Planning Parties

Those who know me well know I love to host parties :) While the actual party is always fun, I especially love the planning that goes into it and the anticipation leading up to the event. I think parties should occur more often! There are so many reasons to celebrate :) Even if you don't feel like you're a people person, parties can help you come out of your shell and warm up to the idea of being around others. You may not feel like you're a party planner either, but someone has to host them :) Parties have a reputation of being expensive. Here are a few affordable party ideas that I love:

Recipe Exchange Parties:
For a series of months, I hosted a party each featuring a different dish: Soups, Salads, Desserts, Breads, etc. I had each guest RSVP by emailing me their recipe. I then printed out a copy of the compiled recipes for each guest. At the party, each guest brought their dish for sampling. We enjoyed good food, good company, and good conversation. It was a fun way to try new recipes!

A Favorite Things Party:
This was one of my favorites ;) Haha! For the party I had each guest fill out a questionnaire of their favorite things (document can be found here). When everyone had filled it out, we treated it like Scattergories (unbeknownst to them) and I gave the person deemed "most unique" a prize. I also had each guest bring three of one of their favorite items, individually wrapped. I put everyone's name in a bowl three times and each of us drew three pieces of paper. We went around the circle, one name at a time, exchanging gifts. I had each share why they chose what they did. Finally, at the end of the party, we had ice cream! Each guest had also brought their favorite ice cream topping :) It turned out great! 

Dinner Group:
My husband and I created a dinner group for ourselves and three other couples. We had dinner together once a week and alternated hosting the group. We would usually play a board game together afterwards. It was a great way to strengthen friendships and it was nice to have a break from cooking!

Pumpkin Potluck
This year will be our 3rd annual Pumpkin Potluck. I love everything pumpkin :) I attended a pumpkin potluck when I was on a mission in Portland, Oregon. I loved it so much that I adopted the idea :) We provide the main dish and the guests bring a myriad of pumpkin dishes. We've had everything from pumpkin salad dressing to decadent pumpkin desserts. I'll be revisiting this party idea this coming fall so stay tuned for various pumpkin recipes!

Go party! 

Traveling to the Temple

Ever since Jared and I were engaged, we've had a goal to visit every LDS temple in the United States. At each temple we attend, we pick up a temple schedule and complete ordinance work. It's been neat to see the unique characteristics of each temple and feel the spirit as a result of the act of service. I'm compiling a scrapbook as we go, with pictures and unique paper for each page. My sister-in-law, Becky, created the art work for the front page (see below) and I laminated it afterwards, along with a black back. There are 81 temples (and counting) in the United States. Jared and I have visited 19 of them. We still have a long ways to go but we also have the rest of our lives :) 

Above is a sample page. The scrapbook dimensions are 7" by 8". There are two hole punches in the middle with large binder rings holding it together (very easy to open and close). It's a fun and easy way to document our temple trips!
Here is a list of all the temples in the United States (pdf document)
Temple List

King of the Kitchen

This summer I developed a borderline obsession with the TV show on Food Network entitled, "Chopped". It is a cooking show where four chefs compete for $10,000 as well as the title of Chopped Champion. Each episode has three rounds: appetizer, entree, and dessert. They are given a basket of four different mystery ingredients each round that they are to include in their dishes. The time allotment for the appetizer round is 20 minutes, and 30 for entree and dessert. The judges (professional food experts) taste and critique their food and determine who is eliminated from the round. 
In October, I had the idea to host a home edition of Chopped--as my family also loves watching the show. My maiden name is King so we decided to title our competition, "King of the Kitchen". I typed up a script, planned out the basket ingredients, and gathered various things to bring to the competition. For the prize, I embroidered a white apron. I love alliteration (as I'm sure you've noticed based on the titles of my blog posts) so I decided to theme each basket around a letter. 

Appetizer - T
Tuna
Tangerines
Tortillas
Tater Tots (we precooked them)

Entree - C
Chicken
Cream Cheese
Chickpeas
Crackers (Ritz)

Dessert - R
Rolos
Rice Krispies
Rambutan (a tropical fruit)
Reddi Whip

The competitors were my sisters, my brother, and my sister-in-law. The judges were my mom, my grandma, and my husband. We set up the pantry, created four stations, and brought out utensils/appliances for use. I informed the chefs of the rules and the competition began! I video recorded several portions of the competition and compiled them into one video. 
All in all, the competition turned out well! At the beginning we had two cooks in stations in the kitchen, and two stations set up on the table. As we went on, the stations at the table were eliminated. The kitchen was a little tight at times but things worked out. It was a great bonding experience and we hope to make it into a tradition. Try it out with your family! 
My sister-in-law, NaTasha, was deemed the "King of the Kitchen" :) Below are some pictures. Here is the link to the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PyxDqNVgrGw

Lasting Love

"Never stop dating your spouse" is a common piece of advice given. Jared and I have a date box to help us perpetuate that. A coworker gave me the idea; she said she and her husband had a plastic container that they kept treats in to pull out when they watched a movie together. One summer before we were married, we made a date bucket list and put that in our date box. For our wedding, we received several gift cards for eating out and for other dates, so we put those in the box. Our Twelve Dates of Christmas that we brainstormed (see Christmas as a Couple post) were also in the box. Your date box can vary in size, shape, material, and contents. Our first date box was made of cardboard; we have since purchased a wooden box and currently use that. Having this date box in a place we always see it has reminded us to continually go on dates. 

Quick Quilt

For Christmas this year, my sister-in-law requested wall decor for her recently purchased apartment. She had talked about a scrapbook paper quilt she'd seen on Pinterest so I set out to make one. Keeping in mind her living room colors (red and brown) and using the picture as a reference, I ended up with the following:

Original

Mine

If you'd like detailed instructions, see the Paper Quilt tutorial. Otherwise, here's the simple version:

1. Cut four sheets of desired patterned paper into 2" squares (be meticulous about your cutting so you don't end up with narrow slits between each square in some places like I did in this attempt). 
2. Glue the squares onto some type of reinforcement (the tutorial suggests gluing them to illustration board but I just used sheets of cardstock).
3. Place in a frame (the rectangle frame I found was cheaper than the square one)

I copied the pattern shown in the original but plan to experiment with other patterns when I make the next one. 

Happy crafting!