DIY Home Baked Twinkies today on CATCH MY PARTY website!

Today, I am writing on Catch My Party website! I am super excited to be sharing over there BECAUSE Catch My Party is one of the coolest resources for the party planner! It is a little gold mine of party inspiration with every theme imaginable. Catch My Party is a simple and VERY easy way to help YOU plan YOUR next party. Jillian, at Catch My Party is truly the Sweetest Heart and I am honored to be writing on her blog today.

I'm sharing tips on how to make your own homebaked Twinkies over there! They are little bites of heaven.


I first made the Twinkies for the Magic Party I hosted for my son's 7th birthday. My goal was to serve unique desserts, something different than the always loved CUPCAKE. So, I created a dessert theme focused around classic creations made homemade. The goal was to take all the classic store bought creations and bake homemade versions of the treats! We enjoyed homemade Oreos, donuts, and of course, the Twinkies.



So, please visit Catch My Party blog today to read all the details and the DIY tutorial on baking homemade Twinkies.

Loves,


This post is linked to: Under the Table & Dreamin, It's a Blog Party, Think Pink Sundays LambAround, DIY Showoff, DIY Living, Seasonal Sundays, It's so Very Cheri, Strut Your Stuff at Saturday Mornings, Met Monday, Making the World Cuter, Motivate Me Mondays, Market Yourself Mondays, A2Z Tips & Tutorials, Lettered Cottage How To, Tasty Tuesday, Tempt My Tummy, Tuesdays at the Table, Topsy Turvy Tuesday, Tip Junkie, Get Your Craft On, We're Organized Wednesday, Outdoor Wednesday, Swing into Spring, Works for Me Wednesday, Show and Tell, Whatever Goes Wednesday, Blog Hop Thursday, Transformation Thursday, Tablescape Thursday, Show off Your Stuff, Strut Your Stuff, Friday Favorites, VIP Party Show and Share Day, Foodie Friday, Frugal Friday, I'm Lovin It, Tickled Pink, Be Different Act Normal, Funky Junk Interiors, Weekend Wrap Up

Recycled Flower Arrangements

I like fresh cut flowers,

lots of them,

all the time.

I've said before that in my dream life, I would have fresh arrangements delivered to my door every single morning. Chris surprises me with a lot of fresh flower special deliveries though! It must be because I'm so spoiled sweet.

Cut flowers don't last long but there is an obvious simple tip you can use to keep your bouquets looking pretty longer! After your arrangement starts to wither, pull out all the flowers and re arrange into new mini bouquets: give your flowers a transformation! It will feel as if you have a TOTALLY NEW flower arrangement!

It's like this...

This arrangement started out from the florist like this:


But as the flowers started to wither, I took it apart and discarded the dead flowers:




Then I had a reinvented arrangement:






Another bunch of gorgeous flowers:



And, after the lilies bloomed and everything else died, I grouped the leftovers into a different vase and it looked like this:


I even used some for a mountain picnic:





And this:



Becomes something simple for the dinner table:



Party decor flowers:


Become this: Typically, I'm not a fan of dried flowers, but mini roses dry so beautifully!

Be creative with your use of fresh cut flowers

- put in an old soda bottle, tie with twine,
and give to a new neighbor

- put in a big drinking pitcher
and use a centerpiece for a breakfast buffet.

- always buy flowers when entertaining and hosting dinners or events. You can find them on clearance at the grocery store.

- use for party centerpieces. Nothing is prettier
or EASIER than flowers.

- use for gift toppers (thank you Melissa!)

- tie up a bundle and put in a basket for picnics

- randomly give to little girls when you're out

- leave some in your guest room when you have company

-bundle some pretties in a mason jar and surprise your best friend

I'm a fresh cut flower kind of girly girl! I have always loved taking pictures of my flowers since I was just a little girl. I could make an entire album of just flower bouquets I've received through the years. It's more than beautifully colored flowers: each arrangement brings back a feeling, a memory, and a moment in time. That's what the photos give me.



AND....
the arrangements give me beauty in every day life.
They add a smile to my table,
they're the most lovely accessory for a home.






This post is linked to Home Stories A 2 Z Tuesday Tips.

ROCK ON Healthy Dinner Party

We rocked in my husband's 29th birthday last month with a family dinner party at my parent's lovely home. We wanted to celebrate Chris' current passions: guitar and a healthy lifestyle. We made it "all that" and threw in his favorite color too: ORANGE.


To keep a party masculine, I add geometric shapes and keep the colors to one or two, not multi colors. For his party, I used circles and the colors brown and orange. And if you know me, you'll know another idea I use for maintaining continuity is to search for candy that matches the party. This is an excellent ways to recruit my boys to help me! They love the "job" of sorting the other colors out of the candy mix. Reese's Pieces had the PERFECT colors I needed, minus the yellow. {wink} The boys also punched some timeless style confetti out for more splashes of circles!

Lots of circles weaved through the table in place of a table runner...
surrounded by circle placemats

A circle of balloons balanced perfectly in the center of the table.

The "rock on" bag follows Chris' guitar passion.
My Mom wraps pretty packages!

I created garland out of guitar picks. I simply used clear tape to randomly stick the picks to clear fishing line.

The garland hung down over the center of the table.

Even the appetizers were circles...

The rest of the food focused on health. My mom and I planned a menu that celebrated a healthy lifestyle. I made classic mozzarella balls and tomatoes on a stick with fresh basil.

My Mom's veggie tray.

Party prep...doin' our thing!

My Mom makes some killer BBQ chicken. CLASSIC.

I made roasted artichoke hearts with pesto spinach topped with melted brie. Simply rinse artichoke hearts and place on baking sheet. Cook fresh spinach on stovetop with fresh garlic. Stir in pesto sauce and Parmesan cheese if desired. Top artichokes with spinach mixture. Finish with a square of brie cheese and broil until cheese bubbles and heated through.

My serving dishes for entertaining from Pier 1 are AH-mazing.
They offer such a fresh and clean canvas to showcase all the delicious goodness.

I had the most fun with these baked zucchini fries!
How cute is this?
I found mini bags to mock traditional french fry bags.

Grab and go...

My brother brought the drinks: Gatorade for liquid fuel.

Who knew Gatorade looked so pretty in glasses?

We used my favorite local cake shop for Chris' guitar cake.

We wanted it to match his guitar:

I wonder what he wished for before he blew the fire out?

His "not so surprise" birthday gift was waiting for him at home. It followed along with our lil health theme. How could I have kept this a secret? My muscles weren't cool enough to set this up alone.

It was definitely a night of celebration.
Chris ROCKS our world.
He is one of those REAL men.
I am blessed beyond measure to have him as my husband.

This post is linked to: Outdoor Party Centsational Girl, Under the Table & Dreamin, It's a Blog Party, Think Pink Sundays LambAround, DIY Showoff, DIY Living, Seasonal Sundays, It's so Very Cheri, Strut Your Stuff at Saturday Mornings, Met Monday, Making the World Cuter, Motivate Me Mondays, A2Z Tips & Tutorials, Lettered Cottage How To, Tasty Tuesday, Tempt My Tummy, Tuesdays at the Table, Topsy Turvy Tuesday, Tip Junkie, Get Your Craft On, We're Organized Wednesday, Outdoor Wednesday, Swing into Spring, Works for Me Wednesday, Show and Tell, Whatever Goes Wednesday, Blog Hop Thursday, Transformation Thursday, Tablescape Thursday, Show off Your Stuff, Strut Your Stuff, Friday Favorites, VIP Party Show and Share Day, Foodie Friday, Frugal Friday, I'm Lovin It, Tickled Pink, Be Different Act Normal, Funky Junk Interiors, Weekend Wrap Up