Vanilla Hot Chocolate and a Valentine’s Day Hot Chocolate Party

Valentines Day Hot Chocolate Party

Today you are in for a treat…literally!  With the winter season in full swing and Valentine’s Day right around the corner, it is the perfect time to have a Hot Chocolate Party!  Hot Chocolate is a delicious winter time drink, and thus, it is the perfect menu item to put at the centerpiece of a winter gathering for kids or adults.  Today I’m going to show you some simple ideas and tips for putting together a fun and sweet hot chocolate party! [Read more…]

Friday Favorites – Week 305 – with Valentine’s Day Ideas

Greetings! Welcome to Friday Favorites! I’m very excited to roll out our first round of Valentine’s Day features for the year! So fun!

But before I get to that I have one quick announcement.  A few week’s ago I announced that we’d have a Friday Favorites giveaway coming up.  The giveaway is celebrating our 300th week of partying.  I chose not to do the giveaway on week 300 because of the holidays falling on the same weeks…anyway, I will be moving forward with a giveaway next week!

We will have two great prizes from Pavilion, and you will be able to enter on any of the host blogs.  All you have to do is link up a post!  Additionally we’ll have other entries for sharing the linky party & giveaway, as well as entries for being a follower!  So be sure and come by next week, so you don’t miss out on the fantastic prizes! [Read more…]

Friday Favorites – Week 255 – With Last Minute Valentine’s Day Ideas

friday favorites

Hi everyone! Happy early Valentine’s Day! To celebrate the holiday, I’ve got a few last minute Valentine’s Day features!  Hope you enjoy them!

Also, if you applied to be a guest contributor or linky party co-host, thank you!  I’ve just out emails to the linky party co-host applicants, so if you’ve applied please check your inbox for my email. As for those who’ve expressed interest in guest posting, I’ll be planning a guest posting event shortly and will contact you with details as soon as I have them.

Now take a look at these fun Valentine’s ideas!

[Read more…]

Valentine’s Day with Oriental Trading

Valentines Day with Oriental Trading

Are you ready for Valentine’s Day?  I got everything I need for a fun and festive Valentine’s Day Party at Oriental Trading.  And right now they have select Valentine’s Day Decor and party favors for 60% off.

Heart Lights

 I got these cute little Valentine tea lights.  The batteries are included, and they are perfect for a little soft light for a big dinner party or more intimate gathering.  Or you could even use them to light up your crafts and other Valentine decor.

Lanterns

 For instance, the tea lights look great inside these laterns.  I picked out these lanterns not just for Valentine’s Day but all year round.  The Oriental Trading website had a great picture of the laterns with Easterbeggs inside them, so I’m planning to do that next.  For now, I’ve placed these rose petals inside.  It’s really great for Valentine’s Day and also adds a lot of warmth to your decor during the winter time.

Valentine Lanterns

And for party team, these paper lanterns are very colorful, fun, and festive.

Valentine Decor

And for a fun party table, I got this adorable red and white table runner, cupcake box, and plates.

 

St Patricks Day

 Already got your Valentine’s Day covered? Then check out their awesome selection of spring items, including St. Patrick’s Day and Easter party supplies!

Photobucket

Disclosure: I received Oriental Trading products for facilitate this post.  The opinions are my own.

Gifting Sweet & Savory Popcorn this Valentine’s Day

Valentine Basket

Are you ready for Valentine’s Day? If you haven’t yet decided on a gift for your significant other, a gift basket is always a good way to go.  GourmetGiftBaskets.com has a great selection of gift baskets for all occasions, and they includes all kinds of delicious treats like chocolate, cookies, candies, nuts, and all sorts of other treats.

But if you’re looking to go beyond the usual Valentine’s Day gift of chocolates and sweets this year, I suggest checking out their popcorn baskets!  Available on GourmetGiftBaskets.com and KingofPop.com, you’ll find a great selection of popcorn tins, baskets, and boxes.

[Read more…]

Friday Favorites – Week 254 – Featuring Valentine Crafts + Still Taking Apps for Linky Co-hosts and Contributors

friday favorites

Hey everyone!  Welcome to another fun week of Friday Favorites!  Unbelievably Valentine’s Day is just over a week away, so today I’m featuring a few craft ideas for the occasion.  Hope you like them!

Also, I’m still taking applications for linky party co-hosts and blog contributors.  If you’ve already applied, thank you! I’ll be in touch shortly!  If not, please do apply.  You can Apply Here.  And just in case you are unsure about applying, let me just give you a quick run down on the requirements.  First off, you don’t have to have a certain number of followers or subscribers to apply, and even if your blog has only been around for a short time, that’s okay too!

A few people asked about the work required to be a party co-host.  So here’s a quick rundown: As linky party co-host, you would be required to host a shared linky party on your site.  Apart from including the linky code I send you each week, you would need to include the party banner and co-host information supplied to you.  And then each week you would just go through the posts, just like I do, and pick a few to feature on your site (photos and links included) and also pin your selections to my Friday Favorites pinterest board.  Finally you would just need to promote your party post on your social media sites.  And that’s it!  It doesn’t really require a lot of your time each week; however, I am looking for people who will be committed to posting. [Read more…]

Gingerbread Cookie Milkshake

Gingerbread Cookie Milkshake

I’m an absolute FIEND when it comes to frozen treats.  I especially love ICEES and milkshakes.  Chocolate has always been a classic favorite of mine, but I never pass up the chance to try a new flavor.  A few years ago around Christmas time, Burger King had a Gingerbread Cookie Milkshake.  Oh my goodness!  That thing was SO good!  Every fall and holiday season I hope they will bring this yummy treat back, but so far I’ve been out of luck!

Finally I did some searching and found a few different recipes for gingerbread shakes and other treats.  And I finally made my own Gingerbread Cookie Milkshake at home!  The secret ingredient (besides these adorable little Pepperidge Farm Gingerbread Cookies) is a little molasses!  I have to admit, when I first looked at all the different cookie and shake recipes calling for molasses, I was really thrown!  Even as I was making the milkshake, I tasted a tiny bit of molasses and thought, “Ugh! How is THIS going to taste good?”

But amazingly it totally WORKS!  The shake turned out absolutely perfect!  It met my expectations and so much more!  So if you like gingerbread cookies and you like milkshakes, you simply have to try this recipe! [Read more…]

Friday Favorites – Week 205 – Featuring Valentine’s Day Sweets

friday favorites
Happy Valentine’s Day! And welcome to Friday Favorites.  This week I’m pleased to present some Valentine Sweets from our bloggy friends!  These look amazingly good, and I hope they give you some last minute Valentine’s inspiration!

P.S. – After you link up today, please check out my latest giveaway! I’m giving away a Hamilton Beach Durathon Iron! It’s worth 45! Take a look! [Read more…]

White Chocolate Marshmallow Popcorn Treats

White Chocolate Marshmallow Popcorn Treats

Love is in the air this week!  I celebrated Valentine’s Day early with these fun, sweet, and cute  White Chocolate Marshmallow Popcorn Treats.  The recipe is adapted from Jolly Time’s recipe for Choco-Cherry Heart Bouquets.  The folks at Jolly Time were kind enough to send me the supplies needed for this recipe, including a box of their buttered popcorn, and I was really happy with how the treats turned out!

These would make a perfect homemade gift for the one you love, especially the kids!  It would also be a great treat for Valentine’s Day parties and a great recipe to make with the kids for a Valentine’s Day activity.  Hope you enjoy!

[Read more…]

Friday Favorites – Week 204 – With 5 Valentine’s Day Projects

friday favorites

Hello. Welcome to Friday Favorites. This week we have 5 Valentine’s Day Projects for you. Hope you enjoy! [Read more…]