A Few of our Favorite Things

My blogging has been basically non-existent this summer for no other reason that life just gets in the way, and I haven't made it a priority.  As easy as it would be to just throw in the towel because it stresses me to think about how far behind I am, this is the only mechanism I use to scrapbook our life and all the millions of pics I take of my kiddos so I am going to power through and do a ton of picture dump posts in an attempt to get up to date.  With that being said, Jenn and I hosted a super fun favorite things party at the end of June for some of our girlfriends who live in the neighborhood.  We had so much fun planning all the little details of the party, and I think it was a big success. 

Each person brought 3 of the same thing unwrapped in the $10-$15ish dollar per item range.  We went around the room and let everyone tell us a short blurb about what they brought and why they love it so much.  We then drew names throughout the party and let people "shop" the gift table.  Everyone walked away with 3 new things they wanted to try.  It was so fun to hear about all the items and walk away with some new treats.

I love hydrangeas, and they served as a perfect centerpiece to one of the food areas.

Party tip:  I love spreading the food throughout the rooms that your guests will occupy because it causes people to move around and mingle.

Dessert station:  We had lemon cloud cookies, pound cake parfaits with strawberries and fresh whipped cream and brownie bites.

We served chicken salad on sliced apples, crostini with brie and raspberry/jalapeno jam, stuffed mushrooms, bacon-wrapped dates, orzo salad, hummus with pita chips, marinated cheese and buffalo chicken bites.

Stuffed  mushrooms

Bacon-wrapped dates.  Odd but so incredibly delicious

Food on the coffee table

and some on the bar in the kitchen

In the entry, we had glasses of champagne to hand out as guests arrived and then red and white wine in the kitchen to drink throughout the party. 

I brought 3 of my family's cookbook as my favorite things.

The gift table.  Guests just dropped their items on the table under the sign with their name.

There were variations of items from cosmetics to books to kitchen utensils and so much more.

The "shopping" took a long time so we didn't have everyone stand around and watch.  People chose their item with it was their turn and went back to mingling.  It gave people something to talk about as well to see what they chose and why.