insanely preparing

busy is an understatement!

my hubs and I have been preparing for 2 parties, back to back, at our house starting tomorrow night... FOR 35 PEOPLE EACH. 

actually it's just the sort of thing I like to do except I get ridiculous with all of the details. i mean, really ridiculous!

our church is starting a new, and exciting, I might add, building campaign that kicked off this week.. 

so here are some of the things that we, and a few of our friends, have been preparing for the next couple of nights.

a fancy fruit platter

crab cakes with a remoulade sauce

shrimp cocktail

mini mozzarella balls with basil and roasted red pepper

stuffed mini baked potatoes

angeled eggs (as my friend calls them) 

mixed olives

chicken satay

homemade guacamole, salsa and chips

cheese ball & crackers

vegetables on skewers poked into a pumpkin to look like a bouquet

desserts:

white chocolate covered brownie truffles

chocolate truffles

pumpkin roll

ricotta cake

apple pie

pb & chocolate pie

beverages:

apple cider

raspberry fruit punch

flavored iced tea

fruited water

and so in all the preparations, cleaning, decorating, project making, etc., I totally forgot that I was going to be a guest blogger over at Art's Chili.

i'm embarrassed, to say the least, that I would excitedly commit and then completely forget.

Kat, I know you understand. Thanks for even thinking of me to do it. I am honored.

I'll post photos of my crazy gatherings.
Thanks for stopping by.

Wordless Wednesday! ~ monkey moos

These guys are a couple of monkeys!

Grant & Cooper just having some fun while Braaten does a photo shoot. 

Visit "5 Minutes for Mom" for more Wordless Wednesday posts.

party time!

This was my recent birthday celebration. My hubs made the cake with Grant and then they decorated the kitchen. It was wonderful. We always decorate the kitchen and also the birthday person's chair. The cake was great, the cards, and the special presents the kids picked out for me. They get really excited to shop for just the right gift. 

I love you, my wonderful family!

Other parties in the news:  We are planning to entertain 35 people a night from church for 2 nights in a row at the end of this month in preparation for a building campaign we are doing.

Homemade hot and cold hors d'oeuvres, desserts, and a clean house decorated in a fall theme is keeping us really busy right now.

Volleyball and soccer games are filling up the planner, too! 

Menu Plan Monday

My Menu Plan:

Monday- Chicken Pot Pie with a side salad

Tuesday- Spaghetti & Garlic Bread

Wednesday- Asparagus Strata & Corn Bread

Thursday- Steak and Rice & Beans

Friday- Chicken Salad Sandwiches on the go

We’re heading up north in Michigan to Petoskey to visit friends for the weekend. I'll be cooking with my friend, Barb.

Visit Orgjunkie to get more great ideas on menu plans.

transformations ~ continued...

This room was changed piece by piece.

I think once you get the paint bug, it's all over. I have got bitten by it in the past year through decorating blogs, and things haven't been the same since.

So here's what was done...

This hutch was purchased when we had our first baby. We also bought a small dresser to go with it. The top piece of this hutch comes off and when our little guy was born, we put a changing pad on top of it. As he got bigger, we put the hutch back on and have had the set for 14 years now. We later bought a bed to match.

Needless to say, I got a little tired with the "pickled" wood and wanted to freshen it up.

I decided to go with white and I plan on distressing it later.

I added these bird stickers from Michael's to add a bit of whimsy.

Here is the matching daybed.

I went with green to offset the white and make it a more colorful space.

This second dresser was the first piece in this room that I painted.

I painted right in the room so that we didn't have to drag furniture in and out of the house.

You can take the risk of possibly spilling paint on to the carpeting. Thankfully that didn't happen here.

And this is after it was done. I added a couple of glass knobs from Hobby Lobby.

At 50% off, I think I paid $2 a knob.

If you click on the above picture, you'll see that I distressed it a little with charcoal paint mixed with glaze.

My next project was to spray paint this framed mirror to add a punch of color.

I purchased this little table from T.J.'s and looking back now, it was too expensive.

I just might return it. We'll see.

I found this beauty at Goodwill for $5.99.

I could not believe my eyes when I spotted it.

I sanded it with my "Octo", from Skil, which is like a Mouse only different.

It is the handiest little sanding tool!

I painted it the exact same color as the green table I want to return and I absolutely love it!

This little chair was $1.99 at GW and I painted it yellow and changed the fabric on the cushion.

All the bright colors make me happy.

That's my guest room transformation. I still have to hang curtains and add a few more finishing touches.