Valentine's Game Night Family Fun!

I love the idea of having a Game Night for a Valentines party. I have two ideas for this one being a family fun night and another an adults only game night. Let's start with the PG-version.

On the menu, I suggest you fire up your panini maker for a grilled cheese bar from abeautifulmess.com. Add a pot of soup or some chili and you'll have a great help yourself meal. Be sure to have a few bites on hand like pretzels and popcorn for snacking during game time! And it get kids involved, they can help make the super-fun DIY cupcake toppers as seen on HWTM.com.

For desert and decor the adults and kids will go crazy for this make your own ice cream sundae bar!

On to the real fun, the games! I think a great selection of games include ones that involve different numbers of people and ages.

Jenga is always a fun one and is great for the whole family.

You could make up your own Bingo Game cards at DLTK-Cards.

Our family has played Apples to Apples many times. Each player has seven RED cards with names of people, places or things on them. A GREEN card is randomly picked from a pile and set on the table: each GREEN CARD has a characteristic of an object or person, such as "Graceful" "Wild" "Neat" "Ancient", to name a few. Each person has to pick the RED card (out of their seven cards) that best matches with the GREEN card on the table, like the "pushups" red card would fit well with the "exhausting" green card, etc. Once everyone has placed one red card in the middle with the green card, a judge (assigned at the beginning of each round, so you take turns) picks the card that they think matches best, and the person that had that card gets a point. The adult version is 12+, but there is a junior edition too!

If you have lots of little ones, Spot it comes in many varieties. They have Spot It -sports, animals, abc's, numbers and shapes and so much more. There is no reading involved making it great for preschool and up. It is very easy to play, 2 cards are picked and the first player to guess the matching object on both cards gets the point. There are endless possibilities of matches in the deck.

Of course family fun night would not be complete without a door prize. You could keep score throughout the night, have a random drawing or even come up with a scavenger hunt. Pick up games when you see them on sale and fill it with dollar store candy and you'll have a basket of fun for less!

 

What are your favorite family friendly games?

Posted by Liz



 

The Holidays Might Be Over, But the Party Can Continue!

Recently, I've been hearing some interesting ways friends are mixing up the usual dinner party.

A family friend was telling us about a wonderful night she just had when her friend brought over a selection of specialty olive oils and balsamic vinegars. Together they laid out a beautiful spread of bread, cheese, crackers and fruit for dipping. She said it was a refreshing way to enjoy a casual evening. What a perfect idea for when you want to entertain on a lighter scale. I love that you can bring in local vinegars and oils. Be sure to check out your farmers market or the yellow pages for a local store or tasting room.

This past weekend, I missed out on a dinner party that my girlfriend had where she asked everyone to bring a bottle of wine in a paper bag. She wanted an easy way to get the party started and people talking and this did it! These experienced wine connoisseurs had a hard time keeping their opinions quiet for the vote. With an amazing and not so amazing selection of wines from $5-$40 they ended up choosing as a favorite Uncorked by Girard Napa Valley, priced at $5.99.

I even love the idea of combining these two concepts and offering up the food tasting while the guests bring the wine. I think it would make for a fabulous cocktail party!

Here are some tips to help get you started....

Tips on hosting an olive oil tasting party from Pottery Barn
http://www.potterybarn.com/design-studio/articles/how_to_host_an_olive_oil_tasting_by_olive_oil_tasting.html

Blind Wine Tasting Party Score Card Printables
http://thingsfestive.blogspot.com/2012/11/wine-tasting-party-ideas.html

Posted by Liz

Bridal Shower Dessert Table Sneak Peek

Here is a sneak peek of the dessert table I put together for my oh-so fun and fabulous sister-in-law-to-be. More pictures are coming soon!

How a Wife Prepares for a Bachelorette Party

Last weekend the hubby went to his brother's bachelor party. This weekend it's my turn.

As you can see, my priorities are a little different as I am in charge of the desserts for the weekend. 

Oh, who am I kidding...I got a spray tan last night and have the bottle of Captain Morgan already in the trunk! 

LET THE FUN BEGIN!!!

Chrysanthemum Sip & See

A couple of months ago (yes, I lag on uploading images), I hosted a Chrysanthemum themed Sip & See baby shower.  For those of you that aren't aware, a sip & see is a baby shower that is given after the baby is born so that you can sip some champagne and see the new baby!  And most importantly, so the new mama can sip some champagne and show off her new baby! 

Since it was a friend's second baby, we kept the gathering small and intimate - which was great for using my dining room table, china and crystal! 

With the help of turquoise candle sticks and chrysanthemum wall decor from ZGallerie, along with chrysanthemums I picked up at Costco, my dining room was transformed into our quaint and cozy Sip & See. 

Thanks to Paper and Cake, I had wonderful place cards, cupcake wrappers and toppers to personalize the event. 

Carnations Get a Bad Rap

Carnations have been tainted in my mind since the days of high school dances.  (Say in your best valley girl voice, "Carnation corsages and boutonnieres are so gross!")

But when used in bunches for arrangements, carnations can be beautiful and fluffy!  I personally love them arranged in a half sphere.  I used these carnation arrangements for a Sip and See baby shower earlier this month and was pretty pleased with how they turned out. 

Oh, and as you probably know, carnations are a great value!  Plus, my arrangement from 2 weeks ago is still alive, kicking and beautiful!  What a great way to add beauty and freshness to your home for a small price!

P.S. Details on the fun Sip and See baby shower are coming soon!

French Toast Souffle - Yum Yum!

In case you are looking for a fabulous recipe for a shower, brunch or just an amazing breakfast, I have a recipe I tried this past weekend that you are going to love:

French Toast Souffle!!!

I was hosting a Sip and See baby shower and wanted to have something of a pancake/waffle/french toast likeness, but that didn't need a lot of attention.  A friend (thanks, Erin!) shared a recipe that her friend shared with her.  So I am not claiming any sort of creative rights on this one.  I just want to spread the joy and love of a great recipe!

Here it is:


French Toast Souffle

Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter
8 oz. cream cheese
1/2 cup maple syrup
French Rolls - 1 package
11-12 eggs
3 cups half and half
1-1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Cinnamon

Directions:

• In a bowl, microwave butter, cream cheese and syrup until soft - good for it to be "chunky" (you can use more of this mixture to make it extra "gooey" - about 1-1/2 times the amount
• In a bowl, mix together by hand (whisk) eggs, half and half, and vanilla {I recommend whisking together the eggs then adding the half and half and vanilla}
• Tear bread and put into 9x13 baking dish - roughly 1' tears.  Should use 5 or 6 french rolls
• Pour butter mixture evenly over bread
• Pour egg mixture over bread
• Sprinkle with cinnamon
• REFRIGERATE OVERNIGHT covered with foil
• Bake for 1 hour @350 degrees or until center of souffle is raised and firm

Serves 10
Provide syrup for guests to drizzle on souffle and ENJOY!

Yummy Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Brownies via The Recipe Girl

 I am grateful to The Busy Budgeting Mama for making me aware of Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Brownies.  Seriously, doesn't reading the words make your mouth water?!?

I was so thrilled to make them for a party last weekend, and they were a huge hit at the party!  As did the Busy Budgeting Mama, I used a box of brownie mix for the brownie base and then used The Recipe Girl's egg-less cookie dough recipe. 

Click here for the full recipe. 

These treats will be great for any upcoming holiday party.  Serving them in festive cupcake wrappers could do the trick.  I was even thinking of adding some red and green sprinkles.  We will have to see what I attempt next.  Oh, but drizzling the chocolate on top is a must.  The chocolate drizzle not only a decorative touch, but it just tied in all the yummy flavors! 

Be sure to check out all the other amazing recipes that The Recipe Girl has to share. 


Images from RecipeGirl.com

Rapunzel Princess Birthday Party

Like many little girls, my daughter loves princesses, and especially Rapunzel as of late.  (I am sure the movie Tangled has nothing to do with it! Wink, wink!)

Over the summer, she went to a couple of birthday parties where a princess came to the party to entertain and sing to the girls.  My daughter absolutely loved it.

So, a couple of months ago when I saw a great deal on PlumDistrict.com for a princess tea party, I immediately gobbled up the deal.  Creative Arts and Parties for Kids is a Los Angeles and Orange County based party company that offers a wide variety of characters to make your party special.  And what I loved about the Plum District deal was that it included a tea party with the princess of your choice.  It really doesn't get cuter than little girls dressed up as princesses sipping tea (a.k.a. lemonade) and eating tea sandwiches - with Rapunzel, no less!

Up until about a week before the party, I figured I wouldn't decorate much for the party because Rapunzel would be bringing the tea set and the girls would just remain captivated to whatever she did.  But then I saw the cutest and relatively easy to re-create ideas on TinyOranges.com for a Rapunzel party.  So I had to attempt it, right? 

With some purple felt and yellow craft paint from Michaels, the kids, grandma and I got to work on creating the kingdom flags from the movie.  This was actually a fun project that the kids helped create.

While creating a golden sun stencil from the movie required a bit of patience, once the stencil was ready, the painting was really fun, especially for the kids.

Then there was the all-important braid of golden hair.

I used yellow yarn that I also found at Michaels and decided I wanted the braid to be long - 14 feet long to be exact.  Grandma helped me out with putting this one together, too.  She and our staircase baluster kept hold of the yarn while I continued to loop "strands" of hair for the braid.

I will warn you, this braid project did take a little over 2 hours for me.  But I do feel like it was well worth it and such a cute detail for the party.  Not to mention, I loved the idea of re-purposing the braid as a hair bow and clip holder as well as a decoration for my daughter's room.

(Oh, and thank goodness Grandma was in town to help with all these little details!)

Of course, there was my favorite part of the party - the treats!

The dessert menu:

• I found darling princess molds to make chocolate covered pretzel sticks. 
• Chocolate dipped Oreos (with purple chocolate!)
• The best frosted sugar cookies (recipe from HWTM.com)
• Pink cupcakes with purple frosting and purple cupcakes with pink frosting (a request from the birthday girl)

I love me some sweets!

As each girl arrived she was given a sparkly tiara to wear (dollar bin from Target) and directed over to the activity table to color her wanted poster of Flynn Rider.

I figured coloring would be a perfect activity as we waited for all the guests and Rapunzel to arrive.

Once Rapunzel did arrive, she sang with the girls, took pictures with them, played games and them gave them etiquette lessons on having a tea party.  (As much lessons as 3-5 year olds can handle!) 

Then it was on to cupcakes and treats, face-painting, and before we knew it, it was time for Rapunzel to head back to her kingdom and Flynn Rider.  Before she left, Rapunzel even had the girls sign a birthday poster with their hand prints, which was yet another activity for the girls to do while others were getting their faces or hands/arms painted. 

Our Rapunzel from Creative Arts and Parties for kids was great.  The girls were captivated by her, and most important to this mom, they listened to her!  Instead of orchestrating everything for the party during the party, I really got to be an observer, which was sooo nice! 

Luckily, I have a few months until I have to start planning my son's birthday party.  Mad scientist, anyone???

Surprise Giveaway: KeepingMePosted.com Stationery

There are so many occasions in life that need a card. But some occasions seem to still be left out...the bachelorette party, for example. So I was thrilled to find KeepingMePosted.com has a stylish selection of wedding shower, engagement party and bachelorette party invitations.

But if you don't find something that you like from their selection, you can actually contact customer service for your own special design to meet the style you are looking for. And there is no additional fee for a custom design. (That is unheard of!)

In addition to custom invitations, KeepingMePosted.com has adorable announcements and holiday cards. Isn't this Halloween card darling?!?

Guess what? The nice people at KeepingMePosted.com want you to see for yourself how great their stationery products are. Not one, but THREE lucky HC&B readers are going to win $50 KeepingMePosted.com gift certificates!

Here's how to enter:

• Visit the KeepingMePosted.com website and find a card that you like
• Post a comment here including your name, location (city, state) and your favorite card
• Please post your comment by 11:59 p.m. PST on Tuesday, July 26
  
• For an extra entry, become a follower of Houses, Couches, and Babies (those of you that are already followers, will get an additional entry)
• For a third entry, like Houses, Couches, and Babies on Facebook (again, if you already "like" HC&B on Facebook, you will automatically receive another entry.)
• For an extra extra extra (aka 4th) entry, like Keeping Me Posted on Facebook

The winners will be selected randomly and posted shortly after July 26, so please be sure to check back as the winners will not be contacted.

But wait...there's more. Every person who enters this giveaway automatically receives a $10 gift card to KeepingMePosted.com - just for entering! How great is that? Simply enter the contest and use the code HOUSECOUCH185 and you will receive $10 off your purchase.

Good luck and happy shopping!

{Rules and Restrictions: All gift cards will expire on Dec 31, 2011, cannot be redeemed for cash, and cannot be combined with other gift cards or Groupon vouchers; Giveaway is valid for US only}

HWTM on The Today Show

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Check out our favorite Hostess with the Mostess, Jenn Sbranti, on The Today Show with Kathie Lee and Hoda. I love the mint julep cupcakes and the refillable bloody mary cocktail glasses. Kathie Lee likes them, too!

Watch Hostess with the Mostess on The Today Show!

My favorite party stylist/planner, Jenn Sbranti of Hostess with the Mostess, is going to be on The Today Show. (Finally, she is getting the love and recognition she so richly deserves!)

She will be appearing during the 10am hour with Kathie Lee and Hoda. If for some reason you aren't home, definitely set your DVRs, because I'm sure it is going to be a segment you won't want to miss. Jenn will be providing her fabulous ideas on how to celebrate the Kentucky Derby. (Can you believe it is already this weekend!) With the hats and the pageantry, this is one sporting event a girl can really get in to!

Congrats, Jenn, on such an amazing accomplishment! I know you will wow us as you always do!

Holiday Cookie Exchange - Who Knew???

Perhaps I am the only woman in the free world that had never heard of a cookie exchange, but last week when I received an invitation to one, I thought it was the coolest and most clever idea for a party.

Since RSVP-ing yes, I have now been seeing Cookie Exchange stuff all over the place - including at Williams-Sonoma. They have a Holiday Cookie Exchange Kit, for goodness sakes!!!

And they have these absolutely amazing cookie cutters that allow you to imprint messages like "Happy Holidays" and "Season's Greetings." (Again, you may have already been aware of these things, but since I am late to this cookie exchange party, this is all exciting to me!)

This is getting me excited to bake some holiday cookies! Only 6 days until Thanksgiving is over and the holiday season officially begins. Yippee! (Now, if I could just get this excited about holiday gift shopping, ugh!!! Perhaps someone might like adorable holiday cookie cutters!)