Bridal Shower Part 2: Games!

Last week I filled you all in on the food part of the bridal shower I hosted for my aunt...


http://proudlybrewed.blogspot.com/2011/08/shower-part-1-food.html

I really feel the food is the key ingredient to a rockstar shower, of any kind, but ALMOST as is important are the decorations and the games.

I like games played at shower's. I don't love them, but it can be a great way to pass some time and get everyone engaged. Plus, if you pick games where there are prizes involved, everyone really goes hog wild!

I decided on the ever so common and popular toilet paper bride. If you have never played or watched toilet paper bride....well...I don't think we can be friends anymore. Just kidding! Toilet paper bride is one of those games that starts out with everyone cringing and morphs into everyone laughing hysterically by the end of it. Simply put, break your party up into teams, separate them throughout the house, and give them 5 minutes to create a designer wedding gown out of toilet paper! Bring everyone back together, let the teams explain their design to the bride and then the bride can chose a winner. I like to provide the winning team with a small gift and what better than toiletries! The dollar travel section is a great place to get body wash, lotion, body spray, what have you.

This is my grandma's sister and her double cousin posing as brides (my mom snapped this photo!)

Next we played Bridal Bingo and the dice game. Bridal bingo is simple. You can either use templates printed off from online, or, you can print blank sheets, along with a list of words, and have everyone fill in their card prior to playing.

The simplest form of entertainment and time-wasting is the dice game. Sit your guests in a circle, pass around two trays with dice in them. When someone rolls a pair, they can grab a gift, but not unwrap it. After all the gifts have been spoken for, everyone unwraps their prizes. However, they don't get to keep them. The next round is 5 minutes long and when someone gets doubles, they can steal a prize from anyone. This part of the game can get a little wild!

I suggest having plenty of prizes on hand. Pick up item from the dollar section of the baking aisles. I grabbed cookie mixes, cake mix and frosting, lotion, notepads, recipe cards, pot holders, salad spoons, just a bunch of random items that women swoon over!

I prepped the prizes the night before, wrapping them in colorful bags which is super easy and fast. I suggest eliciting help! Here's a quick shot of my little helper!

Yep! That's Kea (aka. White One!). Did you see her amongst the gifts?!

Next week, or maybe later this week once I get caught up on homework, I will fill you in on the decorations and talk themes!

Tonya and Twins...

This weekend one of my best friends Tonya came down to accompany me to a Twins game. Needless to say, we had some large buckets of Malibu Punch and got a little tipsy...probably the most fun I have had at a game yet! Isn't it great to have friends you can have a good time with?!?

Yesterday I ran a mile and it felt great. I had some time before I mowed so I just hoped to it and punched out a quick run! I have been doing videos and not so much distance runs but I am ready to hit the pavement again! Tonight I will make Thomas go out with me...gotta start preparing for Thursday's MN State Fair Adventure!!!!

Thankful Thursday...

I am thankful that I have a roof over my head and a nice bed to crawl into a night.
I am thankful I can play sports and be active.
I am thankful for some friend time this weekend.
I am thankful I get to fall asleep next to my wonderful husband.
I am thankful for the wonderful tomato soup I had for lunch (funny thing, I used to hate tomato soup!).
I am thankful that I have magazines to read at the gym.
I am thankful that my husband and I are going to the state fair next week.
I am thankful that today was a weigh in and a new week.
I am thankful I have the internet so I can keep in touch with all of you.
I am thankful I wore flats today.
I am thankful that in 9-10 hours, I get to crawl back into bed...this morning was an early one!

Shower Part 1: The Food!

This past weekend I hosted a shower for my aunt who is getting married in October. Arguably, the most important part of a party, especially in the MN, is the food! I took that as a challenge!

To start, I created a spread that I was proud of.

Don't you see the contentment on my face?!

And to top off our beautiful spread, what better than to give food as a favor also! We decided to make mini loaves of friendship bread. My grandma helped me prepare for the shower and while she was able to bake during the day, that doesn't make such a favor off limits for those of us who work during the day. My philosophy while prepping for this shower, and ones I have hosted int he past, was to think of the effect that it would have on individuals, not just the bride. Everyone loved getting to go home with a baked treat! (And like I said, we are from the MN...everyone loves sweets and better yet, free food!)

We added a cute note of appreciation too! Our theme was a mixture of three words: summer, simple, country. I would say we pulled that off pretty well, but I will leave the details for another post!

Aside from the usual attendees at summer parties (fruit, crackers, cheese and meat) I decided to whip up two salads, one being a chicken salad to make sandwiches, and the other being a pasta salad to accompany it.

I wanted to share the recipes as the chicken salad was delicious! And the pasta salad was created by yours truly!

Chicken Salad (Adapted from online research)

2.5 cups cooked chicken diced
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup grapes, halved
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 bunch green onion chopped
1/2 cup mayo
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

Combine all ingredients and chill overnight.

We doubled the recipe to make more, so instead of having to bake another small chicken, I picked up a rotisserie chicken for the second batch. Just a tip: This tasted wonderful and was easy! I will be going the rotisserie chicken route the next time I do this!


The second salad was a combination of Internet research, and personal preference!

Summer Pesto Caprese Salad

1 lb pasta (any shape!)
4 oz. pesto
3 tbsp garlic Olive oil (or add garlic to your saute pan if you use olive oil)
3 cups cherry tomatoes
salt
pepper
Italian seasoning mix
8 ounces fresh mozzarella balls
1/2 cup fresh grated Parmesan

Cook pasta. While this is cooking, saute tomatoes in olive oil. Once they have cooked, mash them up into a sauce. Once pasta has cooked, rinse with cold water to chill. To pasta, add tomato sauce, 4 oz. pesto, fresh mozzarella, salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning to taste! Let it chill over night to flavors can develop.
All plated up!

Finish the party with some sweet treats! We had pistachio dessert (sorry, no photo), store bought cupcakes that were delicious, and cookies I had made from refrigerated dough and those packs of dry mix you can get in the baking aisle (hey, what can I say? It was crunch time towards the end!)

My best and most sound advice when preparing for a party...prepare everything ahead of time! Get everything cut up, placed on trays, and what have you the night before. We even prepared the trays with olives and pickles and just wrapped them in saran wrap! And notice my cookie tins? Such a time saver! I had those babies lined up all pretty Thursday night! And good thing, cause we had not a minute to spare prior to the party!

Hope you enjoy the recipes and advice! I think hosting a party can be a really enjoyable experience! I just hate the cleanup!

I love magazines!

Not a shower update, but a food update!

yup, I promised you wedded bliss but I just have to sneak in a little food update!

First, I want to get something out there. I am on Weight Watchers. I follow it as a guideline, but sometimes I have a hard time sticking to it perfectly. But no matter what, Thursday hits, I weigh myself, reflect, and continue on my journey. It may be a slow journey, but I am doing it. I vow to not jump on here and say that I am jumping back on the wagon, or I am restarting up after a break, because in truth, that is not true. WW is always in the back of my mind, even if I am enjoying some birthday cake. And sometimes I splurge at night, and over do it, but my mind snaps me back into reality, and I get back to focusing on what I eat. In general, my 9-5 is pretty regimented...and most of my weeknights, it's just the weekends that bring on the trouble but slowly, over time, I might just get over that! lol...but in the meantime, I am trying to really stay focused in order to drop some lbs. prior to my aunt Kristie's wedding, so here are some of the wonders I have found and wanted to share with you!

• Fiber One Brownie - 2pp...a great treat to curb a sweet tooth! Also pairs nice with light ice cream! Try this: 2pp brownie, 1/2 cup light vanilla ice cream, 1/2 cup-1 cup blackberries (or any berries for that matter!) 5pp of wonderfulness! Top with light chocolate syrup for a 6pp treat! It will fill you up along with filling every sweet desire and craving within you!


• Country Hearth Light English Muff - 2pp!!!!!...wonderful with light butter for 3pp, and a dash of cinnamon sugar! Or maybe some Jam for another 3pp treat! Or how about a good old pb & j on English muffin for a filling 5pp sandwich! Want something hearty? Top with one prepared egg and a slice of light cheese for another 5pp sandwich! Ahhh, the possibilities!


• An assortment of berries drizzled with 1pp worth of light chocolate syrup


• Light string cheese (1pp) paired with an apple (0pp)! Yummy!


• 4 Water Crackers (2pp) paired with a slice of light cheese or cheese stick (1pp)

Enjoy! And happy snacking!

Wedding Shower and Graduation...oh my!

I will have a lot to recap, and I won't get it all in right now, but this past weekend was a blast!

On Saturday I hosted a bridal shower for Krisite! It went so well and everyone had a great time. When hosting a party, that is really what you want so I would say it was all around successful! I will provide more details later and fill you in on what I did!

Then yesterday we celebrate Mikey's graduation/leaving for college with a low key, family and friends party. It was relaxing and fun with some great summer time food!

This week will be busy with flag football starting and the continuation of school work...oh, and Mikey leaving on Wednesday for school :(

Speaking of school work, did I let you all know that my computer got a virus and crashed? And that I have no way to download the special software I bought for this really wonderfully fantastic statistics class I have to take...yeah, that's been a peach!

More to come later tonight!