Brunch & Craft Playdate

On Monday I hosted a playdate for some of the other doctor's wives here in town. I love hanging out with them because they understand the long hours and other facets of the job (to do a fellowship or not?), most of them are away from their families too, and we just always seem to have a lot in common. And most of them have small children!!

I had everyone over for brunch and to do a little craft and then just play. This is the easiest brunch set up and I think it looks so much nicer than it should given the amount of time I spent getting it ready! I love easy with high impact!!

 The night before I just made three batches of muffins - they are store bought! I popped them in the oven over and over until they were done and while I was cleaning and getting everything else done. I got four kinds of fruit and cut them into bite sized pieces. I even used my heart cookie cutter to make heart shaped watermelon. It didn't take long at all and it looked so cute! I made a simple fruit dip to put with them. I had everything done and ready to go the night before except the ham and potato casserole. I call these "dump and bake" because there's no measuring required and I just mix everything right in the pan it bakes in! {recipe below} I think this recipe is probably awful for you but it's always a crowd pleaser like most fattening things! 

I used one of my chalkboard platters in an easel to show which muffin flavor was in each wrapper. 

I decided to do a hand-tracing craft, based on this picture I saw on Pinterest. I wanted something that didn't involve glue/glitter/small items because I didn't know if I had it in me to clean that kind of mess up from a lot of kids! Hah! I could never be a kindergarten teacher!

 I picked out some scrapbooking paper from Michael's and we let the kids trace their hand and then frame them in little frames I got from the Dollar Tree. Some kids even colored on theirs too. I thought they turned out so cute! I traced my hand and then layered Landon's hand over it and put it on the mantle.

I really love having people over and I especially love when I can do it without feeling like I have to spend hours cooking and cleaning and getting everything together!

Simple Fruit Dip:
1 regular jar of Marshmallow Fluff
1 regular box of cream cheese (at room temp)
Blend both ingredients together until smooth. Serve chilled.

Ham & Potato Casserole:
1 package frozen hash browns
1 2c package sharp cheddar, reserve some for topping
1/2 package diced ham
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 large container sour cream
1 stick butter, melted
Mix everything together in large baking dish coated with Pam. Add cheese to top. Bake @ 360 for 45-60 minutes.

Happy play-dating! :)

Deals

I wanted to share with you a couple sites that I have been OBSESSED with lately. I have gotten so many cute things for a steal and maybe you already know about these - and if so, are you as crazy for them as I am???

Both of these are deal sites where they feature a new deal every day, kind of like Groupon. I love that set-up because it gives you something to look forward to every day! Hah!

I found out about Very Jane from a friend of mine over the summer and it is one of my favorite emails to get every single morning. I don't work for them and I don't get any benefits to telling you about this or getting you to sign up! But I really think I have gotten some cute stuff and I wanted to share it with you!!

I remember wanting this J. Crew bubble necklace about two years ago so so so bad. I think it was around $150 and I even said I was going to use some of my Christmas money for one and I just never did. That is so much money for a necklace and I usually think quantity over quality for jewelry. :) Very Jane had a "replica" of it for $15 about two months ago. Oh my gosh, I about died when I saw it. I got it in the mail and I have worn it so much and gotten so many compliments on it. It's heavy and well made and I just love it. And turquoise is my favorite color and it just makes me so happy to wear it!

I ordered monogram pillows for Joe and I for $30 total {bottom right of the picture but also - how cute is the his and hers version???}. I think I'm going to put them on our bed. I'll show you a picture of it all made up with them soon!

I got a Kate Spade "replica" necklace that I just love, I think it was around $15 too. I love chunky necklaces because I think it can make a really simple shirt have a ton of character. I thought the red might be cute around Christmas time? I think it's hard to find cute red jewelry!

I also LOVE a site called GroopDealz. {I am so type-A and I hate when companies misspell words on purpose in their business name.. but I quickly got over that when I saw the cute stuff here!}

Yesterday I got these chalkboard clips I'm going to use to label food at parties or even supplies when I host our monthly craft night. I got 15 clips for $11 shipped. I can not believe it!

 They have had so many cute curtains and pillows cheaper than I've ever seen! And I got a pair of earrings and a matching necklace set here a couple weeks ago (far left).

Have you heard about these sites?

Happy Friday!! :)

First Day of MDO

Last Friday was a BIG day around here. Landon had his very first day of Mother's Day Out {or Tot's Day In as they call it here :)} I was an emotional wreck the entire morning and drive over. Hah!

I absolutely knew with my entire mama heart that he would scream and cry when I had to hand him over to the teacher. And if I made it out of the building I knew they would call me an hour later to come get him because he was so upset. I went through all these scenarios with the teacher and asked her how they'd handle him if he was too upset to participate. I was ready. I didn't even make any plans for my time off!

Well.

He went right to his teacher, Lisa. She is so sweet! He even watched me walk out of his classroom door. Watched me walk out! And I waited around the corner a while to listen for a scream. But there was none. And I didn't get a call either. Four hours and no call. It was so glorious!! Why didn't I do this sooner??

I hope I'm not the only one who experiences this kind of anxiety when they send their kids to "school"!! I loved having a few hours to get some things done and by all accounts Landon loved playing with the other kids for a while! :)

Happy school days!