Sunday, November 24, 2013

Minecraft Party

For Josh's 11th birthday, of course he wanted a Minecraft party!
Here are some shots of the day:


Made these TNT wraps to wrap around licorice.

Hershey's Nuggets for Iron and Gold

Blue candies for Diamonds

Poster and Diamond Sword purchased as gifts and used as décor.

EASY Creeper cake using Andes Mints for face.

Welcoming sign for front door.

These silicone bracelets, I found on Amazon super-cheap! The kids loved them!

Custom Creeper cups using a sharpie ;)

Made a Minecraft torch using a box and tissue paper.

Josh chose Chinese chicken for dinner ;)

The kids had a great time playing Minecraft!
 
Found some great Minecraft Party Supples on Amazon.com!

Monday, October 28, 2013

Monsters Inc. Baby Shower

Attended a Monsters Inc./Monsters University baby shower for a friend of mine.  SOOOOO cute! Here are some photos of the decor:
Such a beauty!

My friend, and the Grandma to be, made this awesome Mike and Sully 4wheeler!

Cute centerpieces that Kadi and Kim made!

Such a fun time!

Such a cute diaper/blanket/outfit cake with Snoopy on top!

Thursday, October 10, 2013

Halloween Cupcakes

Made some cupcakes with the kids last night.  It was so cute when Jayden says "Dis is fun!"  #making memories =)







Wednesday, October 9, 2013

Cyndi's Pasta Alla Medici

A while back, Olive Garden had a dish made with cheese tortellini, alfredo sauce, ham, mushrooms, and peas.  Hubby loved it.  They no longer serve it, so I recreated something similar at home for him and he just loves it!

You will need:
3 cups penne pasta

Sauce:
1 and 1/2 stick of butter
1 tb minced garlic
3 cups half and half
flour
container of grated Parmesan cheese
1 cup frozen peas
3/4 cup chopped ham
1 small package fresh mushrooms, washed and sliced.
____________________________________________________
First boil water for your pasta. Add a touch of salt and a pat of butter to avoid sticking and boiling over.
While that is cooking (about 10 minutes), start your sauce.
Use a large saucepan and melt a stick of butter.  When melted, start adding flour. Start with a 1/2 cup at a time.  Stir with a wooden spoon or silicone heat resistant whisk to make a paste.  Add half and half, and Parmesan cheese.  Stir to correct consistency and amount that you will need.  At this point, add your garlic. Adding it sooner will easily burn it.



 Meanwhile, in another saucepan, melt a 1/2 stick of butter.  Add mushrooms and cook until tender.

 Add frozen peas, chopped ham, and cooked mushrooms to the sauce.  Add garlic, cream, or cheese as needed for taste or consistency.


Drain penne pasta.  Place pasta on a dish and spoon sauce over top.



TIPS:
You can use milk instead of cream if desired.
Use a large non-stick skillet for easy clean up, like this one from Amazon.
Use a silicone whisk like this one for best results.
Serve with easy Cresent Rolls, or any other kind of bread.

Thursday, October 3, 2013

Easy Chicken Enchiladas

You will need:
4 chicken breasts
8 soft taco shells
2 cups shredded colby cheese
Taco Bell Seasoning Packet (shhh! ;))


Sauce:
3 TB extra virgin olive oil
1 TB flour
1/4 C chili powder
2 C chicken stock
10 Ounces tomato paste
1 TS dried oregano
1 TS ground cumin
1/2 TS salt

Brown chicken in skillet with 1 tablespoon evoo. Shred or cube chicken. Add back to pan and cook on low.  Add Taco seasoning.  Follow directions on packet.  It will thicken.  Mix 1 cup of shredded cheese in chicken mixture.


Butter a 9x11 baking dish.  Lay each soft taco shell and spoon seasoned chicken inside.  Fold both sides and lay in dish seam down.  Continue with remaining taco shells.  Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.


Meanwhile, make your sauce:
In a medium saucepan, heat oil, add flour.  Stir with a wooden spoon until it looks like paste.  Cook for 1 minute.  Add chili powder.  Cook for 30 seconds.  Add chicken stock, tomato paste, oregano, and cumin.  Stir. Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to low and cook for 15 minutes.  The sauce will thicken and be smooth.  Adjust seasonings as needed.


Take baking dish out of oven and pour sauce evenly over enchiladas.
Sprinkle with shredded cheese and put back in oven for 10 minutes.



Saturday, September 21, 2013

Halloween Place Settings

Here are a few Halloween party place settings...
It's fun to mix and match patterns and textures for your place settings.

Serving a healthy snack can be cute too!


Love these bright colors together...


Items used found:

Target
Hobby Lobby

For more great Halloween party ideas, Halloween Decor, Costume Ideas, and more- go to: It's A Party-ful Life! presents Halloween 2013!



Friday, September 20, 2013

Fall Place Settings

It's easy to decorate a fall, thanksgiving table.  You probably have most of the items that you can use already.  Here are a couple of designs for fall place settings:

Mix textures, ie:  burlap tablecover, rattan placemat, mix and match dishes, and a fresh little pumpkin.

Use what you have, faux silk flowers, dishes, and table linens...

Use photo holders for place setting nametags...this one came from Kohls.


This cute pumpkin butter dish was actually found at a consignment shop.  I love finding cute out of the ordinary items like this...
Look outside the box, use a big mug for silverware...
I found this mini cornucopia for 1.00 for 3 of them... 



Have any other fall place setting ideas that you would like to share?  Post your pics to our facebook wall!
Be sure to like us on FB to be alerted of new blog posts!  More to come soon....

Items used came from:
Goodwill
Consignment Shops
Estate Sales
Amazon.com
Kohls.com
Hobby Lobby
Home Goods