How to Create a Memorable Outdoor Party This Summer

Compensation provided by Gold Peak via Mode Media. All opinions are my own.

You all know by now how much I love summertime. One thing I really missed doing last year though was the end of summer BBQ that we had held annually for several years. Things just didn’t quite work out right for it to happen and we ended up not having anyone over to celebrate the end of summer with us. It was sad and I don’t want that to happen again!

One of the things that I love most about outdoor summer parties is the memories and traditions that it creates for everyone. The food, family, atmosphere – it’s a day where everyone gathers together to celebrate.

The first way to create a new outdoor party tradition is to just start. Yes it can be stressful hosting a party, yes it costs money and can be slightly overwhelming. But is the look on everyone’s faces when they get together and share an amazing evening together worth it? You bet it is.

Once you’ve established your outdoor party tradition, do something a little different every year. One year I held a pie contest – where everyone brought a homemade pie and then we all stuffed ourselves tasting each one and voted on the best one. Another year we had a bunch of games for everyone to play. Once I held a dinner party on the night of a Blue Moon, so I created a Blue Moon themed party. Whatever you decided to do, changing things up year to year will make for lots of memories – and conversations the next year. 

Create some killer food. I know this definitely is a matter of opinion on what food tastes the best here, but whatever menu I put together, I always try and do this: have an appetizer or a dish that makes some guests step out of their usual food comfort zones. My friends and family for the most part are pretty conservative when it comes to food and they have teased me about my creations over the years, but you know what? They actually end up liking some of it and would have never tried it had I not given them the opportunity.

Of course I always make sure there’s lots of food and drinks that everyone likes, lots of sweet tea being one of them. Nothing sings summer like sweet tea – Gold Peak Sweet Tea is one of my favorites. It’s made with real sugar, no preservatives, and tastes like homemade. Sometimes we’ll serve it right from the bottle, or if I feel like fancying it up a bit, I’ll pour it into a beverage container with ice and some fresh blueberries.

Extra added touches to make your summer party memorable could also include fun invitations, blankets to keep guests warm when the sun goes down, ample lighting to create a homey atmosphere, games available to play, and even a pack of conversation starter cards.

Hopefully in a couple of months I will have more fun photos to share with you, because the best ways to have a fun and memorable evening is to just spend time with people you love.

~Melissa

There’s nothing like Gold Peak’s home-brewed taste. Gold Peak, the taste that brings you home.

Tips for Setting up a Buffet Style Dinner Party

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #showmetheshine #CollectiveBias

Tips for Setting up a Buffet Style Dinner Party

Most of you know by now that I love any excuse to celebrate, whether it’s a big dinner party or a small family gathering - any day is a good reason for making memories, so at least once a year I try to host a meal and have all of our friends and families come over to catch up on each other’s lives.

When there is a large group of people over for dinner it’s easier to host a buffet style meal versus a more formal sit down dinner – and since most of our guests prefer a casual setting, a-serve-yourself meal works perfectly.

When I have a buffet at my house there are a few things that I keep in mind to help make the meal process run a little more smoothly. We have a pretty small home so it’s imperative to make use of every inch of space, and I know that I’m not the only one out there who needs to be creative when they have guests over - so I’d like to share my tips with you!

The first thing (after deciding on a menu of course) is to figure out where the dishes and food will be placed. Whenever possible I prefer to host a part outdoors because I have a lot more freedom of where I can set up and place things, but unfortunately the weather isn't always perfect – so when we gather inside I set up the main dishes on the kitchen counter, beginning with the plates and silverware on one end, and then set the desserts up in a separate area, like a hutch or coffee table, along with additional plates and silverware there.  Appetizers can be placed in various areas for nibbling on prior to dinner – the ottoman works well for this.  Depending on what beverages are being served, I will either set up at the end of either the dinner or dessert table and additional beverages like wine can also be kept on the dinner table for easy refills.

Next after figuring out where everything will go I will pull all of the glasses, silverware and serving dishes out of the cupboards and re-wash them. Our nicer dishes and beverage glasses don’t get used very often, and they tend to get dusty and dingy looking while being stored, so I always run everything through the dishwasher with Finish® Max in 1™ tablets. I've always used Finish® products for the dishwasher, but their new formula is amazing and makes all of the dishes really clean and sparkly. They also have something called Glass Protectant Action which helps prevent glass corrosion. You can find them in the cleaning aisle at Target!

After the dishes are washed and dried, set everything out prior to your guests arriving. You’ll probably be busy finishing cooking the food, so if all of the beverages and utensils are already set out, you won’t have to rush or look flustered last minute trying to find things.

A few other things that I have and what you really need to have available for your guests are things like:

Plenty of napkins

An easily accessible garbage can

A menu board so guests can know what is being served

Background music and dinner conversation cards

Take home boxes

An empty dishwasher with a Finish® Max in 1™ tablet already loaded – so guests can simply place their plates in the dishwasher if desired.

Right now there is also a coupon on the Target Cartwheel where you can Save 5% on NEW! Max in ONE & Quantum Max Small Size 3/29-4/25 and there’s a fun contest you can enter with prizes including Target gift cards to purchase Finish® products and $150+ in glassware! (Winners must be 18+)

Finish #ShineAndProtect Giveaway!

What are some of the things you do to get ready for a dinner party? Please comment below and share and tips you may have too!

                                                                                                                                                                       ~Melissa

25 Excuses to Celebrate This Year

One thing I want to focus on more this year is celebrating – I used to do more of it, just because I could, but the last couple of years I've slowed down on celebrations – even nixing a few that I used to hold annually, partly probably because life seemed to get busier, and partly because our family and friends seemed to spread and go their separate ways. 

This year will be different.

Celebrations don’t always have to be large and grand; sometimes celebrations can be small intimate gatherings with just a couple of friends over or even just an evening with your immediate family.

The point is, we all need things to look forward to – special days and meals that will serve as key memories that you will have to look back on once the year’s over. This year, I challenge you to do some extra celebrating with me! There really should be no excuses needed to have a gathering, but if you need a reason to celebrate, here’s a bunch of ideas – 25 to be exact.

1. Birthdays - the perfect excuse to party!

2. Winter Wonderland - sparkles, cocktails, and a gift exchange.

3. Back to school - this can go two ways, either with an after school party for the kids, or a mimosa brunch for the moms. 

4. Halloween - costume party!

5. Spring 

6. Kentucky Derby dinner - hold a contest for the best hat

7. Valentine’s Day

8. Ground Hogs Day

9. St. Patrick’s Day

10. Memorial Day Weekend (BBQ season!)

11. 4th of July

12. Cinco de Mayo 

13. Fashion show brunch - have your girlfriends model their favorite new outfits

14. Easter brunch - 

15. Summer Solstice Dinner

16. Oktoberfest - beer and brats 

17. Fancy Dinner - because you can!

18. Backyard BBQ - pick colors for a theme.

19. Have a Wine tasting party

20. Murder Mystery Dinner

21. Sports Leagues - after season celebrations, tournament victories - pizza party anyone?

22. Cocktail Happy Hour - make a signature drink and invite friends to sample

23. Dessert Potluck - have everyone bring their best treats 

24. Have a get-away - have some really close family/friends? Pitch in for a house rental and extend the party for the weekend. 

25. Just because! Celebrate life - whether having a dinner party, a fun activity or delicious drinks - have fun!

This Sunday we are starting the beginning of our year of celebrating and the kids are having a couple of friends over and so am I - we're just going to eat a bunch of tasty comfort food and break out the board games and relax together for a couple of hours... you can bet that I'll be sharing more on this topic soon!

~Melissa

A Simple Idea to Give Extra

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone.

Being that it is November, I've been reflecting a lot lately about everything that I’m grateful for. I know it’s something that we should think about more than just one month out of the year, but I’m glad that we can all take this time out of the year to think about all of the reasons why we should be happy, instead of all of the reasons why we shouldn't, and it makes me want to give extra joy to the ones I love.

Life is such a precious gift that can be taken away or cut short at any point in time, and I never want anyone to forget just how important they are in my life and how much they mean to me – especially my husband. I don’t know about you, but my spouse is probably the one person that should deserve some extra attention from me, but that doesn’t always happen. Life happens and the ones who are always there for us get put on the back burner until things cool down – and that’s okay to do sometimes, as long as you let them know that they are still in your thoughts, and so with the crazy week I had last week I wanted to make sure Wayne knew I was thinking of him.

Hence my Extra-Special card concept was born.  This is the guy that took me in when I was probably at the lowest scariest point in my young life and gave me a home and a shoulder to lean on.  He deserves a little Extra surprise every now and then.

Making a creative card is just one way you can make extra moments that will bring a smile to someone’s face and make them feel happy inside. Remind them of how thankful you are!

I used a blank card that I had lying around and then taped the pack of Extra gum to the front and wrote my wording around it, then added some extra pieces inside with the words “I Love You” for him. I hid it in his lunch box for a surprise while at work, but you could get creative and place your card in other spots, like on the seat in his car, on the bathroom mirror, or even hidden in the mailbox when he checks it. 

What kinds of things do you do to make your loved ones feel Extra-special? Here's one more idea that I created last winter. 

Thanks #CollectiveBias for letting me share my #ExtraGumMoments with you! 

~Melissa

Follow along for more Extra Gum Moments on  Facebook and Twitter. 

5 Fun Holiday Card Photo Ideas

This post is sponsored by Global Influence. #HolidayCardPhotos

So.... I know Halloween is still two days away, but I can't help but start thinking about holiday cards already! I am one of those kind of people who look forward to giving - and collecting - cards from everyone I know, and then I display them proudly until New Year's Day.

We tend to switch up our cards every year - honestly depending on the time we have and budget for the year. Some years we have purchased pretty cards from the store, other years we've had family portrait photos created, and I've also just made photo cards with prior images for the kids or our family... whatever I decide to do, I always make sure to just send them! I think it's so important to send them and remind everyone that you've thought of them this holiday season. 

I'm not sure what we are going to be doing for sure this year, but I'm thinking about having our photos taken professionally since it's been ehem, a few years since we've had it done! (Exhibit A. down below!)

If getting photos professionally done this year doesn't fit into your budget though, here are a few ideas fun ideas you can do for your holiday cards that has worked in the past for me!

1. Find a travel photo. - One year our family spent Thanksgiving weekend on the beach, and I decided to keep it real and use a photo that someone took of us on one of our adventures (here we are all, not posed, but keeping it real on top of the Astoria Column). It was us - living our lives, and sharing a moment with our friends. 

2. Take a Picture of your Christmas tree. - Or whatever holiday decoration you're most proud of. The idea behind photo cards is to spread love and cheer, right? Why not let family and friends get a peek inside of your home.

3. Make Your Favorite Photos Black and White. - I took three of my favorite poses from the kids, and then made them all black and white before creating our holiday card. It gave the card a sense of unison even though the pictures were taken at different times. 

4. Take a Photo of Your Kid's Holiday Artwork. - This idea is great if your kids are in elementary school still and come home with fun holiday crafts/pictures they've created (remember all of those fun construction paper crafts!?) Take a picture of your favorite and incorporate it into a holiday card. The grandparents will love it. :)

5.Christmas cookies! - Start baking them early - and take a pretty picture of your hard work displayed! Bonus: Send cookies along with your card, then your friends and family can look at your card throughout the season and reminisce about how delicious those treats were.

Whatever you decide, I think it's important to have your cards be uniquely yours. Have fun with them! It's the holidays. ;)

So my question to all of my local friends - do you know any great photographers in the McMinnville/Sherwood/Tigard/Salem areas? I'd love some suggestions!

~Melissa

This post was inspired by Paper Culture who offer modern Christmas Cards and Holiday Cards.