A Valentine Soiree

Another holiday..... another PARTY!! The girls wanted to have a little Valentine's get together for a few of their friends, and after getting some inspiration from my good friend Google, well, I got to work and tried to make it really special for them. I loved the idea of a candy table.... what kid (or grown up!) wouldn't love to dig into a table full of goodies?? I made some cupcakes and tried my hand at my first fondant roses.... then I decided to make a fondant cake, too. It was supposed to be a 2 tiered cake, but after I stopped for a while to get the girls ready for their Valentine's date with their dad, well, when I went back to the cake decorating the fondant had dried too much for me to finish the top tier like I had planned. OK, nothings perfect. The perils of fondant.... I just chalked it up to a first-timers learning curve and moved on to a single layer cake -- disappointed, but all in all, I was pretty happy with the way it turned out. So I've eaten nothing but candy and chocolate and marshmallow fondant for days..... that's mama's reward for spending days in the kitchen surrounding by nothing but sugar! Too bad mama's bikini won't agree.....

So the kids played some Valentine's games and they made a little felt rose craft to take home, and they of course, ate their weight in sugar-laden sweets. It was fun and a great reason to celebrate with just girlfriends..... who really needs those boys on Valentines Day anyway??? Kidding, Jonathan. Love you.

The invitation..... the reverse side had all the info

The candy table

... the cupcakes & the name of the candy table.....
M&M Sweet Shoppe for Madison & Macy.... catchy, huh??

....... the fondant cake

....... and closeup

..... mine & Macy's favorite -- the cookie sticks

........... and the rice crispy treats

........ more yummy table

....... the pudding parfaits

...... even more tempting zoomed up

the tags....

the white chocolate & heart sprinkle covered Milanos....

..... candy closeups

the girls digging in.....

...... and being silly

...... Maddie & Hannah

...... and Kate & Makenzie

....... and Macy & me

....... the crafting

...... sweet Valentine girls, Reagan & Morgan

Morgan's felt rose vase

..... and Macy's vase

Linked to: Craftomanic, Skip to My Lou, Making the World Cuter, Blue Cricket Design, Tip Junkie, Life as Lori, My Delicious Ambiguity, House of Hepworths, Craft Edition, Today's Creative Blog,Crafts Keep Me Sane, Under the Table and Dreaming, Funky Junk Interiors, Tater Tots and Jello

Book Club Party

Gone, but hopefully not forgotten.... I've been a little focused on other projects (one especially that I'm REALLY excited about..... time will tell) and well, something had to go. We mommies can't do EVERYTHING, you know. Although sometimes I think we all try a little too hard to do just that.

Lots has happened since my last post.... unfortunately though since I wasn't blogging, I wasn't taking pictures. That is the very best thing about blogging... you actually take pictures!! I have a few photos from the last month but not a whole lot of time right now, so maybe I'll save them for my next post. Today I wanted to tell you all about Madison's book club that she and a friend have been working so hard on. The guest list.... the invitations.... ordering books.... phone calls, phone calls, phone calls, texts, texts, texts..... did I say phone calls?? I mean ALOT of phone calls! It's amazing how many times two 10 year old girls can talk on the phone about a book club. They've had fun though and have definitely learned a little about compromise.

So yesterday was the first official meeting of the H & M Bookclub.... named for Hannah & Madison, of course. About 10 girls were invited and between sicknesses and science clubs and all the other things, I think they had about 8 participate. They were super excited to get it all started. About 3 hours before the party I got that wild hair I get sometimes (OK, alot)..... and I decided to make some decorations for the meeting to spruce things up a bit. I ran to Walmart, picked up a few snacks and tried to jazz them up a little.... yes, in a very short period of time. That's OK, I seem to work a little better under pressure. It was fun and definitely worth it seeing Madison's face when she came in after school.

the tablescape....

Walmart special $2.50 cupcakes with a little personalization

and the close up....

Red kool-aid with a little ribbon added.... that's a real treat in my house
..... my kids NEVER get red kool-aid!

another Walmart special..... but they matched.... quick & cute

little cup wrappers

teacup chex mix with a few valentines m&m's thrown in....

yum! yum!

Madison was so excited to see her club name in print

And another view

And I had to take a picture of this.... Madison actually letting her little sister participate! Macy got the job of pulling the book ideas for the club out of the hat.... uh, box

Let's dig in!

Silly girls!

And a celebratory jump for a job well done. Great work girls!!