{GIFTS} Surprise Balls

When we were kids my mom used to make surprise balls as party favors for our birthday parties. We've started a tradition of making them for the grand kids to open on Christmas Eve. They are a hit every time. Have you ever made or received a surprise ball? Essentially you put a bigger toy/object in the middle and have a few colors of crepe paper and start wrapping it around the gift. Then you add in other toys or money or candy until it is the size you want. The idea is that when they unravel the ball the toys and treats fall out until they reach the center.

This one I made for my older sister. It is more of a grown up version with the center of the surprise ball being some Bobbi Brown blush and some big dollar bills too. I also added gum, silly bandz (which were the rage last Summer if you remember), fruit snacks, etc. Would you be excited to get something like this in the mail for your birthday?

More Surprise Ball ideas coming soon...

{PARTY} Ice cream Social on BHG

Saw this party on Better Home and Gardens. An Ice cream social! I love it. Simple theme, easy decor, and a tasty treat. Jeni, is the party thrower and ice cream maker. She's an author too.

Doesn't this make you want to throw a party before Summer ends?

{GIFTS} Back to School

Happy back to school time! I made these for my nieces and nephews last year before they started school. Treats from Trader Joes, a sweet pencil, and a silly band.

I love this idea on Giver's log. Wouldn't that be fun to get in the mail?!

{PARTY} BHLDN Tabletops

Did you see these tabletops on BHLDN? I've been dying over them, studying each one to catch all the detail. They're just pretty. I think you could create a party with a similar feel by just collecting interesting and pretty things that you already own. Table cloths, vases, glassware, candle votives, etc.


They show 6 different tabletops. Which is your favorite?

{PARTY} Backyard Movie

For my nephew Jackson's 11th Birthday I helped my sister throw a backyard party perfect for a group of pre-teen boys. They came over for tacos and nachos - Jackson's favorite. After dinner his dad took the group of boys to the park behind their house to play games while we set up for a movie in the backyard. They came back worn out from running around - success! They watched the movie and devoured the ice cream sundaes and movie treats.



The favor: a bag with a CD mix, some pop-its and candy.

{PARTY} You say Tomato. I say Party.

Homegrown tomatoes, nothing better! Here is a tasty looking tomato recipe in case you were looking:
I've always wanted a set of chargers and thought this Crate and Barrel one was sleek but earthy:
How about this sale tablecloth at Anthropologie? Wouldn't the above chargers look good on that?
Summer is coming to an end quick. Any parties planned? Sometimes it just takes a good recipe to inspire something.

{SHOWER} Guest Post by Jane: Honey Baer Shower

Jane Metcalf stats:

5'11

1st grade teacher

SLC resident

Granola Maker : Nova Granola

my identical twin

Jane threw a Bridal Shower for one of our best friends Kimberly. I live out of state and couldn't attend. I love everything about this party so I had to have her share the details. It's a lot of work to make a party look 'effortless' but she definitely pulled it off.

Thanks for sharing Jane!

Invite/Favor:
My sister did the invites! She used the honey theme and incorporated Kimberly and Joel's wedding colors. For the favor I picked some flavored honey sticks and attached a tea bag. "Honey and Tea for our La-dy"!



Setting:
My sister has a really fantastic backyard and patio area, so it was a no-duh for having an outdoor dinner/shower. I love her collection of chairs too! We put up a strand of lights, lined up tables and covered with white butcher paper and down the center we used some material from my sisters work. I bought a variety of clear vases from DI and a bouquet of flowers from the grocery store to use.





Game:
I don't think games are necessary. But I just thought of pin-the-mustache-on-Joel and had my friend Missy help me put it together. The prize? Oh, just getting to be the first in line for dinner.


My sister and I came up with some questions and everyone took a turn asking between gifts. I loved learning some new things about her and Joel and their relationship + future. It was nice to have it a little structured that way.


Dinner:
Kimberly and I both love cooking and like the same foods so that made it easy to decide what to make. I took in to account budget for 20 people and gluten intolerance. I decided on a fresh tortilla salad with a cilantro lime dressing on the side. As you can see it was piled high with tomatoes, red peppers, jicama, avacado, homemade tortilla strips, and 3 kinds of beans. I had salsa, mexican cheese, and cilantro on the side. For fruit I kept it simple with green grapes (I always feel weird about doing a fruit salad when the main dish is a vegetable salad). I decided to not do corn chips and instead make my aunt's recipe for corn bread because I wanted to incorporate honey. My sister did the drinks and I think sparkling water and San Pellegrinos with citrus fruits always are delicious and definitely look nice.






Dessert:
I served greek plain yogurt with some options of toppings (keeping it simple here): fresh peaches, coconut, crushed graham crackers, semi-sweet chocolate chips, and of course honey to sweeten. The girls seemed to really like it. It's light and perfect for a summer dessert.

see more over here

{RECIPE} Summer Berry Desserts!

Now is the time to bust out your favorite berry dessert recipes. Don't these images make your mouth water? Blueberries are in season July and August so get em now! I dream of being a really good pie maker, maybe I should start practicing.... Blueberry Slab Pie

Mini Pies
Peach Blueberry Pie
Vanilla Fruit Cake

{PARTY} Girls Only

My sister's husband and boys were out of town so we took advantage of the girl time. We threw a little party for just us girls. I bought flowers for my nieces to practice making centerpieces. I let them set the table too. We made breakfast for dinner which included mini pancakes, sausage, eggs, and fruit smoothies. I think the girls really loved having a chance to be involved in everything from cutting the flowers to flipping pancakes to making the table pretty.

We also made homemade strawberry jam and they delivered it to a few neighbors. Ending the night with Sprinkles cupcakes was a good idea too!

{PARTY} Terrain

I spotted this event on Creature Comforts. It was an event held atTerrain. What a beautiful site! Wouldn't you love to be invited to something like this? I love the fresh flowers in interesting arrangements going down the entire table. I also love the cloth napkins and name tags.

And I'm thinking that table runner will be my next DYI.

Now I just want to know what was served for lunch!