Wounded Warrior Project Fundraiser

Our mustang car club, New York Mustangs, hosted a Wounded Warrior Fundraiser. I offered to decorate the pavilion that was being used for the main BBQ. In support of our troops and American muscle cars, we went with a red, white, and blue theme. So here is what I prepared:

My newest, favorite decor item is the Pop-up trash cans. I purchased two from Party City inexpensively. They make a great place for people to throw their trash, and yet add to the flair of the day. While on vacation I collected items to make the prep work easier. Mini flags, large flags, ribbons, streamers, etc.

Since we would be dinning outside, I didn't want our paper goods to blow away. So I took a picnic basket and put all the American flag themed cups, plates, and napkins inside.

At a local Christmas Tree Store, I found a wall poster with the statue of liberty on it. Exactly what a New York car club needs for decor. I poked holes in the four corners and used ribbon to tie the vinyl poster to the tables. Similarly, I found two large American flags with grommets in the top corners. I used ribbon to tie these to the tables as well. (Making sure not to let the flags touch the ground).

Along the outside of the pavilion, we placed American flags in the rafters. And strung red, white, and blue star twine between the beams. The finishing touch was the most work. I bought a balloon hand-pump. Used it in the beginning and then gave up. Guess I am full of hot air, for I was faster lol ;) But we found some great balloon tape that helps you separate balloons in a line. We doubled over the strip and hung from the rafters. I think this really added to the visual as you approached the pavilion from the parking lot below.

I had promised to bring dessert. So I made marshmallow pops. My new favorite dessert. Sorry I forgot to photograph them. But I made some red and some blue ones. I was lucky and found JUMBO and I mean J-U-M-B-O marshmallows to use. What a festive addition they made! Each was individually wrapped and they were all placed inside a white plastic planter for added height. Simple, yet elegant.

Also, I bought large bags of Twizzlers and wrapped them with an image I found on the web in support of The Wounded Warrior Project.

All in all, I think the decorations added to the fun. May the fundraiser have been a success so that we can help our Wounded Soldiers help each other.

Great Work Ahead

J.Shields - Great Work Ahead

Today was the first real day back to school. As a thank you to staff for their patience while we get everything connected, I brought in some treats. Just a way to encourage colleagues to come visit to reset passwords, ask questions, and discuss future possible projects. During my summer vacation, I found some great construction themed items. Mixing those with some creativity, I think I created a nice atmosphere for beginning the school year. Many teachers thanked me for my generosity and creativity. Their kind words were appreciated.



Below are some pictures showing our fun. For breakfast I served: bricks (breakfast bars), tires (donettes), wrecking balls (clementines), nuts and bolts (trail mix) and coffee.

J.Shields - Bricks

J.Shields - Wrecking Balls

For lunch, I offered traditional construction sandwich lunches (peanut butter and jelly Uncrustables), pizza,  bottles of water, beams (sugar-free chocolate wafers) and more.

J.Shields - Traditional Construction Worker Lunch

Special thanks needs to go out to http://blog.thecelebrationshoppe.com/2010/05/10/real-parties-under-construction/. After seeing their photo online, I had Clementines to offer. I try to include healthy snack items too. But I was struggling for ideas besides snack mix. Luckily I found this blog online with their wonderful party buffet and the "Wrecking Balls".  Thank you for the inspiration.

Tiki Iced Tea Party

I read an article in Woman's World (one of my top favorite magazines), suggesting the hosting of an Iced Tea Party.  Hmmmm. Great idea! Recently, I had decorated the backyard for summer with a Tiki Hut theme. Put the two ideas together and you have a Tiki Iced Tea Party open afternoon. I told my friends that I was serving lunch around 12:30 and dinner around 5:30 come when you can, stay for as long as you can.

I lurked around on the Internet for ideas of various concoctions for Iced Tea. I live on Iced Tea in the summer. So I tried several different flavors. I actually came up with a few I can drink unsweetened. And some evenings I splurge and add a small sugar packet for extra flavor. But most can stand on their own. I served Citrus Iced Tea, Blueberry Iced Tea, White Tea Iced Tea, and Raspberry Iced Tea.

While shopping at Target, I found these great beverage decanters. Each was $7.99. For me, this was a splurge for a party. I'm the discount store queen. But the shape, size, and style was perfect so I splurged. I had also printed a Target $5 coupon, so I purchased 3 very happily.

Searched online for decorating ideas. I found a site that showed how to make a printable that looked like a pair of sunglasses for identifying food items. Printables are great. But $.99 Party City sunglasses labeled with a white poster pen look even better.

A good start but frustrating

I had this idea to turn the backyard into a small haven to get away from the usual hustle and bustle of everyday routines. I invested in a rather expensive Tiki Hut umbrella (purchased with a frequent shopper coupon) for our round white table. Problem... the “universal” umbrella covering wasn't quite so universal. It was much larger than our umbrella, and yet the tie down at the top was too small. Not a good combination. The frustration grew.

A better option

Unbelievably, I found a better version for even less money from Party City. It opens easier (all one piece) and only cost $24.99. Yes, please, may I have more?


Food:
Not knowing exactly who would come to the party, when, or for how long, I wanted simple party food and yet good flavors.  I knew the day would be hot. I didn't want things that would spoil too much in the sun. I had intended to purchase a party tray of sandwiches from our local Stop & Shop. One problem, I didn't order one (they usually have some just sitting there). Of course the day of MY party there weren't any available. But, luckily lightning struck and I had what I think was a great idea. Definitely something I would consider doing again. I rushed over to our local Subway. I ordered 3 roast beef sandwiches and 3 turkey sandwiches. I brought them home and cut each foot long into 6 finger sandwiches. I wrapped each in aluminum foil and placed in fridge. As friends arrived, I brought out a few for them to enjoy. This way the meat didn't spoil being in the heat, and I didn't spoil my attitude with slaving over a stove. ;)

No summer party would be complete without coleslaw and potato salad. Grabbed a container of each from Stop & Shop.

Paper Goods:
Found discount Tiki plates, napkins and cups at Party City by luck.  Such a fun print. Have plenty of extra to enjoy during the remainder of the summer in the backyard as well.

Favors:
What is a party without party favors to go home with?! I purchased a package of brown lunch bags (100) for $1 at the Christmas Tree Store. Plenty for future entertaining. This adorable graphic came up during an evening's Google Image search. And the evening I viewed it, surprisingly, it was being offered as a free download. You can find the original at http://sweetcsdesigns.com/archives/1055.

At a local dollar store, I found plastic leis (6 for $1), I bought enough to have plenty for guests. At the Christmas Tree store I stocked up on various types of tea, tiki drink stirrers, root beer barrels and other goodies.  I stuffed the bags and stapled a copy of the fabulous Iced Tea graphic from above on the outside of the bag.

Dessert:
I had a craving for s'mores and a distinct desire to serve them for the backyard party.  However, we live in an apartment complex.  And we do not have a BBQ grill. So onto Google. I searched for “smores without fire”. I found several recipes that said you could roast marshmallows over a can of sterno. But then I found a few sites saying that this was not a healthy alternative. Bummed I had about given up hope when I accidentally clicked “Next” and the following result gave an idea of melting marshmallows in the microwave. Hmm interesting idea. But messy. Ah the lightbulb lit. What about marshmallow fluff!?

I ran to the store the next day and bought a container at Target ($.79 on sale). While there, they were also selling Stackers Marshmallows, http://soulsight.com/static/media/photos/kraft-jet-puffed-stacker-marshmallows.jpg.  I ran home greedily and hungry with both items to try. Grabbed a few sale packages of mini Hershey bars from CVS with Extra Care points (making them free). I made a few to see how they would turn out.  I really enjoyed them. So the night before my party, I made several. Wrapped them individually in aluminum foil. The heat of the day melts the chocolate, the marshmallows become gooey, and the whole thing comes together perfectly.

I also saw online recipes for Marshmallow Pops. I thought I was the only freak that loved Marshmallows. Apparently, these sites claimed that Marshmallow Pops are becoming very popular. Like Cake Pops are all the rage but messy to make.  These are much less time consuming. After viewing photo after photo of marshmallows dipped in chocolate melts and rolled in sprinkles. I had another idea.

I bought a generic container of chocolate fudge cake icing($.69). My mom had a box of graham crackers for me (free). I placed the crackers inside a plastic zip bag. I crumbled the crackers with the back of a glass. I took a large marshmallow. I stuck a toothpick (that we had) into the center of each marshmallow. I dipped it in a bowl of chocolate icing to coat the bottom. I then dipped it in the crushed graham cracker crumbs. I let each harden for a little bit. Then I wrapped it in plastic wrap (next time I would use cellophane bags) and tied with a gold ribbon. The day of the party, I placed each of the yummy bundles of s'more goodness into a brown basket. Friends seemed to enjoy them.

Porch Pasta Primavera

Here is the rough recipe of what I served when I had my family over to the back porch of our summer rental.  I am one of those "looks like about enough for me" types in the kitchen. But I have tried to approximate what I did that evening that was enjoyed by family.

Porch Pasta Primavera - Fete Avec Moi

Ingredients:
1 pkg of tricolor pasta ribbons
1 pkg of brussel sprouts (steamer bag)
tomatoes (2 the night before, 1 when serving)
2 oz. brie
Sea salt
lemon pepper
garlic pepper
3 leaves of kale
1 jar of tomato sauce
olive oil

Prepared the night ahead:
Microwave the bag of brussel sprouts. [~4 minutes]
In a skillet coated with olive oil, sauté brussel sprouts.
Dice 2 tomatoes and blend with the sprouts.
Season with sea salt, lemon pepper, and garlic pepper.
Dice 2 ounces of brie into the mixture.
Refrigerate overnight for flavors to mell.

Prepared before serving:
Boil pasta as directed. Drain pasta. Add to large olive oil cured skillet.
Add mixture created last evening.
Clean 3 leaves of kale. Roll and slice into shredded kale.
Add 3/4 of a jar of store bought tomato sauce to coat all the pasta ribbons.
Stir all ingredients in the skillet of a simmer.
Chop a 3rd fresh tomato and add to the mix.
When tomato and kale begins to appear well steamed dinner is ready.

The brie gave the dish a nice creamy tang that otherwise would have been missing. We were on vacation and my ingredients were limited. But I would love to try this with one of those new Philadelphia Cooking Creams. That would add nice flavor to this dish.

Quickly we decorated the back porch of the rental home with items we had brought along with us collected from The Christmas Tree Store and local dollar stores before arriving on vacation. The porch table had an umbrella in the middle. I took a dollar store shocking pink table cloth ($1) and draped it over half the table. With a scissor, I cut a slit from the edge of the cloth to the umbrella in the middle. Good old freezer tape curls taped the two haves of the slit together for a close to seamless look. At a local party stores clearance counter I had found 4 hibiscus table cloth clips ($2). The pink plates pictured were from the Christmas Tree Store ($1.99 for 4 plates). And we had multicolored martini glasses for our Koolaid and Rootbeer ($2.99 for 6). The kale I had purchased earlier in the week. I read a magazine article that suggests adding some to salads for more antioxidants. (Loving this!) Most of my spices, olive oil, and the pasta (this was vacation after all) came from an Ocean State Job Lot. With an on sale bottle of tomato sauce and a steamer bag of brussel sprouts I rounded out the meal on a very small budget. And yet everyone seemed rather pleased with the results.

If you try this and enjoy it, please let me know. If you try this and tweak the recipe some, I would love to hear of your additions.

More recaps of entertaining from the past to come. And of course future entertaining stories to come.

Opening My Party Idea Blog

Most recent party creation - Tiki Iced Tea Party

Recently, I was having a discussion with a friend about blogging. Everyone has a voice. Some will care some will not relate to your topic. But everyone has a voice to share. By day, I assist teachers with using technology to raise the creativity level in their classroom and engage learning. In my "spare time" (hahahaha) I enjoy entertaining, cooking and more. My mother recently told me I should start a cookbook after I had family over for dinner while we were all away on vacation together. Another friend referenced that her "DIY friend (implying me) will have to create those for me". Their recent conversations have been rolling around in my head. I am in the process of collecting directions for a charity event that I will be part of next month. I decided since I research so much on the web and constantly learn from what I see, read, and hear that it is time for me to share back. So I guess it is time to start a blog. I will try to remember to share the ideas I use while entertaining. Care to party with me? (Fete Avec Moi: french for party with me) Will you be interested in reading what I have to share?