A Papier Baby Shower!

I recently hosted, with the help of a few friends, a baby shower for my sister-in-law. I even enjoyed this one. Not that I haven't enjoyed others in the past, but when you are the hostess, you are so busy seeing to everyone's needs that you do not have time to enjoy the party yourself. When you work so hard on all the preparations, you want to take part enjoying it also. Well, this one I did. I think that is in part to making sure the set up and details were taken care of the day before, leaving only minut details for the day of.
This party was a sit down lunch. I wanted guests to feel comfortable, relaxed and not have to balance plates on their laps. Most importantly, I wanted everyone to enjoy themselves.
The Papier theme came from my sister-in-law's love of stationary and all things paper. She has a gift of gift-wrapping, tissue flowers and such. I also tried to incorporate her nursery colors into the decorations. It is always easy to plan a party when you like someonelse's taste and color scheme! The meal theme was all things salads. Here is a look at our fabulous time!


This is the beautiful mother-to-be.


One of the tables. Melanie's nursery colors have the turquoisy-blue citrus and browns, and I think some greens. I stuck with the citrus orange and blue. Love the color combination!


The plate setting. Instead of name cards for seating. I opted to use bud vases. I felt this would be more intimate and not make people uncomfortable about sitting next to someone they did not know too well, (and it is prettier).





These were a recipe of Mel's favorite cake that I printed for each guest and placed at each plate setting. (I was determined that the guest would remember to take them home!)



Some of the guests, my mother-in-law and two of my husband's aunts, and some others enjoying their meal and fellowship.


Of course we enjoyed caramel cupcakes for dessert!



The appetizer tray, which was on a tea cart.



Since our mother-to-be has been enjoying the fruits of her labor, no pun intended, and has found an even greater fondness for tomatoes, this Caprese Salad was a must.



Some of the other delectable dishes.





One of the arrangements I did for the tables.


Since we were using a paper theme, I made several of these paper flowers a few weeks ahead. They really were easy and added some whimsy to the decor.


This was to add flair to the dessert bar.





I am sure you are wondering what in the world I am posting a pic of my fat cat, Duchess, for?! Well, as you can see in the pic, (which actually conceals her true physique), Duchess is a robust cat. Evidently, she felt left out of the party and snuck into one of the dining chairs before the ladies found their way to their seats. When our Aunt Pam attempted to pull out her chair, it wouldn't budge. She kept trying to pull, but the chair wouldn't give. Finally it was discovered that the cat was in it, and unfortunatly my MIL barred her from further festivities. Poor dear.

Lost in the Summer!

Ok, I admit it, I have been on a blogging hiatus! I have become enraptured by the Summer's temptations and neglections! Sleeping in late, lazing the days away, and enjoying the lack of schedule. Quite honestly, it's been blissful! I apologize for leaving you followers out on a limb. I just couldn't quite bring myself to any responsibility, (other than my kids)! Now, feeling a little convicted, I am back! I have a great party to feature that we gave my husband this past weekend. His birthday is July 3rd, so I think it is fair to say he is lucky to have fireworks for his celebrations. I am jealous. I admit it. His birthday was, in my opinion, the perfect manly birthday. Since the guys planned to play golf during the day and then regroup out our house for an evening cookout, I carried the golf theme to our house for decorations.

The day started with breakfast for the guys at the golf club house. Then they played eighteen holes of golf. I snuck in a few little surprises for the players for their game. I purchased prizes for the number of golfers, and came up with categories for awards. This was enjoyed by all the men and a great way to add a little fun and humor, as if they really needed it!
If you would like to do this, here are some category suggestions:
Most Mulligan Sales (whoever buys the most drinks)
Closest to the hole
Best Chip-in
Sand Trap King
Worst Score
Best Score


For the party, which I slaved away on ALL day while he was having a great time, I purchased a large bag of recycled golf balls, reindeer moss, wooden letter "M", sheet moss, and I borrowed some of my hubby's tees. Oh, I also purchased some faux grass in square retangles, which I then cut down to look like newly mowed grass. Granted, I must admit, this does not look like some of those parties you see on other blogs, but then again, I am on a budget and the focus was all about the hubby enjoying his day! I also will share with you, over the next few blogs, some of the dishes that were served. There is nothing and I mean NOTHING as good as a B-BQ spread!



This was the main food table. My MIL was kind enough to pick some of her hydreangas for me. Aren't they HUGE?! I added some colored sand and golf balls to glass cylinder vases, purchased a clear picture box (took off the back) and filled it with sheet moss, glued a tee and golf ball- viola!


This is one of the outdoor tables, (just in case you couldn't tell- give me a break, its still morning!). I used some lanterns I already had, and layered the bottom with golf balls then added a candle. I think, sometimes, that linen napkins can be used for more than wiping your mouth. Here it adds a layer of fabric and a good contrast to the burlap, I love texture!


This is the other table; I think the golf ball is wandering off the green!


This is the appetizer bar. The tiny dish you see are these stuffed jalapeno peppers, which a friend brought. I think they last all of about 10 minutes! No joke! I'll have to pass this recipe along, it is too good not to share.


The wreath that greeted guests as they arrived.




Here is the birthday boy blowing out his candles. I am sure when he sees I've posted this I will get into trouble! His mother made his cake. It was a Mississippi Mud Cake, and soooo delicious!

The night ended with a firework show courtesy of a friend who brought the "works"! The kids really enjoyed it and cheered the guys on. They had a great viewing atop the fort!



Stuffed Jalapeno Peppers
This is courtesy of my friend, Dawn. You may want to triple this recipe, it goes fast!

1 cup ground pork sausage
1 pkg. cream cheese
1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1 lb. fresh jalapenos, seeded and halved lengthwise

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place sausage in a skillet over medium heat, and cook till done and browned. Drain grease. In a bowl, mix together sausage, cream cheese and parmesan. Spoon 1 tbsp. of the mixture into each jalapeno half. Arrange stuffed peppers onto a baking dish. Bake 15-20 minutes until bubbly and light brown.

To lighten the load: substitue turkey ground sausage for pork and reduced-fat cream cheese for regular.

Did I mention how ridiculously easy this is?!

Homemade Blueberry Preserves

Earlier this week I purchased some blueberries from the local farmer's market. I wish I could have gotten them from a blueberry farm, but suffice to say, it is too darn hot!! Anyhoo, I decided to make bleuberry preserves for fear they would go to waste before we had the chance to eat them all. This was ridiculously easy! My grandmother would make preserves this way whenever company was coming and they could eat them all up. The preserves will last about a month kept in the refrigerator. You won't even need a pen and paper for this recipe; it's that easy!





Fresh Blueberry Preserves

8 cups fresh blueberries
4 cups sugar
2 tbsp. fresh squeezed lemon juice

That's it!

All you do is:
1. wash and de-stem the berries.
2. In a dutch oven or broiler, add all ingredients and bring to a boil over
med-high heat.
3. Stir ingredients together and mash berries. I used a potato masher.
4. Cook at a rapid boil for 10-12 minutes, stirring throughout to prevent
sticking.
5. Spoon into prepared canning jars.
6. Let sit in fridge for 24 hrs. before using.

Peach Pastries in Vanilla Cream Sauce

I LOVE peaches! Their sweet yet tart flavor makes my mouth insanely happy! I bought a bunch of Chilton County (Georgia) peaches today while at the Farmer's Market. They have to best the best peaches. God gave an extra blessing when he created the peach tree! Well, long story short, when I got home I was at a lost as to what to do with the peaches. I mean it has to be good, right?! So, I thought up this recipe and truly it was delicious! Very simple I might add. This can be made fairly quickly and would be a great dessert for dinner guests. It does call for a vanilla bean, ( by now you should know how high esteem I have for the vanilla bean). You can purchase them in the spice section of your grocer.


You will need:

4 ripe peaches,pitted and sliced thinly
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/4 cup half n half
1 tsp. cornstarch
1 vanilla bean (do not skimp here- get the real thing)
1 sheet puff pastry dough
1/4 tsp. all spice
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. cinnamon

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

First, thaw the puff pastry dough, then cut into three sections, vertical. I used the frozen lines from the folds already made. Once again you will cut the dough, this time horizontally, into three sections from each vertical length of dough. I hope this make sense. In other words, take one of the vertical sections and cut across it making three squares.
Spray 6 ramekins with cooking spray. Lay each square of pastry dough in ramekin. Patting all around and pricking with a fork. Bake til golden brown, but not too done. You will re-bake with the peaches in later.



See, I forgot to prick with the fork!


Next, over medium heat, bring to a simmer the half-n-half, sugar, cornstarch and whole vanilla bean, ( do not split, yet). You will need to whisk all along. Once the vanilla bean has heated and softned, remove and split. Scrape out all the seeds and add to cream sauce, whisking in. Remember as I told in the bread pudding blog: wash the vanilla bean in the cream sauce to get all the seeds out.





In a seperate bowl, add the sliced peaches, nutmeg, allspice, and cinnamon; mix well. Add the cream to the peach mixture stirring until all the peaches are coated.




Remove the pastry from the oven. Scoop the peaches and sauce into each ramekin over the pastry. Cook about 12-15 minutes, or until bubbly. Cool slightly before eating.