Appetizers Round 1

I have been busy getting ready for Saturday. I know I could buy or cater our annual holiday party and it would probably be easier and less stressful, but I really enjoy looking for appetizer recipes and cooking. Baking, forget it, but cooking, no problem. This year we have a big group, about 48. The ratios for parties that I usually use is 6 to 8 appetizers per person and 4 drinks per person. I have about half of the appetizers made at this point, of course there are other things I will be pulling out to add to it as well, but this is a good start.

Barbecue Peanuts these have a nice little kick to them and it will be great put in a couple of small bowls throughout the party.

Pigs in a blanket, these are always a party pleaser and I usually put out a couple of dipping sauces to go with them.

Artichoke Wonton Cups I love having simple finger foods that people can just grab and go and you don't need to use two hands to eat. To me, these are a different take on artichoke dip.

Sausage Biscuit Bites this is a new recipe that looked easy, but it also looked like something that everyone would like. I have to admit I tried one, and they are tasty!

Sausage Jalapeno Wonton Cups - these are something I made up. We have a favorite place that the boy and I like to stop into for a bite to eat from time to time, really close to home. Great wine list, great food, we always sit at the bar and get great service. One of our favorite appetizers there are their Sausage Cream Cheese Wontons, so I tried to recreate these. I will have to get the boy to taste test, but I think they are pretty close.

Tomorrow is for errands, picking up a few last minute things, manicure and pedicure and finishing up some more appetizers as well as finishing up a few last decorating items.

Outfit for Holiday Party

I have several outfits ready to go for different holiday functions over the course of the next month, but first up is our annual holiday party this coming Saturday. I have two options that I am trying to decide between and I really like them both. It might be a game time decision, but would love to hear your thoughts.

First up is this cute dress, it has mesh netting little cap sleeves, great little silver rhinestone detail along the neck, and it even has pockets!

I also have a cute little black sweater to wear over it just in case it gets chilly. But of course it is super cold right now, but it is supposed to get up to 50 by Saturday. 50 people in the house, I don't think I am going to need a sweater!

So that was option 1. My second option I really like as well. Same colors, but completely different. I love the long skirt, it is what I would call a hostess skirt as it is rather long. I am kind of leaning towards option 2 as I don't know where else I can really pull off wearing a long skirt like this. The skirt is Perry Ellis, and I just love it, the top is a velvet wrap top that I just picked up. 

Of course a girl needs the right shoes to wear, right? Two options of course. . .

The first option has, of course, a 4 1/2" heel with a 1" platform, so my rationale is that they only have a 3 1/2" heel. . but they are high, but SO cute! (from NineWest and they are called Fortonight, and they are on sale for a lot less than I paid, right now!)

Second option is a lot more practical, and shoes that I wear all the time, although this is a new pair because I have already worn out one pair. These are also from NineWest and called Sharina.

Luckily I don't need a pocketbook or clutch since I am not going anywhere, but I am getting a mani/pedi that day, so of course I had to get a polish to match. 

Now I just need to decide between the two and pick out some jewelry. I am sure I have something, but it might be fun to have something new too! I love these,

Love having special outfits for the holidays!

On the Menu Monday (MPM) - Week 48

When my head hit the pillow last night, I was exhausted. It was an awesome long weekend, and we squeezed in more than even I could imagine, was possible.

Our Thanksgiving was really nice, but we did have a few bummers. One thing is for sure, I won't do that many people again for a sit-down dinner until our downstairs is finished (which hopefully will not be long) and we re-do the kitchen (this one might be a tad longer, unless we hit Powerball Wednesday!). We wound up having 18 for dinner, the boys oldest niece and her boyfriend went to his family's dinner and the boy's nephew's girlfriend had her wisdom teeth out earlier in the week and had to work. The biggest ARGH! moment came when we kept waiting and waiting and waiting for the turkey to hit 165. We had this problem last year as well, but this year we went out and bought the OXO Meat Thermometer, it just would not go over 155, but in certain places the turkey was over 170, so we took it out and cut half off and put the other half back in, but I think I am going to have to have our oven looked at.

The other part that made me nuts was the mess and all of the dishes. I just could not relax and have a good time with the kitchen such a mess, but there were a lot of dishes. We also had a lot of people that wanted to help and do something. Especially my mom, which is great, don't get me wrong, but really the only person that I had asked to do anything was my sister, and I don't think she really wanted to help. Lesson learned there! The boy's mom also said something after she got there that literally almost made me go through the roof. I was busy doing this and that, most of the guys were watching football while the girls had gathered around the kitchen. I asked the boy to come and help me with something or get something, he does know where everything is, and his mom goes, "oh poor boy, I bet he hasn't had a chance to sit down, relax and have a beer all day"/. Seriously? As I have sweat dripping down my forehead??? I realize that she and her husband have a traditional marriage, he doesn't cook, clean or even know how to do the laundry, but seriously? My mom said she thought she could see the steam come off of my head. We did play some Apples to Apples at the end of the day and that was a blast. A game everyone could play and we had a really good time.

My niece G spent the night as she has been doing for the past few years. While we didn't have any plans set in stone, she did not want to get up and go shopping with me Friday morning. I had a few things I wanted to get out there for. Most of them were things we needed for the house, but I did get some gifts as well. I also picked up some materials for a project that I wanted to do with her that I had seen in the Pinterest world. A couple of years ago I had made her a wreath for her door that was all her, but I thought she might enjoy making one with me.

This is what we came up with.

We also took her to dinner and to see Wreck it Ralph, we always get at least one movie in. I think it was nice for her to just have some down time without her brothers bothering her.

Saturday we were hustling, put away all of the Thanksgiving and fall decor and took out Christmas decorations and started decorating. We decided to empty out the china hutch and put all of our holiday dishes in it. I thought that this would really help keep me sane, keep clutter off of the counter and it would be easier to find things. I felt like I could breath when this was done. The boy did the majority of it, I just put the dishes in it.

We also got the tree up, I think it is Stella approved as she parked herself underneath it pretty much the rest of the weekend. We put it in our living room this year. I wanted to enjoy it and felt like we just couldn't really see it or enjoy it in past year. This is our third Christmas in our house, and this is the third place it has been. . .I am looking forward to having the downstairs done as we will be able to have TWO trees up!

Saturday night we headed out with sister J and our friend J to dinner and a show. We went to a restaurant we had never been to, that we all LOVED! It was delicious! Nectar Bistro is in Osseo, MN and they change their menu over once every three to four months. We started with a couple of appetizers, mixed olives and baked salsa with goat cheese on crostini. I am definitely going to make this again, it was delicious, and something I had never thought of doing. Loved it! Sister J and I both had the squash soup to start with and the boy and J had salad. All three of the girls ordered the blackened barramundi over asparagus. It was SO delicious, and the boy even enjoyed a little of mine, it was SO good! The boy had the pork rib chop, which was also delicious! Dinner was just our pre-theater experience as we had tickets to see a performance of Miracle on Christmas Lake II, at the Yellow Tree Theater, which is a small theater in Osseo. It was wonderful, really funny play. The boy and I enjoyed it so much that we bought tickets for our parents to go and see it and then we are going to make them dinner after the 2:00 performance. Great Christmas gift too. I also bought tickets to see Annie with my mom, my sister and my niece at a community theater near our house.

Sunday we started a little slower after a later night, but we worked on more decorations outside and inside. Got the tree decorated and cleaned some. Our RSVP count at this point for this Saturday's annual holiday party is 46, with 7 outstanding RSVP's that I am still waiting to hear back on. We took my dad out to his favorite steak house, from his 'hood he grew up in, Jax. A big juicy steak is just what dad wanted for his birthday dinner! This week is all about finishing decorating and working on the appetizers for the evening.

Monday
Plans - Heading out to pick up our swap and steal gifts. We always love going to Crate and Barrel and finding something fun!
Dinner - Out, we talked about a couple different places, but it has been an eating frenzy the past couple of days, so something light.

Tuesday
Plans - Movie Screening - Hitchcock
Dinner - Out, the boy is working late these days, so we will be grabbing something on the go.

Wednesday
Plans - Working on the house and appetizers for Saturday
Dinner - Turkey noodle soup, we have a lot of leftovers and the boy made turkey stock on Sunday

Thursday
Plans - Working on the house and appetizers for Saturday
Dinner - Baked Ziti I need to get the fridge cleaned out and I have two half jars of sauce.

Friday
Plans - Mani/Pedi, last minute errands
Dinner - Out, again, ugh, but with everything we need to do this week, it is what it is!

Saturday
Plans - Holiday party day (we are sitting at a headcount of 46 at the moment, with 7 rsvp's yet to come in, it is going to be a full house)
Dinner - I will be posting the list of appetizers later this week!

Sunday
Plans - Put the house back together!
Dinner - Depends on how things go. . . .

For more meal plans, and links to recipes, check out the Stone Gable and the Orgjunkie.

Invitations, RSVP's and Electronic Invitations

This one is a bit of a sore spot for me. Invitations and the way they are sent out, is definitely a personal preference. I prefer paper invitations and cards, sent through the mail, over anything else. But of course I have also used electronic services as well. A few thoughts on them with holidays around the corner. 

I spend quite a bit of time picking out our annual holiday party invitations, the boy always adds his input, but our favorites are always the Doc Milo cards. We have used Doc Milo designs for the past few years as well as our moving announcements, they have new designs every year which keeps things fresh. 

2009

2010 Moving Announcement (the backs are printed too, so cute!)

2011 (2010 we had a housewarming party planned - since we had recently moved, and an uncle passed away and we had to cancel our plans)

And this year, 2012, but I haven't decided what to print on them yet. . .open to ideas and suggestions!

Love looking at and picking out invitations, I have even made quite a few of them as well. 

I think the invitation definitely sets the tone for the festivities. It is kind of like the first impression, the cover on the book, the smell when you walk through the door, the dressing, the icing on the cake. 

There are a lot of great online invitation services out there, evite, which I think if you don't know about at this point, you live under a rock. . .Paperlesspost (my personal favorite) and Cocodot are a few that I have used. I don't like to use an electronic service for big special events, but for a casual get together, a small dinner party, or a small social gathering. 

But in the end, these invitations are just good tools for helping those of us who enjoy entertaining to plan. Plan for drinks, eats, space and what to expect from the evening. So why is it then that people just don't understand how to RSVP? Just a yeah or a neigh. Not a tough one, put the event on your calendar and show up. It still baffles me that people struggle with this and throw off those of us who are just trying to treat them to a fun evening. We are having some of the neighbors over for a little Halloween cocktail party. I used Paperlesspost. . . sent it out in plenty of time, and we still have 10 guests who have not even responded, and that is with a reminder. What do you do in a situation like that. I just plan that they won't come, usually the opposite happens. 

Well, better start working on the 2012 Holiday Party invitations!