Patriotic dessert

I came across this festive dessert on Taste of Home. Man, how I wish I had that star pan so I could make some for myself :)

4th of July Bread

Great Harvest Bread Company always makes a delicious 4th of July sweet bread. It has berries and white chocolate chips and is absolutely amazing! I look forward to this time of year just for the bread. Try it out!

4th of July BBQ details

There are a few simple things you can do to spruce up your 4th of July BBQ.

Use a picnic basket to serve your buns.

Get some patriotic napkins. These were 20 for $1 at Dollar Tree. Also, use snappers as a favor for everyone.

Use a patriotic table cloth. Use as much red, white and blue to decorate as possible.

how does this look

we are almost ready to roll it out...

Happy Summer

It's officially summer! What are some of your favorite summer activities?

Do something special today for your father or your husband.

First Day of Summer

So the first day of summer may not be an "official" holiday, but who says we can't celebrate it anyway? Actually, I never celebrated the first day of summer growing up. To me, if school was out, then it was just another glorious day in the sun. Until I heard my friend's tradition, that is.

My good friend from college told me about a tradition that her family does on the first day of summer, which this year is June 21st. And boy, I would never forget the first day of summer again. Ready for this?

For dinner on the first day of summer, they eat ICE CREAM! What a child's paradise (and maybe a parent's nightmare, but I'm sure you could tailor it to your family). They have other, more substantial food to go along with it, but everyone can eat the ice cream they want--and first at that! I think this is such a fun and TASTY tradition, don't you?
You have a few days to pick up your favorite flavors and surprise your whole family for dinner on June 21st! Plus, this might just be the easiest dinner you will fix the entire year :)

4th of July Jello Cake

Have you ever had Jello Cake? It is one of those delicious, easy, and inexpensive desserts...not to mention how FESTIVE it is.

I made one for our early 4th of July BBQ. And it was delightful!

To make your own 4th of July Jello cake,

1. Make a yellow or white cake as directed on the box.

2. Let it cool for at least 15 minutes. Then poke holes with a fork through the entire cake. It will look like this

3. Just before it has cooled, mix up 3 oz. jello as directed on the box. (I wanted 2 colors so I used 1.5 oz of each color).

4. Pour the unset jello over the cake slowly so that it is absorbed and doesn't rush to the bottom of the pan.

5. Refrigerate at least 4 hours, but the longer the better. Keep refrigerated until you serve it.

6. Before serving, spread cool whip on top and garnish with fruit or sprinkles.

Father's Day Frame Idea

I came across a very cute idea for a Father's Day gift. This won't work for me since I don't have kids yet, but its something I definitely want to remember for the future.

Check it out at here

Hosting Tip #3

If you know guests are coming over, make sure you have plenty of toilet paper in the bathroom. I would suggest putting a few extra rolls near the toilet. While you are at it, put a spray air freshener in there so you're guests won't be embarrassed.

Hosting Tip #2

If you don't have time to wash all the pots, pans, and dishes before your guests arrive, just stash them in the oven! Your guests will never have to know your little secret. Just make sure you are finished with the oven and it is completely cool before you put anything in there that could melt. Also, don't forget your to take it out before you preheat it or you might have an ever bigger mess!

Hosting Tip #1

Put balloons on your mailbox or a sign out front so that guests that have never been to your house before know which one to go to. I learned this the hard way.

How to use Evite

You probably remember me talking about Evite in the invitations post. I promised I would dedicate an entire post on how to use Evite, so here goes:

Go to evite.com. If you are a first-time use, click the login button in the top right hand corner. It will bring you to a page that looks like this:

Fill out the registration form. I un-check the box that says that I want party planning ideas, etc so I don't get lots of spam. After you sign in, you will see your home page:


Your home page is where you can view all of your upcoming events (both the ones you planned and the ones you are invited to).


To create an invitation, click on the "Invitations" tab. It will bring you to this page. Notice that you can choose a design from the 1. Design Categories or 2. A featured design.

Since I want to create an invitation for a BBQ, I'm going to click on the featured design invitation.
It will bring me to this next page:

Here you enter in an Event Title and all the details including time, address, etc. You will notice some other options right under your picture. One of the choices is "Invitation Options". If you click on that, you can select "Ask your guests to bring something". You can type in what you need and the quantity. Once someone selects an item, it will automatically reduce the quantity so another person can't bring the same thing! Cool huh?

You can also include an "End time" or have your guests suggest a date/time. There are so many options so just have fun exploring.

After your invitation is ready, you are ready to Add Guests. Click on the green button in the bottom right hand corner. Your next page will look like this:

Add your contacts from Facebook or your address book. You can select your reply style and also add a personalized message. Click send when you are ready. You can preview it also before you send it.

As the organizer, you can keep track of who has viewed the invitation and replied.You can add more guests and send updates.

That is Evite in a nutshell! If you have any specific questions, let me know!

Mud Cup Dessert

I LOVE this treat. It's so simple and so fun for summer.

All you need for your mud cup dessert:

• 2 cups crushed Oreos
  
• 1 large box chocolate pudding
  
• 8 oz. cool whip
  
• Gummy worms (at least 2 per person)
  
• Plastic cups (paper will also work, but it won't look as pretty)

First, mix the chocolate pudding as directed. Let the pudding thicken for 5 minutes. Then add the cool whip and 1/2 cup of crushed oreos.

Pour that mixture into the cups. Then add crushed oreos on top and gummy worms.

Keep these refrigerated until you are ready to serve them.