Couples Baby Shower

Tags

co-ed baby shower, co-ed baby shower games, couples baby shower, couples baby shower games, entertaining, family, Home

I am an un-traditional person to say the least.  When it comes to time-honoured traditions like weddings and showers, I’m not the most willing participant (and if I do participate, I like to buy or wear unconventional things, just to rattle everyone a bit).

But when two of your bestest friends in the world are having a baby, you throw them a party.  You celebrate the good times.  So that’s what we did.

I saw no reason to exclude the Dad-to-be from all the fun, so *gasp* we had a CO-ED BABY SHOWER!

There’s not much out there on the interweb about how to throw a couples baby shower.  Most of the advice just says things like, “Don’t piss off or scare off the men.”  Which is fine with me because (honestly) most baby shower/wedding shower traditions tend to piss me off, too.

I just wanted to celebrate my friends and have a good time, with yummy food, drinks, and a little fun.

The shower was in the evening, starting from 7 p.m., so food was light.  We had a couple of fruit trays, some mini-rhubarb tarts, and caprese salad cups.

I made Strawberry Sangria (from our Gewürztraminer that we bottled the night before), and filled a cooler full of Boylan’s Vintage Sodas for all the Mommies in the crowd (expecting and breastfeeding).  We also had a tub of vanilla ice cream on hand if you wanted to use your soda to make an ice cream float.  Those were a hit.

(It was Will’s “Pinterest-worthy” idea to cut out the names of the sodas from the cartons and stick them to the cooler)

The first game we played was “Mom or Dad?”  A few days before, I had emailed Angela and Josh and asked them to answer a bunch of questions.  I printed up the questions (e.g.  Whose middle name starts with D?), and the guests had to choose whether it was Mom or Dad.  While everyone was filling out their paper, we went around the room and introduced ourselves, saying how we met Josh and Ange.  The second game we played was “Celebrity Baby Names” in which you had to match the baby name with the famous Mom or Dad.  I gave out tiny succulent plants as prizes (very gender-neutral – two men won the games, and neither seemed pissed off to go home with a tiny plant – success!)

Josh and Angela took turns opening presents, and as they opened, I wrote down all the things Angela said about the presents, as well as who gave them to her (makes it easier to send out Thank-You cards).  When they were done opening, I said, “It’s a little-known fact that the things a woman says while opening her baby shower gifts are they exact same things said at the time the baby was conceived.”  This is bloody hilarious.  Things like, “Ooh, it’s covered in sparkles!” or “Oh, that’s a little bag!”  take on a whole new, hilarious meaning.

Overall, I think it was an awesome party.  The best part was seeing how happy it made my friends.

(If you want to check out my inspiration for food, drinks, and decor, head on over to my Pinterest board, Couples Baby Shower Ideas).

Rhubarb Tarts

Tags

baking, frozen rhubarb, Pastry, rhubarb tarts

As I was rummaging through the deep-freeze in the basement a couple of nights ago, looking for supper inspiration, I found the umpteen million bags of rhubarb I had chopped up and frozen this past summer.

As it happened, I also had some pie dough in the upstairs freezer left over from making quiche at Christmas.

Frozen rhubarb + frozen pie dough = delicious rhubarb tarts.

I got the recipe from my canning bible, Canning for a New Generation by Lianna Krissoff.  She recommends in the book that you chop up rhubarb and freeze it in the right amounts for making these tarts.  Which is exactly what I did (two cups to each Ziploc bag).  And promptly forgot that I had done it.

The tarts were awesome.  I ate all four of them myself.  (But not all in one day.  It took me TWO whole days to finish them).

Healthy Valentine’s Day Chocolates

Tags

Chocolate, coconut oil, coconut oil chocolate recipe, DIY, homemade, raw cacao, raw honey

A while back, I took a class on how to make raw chocolate.  Though I loved the class and the chocolate, I never did get around to buying all the necessary ingredients to make it at home.

Then a couple of days ago, I stumbled upon this recipe for Coconut Oil Chocolates, and had to give them a try.  I already had all the ingredients in my pantry.

It was so easy.  It took about five minutes from start to finish to make the chocolates.  Then you chill them in the freezer for 30 minutes, and they’re ready.  And delicious.  And healthy.  Coconut oil, honey, and raw cacao – super yummy.

Happy Valentine’s Day, everyone!

Need a Little Xmas Now

Tags

Christmas, Christmas decorations, Christmas tree, Xmas

I was feeling a bit low on holiday spirit last week, so I knew it was time to blast cheesey, lounge-type Xmas carols and put up a few decorations.

Twinkly lights – check; tiny Xmas tree – check; Cool Yule, Disc I, II and III – check, check, check.  Singing carols and decorating the tree usually does the trick.  Afterwards, I’m feeling happy and generous and full of holiday cheer.

If decorating and singing fails, there’s always Bailey’s as a back up.

What do you do to get into the Xmas spirit?

[N.B. on the use of “Xmas” – I know some people get upset when they see this.  I’m not a Christian, so it doesn’t bother me.  It’s just an easier, quicker way to type Christmas.  However, it shouldn’t bother Christians either.  According to Wikipedia, “the “X” comes from the Greek letter Chi, which is the first letter of the Greek word Χριστός, translated as “Christ.”]

Related articles

• Why Is There an X in Xmas? Isn’t It Sacrilegious? (bloggingforwisdom.wordpress.com)
• The Xmas App Brings the Christmas Spirit to your iPhone (mobileprwire.com)

 

Tart Treat

Tags

Apple, Apple Rhubarb Tart, Crumble, Pastry, recipe, Rhubarb, Tart

I made these little lovelies on Friday for an opening night reception at LiveFive. LiveFive is an independent theatre collective, and their first show of the season, Farragut North, opened this weekend.  Will and I are doing a show with LiveFive later in the season (check out our website for more info), so they asked all the producing companies if they could provide a little something for the reception after the show.  I just happened to have a ton of frozen rhubarb and some green apples in the fridge left over from jam making that I needed to use up.  I started to make the pastry from scratch but got as far as the flour and butter and realized I didn’t have any eggs (hint, hint, chickens – time to start laying again).  Thank goodness for frozen tart shells!  I turned the aborted pastry attempt into a crumble topping by adding a bit of brown sugar.

Here’s the recipe for the filling (yields 30 tarts):

• 4 cups chopped rhubarb
• 2 cups chopped green apple
• 1 2/3 cups sugar
• 1/3 cup flour

Put it all in a saucepan over medium heat.  No need to add any water; the rhubarb will release a lot of liquid.   Heat the mixture just long enough to thicken.  Remove from heat, spoon into the frozen tart shells, sprinkle the crumble on top, and bake at 400 F for 20 minutes until the tart shells are golden brown and the filling is bubbling.  Broil for three minutes to brown the crumble.  Remove and let cool.  Eat five or six yourself before anyone else can get their grubby little paws on them.

Jack ‘O Lanterns Extraordinaire

Tags

Halloween, Jack-O-Lantern, Pumpkin, Pumpkin Carving

(photo via bgh.com)

I adore pumpkins.  I try growing a new variety every year – warty pumpkins, ghost pumpkins, mini pumpkins.  Even though I am 34 years old, if you visited my house on Halloween, you’d find me in the kitchen, carving my jack ‘o lanterns to put out on the front steps.

So I was absolutely devastated this summer when a giant wind storm tore my pumpkin vines right out of the ground.  I cried.  I haven’t had to buy a pumpkin in years.  Tomorrow, I’ll do the next best thing to growing my own – I’ll go to the Farmers’ Market and buy a couple pumpkins.

Of course, I’ll do a traditional carved jack ‘o lantern, but I might try something a bit “alternative” this year, too.

Candy Corn Gourds / Henna Pumpkins / VW Westfalia Pumpkin / Bittersweet Ghost

Related articles

• 10 Badass Jack-O’-Lanterns Courtesy Of L.A.’s Coolest Cats! (refinery29.com)
• The Most Amazing Geek-o’-Lanterns You’ll See All Week (geeksaresexy.net)
• Oh So Cool Pumpkin Ideas. (savedollarblog.com)

 

It Was All in Good Fun

Tags

Beer, beer darts, drinking game, entertaining, Farmers' Market, Goat cheese, outdoor party, party, summer activities, Zucchini

The weather was lovely – sunny and 28 degrees – couldn’t ask for a more perfect day.  We set out the spread (I’m glad to say that my Sour Cherry Pie was a hit with everyone).  No junk food to be had in sight (well, okay, there were hot dogs).  It was a feast of homemade goodness – chocolate zucchini cake, radish pod pickles, hot cumin pickled squash, goat cheese dip and stuffed cherry tomatoes, toasted baguettes and farmers’ market veggies.  Yum. 

Then we waited for the fun to begin . . . Can’t wait ’til next year!

*Just in case you’re wondering, “Saskatchewan rock, paper, scissors” is played like this:  Moose beats Car, Car beats Hunter, Hunter beats Moose.  (Created by Joshua Beaudry – all rights reserved).

Delicious Radish Pod Pickles

Tags

canning, Food, pickle, pickling, preserving, Radish, Rat Tail Radish, Seed pod

Hurrah!  I’ve done it!  I’ve found a way to grow radishes AND enjoy eating them.  Or rather, I enjoy eating their pickled seed pods.  I’m happy to report that the Radish Pod Pickles are AWESOME!  Perfect little salty yummy snack.  This discovery makes me incredibly happy, and I can’t wait to share the pickles with everyone at Beer Darts on Monday.

Happy weekend, everyone!

Party Time! {Upcycle Thursdays}

Tags

decor, DIY, entertaining, Home and Garden, outdoor party, party, upcycling

Getting ready for the Beer Darts party on Monday has got me searching for crafty party decor.  Here’s a few ideas that caught my eye:

Click on photo for source.

DIY Dixie Cup Garland from Hey Gorgeous

I’ve already got the mini-lights strung along the fence. Now I just need the Dixie cups.

Terrcotta Cloche from House of Earnest

I have lots of terracotta pots sitting in the garage – perfect for covering dips and sauces.

DIY Tin Can Candle Holder from Pure Green Magazine

These will be great for holding citronella candles to keep the mosquitoes away – this way, the wind can’t blow them out.

Like this Post?  Check out these previous posts from Dreambles:

• Upcycle Mash Up {Upcycle Thursdays} (dreambles.com)
• Oh So Lazy {Upcycle Thursdays} (dreambles.com)
• New Obsession {Upcycle Thursdays} (dreambles.com)

One Week ‘Til Beer Darts!

Tags

BBQ, Beer, beer darts, Drink, Gluten-free beer, outdoor party, Recreation

Somehow, a tradition started at our house three years ago.  Beer Darts.  For those of you who haven’t heard of this game, it’s pretty simple – you throw darts at beer cans, and when you hit one, you shotgun the beer.  You play on teams of two, sitting in lawn chairs about 10′ apart, and you shake up a beer can and place it between your chairs.  Then you throw darts at it.  The best part is, you don’t even have to drink beer to play this game – either someone else will drink it for you, or you can play with non-alcoholic beer.  There’s even talk of using gluten-free beer this year.  Everybody wins at Beer Darts.  It’s become like Christmas – it happens once a year and brings everyone much joy.

Oh yeah, and did I mention this year there’s T-shirts?

Images in Inspiration Board from eddieross.com and countryliving.com

Related articles

• How Drinking Beer Can Help Your Health (minnesota.cbslocal.com)
• The Making of a (Good) Gluten-Free Beer – Beer Sessions (thekitchn.com)