Tuesday, April 10, 2007

~Easy Entertaining~

Hello everyone! Thank you for your comments about our Easter, my new blog header and the well-wishes for Emily. Her bruise has changed from pink/ purple to black, but is shrinking in size. We went to Home Depot yesterday and the salesman said, "I have one question for you....did you win?" I told him the bed won!!

I had a few question in the comments so I thought I would answer them here...

Rebecca, I found the lamb cake mold at a store called "Party City." It's made by Wilton and it was $10.99. I bought it several years ago so if they don't sell it anymore, Ebay might have it.

I was also asked how I did Grace and Emily's hair. First, I put it up in a pony tail. Then I twisted it tightly and at the same time looped it around like a cinnamon run, against their head. I used lots of bobby pins and hairspray! I added the ribbon last.

Oh, and yes, we ate the cake. :0)

Last night we had some friends over for a mission's meeting. Phillip is in charge of the mission's committee at our church so we will need to get together every quarter.

I wanted to share with you my quick and easy menu. Mondays are always busy with school work, laundry and catching up after the weekend. This week was especially busy after Easter. Lots of plastic grass to vacuum up. ;0)

I set everything up buffet style.


I made chicken salad sandwiches on rolls and croissants. I used canned chicken, mayonnaise, salt, pepper and a little garlic powder.


The only thing I had to do for the veggie tray was slice up the green pepper.


I wanted to serve grapes but they were $2.50 per lb. Strawberries were $1.77 a carton so I went with those.


I put the snack-y type foods on the table.


For drinks I served soda, ice tea, lemonade and water. I made unsweetened tea but set out some sugar, a sugar substitute and slices of lemon.


Since it was an evening party, I also made a pot of coffee. Everything was set up for easy self-serve.


For extra seating I brought in our patio furniture and extra kitchen chairs.


I also put my patio couch cushion (which I covered with a blanket) on the fireplace.


Pepperidge Farm cookies were on sale so that was dessert.


I put them, along with leftover Easter candy in the living room, to munch on during the meeting.

It took less than 1 hour to set everything up and clean-up was nice and easy too. I hope I have given you some ideas for simple entertaining! I would love to hear your easy entertaining ideas and tips.


Grace wanted me to mention that the wild bunny living in our yard has had a name change...it's "Carrot" now. I discovered he's been eating my Lamb's Ear plant so I'm rethinking this whole "cute bunny in the garden" thing!

I hope your week is going well and I'll talk to you soon!

32 comments:

smilnsigh said...

Ohhhhhhhhh you page background comes up as a soft pink now! I love it!!!!

I could not find a nice, soft pink for my own, although I love that shade. The pinks which go with my template {or whatever it's called} are toooooo deep or bright or something.

Yummy! Yours is yummy!

Of course, all the food is yummy too, but your pictured food is always yummy! :-)

Mari-Nanci

Tina Leigh said...

Kelli Kelli Where have you been...& I think I am loosing my mind!! I looked here a few minutes ago & there was a bowl of Strawberries. I left a comment but then it was all gone!! Where have you been? I've been looking for you for 2 days!!

Tina Leigh said...

Oh I forgot to tell you how pretty everything looks!! Even the fruit! LOL!

Momma Roar said...

It all looks so great Kelli!
For my chicken salad, I freeze leftover cooked chicken to make it in a snap. We add chopped apples, sweet pickle relish and cranberries to make it extra yummy!

When having a lot of people over, I love to serve bugget style - since we have littler ones, it isn't always easy to easy to pass food.
Blessings for a great week,
Leigh Ann

Unknown said...

I love that - simple entertaining. I learned years ago (as a pastor's wife) that cleaning one bathroom and closing all the bedroom doors went a long way to enjoying company.

Anonymous said...

Your post makes me want to have people over! LOL

I must say though, looking at your patio furniture gave me the idea to cover the cushions on MY patio furniture with a pretty fabric!

Have a blessed week,

Sherry

Christine said...

I love your seating for your guests! I also love how you made more seating by putting a cushion on the fireplace ledge. Mine is too low to do that, but what a great idea! Blessings!

Lori said...

I love your buffet set up!! those are all great ideas!
We do pretty much the same thing here when we are entertaining. I love to do the veggies and dips and crackers/meat & cheese tray.

I love those chicken sandwiches. We make those here too. Yummy!

Trella said...

It all looks lovely and yummy!

Emily said...

Kelli, whenever you make posts like this, I just wish I could hang out at your house to take a break! The food looks so tasty and your home looks so comforting! Your children will have great memories of the home they grew up in!

Have a great week!

Emily

Henny Penny said...

How inviting (and yummy) everything looks! Hope it was an enjoyable evening!

Tracy said...

Kelli,
Thanks for sharing your easy entertaining ideas. I think that it is very true that most people are happy to have been invited and aren't so concerned about how much time things took. Everything looked lovely. You know the secret of making people feel at home. Keep things to a minimum, and enjoy the company!

copperswife said...

Your buffet supper looks great!!!

LOL about the bunny, Yep! He'll eat the landscape!

Amber said...

Everything looked so nice and well put together. If you wouldn't have told us it only took an hour I would have never known. Thanks for the tips!

Heather Anne said...

You have 'Carrots' and I have a hoard of wild deer! I went out to put out a bag of garbage this morning and was startled to find deer munching my maidenhair fern and hosta - they thought it was salad I guess!

I love your pictures and easy entertaining tips! I think we get too fussy and elaborate when having friends over and should just keep things simple! What ever is the matter with just soup and sandwiches and a simple dessert? No need to impress, just have a loving heart and and warm home! Simple is the way to go! Everything you do is lovely because it comes from your heart!

P.S. Thanks for faithfully visitng my blog - your comments mean so very much! You have a real gift of encouragement!

Anita said...

Thanks a lot for all your party tips and guidance! Your definitively the PERFECT host!

Oh, strawberries! Yummy yummy! Where did they come from? Mexico? Supermarkets over here sell Moroccan, Egyptian or even Greek strawberries at this time of the year - but of course, they do not smell as good as the "real summer" strawberries and are much more expensive.

Kelli, I had to laugth at the first paragraph ("Did you win?" - "No, the bed") and at the last one ("I'm rethinking this whole "cute bunny in the garden" thing!") ... ;-))) very funny!

Rebecca said...

Thank you for the lamb information!

What a lovely and casual meeting setting. I love that you used a couch cushion on the fireplace. So clever you are!

Tracy said...

You have been tagged!

Lori said...

Kelli, Hi
I have a huge favor to ask of you:
Could you please come back to my site and post your comment on my name meme.
I somehow lost all of the commments already posted and can't get them back. Do you have any suggestions. Has this ever happened to you before?

LadySnow said...

I don't blame you for "rethinking" the cute bunny thing. I wouldn't want them snacking on my plants either. Great job with the buffet. It reminds me that I don't have to do elaborate things to have people over.

Heather said...

Kelli,

You definitely have the gift of hospitality! It was such a blessing to visit with you. I am sure your guests last night felt the same way!

Love, Heather

Gena said...

I'm a bit late in posting, but your Easter pictures (and children) were so beautiful! Also, I love seeing how you entertain. I also like your new header. I particularly like that those are things from your home. It is very fitting for your wonderful blog site.

Here is what I do for easy entertaining when we have a huge crowd: I fill my crockpot with taco meat (I use my pre-cooked hamburger, season it, then put it in the crockpot to stay warm). I put from 3-6 lbs. of meat in there. Then I spread my bar in the kitchen and my counters with trays of flour tortillas, taco shells, lettuce, chips, tomatoes, onions, fresh salsa, sour cream, cheese, etc. and let everyone build their own taco, burrito or taco salad. It really works well for me. When we have family parties, there are usually about 40 people (minimum) here, so it feeds a lot with very little effort. I then either do cookies or something else for dessert. Depending on the crowd, we might make homemade ice cream.

Thanks for your prayers and hugs, too! They are very much appreciated.

Julieann said...

Hi Kelli---I want a party :) All your tips are wonderful--and your chicken sandwiches look so yummy. Your seating was very cleaver, I bet all your guests had a lovely time. Have a wonderful Wednesday.

Julieann:)

Candy said...

Thanks for showing how to do all of that so simply and make it look effortless. You are great!

Just Mom said...

WOW! Both your buffet and your blog look scrumptious (can I use that word to describe your blog?)

I missed the post about Emily and her bruise. Ouch! I'm glad she's healing.

Oh! Regarding easy entertaining ideas...I recently hosted a brunch baby shower. All I had to make was an egg bake (easy stuff). I also LOVE products from Tastefully Simple, so I made a punch, some cinnamon muffins and had my friend (a T.S. representative) bring some fruit and fruit dip. Very easy. I had more time to talk to my guests this way (including the guest of honor).

Sharon said...

Good ideas for the evening meal, you always seem to have every thing ready for your family dinners or evening guest. Very good job on all you do. I also have one of those darling bunnies in my yard.........and I have missed a spring flower or two.....wonder what happened????

Naturegirl said...

Kelli so much to catch up on here! Oh my what a lovely NEW LOOK LoVe the header! Poor Emily OuCh!! An Easter egg hunt and egg painting!! I also painted eggs using M. Stewarts natural veggie dyes. Red cabbage boiled water gave me robins egg blue!
Oh how cute is that lamb cake! Did I wish you a blessed Easter if not accept my Happy blessings to you & your lovely sweet family always!
hugs NG

Anonymous said...

You are the ultimate homemaker, Kelli!
:-)

Jennifer said...

thanks so much for the great entertaining tips :o) I love how all that was done in an hour (I'm guilty of stressing when people come over)

I love the pictures of your childen on Easter. What a precious picture of them putting the flowers on the cross! Love it!

Open Roads Mama said...

Very creative, as always! :-)

Suzy said...

Kelli,
With 3 small children, I don't know how you do all these things!!
and the photos of your home are always so neat and orderly...Do you ever rest ????

Karen said...

Kelli, I think more people would entertain if they could see this post! Great, great ideas!!