Traditional Gingerbread Party

Hi y'all, it's me, that girl katie,

Last week my friend and I hosted our annual gingerbread decorating party at her restaurant, E'leaven Food Company. It is the perfect venue to host this kind of party & others too. I can’t imagine hosting this at my house but I have other friends who do just that.

I order the houses from, Gingerbread Traditions and put them together prior to the party. We ask everyone to bring 2 bags of candy or other decorating items.

This year we had one house per family and gave Moms the heads up to prep their kids that they would have to work together as a team. They exceeded any expectations I might have had.

My mantra this holiday season has been, expect nothing and appreciate everything.

Cheers to you this holiday season & may all your wishes come true.

Source list: http://www.gingerbreadtraditions.com http://www.eleavenfood.com/

Dinner al Fresco

Hi y'all, it's me that girl katie, Earlier this month my husband and I hosted a "Dinner al Fresco" along the Snake River in our hometown of Jackson, Wy. I attended one last year and couldn't wait to host one myself. Lucky me, my husband enjoys to cook which allowed me the time to create plenty of small details and homemade ice cream in order for the night to really glow along side his awesome menu. After all, there were a few celebrations that took place, a birthday, an anniversary and an anniversary eve. It was a perfect night to spend with great friends we have known for a long time.

I hope this inspires you to do something similar in your hometown.

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Menu:

Apps: Herb and lemon goat cheese spread with baguette Prosciutto wrapped shrimp with red pepper aioli

Dinner: Salad with honey lemon vinaigrette Quinoa salad with corn and fresh herbs Grilled lemon-oregano chicken drumsticks Santa maria tri-tip roast

Dessert: Homemade Strawberry Ice Cream Push Pops (kept frozen with dry ice which you can get at your local grocery store)

Embelishments:

- Dinner al Fresco chalkboard sign - A painted black and white stripe table runner - Mason jar vases wrapped with black burlap and brown twine - Flowers- I bought from our grocery store and assembled them into the mason jars - Mason jars with candles - Battery operated lights strung over the table - Speciality Drink with a decorative label - A green plastic table cloth I purchased at our local fabric store

Details:

- BYOC - We asked all of our guest to bring their own chair - We choose a location that was public property so we didn't have to reserve it. I did take a few chairs out earlier in the day to silently reserve a spot. - We used bamboo plates that I bought at our local organic grocery store. My husband can't stand paper plates so for me to get him to agree on these instead of ceramic plates was huge but it lightened our load. - We made sure to tell our guests that there wouldn't be a bathroom on site. Hello nature toilet. - Headlamps were also very handy during clean up when it was really dark - Bought ice on way to site

What we learned for next summer:

- Bring large bins to throw everything in when its too dark to organize and deal with the next day at home - Consider hosting it with another couple.

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A perfect evening!

Wine Tasting Party Details

Hi Y'all, it's me, that girl katie, Last month we hosted a wine party with a few hints of celebrating St. Patrick’s Day as well.

As everyone arrived I took the bottles and put one bottle of wine inside a stenciled bag & the other one away for the winner. I did have a few friends drop off their wine prior to help make this process easier.

Once I had all wine on my chalkboard tablecloth with the labeled wine glasses I had for everyone, I gave the “Go Ahead” to start tasting while voting. Ballets were set out on the table along with a variety of green markers I found around our house.

I am really fortunate that my husband likes to cook while I enjoy all other aspects of planning a party. He doesn’t like to make dessert but lucky him because I am obsessed with making ice cream. I made pistachio ice cream pops which added to my St. Patrick’s theme and were super easy to hand out.

A special thanks to, Marigold Flowers of Jackson Hole for the beautiful Forsythia’s with the limes.

All apps and ice cream pops were eaten and all wine was consumed. It was an awesome party!

And as mentioned in my email to all guests, the least expensive wine ended up being voted the favorite and the loser bottle had a short walk of shame, it was ours.

My email invite and photo's of the evening.

email invite

email invite

wine ballet

wine ballet

wine bottles

wine bottles

food & flower

flowers and food

food

food

wine label

wine label

chalkboard table runner

chalkboard table runner

ice cream pops & girl scout cookies

ice cream pops and girl scout cookies

that girl katie

that girl katie

Gingerbread House Party

Hi there, it's me, that girl katie, My friend Molly & I hosted our 2nd annual gingerbread house decorating party with our Mommy group.

A few ideas incase you want to host one:

1. I ordered the house from: http://gingerbreadtraditions.com/

2. This year we simplified it and had everyone bring 2 bags of candy and or cereal. I delegated items so we didn't have overlapping candy and it also helped in reducing the email train.

3. We hosted it at Molly's restaurant, www.eleavenfood.com which was really helpful.

4. Put together the houses at least 1 day before the party.

Happy Holidays!

A special thanks to my friend Airin who got me hooked on this party idea.

Outstanding In The Field

Hi there, it's me, that girl katie, Who doesn’t like good food, a picture perfect setting and fun company?

We experienced just that this week with, Outstanding in the field, a travelling restaurant.

It makes a really great gift too.

Checkout their website for an event near you, www.outstandinginthefield.com