Halloween Candelabra

I have been keeping my eye out for an old brass candelabra and happen to come across one at a yard sale.

As a teenager and young adult, I loved old haunted mansion horror movies like ones starring actor Vincent Price. 

Those old movies always seemed to have a woman in a long flowing gown, descending a huge staircase at night, holding a candelabra!

I still love fall, Halloween, pumpkins, and a good scary movie.

When I came across this old brass candelabra at a sale in Michigan, it was the end of the day and they took $1.00 for it.  I knew with a facelift, it would work great for our annual fall party!

Under The Sea Party Ideas

My youngest son and his finance are having a baby in December. Daniel and Jennica had their first date on March 17, 2010, (St Patrick's Day) got engaged early this year, and set the date for the wedding for March 17, 2017. 

 

Unexpectedly, they found out in May they were going to have a baby. When they saw the doctor for the first time she told them their estimated date of conceiving was March 17^th!

Ariel's Candelabra and “Under the Sea” Party

I'm hosting an Under The Sea BabyShower for my son Daniel and his long time girlfriend, Jennica, (they got engaged earlier this year).

Jennica decided about 2 months ago that the baby shower was either going to be themed for a boy, (King Triton) or a girl, (Ariel). We found out in July that we're having a girl, and they're naming her Lilly! 

So Ariel's Under The Sea it is.

One of the decorations we decided to make was Ariel's candelabra.

And really it has been one of the easier decorations I've made so far!

I was able to find an old brass candlestick at a thrift store for .90 cents and used silverware which was .30 cents each.

Halloween Costume Ideas

Halloween Costumes: Part 1

Who doesn't love fall and Halloween? 

Around our house, we get really excited thinking about the coming pumpkin recipes, fall leaves, corn stalks, stews, college football and all things autumn. 

We host a Fall Party every year and encourage everyone to come in costume, it's great fun. 

We also wear our costumes to Fall Festivals and our local Circleville Pumpkin Show, no really, we do.

Every year since the kids were little,  I have made their Halloween costumes, and every year I started in August. 

Now I know some people are not very organized, or don’t want to think about Halloween costumes in August.  But for us we have found it is less stressful to decide on a costume in August. We then spend the next few weeks gathering together the needed items or props.

Good Old Fashion Dinner Party

A Women's Only Formal Dinner Party
Women are unique, special, intelligent and gifted.
But a lot of the time, all our time is taken up with work, kids, husbands, partners, housework and lots of stress, leaving very little time to ourselves.

My daughter Alexis, my son’s girlfriend Jennica and I decided to host a girls only night.
Another friend we consulted, Heidi, suggested we make it a formal dinner party and all of us dress up.
What a great idea that turned out to be! We had such a fun time admiring each other’s outfits and the SHOES! Each lady had on just a fantastic pair of heels, all to die for!
Jennica put together a playlist for background music which included lots of love and romance songs (of course) and also songs about woman empowerment.

Jennica, Alexis and I spent an evening shopping for a new tablecloth, something feminine and with a summer feel, and kicked around ideas for the menu.

Watermelon Margaritas

Planning a Girls Only Dinner Party

I'm planning a girls only Dinner Party and I need to come up with a couple cocktails that women might love.
Today, while searching websites, I came across a Watermelon Margarita recipe!
Sounds so "summer" and delicious, (That blog that has since gone to blog heaven).

I changed the recipe a bit and came up with my own version:

Italian Dinner Party

My son and his girlfriend Jennica

Italian (Birthday) Dinner Party In Our Barn
My son’s girlfriend Jennica’s birthday was coming up in June, so she asked me if we could have a party in our barn. We hashed over a few ideas, and came up with an Italian Dinner Party theme.

We searched the web for ideas, decorations and food because although I have had people over for dinner, and hosted larger Christmas and Thanksgiving dinners, I have not had a semi-formal dinner party in a barn!
Jennica and I decided to keep it simple: Appetizers, wine, salad, garlic bread, the main dish and desserts.

Please keep in mind this party can also be in your backyard under a shade tree, on the patio or even indoors!
Jennica started out with an invitation list of 16, enlarged it to 20 and ended up with 18 guests for dinner.

Fall Barn Party

Ideas for a Fall Party
Although we have been spending 12 hour days working on our new little farm, we decided to go ahead with our annual fall party.

We had very limited time to prepare and it would be a rush job, but we decided to have the party outdoors and in our barn.
Top of my list for a fun party?  Encourage everyone, including adults to come in costume.




We sometimes have a best costume contest with first place prizes for adults, teenagers and small children Everyone votes, then places their votes in a jar.  The votes are then tallied and special prizes handed out.