Hostess Jo

Derby Snack

Serve these Hat Cookies this weekend at your own Kentucky Derby Party!  They would also make great party favors.  Then wash them down with this Mint Julep Iced Tea.  It reminds me of my grandmother's tea minus the bourbon!

Hat Cookies

 

3 dozen

Ingredients

• 3/4  cup  butter, softened
• 1  cup  sugar
• 1  large egg
• 1  teaspoon  almond extract
• 2 1/2  cups  all-purpose flour
• 1/2  teaspoon  baking soda
• 1/2  teaspoon  salt
• Decorator Frosting

Beat butter and sugar until creamy. Add egg and extract, beating well.

Combine flour, soda, and salt; add to butter mixture, beating well. Divide dough in half; cover and chill 1 hour.

Roll half of dough to 1/8-inch thickness on a lightly floured surface. Cut out 36 cookies using a 2 1/2-inch round cutter. Place cookies 1 inch apart on parchment paper-lined baking sheets.

Bake at 375° for 6 to 8 minutes; let cookies stand on baking sheets 5 minutes. Cool completely on wire racks.

Roll remaining dough to 1/8-inch thickness on a lightly floured surface. Cut out 36 cookies using a 1 1/4-inch round cutter. Place cookies 1 inch apart on parchment paper-lined baking sheets.

Bake at 375° for 4 to 6 minutes; let stand on baking sheets 5 minutes. Cool completely on wire racks.

Assemble cookies by placing 1 small cookie in center of 1 large cookie. Decorate with Decorator Frosting to resemble hats; let dry.

Mint Julep Iced Tea

 

2 quarts

Ingredients

• 8  mint leaves
• 1  lemon, sliced
• 1  lime, sliced
• 1  cup  bourbon
• 3  cups  cold sweetened tea
• Cubed or crushed ice

Combine first 3 ingredients in a 2-quart pitcher, pressing with spoon to crush mint. Stir in bourbon and tea. Add ice

(photos and recipes from myrecipes.com)

Who Wants Ice Cream?

I do! I do!  Especially when it is these adorable SOAPSICLES!  Yes that's right-they are soap.  What a terrific gift idea for mom, friends and children.  They would also make great party favors. 

Here are a few of my favorites, there are many more over at Soapy Love!

Nilla Sammie

 

Peachy Keen

 

Lemonade

 

All Soapsicles are the same size as a real popsicle and only $8!

Wicked Theme Party Inspiration

I saw Wicked for the second time this past weekend and was reminded of just how amazing it is!  Nothing compares to seeing it in NYC but this was very close.  Not to mention my six year old niece went and it was great seeing it through her eyes too.  We both share a love of the Wicked Witch of the West from The Wizard of Oz. 

It got me thinking about doing a party around the musical.  Here is my first Photoshop collage...I still need practice ;)

 

Photo credits:

Top left:  black gossamer has many uses, hang from ceiling, drape around chandelier, tie on backs of chairs

Top middle: Ticket Invitations you can personalize to your Wicked event, so cool

Top right: Green paper plates and below green napkins

Green apple martini  as signature green cocktail

Middle Wicked image from Google

Purple I Heart Oz magnets would make great party favors.

Caramel apples for snacks (for green color)

There are so many different ways you could go with this party.  You could even do a whole "Guh-lenda" themed party with iridescent items and light colors.  I would try to incorporate quotes and lyrics from the musical like "Defy Gravity" and "Popular" in your surroundings.  Printing them out on colored cardstock, framing and setting them around the room like HWTM did with her Twilight Party.  Add sparkle with green colored gems in vases or candlescapes to imitate emeralds.  HWTM demonstrates this with red sea glass at her Twilight Party.  Have the soundtrack playing in the background with posters, Playbills and programs sitting around would also add to the Wicked mood.

Have you thrown or attended a Wicked party?  Do you have any ideas on other elements to include?

Easter Table Inspiration

I love love this table setting!  The colors are bright instead of pastel.  Not to take anything away from the pastels but I love the brights.

 

It looks simple to duplicate also.  You could purchase a turquoise tablecloth and hot glue ribbons down the center.  Fill a basket with tulips or your favorite spring flower.  Coordinating plates and napkins and you're set.

Here is how to make the adorable glitter eggs in the baskets:

 

• Large bowl
• Sewing needle
• 24 raw eggs (keep cartons to use later)
• Rubber ear syringe (available at pharmacies) or egg-blowing tool
• Fine craft glitter in assorted colors and spray paint in matching colors (available at craft stores, Martha has some very nice glitter at Wal-mart)
• Small bowls
• Thin wooden skewers
• Face mask
• Rubber gloves
• Spoons
• Waxed paper

1. Working over a large bowl, use a sewing needle to carefully pierce both ends of an egg. Make hole at wider end of egg slightly bigger by chipping away at shell with needle. Puncture yolk with needle.

2. Gently insert a rubber ear syringe into smaller hole and blow contents of egg out through larger hole. Rinse egg shell with water. Repeat steps 1 and 2 with remaining eggs.

3. Allow eggs to dry completely. Pour glitter into separate bowls and set aside.

4. Slide an egg shell onto a wooden skewer and spray paint in a well-ventilated area while wearing a face mask and gloves. Hold spray can at least 6 inches away from egg to coat it evenly; rotate egg as you work.

5. Working quickly, place painted egg in a bowl containing glitter that is same color as paint. Gently roll egg in glitter before paint has dried completely. Use a spoon to sprinkle glitter over sparse spots.

6. Place eggs on waxed paper to dry (about 20 minutes). Store eggs in cartons until ready to use.

Wouldn't these be great as place card holders or favors for your Easter gathering?  You could buy letter stickers at your local craft store to use as initials on the eggs.  Or for favors you could place them in wrapped candy baskets instead of grass. These are also seen in the top picture in egg cups.  You could use them as little bud vases too.

(photos from allyou.com)

Wine Tasting

Well the wine tasting was a success!  We all really enjoyed it.  I hosted it but had it at a friend's apartment because she lives closer to everyone than I.  We had six ladies who attended and six bottles of wine.  We all brought a bottle of red wine for this one.  I would love to have another one this Spring with white wine.  We all learned a lot about wine and each other thanks to Kira (Tangarang)!  Enjoy the pictures and please let me know if you have any questions about having one of your own.

 

This was taken before all of the bottles arrived.  We all sat around this table to taste and score our wines. I purchased an inexpensive table cloth to protect the table from spills. 

 

Here is a close up of the numbers I constructed for our bottles.  I used mailbox numbers and glittered them then cut them out and tied ribbon to them.

 

These are the score cards I purchased from Tangarang's Etsy Shop that I highly recommend.  They were easy to follow and had fun humor in the descriptions.

 

This is the conversation starter game I also purchased from Tangarang.  It was so much fun!  Each card is laminated so you can use it over and over and just wipe clean.

 

These soaps I purchased at Pier 1 for $1 each and they are actually named after Chardonnay and Sangria.  They were perfect favors for the tasting.

 

The cheese, fruit and chocolate tray was delicious.  I went to Whole Foods and they helped me select the cheese to go with my wine and also the fruit.  You would be amazed how differently your wine tastes after a bite of cheese or chocolate. Next time I will purchase cheese tags to keep track of the names of the cheeses.

 

I also used my "Get Lit" Wine Bottles to add to the ambiance.

 

We used an aerator that my dad sent to us for the occasion.  It circulates air into the wine as you pour so that you don't have to wait on your wine to breathe.  Also, I used the Girls Night Out Glass Stick ems from Hostess Jo.  They were a lot of fun.

I would recommend having a wine tasting to everyone who enjoys wine.  It was pretty inexpensive and easy to set up and most importantly- a lot of FUN!

Wine Tasting Teaser

More pics to come soon! 

My First Giveaway!

Favor Affair Giveaway February 6, 2008!

 

FavorAffair.com has come to me to host a giveaway on Let's Entertain!  I'm so excited for you. If you have not been to their site you are missing out on a great variety of favors for every occasion!  They even have favors for every season and great prices!

They are offering a $25 gift certificate to be used on their website-Favor Affair.com! 

All you have to do is leave a comment here about your favorite "My Sweet Sixteen Favor" and tell us why you chose it.  Contest ends February 6, 2008, 5 PM Central.  Good Luck!