Ice Cream Soda Favor

So I got to host a pre-baby outing for a friend.  Since it was an outing I didn't do any decorating or anything that would involve too much work or creativity.  However, being the way I am I must do something, so I did a favor.  The momma-to-be had mentioned something about a milkshake while talking about things so I guess I kind of stuck on that and ended up with an ice cream soda favor.  It was super easy to make.  I figured everyone would find something to do with a few extra washcloths.  Actually the hardest part was finding the glasses since there did not seem to be too many choices (not too common of an idea yet I suppose).  The washcloths are just folded in half, laid on top of one another and then rolled up at a slight angle.  They were then stuffed into the glasses. I did sort of twist them down farther into the glasses, going in the same direction as the roll.  And then added a cherry on top for giggles.

birthday board

So this is my version of the birthday calendar board that I have been seeing on pinterest.  I have actually wanted to do this kind of thing for a while.  I have just been waiting for a good moment to request someone make me the frames.  Mother's Day was a good time.  This is STILL not complete, but I am tired of waiting.  It will have a piece of molding to cover the edges of the pin board and calkboard separating them from the calendar.

This board is pretty large, being 3' x 4', but we have a large family and I figured there would be more family and friends in the future.  The lettering is from the cricut.  The hooks are from the local hardware store.  I measured everything out and made the grid.  Pre-holes were drilled for the hooks and then they were screwed in the board.  The only place I could find little frames here so I made them work.  Other than that it was just painting and gluing.  We already had a pin board which I cut to fit my purposes and I used chalkboard paint on wood for the other half of the message area.

Book Club Dinner

So the pictures aren't all that great.  I don't know what I am doing so I am blaming it on my camera not focusing as well anymore.  Below is the dinner I put together for book club.  I guess I didn't take a picture of the pasta dish with bread that we had for our main course.  The bread was just store bought but the pasta was a lighter summer pasta with tomatoes and chicken bites.

We started with an appetizer which ended up being great.  I wasn't sure how it would all work since I have only made this where it was all kind of mixed and not separate bite size pieces.  But it looked cute so I thought I would try it.

Caprice



Then we did mini wedge salads with bluecheese dressing, tomatoes, and bacon bits.

Mini Wedge Salad

 Of course it is book club so we had some wine.  This time it was a white sangria with lemons and strawberries.  It was great for summer and the fruit was awesome!

White Sangria

 Finally we had dessert.  I found a recipe for this, but since I don't like coffee I used extra chocolate.  It was a bit odd to eat and make but it ended up being pretty good.  I could not find the mascarpone cheese so I just used a substitute which was easy to find when searching online.

Tiramisu Roulade sans espresso