Red Hot Bunco Party

Last night I hosted a Red Hot Bunco party at my house. Last you saw me, I was in planning and painting mode! I got most of my painting done, the computer permanently moved out to the bonus room (from it's last home on the dining room table), and some new decor for the dining area. Hooray! I forgot to take photos last night, but here's the remaining of my decorations.

I collected a bunch of RED candies and placed them around the house in little bowls.

Sweedish Fish, Red Vines, cinnamon disks, strawberry hard candies, 

Hot Tamales, cinnamon bears, Boston Baked Beans....

I picked up the cute paper straws at a shop on Etsy and the table cloth was one that I got from my grandma's house!

I had a lot of fun making my decor! I was going for cheap, but fun.

I made a couple of these tissue paper poms and hung them from the ceiling with fishing line.

Isn't my coffee art cute?? I got those for $5 a piece at Big Lots.

I also made several of those polka-dot garlands and strung them around the house.

Red candles and some red tinsel that I put into glass containers around the house finished up the decor.

Other things for a Red Hot party?

We had these enchilada's. I just added some diced red tomatoes on top for a little color.

Red corn chips and salsa

Green salad with strawberries, cherry tomatoes and red raspberry vinaigrette dressing.

Cranberry/Raspberry Punch

Prizes included gift cards to Red Lobster, Red Robin and Target.

Party Planning & House Painting

Looking ahead to our schedule for March, things are going to get busy! Not only am I planning a super-fun prehistoric dinosaur party for Malachi's 4th birthday (check out these cute invites I ordered!), but I'm also planning a bunco party for the 2nd week of March. Things in the works here are - a sandbox big enough to let 10 kids do a Dino Dig, food ideas and how to pull off a Dino Egg Hunt....

The birthday is not until the end of the month so I was thinking we had plenty of time to get the house fixed up, but now I have two weeks less before this bunco get-together and I want things finished for it. My goal is to have the kitchen/dining room painted, a new curtain rod in the living room and my art up the walls in the two areas.

Yesterday my husband and I stopped to pick up the paint colors for the kitchen/dining rooms. We are renting and so I'm trying to stay with very neutral colors so we don't have to re-paint later. We painted the accent wall last night and I'm already happier with the way this room looks! There is very odd lighting in here, so a picture of the true color is kinda difficult, but here it is.

Next on the list is painting the trim around the door white (I'd really like to paint the door also, but I don't want to get in trouble) and then that other facing wall. The other walls are going to be a different color.

Along with these house updates, I'm frantically trying to plan my bunco party! I was not supposed to be hosting this month, but a series of unfortunate events has led to it. I usually start planning my next bunco theme immediately after I host at my house, which gives me a significant amount of time to gather ideas (like my jane austen party this past September)... this time I have a couple weeks. I decided to go with a super simple theme - but I think I can still make it really fun! I have settled on a Red Hot theme. I'm thinking fiesta themed food (hot). Red candies and decorations. I'm also thinking that instead of voting on the best costume like we usually do, I'll have us vote on the best red accessory... to make it easy, but fun. Here are a couple of my favorite pinterest finds....

Source: theyummylife.com viaElsie on Pinterest

Source: itstaylormade.com viaElsie on Pinterest

So.... I am in party planning mode... I'm actually having a lot of fun with it! I might be stressed in a couple weeks though!

A Jane Austen Bunco

Once a month I get together with a lovely group of girls and we play bunco together. There are 12 of us and each month we meet at a different person's house. We always have fun theme (well... some of us are more creative than others... but it's always fun).
We've been doing this for about six years now - and I must say it's getting harder and harder to come up with unique themes. Some of my past themes have been - Barnyard Bunco, Pirate Bunco and Mad Hatter Tea Bunco.

This year I finally decided on a Jane Austen themed party. First of all, can I tell you how horrified I am that some people had no idea who Jane Austen IS?? How is that possible? Don't they at least watch movies? Anyway.... it was a little more thrown together than my usual bunco because of my recent move and the fact that I worked the entire weekend before, but I think it still worked out fairly well. 

My mom helped me out and painted Jane Austen book quotes on 12 mugs. We bought a variety of white mugs at the Dollar Tree and she used a Sharpie to write the quote. Then she baked the mugs in 400 degree oven to make the ink permanent. We love how it turned out!

I also made up some cardstock bookmarks with quotes printed on some velum and tied at the top with a pretty ribbon.

Each person got to take a mug and a bookmark home with them. My mom made me up some  fun banners from a thrift store copy of Northanger Abbey.

This one was hanging from my mantle (it got taken down before I got a picture) and has some Austen silhouettes pasted to the pages. Another one was hung in the dining room above the table. I've yet to get any of my artwork unpacked, so it looked good.

And, of course, we had to have tea and I brought out some of my vintage tea cups for the occasion. I also made up some little books from a download I saw at DearLille blog for some little Austen books. I used another thrift store copy of Sense and Sensibility for that project.

I made a couple very yummy quiche for dinner. We had a Spinich Ricotta Quiche and a Ham and Swiss Quiche along with some rolls and corn soup.

Lastly, my amazing mother, made the two of us some Regency era dresses.

All in all, it was a very fun night and I think the theme was a fun one! I gave away some copies of the Keira Knightly version of Pride and Prejudice and some Barnes and Noble gift cards for prizes. 

Now... to start thinking of a theme for next year.... =)

Mad Hatter's Tea Party - Bunco!

So tonight I hosted our monthly bunco group at my house. We always have a theme - and some are better than others. Some people go all out and some are pretty lame, but we always have a good time.


I organize the group and maybe that's why I feel the need to be an overachiever. Seriously. I think I spend WAY more money than anyone else on my decorations than anyone else. But on the other hand, I think mine are really fun and everyone ends up hanging out for a long time after, SO I judge that as being a success! =)


Anyway... this year, I did a Mad Hatter's Tea Party theme. My original plan was to have it outdoors - but 2 hours before people were supposed to arrive it started raining. Yuck - it hasn't rained in a week. Soooo.... my friend Stephanie helped me move it all inside and we went to Plan B.


Here's a few pictures:

I ordered the clock and the Eat Me/Drink Me tags from a wonderful Etsy Shop, Windrosie. My mom made the arrow signs for me and the table is set with teacups and a teapot full of tea.

My friend, Stephanie, made these awesome molded chocolate mousse teacups!

And here's my mom and I as the Mad Hatter and the Queen of Hearts! You can also see my croquet playing flamingos in my yard!

1980s

So, our monthly bunco group is having a 1980s theme for April. I was having a pretty hard time coming up with a costume - although I thought it was going to be so easy!

I have a crimper from when I was a kid, so I'm going to crimp my hair (and I need to find a scrunchie!)

Then, this is my outfit I finally decided on (sorry about the crappy picture - its with my phone!)

I picked up the black leggings at Target which I'm planning on making into stirrup pants - $8.

I got the hot pink shirt out of the girls' section at Target - $5.

I planned on wearing my denim jacket and then I remembered I had that denim skirt too! - Free!

Soo.... its a little more than I normally spend on my costumes, but I figured I can wear the leggins again (without the addition of the stirrups, of course) and probably I can wear the shirt for something if I can still wear it after its washed. haha

It should be fun!

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Bunco Night!

Bunco was at my house this month and I was pretty proud of my theme and decor!


We had a Old MacDonald's Farm theme.


I bought these party hats from OrientalTrading.com

Then I just printed off some animal sounds and stuck them around the room.


I made these letters out of cardboard and a sharpie marker.

I also got some bandanna's for napkins and wrapped mints that looked like they were wrapped in bandanna's from Orientaltrading.com


People got really creative with their costumes this month!

As you can see, we had a horse, Mr. and Mrs. MacDonald, a sheep, a scarecrow, a milkmaid and a herd of cows. =) (oh and you can see my cow print balloons in the background!)


It was a good night - lots of fun!



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Barnyard Bunco

Days go by so fast! I'm hosting our monthly bunco group at my house this month. Every month we have a theme and my theme this year is Old MacDonald's Farm. I'm pretty excited... here are a few of my preparations so far... (I work this weekend and it's on Monday, so I'm starting early)

I made up this fleece no-sew barnyard blanket today for one of the prizes. Most people do gift cards, but I try to come up with some prizes to go with my theme. I'm having a hard time with this one, but I found the kit for this blanket at JoAnn's on sale for $10 last week. Most, but not all, of the girls in our group have kids, so I'm hoping one of them get it. I know we'd love it. Someone made one of these throws for my son when he was born and my husband and I use it all the time! =)

Using the larger canning jars as our drinking glasses for the night and the smaller ones to hold candies. Bought a length of red gingham fabric at JoAnn's and I'm just tearing strips to decorate just about everything. Simple and easy - yet colorful!


I'm really looking forward to the game night and hoping it all comes together.





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Yes! Computer Working!

Yay! I'm super excited that my computer is now working! Here are a few pictures I've been saving up of my Little Guy:

Catching snowflakes with Daddy

Lining up all our vehicles in the window

Silly faces

And last but not least... our fun bunco group - New Years' Resolutions Theme from January

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Following Up

Well, following my rant last night, I woke up this morning to an email in my inbox with one of the members of our group who is a constant source of irritation to me - quitting! Whoo hoo! It's terrible to feel that way about another person and actually, I have nothing against them normally. It's just that they weren't interested in playing anymore, so I didn't understand why they just didn't quit. Like... 3 years ago. Case in point - last month she and her roommate (who also plays and hasn't quit yet) scheduled a vacation over bunco. And then now they've started a Bible study that meets at their house on Monday nights. It's pretty obvious they don't want to play with us - uh... so why don't they just quit then?

So... getting down to the wire here for our vacation. The house-sitter came over tonight to meet the dogs and our bags are mostly packed. I got out on the roof today and washed the outside of a couple windows that the birds had pooped on. Gross. I guess this vacation/reunion is going to arrive no matter what!

Ever Feel Like You Need A Little Rant?

Do you ever have one of those things that you feel like is your thorn in the flesh? You know that thing that is just so irritating, yet you either can't or won't do something about it?



Aprons!



Okay... so just a little rant here. I've posted before about the bunco group that I'm in - well actually I coordinate it. What that means is that my role should be making the schedule, updating the sub list with new people and reminders. Once in awhile a schedule change or something. That's it. What what actually happens is that I end up finding the subs for the other irresponsible adults out there in our group.

The point of bunco is that it's a game where people mingle. There's really no strategy, but you play with 3 tables of 4 people - 12 people total. So we have a group of 12 regular members who host once a year and are on the schedule. Then we have a sub list. If one of the regular 12 is gone, it is their responsibility to call some people from the sub list and get a replacement.



Favorite movie character



Well, as you can probably guess from the way this post is heading, SOME (namely two) of the people in this group hardly ever come (maybe 50% of the time) and don't participate (aka don't dress up for the theme) when they do come. I'm not really sure why they still want to be a part of the group - but I've hinted many times and they always say they want to do it still. I end up hearing from half the other people about how irritated they are that these two don't participate or show up.



Then I have the people that leave finding their sub until the last minute. That means that by the time they get around calling people on the list it's the day of or the day before and none of the subs are available. So then guess who ends up calling people to find their subs? Me, of course because otherwise they just won't show up, pay their $5 later and we are left to play with one or two "ghosts" (which means someone plays without a partner). Stupid.



Rodeo/Cowboy



The real problem I have with the whole thing is that these are all ADULTS. And they know what the COMMITMENT is at the beginning. It's the first Monday of every month for two hours. Not that much time. I just don't understand people and how they can't be responsible adults and do their own dirty work OR even better show up to their commitments! Or quit that works too.



Anyway... it just seems like every other month there's some issue and it's starting to really bug me. This month though I'll be in Texas for bunco (yes, I've already got my sub lined up, thanks), so they're going to have to figure it out on their own because I'm not answering me phone when they start calling for help.



October Challenge Day 8

Pretty proud of myself today. Did my Weekly Home Blessing Hour (changed sheets on beds, empted all trash, cleaned mirrors and doors, load of laundry, culled magazines...)

Also did a twenty minute workout - even though the Little Guy didn't want to take a nap. Have you ever done an ab workout with a toddler crawling on your chest? Umm.. way harder!

Then I ran around to get stuff for our bunco group tonight. We had a Twister Theme. Here are some pictures:

Bunco and a Recipe

bun`co or bun`ko
1. A swindle in which an unsuspecting person is cheated; a confidence game.
2. A parlor game played in teams with three dice.
3. A winning throw in the above game; three of a kind of a specified number.
Source: The Bunko Book by Steven Pratt

The first Monday of every month I get together with a bunch of girlfriends and play bunco. What's bunco you say? It's a dice game, played in teams of two with usually 12 people. It's a little hard to explain, so if you really want to see the rules, how to play, etc, go visit buncorules.com for an overview.

There are many groups out there and they play many different ways, but when I started this group about four years ago with a couple friends we decided it would be fun to have themes each month at our bunco night. Tonight's theme is Prom and so of course we are all breaking out our old bridesmaids dresses and prom dresses (if we still fit in them) and wearing them out! Our husbands and boyfriends think we're crazy, but it's super fun! Here are some examples from past bunco nights:

May 2010 - Clue Board Game theme

(I was Miss Lavender, one of the made up characters)

July 2009 - 70s Theme

(I wore my mom's original dress and 70s boots!)

September 2009 - Pirate Theme

(I don't think there's anything to say here - haha!)

Anyway, some people are really into it and some of the girls are not so into it (the theme part), but we have a lot of fun, eating dinner, dressing up and gossiping while playing a rather pointless dice game. =) I'm very excited for our monthly meeting tonight (and hoping I fit in my dress!)

The history of the bunco game in America - an article

So, I thought I'd post another one of our favorite recipes - the Big Guy always asks me to make this for him when he and his buddies go hunting in the fall and I can't blame him... its really good.

Ingrediants:

2 carrots (we skip this because DH hates carrots)

1 celery stalk

1 small onion

1/4 cup butter

 2 garlic cloves, minced (I use the jarred kind)

1/3 cup all purpose flour

1 - 14.5 oz can chicken broth (low sodium)

2 cups milk

4 cups shredded Cheddar cheese

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 teaspoon pepper

4 bacon slices, cooked and crumbled (I buy real bacon crumbles at the store)

1. 
   
   Cook bacon until crips; drain on paper towels and discard fat
2. 
   
   Mince garlic cloves
3. 
   
   Thinly slice carrots
4. 
   
   Finely chop celery
5. 
   
   Melt butter in a 3-quart saucepan over medium-high heat.
6. 
   
   Add carrots, celery, onion and garlic and cook, stirring constantly for 5-7 minutes or until tender.
7. 
   
   Add flour; cook, stirring constantly, 1 minute.
8. 
   
   Stir in chicken broth and milk; cook 5 minutes or until mixture is slightly thickened and bubbly.
9. 
   
   Add cheese, salt and pepper, stirring until well blended.
10. 
    
    Stir in additional milk, if necessary, to reach desired consistency.

Yum! It's really good! I serve mine with rolls.