Week 31

Today is my Department's holiday party so I ordered this little black dress on Sunday to wear during the holiday season. It actually is a size too big but I didn't have the energy or time to deal with an exchange so I am just living with it. At least it is comfortable and cheap. Last weekend we had a fun time bowling with our small group on Saturday. My center of gravity must be really off because I did terribly and Greg beat me both games. That must be it right?!?! He can't possibly be getting better at bowling in his wacky hurl the ball down the lane with tons of spin style right?! Then on Sunday I baked a double batch of my Grandmother's sugar cookies because we were hosting a cookie decorating party on Tuesday with our home group. Once a month we skip the bible study and just have fellowship time and this week we thought we would decorate cookies. I was a little nervous that there wouldn't be space for everyone to work (and I didn't want people decorating cookies on the couch!) but it worked out perfectly. The 7 girls all ended up at the table and the 5 guys gravitated over to the Wii and competed in archery. We had a really nice time and everyone made adorable cookies (and ate lots of them too!!!). Grace provided us with naked gingerbread to decorate along with my sugar cookies so there were plenty to go around. I should have taken a before picture to show the set up but after 2 hours of decorating this is what it looked like. And the whole group packing up their cookies to take home. So much fun and really pretty easy to throw together. We decided not to have our annual Christmas party this year for the communion team just because we are so short on time and I am so short on energy these days so this was an easy way to share the season with people on a smaller scale.

Week 24

This was a busy weekend for us. Saturday our friend Jin came over to fix us a Korean feast. She had offered a long time ago to come and cook us dinner and said we could invite a few people if we wanted. She said 6-8 would be a good number. We decided to invite our communion team over for the dinner thinking that only a handful would respond (as they have to other social things we have planned). Well we had 13 people! Poor Jin. She was such a good sport. Greg picked her up on Saturday and they cooked for 4 hours straight with Greg as the sous chef (I was not allowed to help and instead they just fed me throughout the prep time). She made SO much food. We used every dish in my kitchen to either prep or serve the food. I love when I forget I have certain pans and things until we need a container. Everyone had a great time and the food was excellent. We sent everyone home with food and still have a refrigerator full of leftovers. Jin and I managed to wash and dry all the dishes and clean the whole kitchen by midnight. Such a great day. On Sunday we used the leftover ingredients and Jin's instructions to make more Korean fried rice and a noodle dish to eat with the other leftovers. Really really yummy the second day too. Jin HATES the camera and we never get photos of her but I managed to sneak this one of her explaining how to assemble a rice bowl using the different ingredients on the table. She also explained the Korean names for everything and some of the traditional aspects of the food. And here is the full spread. Great job Jin!

On Sunday we ran a ton of errands. First up though were WAFFLES!!! I had intended to make yeast risen waffles but they had to be prepped the night before and after the feast and the clean-up I just didn't have the energy so we made plain waffles using the recipe that came with the waffle iron. I will share it here since they post it on their website for the public.

Basic Waffles
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1-3/4 cups reduced fat milk
6 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 large eggs

The batter was very nice to work with and the waffles were good, however I think I like the vegan plain waffles from our Brunch cookbook better than these. We ended up with 2 extra which we froze and reheated this morning in the toaster oven for breakfast. They reheated really nicely.

After breakfast we went over to Babies R Us to start a registry. People have been asking us if we are registered so we figured we should take the plunge. It needs a lot of work though. We would get to a section and realize we wanted to research something so we would leave it off the registry. For instance I have a breast pump that was given to me by a friend but I hadn't written down any of the specs so I didn't know which accessories to register for. Need to look into that a little and that is just one example. We also ran to target where I got a couple pairs of maternity pants and some much needed maternity tights. So much more comfortable! Since we were sort of on a baby kick we worked a little on planning the nursery by measuring the walls and the items we already have and then headed out to IKEA in Brooklyn to look at some options and ended up finding a dresser that would work for the room and has a large enough top to double as a changing station for the upstairs. It feels good to have some concrete plans for the room and to soon have a place for all those cute little clothes that are currently sitting in bags. I will post some photos as we get the furniture put together and installed in the room. So far we have a bed, a rocking chair, a dresser, and a side table. We are planning to get some storage unit for the room as well and then we are done.

Baby Shower Planning Part 2

Sorry, I realize now that there was no punch in any of the photos yesterday. I left it in the freezer until the very last moment. It is an orange-pink color when it is made. It seemed to go over well at the shower. Now, on to the party itself.

Games:
What shower is complete without shower games. Games are the thing most women dread about going to showers and who can blame them. Have you ever done a Google search for "Baby Shower Games"? Some of the games out there are 1.) disgusting (melted candy bars in diapers) 2.) embarrassing (diapering each other with rolls of paper towels) or 3.) Non-PC (guessing how big mom's belly really is). I looked high and low for some entertaining games to play at the shower that would not be gross, too embarrassing and wouldn't offend anyone. There were actually several games that fit the bill but here are the games I chose for us to play.

Game 1: Mystery Baby Items. I filled a bag with random baby items (you are supposed to use a diaper bag but someone had already bought that off the registry in this case and I didn't want to buy a 2nd one). I tried to get things that would be hard to figure out but not too hard. Baby comb, bottle, pacifier, aspirator, butt paste, baby lotion, baby powder, digital thermometer, diaper, travel wipes, bottle brush, teething ring, and rattle (baby food jar, baby spoon, etc the possibilities are endless). Let each guest reach into the bag and feel around at the items sight unseen for 1 minute. Then they write out as many as they can remember and identify. We only had 1 mom in our group so I didn't make it too obscure. You could get really specialized if you had more moms there. The person who gets the most correct wins a prize. The mom keeps the bag of goodies.

Game 2: Baby Items MSRP. I combined games 1 and 2. As I pulled the items out of the bag to reveal them in game 1, I had a friend put them back into their packages and place them on a tray. I handed out a card with the items listed (40 pack of diapers for instance, since only 1 diaper had been in the bag). Next we had everyone guess how much these items cost in today's market. Let them know that you have rounded the prices to the closest 25cents. I let them work for a while and then announced that no item was over $10. That created quite a stir since some people were way off base. Then I went through and read off each item and had people call out their guesses. Then I told them the real price. The one with the most exact answers won a prize. Mom of course still got the goodies. This was pretty funny since no one knew how much stuff really cost and their guesses were pretty out there. Our mom was the worst with 0 correct! Don't underestimate this game!

Game 3: Multitasking Mommy. I picked one game that was pretty funny and a little embarrassing. I bought about 15 pairs of baby socks (a few multi packs) in various colors. We unpaired them and put them in a big pile on a chair. Each playgoer took a turn trying to match up the socks as quickly as possible....but there's more. We gave them a baby (a bear) and a phone. All the guests made crying baby sounds while the "mom" tried to sooth her baby, hold the phone to her ear and match the socks together. It was harder than it sounded and really funny to watch people as the bear would slip from their arm or they would forget to sooth the baby and the guests would just cry louder. The "mom" with the fastest time won a prize. Great game!




Prizes:
Since this was a ladies shower we chose prizes that were from a local jewelry store that has inexpensive but nice items. I also threw in a few 1 month certificates to our lab coffee club. Definitely get a few extra gifts. We had 1 tie and not enough necklaces for them to choose from.

Gifts:
Gift opening time was pretty straight forward for us. Just make sure there is someone there to feed the mom-to-be gifts so she can stay seated (it keeps things moving along too) and pack items up once she is done. Another person to keep notes on who gave what and to keep all gift receipts in one place is also helpful. And don't be afraid to pass those items around. Everyone loves to hold the little clothes and toys and coo over them!



Favors:
What party is complete without a favor to send home with the guests to thank them for their attendance and gift. I put together some easy and inexpensive favors for the guest. I found these little pads of paper and tissues at Micheal's in the dollar spot that were black and white. I tied them together with a little blue ribbon (also from Micheal's dollar spot). At Micheal's I also found bags of colored M&Ms specifically for favors. I bought 2 bags each of blue and white, mixed them together and put them into little wax bags I already had. Trimmed with decorative scissors and punched for more ribbon. Next was a little thank you note that I made and had the mom-to-be sign. Lastly this was all put into a little white bag. These were also in clearance at Micheal's for 1.99 for 3 bags. They were meant to be decorated and I tried stamping them with paint but it didn't take so I left them blank. Super cute and kept with my color scheme for the party.


Timing:
Lastly a note on our timing. We started with mingling and punch. We had baby Lucy join us at our party and this mingling time gave everyone a chance to ooh and aah over the baby while the guest trickled in. Next we ate and talked, then games in quick succession. We followed games with cake and while everyone was savoring the butter cream frosting we watched the mom open her gifts. Here are some photos of the guests enjoying themselves.

Our Mom-To-Be, Indrani due in just 3 weeks

Baby Lucy and her friend Marcela

Managed to get one shot of me! And a couple guys did end up getting into the party!

Mingling and punch!

Overall, it was a huge success. Of course I had lots of help with setting up, food buying and transporting things to work. In the end not only did we get to honor our co-worker and her little boy on the way, I got to try out a bunch of party ideas I had been collecting over time. Hopefully some of these ideas can help you plan your next party!

Baby Shower Planning Part 1

I had the pleasure of planning a baby shower last week for a co-worker. I had originally wanted everyone to come to my house on a Saturday afternoon but some serious scheduling conflicts had arisen and the only free Saturday was 6 days before the mom-to-be's due date. We didn't want to risk a cancellation due to an early delivery so we planned the shower for after work last Friday. I want to share some photos of the event and some of the ideas I used to make it fun, sophisticated, and easy!

Invitations:
Because of our scheduling conflicts we ended up picking a date that was fairly short notice. I decided to use evite.com to send my invitations in order to maximize the time people had to shop and prepare for the shower. Paper invitations would have been cuter but evite worked out just as well and can even be customized with your own photos, clip art or scans.

Decorations:
Our conference room at work is actually a great space with big bright windows, clean lines, and ample room to move around. However, I wanted my guests to feel like they were at a party and not a meeting or even happy hour. I asked everyone to come in "party attire" and wanted the room to have on party attire too! I started by cleaning the room as best I could and breaking up the 4 tables that make up our conference table which fill the entire middle of the room into 2 separate banks of tables pushed up against the walls. This left the center of the room totally open. I covered them with cheap disposable white table clothes. One set of tables for gifts and games and the other held all the food and drinks. Next I found some super cheap ($1) paper lanterns in the clearance section of Michael's. They are marketed for kids to paint and decorate. Then I made these Martha Stewart tissue paper balls to hang from the ceiling. They sell kits of these at Michael's but I figured I have tons of tissue paper, I could probably make them myself. Sure enough Martha had instructions on her website. I will say that the large and medium balls turned out best. The small balls (1/3 of a large ball) were not so great. I hung them from the ceiling over my 2 sets of tables. SOOOOOO CUTE!!!



Drinks:
I decided to have a signature drink at the shower and wanted to go with a traditional punch. This Rose wine punch is a recipe that I got from my friend Katie years ago and served it at my wedding and at other summer parties in the past. I brought my punch bowl in from home and we drank it from wine glasses sporting my new wine charms. I provided GUS (Grown Up Sodas) for the mom-to-be and anyone else who wanted a non-alcoholic beverage although the wine punch is mostly juice in case you were wondering.


Here is the punch recipe:
Rose Wine Slush Punch
1.5L of Rose wine (2 standard bottles)
1 Can frozen orange juice
1 Can frozen white grape juice
1 Can frozen lemonade
1.5 Cans of water
2 Liter bottle of 7-up

Thaw the juices and combine them with the wine and water. Mix together in a large container and freeze through (do this the day before). Once frozen break up into chunks and put into your punch bowl. The wine prevents this from freezing rock hard. Pour 7-up over the top, stir and let thaw until it is a slushy consistency. If you don't have a punch bowl I am told you can scoop the frozen mixture into a cup about 1/2 to 2/3 full and then pour 7-up to the top. Give it a quick stir to combine. You may need more 7-up for this method.

Food:
It is always best to keep party foods simple and tasty. All of our food came from Whole Foods and was purchased the day of the event. We decided to offer some build your own brioche sandwiches as our centerpiece. Here was the menu:
-Split mini brioche rolls (with a couple flavored sandwich spreads)
-Thin sliced meets and cheeses (salami, prosciutto, grilled chicken breasts, cheddar, and Jarlsberg)
-Antipasti Platter (olives, mini mozzarella balls, artichoke hearts, roasted red pepper, and pepperoni slices)
-Cheese and mini toasts (Camembert and goat cheese)
-Fruit salad
-Tossed green salad (Spinach, Romaine, Candied pecans, dried pear, balsamic vinaigrette, and crumbled blue cheese)
-Cake for dessert
The best part was that people could add almost any of those items to their roll to make a sandwich or eat them separately. Everything was devoured by our guests. Do remember your mom-to-be's dietary restrictions. She isn't supposed to eat soft cheeses, cured meats, and many seafood items. Make sure she has some food options. We made sure our guest of honor had a salad set aside with no blue cheese, we provided her with chicken breasts for her sandwiches and some hard cheeses so she wouldn't be left out.




At this point the room was pretty much ready for the party. More tomorrow!

Inglings have landed

We had the pleasure of spending the day on Saturday with my friend Karen and her adorable kids William and Eileen. They are down from Maine for a visit with Grandma and came by on their way to Jersey. I haven't see the kidlings in 6 months (gasp!) and can't believe how much they had grown. William is talking up a storm and Eileen is scooting around on the floor and giving out heart melting hugs. It was fun to play with them and chat with Karen again. We enjoyed a yummy lunch and some time at our local park complete with a rainbow shaped sprinkler which William really enjoyed
(hence the shirtless appearance). In this photo William is "fixing" our radiator. If it weren't for the diaper I bet he'd have a plumber's crack! I hope to get a little more time with them this week if they make it into the city.