Happy New Year Canister Kit

There were a few people on my Christmas list that just didn't get visited before Santa arrived.  I did not want to miss them so I whipped together a little HAPPY NEW YEAR gift.  

All about Simple and Fun!

   

Visited the almost empty shelves at Wal-Mart and they had a few of these canisters left.

Their HNY goods were very affordable...didn't pay more than $3 for packets containing 4 to 6 items in each.  Some very fun poppers, blowers, banners, streamers, etc. 

  

Midnight kisses were a must!  Find the tag here

The 36th Avenue was my inspiration for this project.

I also liked this idea from Dukes and Duchesses.  Love the paper bag.

A Happy and Safe New Year to All!

Bon Appetite Vegetable Dip

Favorite Family Vegetable Dip

Bon Appetit Dip

1 cup mayonnaise

1 cup sour cream

1 Tbsp. Bon Appetit

1 Tbsp. green onion

Mix all ingredients, refrigerate for 2-3 hours.

The Bon Appetit seasoning is no longer produced, which is sad because we loved it.  Instead you can make the seasoning by using this recipe.

If you don't want the hassle of making the seasoning you can also use this product.  Tastes fairly similar.

We use this dip recipe for not only veggies but also chips, and any other snack items.

Mr. McGregor's Garden Relish Tray

My family was invited to my brother and sister-in-law's home for Easter this year.  My assignment was a relish tray. 

Because I was not hosting the dinner this year and had a little extra time, I decided to try something a little more creative than the usual cut up veggies on a tray.  My inspiration came from Glitter and Goulash  

I had just purchased this wooden tray from Jenifer's Furniture and Decor and thought it would make a great "garden bed" for Mr. McGregor's Relish Tray.  That's kind of an Easter bunny thing, right?

By the way I LOVE, LOVE Jenifer's!

I washed the head of some frilly lettuce (butter or anything kind of leafy), then set aside to dry.  Thankfully my husband chipped in to help and washed the veggies and cut them all into stick form.

Then came the time for the very easy process of "planting" our garden.  I layered saran wrap on the bottom of tray and then added leafy lettuce, being sure to "frill it out" over the edges of tray.

If you are serving a dip with the veggies, place your bowl where you want it on the tray.  Then start planting carrot sticks, cheese sticks, celery, pepper, tomatoes, cauliflower, cucumbers, broccoli and radishes. 

Bon Appetit Dip is my favorite.

Add a little plate of truffles and chocolate covered pretzel rods and this would make a lovely, edible centerpiece for a Mother's Day brunch. 

Christmas Gifts under $5

I love these little Santa hats ($1 at Bath and Body Works)!  The store displayed them with their yummy holiday scented foam hand lotions...Vanilla Bean Noel and Peppermint.  I thought they would be excellent Christmas gifts for my daughter's friends.

To make sure ALL the friends were taken care of, in a more cost efficient manner, we swapped out the B&B lotion ($14.99) with a small bottle of Sparkling Cider ($1.99).  We also had the thought of reducing costs even more with friends favorite bottle of soda...it's the Santa hat that makes it fun!  

Happy Ho, Ho, Ho to You!

Holiday (Meeting) Brunch

Just a quick idea for a spur of the moment holiday brunch.

I sit on the board of a non profit organization, My Story Matters.  Come to think of it "sit" is a funny word to use because we don't do much sitting!

We had an end of year meeting that included a brunch and I wanted to share what our caterer prepared for us.  

A crepe bar!  

It was delicious and simple. 

MENU

Crepes

The Best Crepe Recipe

Crepe fillings 

[raspberries, blueberries, and strawberries] 

Crepe toppings 

[caramel, chocolate and raspberry sauces, spray creme]

Cubed sweet breads

Carafed OJ

Mexican egg puffs with salsa

We organized, chatted, and ate, all while gazing out the windows at beautiful mountains with a lake view.

For this busy time of year...perfect. 

Neighborhood Fall Fest 2016

It's Fall and it's time for our neighborhood to celebrate.  In previous years we have gathered for a fun dance party in someone's converted garage.  We watched each other limbo, break dance, conga, and all sorts of other fun and funny dance moves.

This year we thought we would change it up a bit and have a street fall festival.  It was a total blast!  Number ONE priority was to bring our neighborhood friends together before the snow puts a damper on our outside activities.  Number TWO priority was to allow the youth to earn some money for their summer youth conference trip, girls camp and scout camp.  

One of our talented young women water-colored this flyer for us.  The same young woman led the group in preparing the back drop for our selfie station.

All of the youth were involved in one way or another.  We also delegated responsibilities to the different auxiliary groups within our church organization.  That shared the prep work among a lot of willing people.

We throw wet sponges at the clowns in our neighborhood!

Booths- each of the youth volunteered for shifts

Bake Sale

Silent Auction Baskets

Hot Dogs and Lemonade (free for all)

Popcorn (1 ticket)

Sno-Kone (2 tickets)

Cotton Candy (1 ticket)

Clown Sponge Toss (1 ticket for three throws)

Pumpkin Decorating (3 tickets)

Bobbing for Apples (1 ticket)

Donuts on a String (2 tickets)

Storytelling (professional storyteller)

3 legged race (1 ticket for 2 people)

Potato Sack Race and Pumpkin Bowling (1 ticket for 2 people)

Jail (1 ticket to put someone in jail-2 tickets for bail)

Cupcake walk-(1 ticket)

Food Eating Contest (4 tickets)

Scarecrow Updos (2 tickets)

Selfie Photo Station (free)

Facepainting (2 tickets)

Pie Throwing Contest (1 ticket)

All tickets were $1 and purchased at the ticket booth.  The "cost" of each booth depended on the materials needed for the booth. 

The activities were a lot of fun.  The free hot dogs and lemonade brought in the crowds!

If you didn't have your fill of free hot dogs you could enter the hot dog eating contest...now that was fun to watch!

Another great money maker for the youth were these silent auction baskets.

Each Auxiliary gathered and donated one basket

The Bake Sale had a lot of repeat business.  Lots and lots of amazing donated baked goods.

Everything was gone by festival end.

It was a beautiful evening and everyone, young and old, had a great time.

We couldn't leave out the traditional dance party so when the sun went down we headed for our neighbor's tennis court and for the next few hours DANCED!

Happy Fall Ya'LL