not at the price of dealing with the heat) So, to compromise, this week I'm going to share my Hot Day Survival Faves!

1. Pineapple Ice Trays

These little cuties can be found at Anthro (of course) for $14! Your ice maker will be doing double duty these days, so might as well make it cute!!


2. Cute Updo & Head Bands

I am not a stranger to the ponytail, but I get so bored with it!

Here is a cute updo (that seems easy enough...) from She Steals to help with the boring ponytail blues....there is also the top knot, which hey...I don't think we'll ever get tired of that! (Fast forward 30 years when top knots are today's side pony, or big 80's hair)

Add the ever so cute twist scarves from Ban.Do to add some flavor to your new do!

3. Diet Cherry Limeade

When it is hot, I officially go from Large to Route 44 and from Diet DP to Diet Cherry Limeades!

4. Long Statement Necklace

I don't know about any of you, but during the summer I have to have minimal, light weight jewelry. I love huge statement necklaces, but after about and hour they end up in my purse because they make me sweat! (TMI, question?) I always go with a cute one that is just a simple chain around my neck, with something fun at the bottom.

Baublebar always great pieces like this for decent prices!


5. Perfect Salad

Summertime is when my FAVORITE SALAD IN THE WHOLE WIDE WORLD comes back from the dead. (The dead of Panera Bread's off season menu, that is) It's their Strawberry Poppyseed & Chicken Salad. It's the best. Fo Real!

Stay cool this weekend!

Spiced Kisses

300 Recipes in 1 Year

Recipe # 6

I got this delectable bite size cookie recipe from a Weight Watchers recipe, excited to say these cookies are 2 points each. I went into this recipe thinking it would be a lot harder than what it was, but it was so easy... BONUS! Such a simple recipe ESPECIALLY since it yields 56 cookies! Perfect party recipe. 

First preheat your oven to 350 degrees & line 3 cookie sheets with nonstick foil

Unwrap 56 (ish) chocolate kisses {I did a combo between Rolos, Hershey Kisses & Hershey Kisses with Almonds}

Spread about 1/2 cup of sugar on a plate

Now, knead together until combined the following ingredients...

Until it looks like this...

Now form dough by rounded teaspoonfuls into 1 inch balls

Roll in sugar until covered

Place 16 balls on 1 baking sheet 2 inches apart. 

Bake for 9 minutes, or until cookies are puffed and just set in the center.

Gently press kisses {or rolos, or kisses with almonds} of each cookie 

*Hershey kisses worked the best, the ones with almonds and the rolos melted, it all tasted great just not quite as pretty

Let them set for 1 hour until chocolate is cool.

Cap'n Crunch Chocolate Chip Cookies

Jake officially has a new favorite cookie. Or at least it is a solid compromise for us. (See the magic of marriage working?) Jake LOVES any and all things peanut butter, and I don't! For the sake of cookies, I like anything with chocolate chips, oatmeal (without raisins...sick) or white chocolate.

I first saw this cookie on Oh Joy's blog. I doubled their recipe and mine made about 4 dozen medium sized cookies. I usually always double recipes like this. You already have the ingredients, plus I feel like we are always going to some event where we are needing to bring something! So I stored half of the batch in the freezer for a week and they did just as well as the first batch.

Here is the recipe:
*notes changes I made*
You'll need: (this is the measurements of it NOT DOUBLED, aka 2 dozen cookies)

4 oz softened unsalted butter (= 1/2 cup)

3/4 cup light brown sugar

*1/2 oz Glucose (which makes cookies chewier than regular sugar) (= 1/16 cup)*

1 medium egg

1/2 tsp vanilla

2/3 cup flour

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp kosher salt

2-1/2 oz chocolate chips (= 1/3 cup)

*2-1/2 oz peanut butter cups (chopped) (= 1/3 cup)*

1 oz rolled oats (= 1/8 cup)

3 cups Cap'n Crunch cereal

*1 oz chopped hazelnuts (= 1/8 cup)*

*Instead of glucose, I used honey, the same amount they suggested. Cookie was still very chewy*

*I used Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, but you could also use the peanut butter chips (same aisle as chocolate chips)*

*I used walnuts instead of hazelnuts because that was what I had in my pantry!*

Instructions:

 

1. Mix sugar, glucose, and butter for 1 minute with a handheld or standing mixer.

2. Add egg and vanilla, and mix for 1 more minute.

3. Add flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Mix together for 1-2 minutes.

4. Add chocolate chips, peanut butter cups, oats, cap'n crunch, and hazelnuts and quickly mix it all together for 1 minute.

5. With a 3 oz ice cream scoop, scoop dough onto a greased cookie sheet. Cover with parchment paper and press down each cookie with a flat object like a plate. Freeze for 1 hour.

*6. Bake at 350 for 5 minutes, rotate pan, and bake for another 4-5 minutes. Remove and allow to cool.

*When doing smaller cookies, I only baked them for about 3 minutes after I rotated the pan*

Friday Faves: Week 7

I kind of like the idea of themes for my Friday Faves....it kind of makes me feel a little less scatter brained.... This week I've got my sister's graduation party on my mind, so with that in mind this week's theme is PARTIES: the inspired, the needs, necessities, wants and trending.

1. Pinatas

They don't even have to be beaten up afterwards (make sure you supply candy for those who are upset that you would want to keep such a pretty cardboard box!). 

Whether you buy them from cute shops like Kaite K Franklin

Or from Prospect Goods

Or you can go the DIY route like Studio DIY and make your own donut pinata

Tutorial can be found here. She does not limit herself to donuts though, she has a ton of different shaped pinatas, from traditional to tacos!


2. Fun Party Foods

Doing a themed "food bar" does not have to break the bank! Donuts, baked potato, popcorn, ice cream floats, cereal and taco bars are among the ones that I've seen. It doesn't take much more effort to make a cute sign and label each ingredient or condiment and putting them in matching bowls or plates!

3. Drink Stirrers

These are super easy! They will dress up any party and are really simple and cheap to DIY or buy!

 DIY by Martha Stewart

Buy from Pelemele

DIY from Confetti Pop

4. Pretty Drinks!

An open bar, or buying cokes for everyone can get pricey as well (plus you need to put all those drink stirrers in SOMETHING!!). I think offering Punch and water is all you really need, maybe some beer. One huge suggestion is to invest (or register!) in some awesome drink dispensers. Places like Ross or Homegoods have them for reasonable prices ALL THE TIME. Isn't it annoying always having to borrow one?

Here are a few drink recipes I look forward to trying:

 Alcoholic: Strawberry Lemonade Sangria

Non-alcoholic: Strawberry Vanilla Lemonade

Or you can try My Fruity Fresca Sangria Recipe

5. Backdrops

OK, as an avid Pinterester, It is REALLY hard not to compare your party (and what you visualize in your head) to those professional ones you see all over our pinterest boards. Here is my trick: have ONE focal area in the backyard, house, or venue. Put up a really cute/cheap/easy/DIY backdrop (I've got TONS on this pinterest board). Have it be your background for pictures, photobooth, the food table, speeches, etc. Get your grandma's buffet table to use as your dessert/food table. You don't have to have your entire place decked out. Ain't nobody got time for that! Here are a few of my favorite examples:

 Wedding Chicks

 

Style Me Pretty 

 Design Love Fest


Welp, that a wrap for this week!! Hope your planning a fun party soon! Happy Weekend!!