Author: michellescottcmc

I have always been a planner, and planning a party gives me such joy!  Even more joyful when it is to Celebrate Erin’s High School Graduation!  Decorations and the Menu are my personal favorites!  Hopefully, you can get a couple of ideas and a recipe or two to make the planning of your next party a bit more simple!

1 Month Ahead of Time  – Decide your color scheme, create your guest list and order your invitations!  I almost always use Costco!  The ease of their website, the price of the invites and the beautiful quality make it an easy choice!  As for color choice, Erin has always loved Tiffany blue, so I created these simple invites for Erin’s party! 

3 Weeks Before the Big Day – Mail Invitations, Create Decorations and Order Dessert Decorations!  I am crazy busy during the week, so I did most of my planning on the weekends!  I love the decoration piece of the event!  Once you choose your color scheme, purchase spray paint, paper and ribbons you make decorating easy!  Check out the pictures for easy tips and ideas!

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2 Weeks Before the Celebration – Begin Cooking!  I start with desserts – they are easy to prepare ahead of time and freeze!  Stay simple with desserts that are easy to grab!  I was sure to include Erin’s favorites!  Knowing I was making Chocolate Covered Oreos, Ritz Cracker Thin Mints, Mini Cupcakes and Sugar Cookies, I ordered theme colored items from Amazon so I would be ready to decorate and could stick to my theme!

2018 Candy Mold

Dip Ritz crackers in this to create your own thin mints!

Tiffany Blue Sprinkles

Cupcake Liners

Tiffany Blue Ribbon (for banner)

Tiffany Blue Paper for Banners

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1 Week Before the Celebration – Begin Counting up your RSVP’s and let the cooking begin!  My menu is filled with all of our family favorites!  Recipes are included here – I tell you when I made each one when you look at the recipe!  If you have any questions at all, please ask!  Graduation Party Recipes

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The Day Of – Make the day of recipes and enjoy the moment!  For my two older kids, we had beautiful weather for the party.  For this party, it had rained all day so we set up tents on our driveway with tables underneath; tents on the deck with drinks and tables and made the most of it!  We had 100+ wonderful people here to celebrate Erin and in the end, the weather didn’t matter, it was the people here to celebrate Erin that made the event perfect!

Any party wouldn’t be complete without the help of family and friends!  I can’t thank the following people enough …Joy Brogan (for dropping off the chocolate covered strawberries); Michelle and Svetlana Shulkov for arriving early and helping with set-up; Jill Lukach, Kathleen Bugbee, Megan Stewart, Amanda Froelich, Moira Pando, Steve Terranova and Lisa Bollinger (for loaning us tents and coolers, and the awesome Caesar Salad Dressing); Gill MacMillan (for loaning us coolers); Tom Munro for grilling extra turkey; Cynthia Munro (for grabbing extra ice and managing the food); Sophia Thomas and Michelle Mash (for all of the surprise clean-up);  Mike and Karen Mahaney (for getting Sophia and Jeremy back to the train); Allison Scott (for being my right hand gal all day and into the evening on Saturday); and of course, Brad (for really, anything I asked him to do!)

If you have young kids, this is a must do to celebrate the meaning of Easter. When Allison, David, and Erin were young, we had an Easter Egg Hunt on Holy Saturday using the Benjamin’s Box Eggs.  Once all of the eggs were found, we sat down and read Benjamin’s Box.  As we came to each part of the story, one of the kids got to open the corresponding egg.  I found this a nice tradition prior to the crazy, fun celebration on Easter Sunday.  Check the book and eggs out in the links below!

Benjamin’s Box  and  Resurrection Eggs

I love hosting any holiday in our family.  Easter hasn’t traditionally been mine to host until last year … it was then that I realized that I love hosting Easter!  Wrapping the holiday around an early afternoon brunch gave everyone the opportunity to see if the Easter Bunny made a stop and then go to church!When hosting any holiday, the food can be daunting.  I start with a menu!  You can find all of my family favorites here:  Easter Brunch  Creating a menu allows me to create a grocery list and remain focused on what I need to complete.  I throw in family classics but to reduce stress, I purchase one or two items (for Easter, it’s the Ham – Honeybaked Hams is close to home and does an excellent job), and choose one or two recipes I can make ahead (the Potato Casserole and French Toast Casserole are perfect to make ahead and freeze).  That leaves time to enjoy the holiday with family and friends!

The weather was excellent and after brunch, we added a wonderful egg decorating activity to go with! Check out my dear friend Michelle Mash’s blog at Making Memories Meaningful  for details on creating these beautiful keepsakes!

Cheers to a wonderful Easter for you and your family!

Keeping it simple for Easter,

Michelle

 

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When I think about celebrating any holiday, food is the first thought that enters my mind.  St. Patrick’s Day is no different! My kids have always woken up to one of two breakfasts!

If St. Patrick’s Day was on a weekday, the leprechauns left a box of Lucky Charms spilled all over the table!  All that needed to be done that morning was to add milk – which those darn leprechauns always colored green!

If St. Patrick’s Day fell on the weekend, we were a bit more elaborate (although not much)!  St. Patrick’s Day falls on a Saturday this year so consider making some shamrock pancakes!  Use this family favorite recipe St. Patrick’s Day Pancakes or simply buy a pre-made mix!  Whichever recipe you use be sure to add a little green food coloring and use a shamrock cookie cutter to make it more festive!  Shamrock Cookie Cutters

Whichever breakfast you choose, have fun with the day!  Knock a couple of kitchen chairs over, leave a window open, add some food coloring to the toilet (my kids LOVED that) and leave some tattoos or jewelry on the kitchen table!  Shamrock Tattoos

Keeping it simple for St. Patrick’s Day!                                                                                               ♣   Michelle

 

 

Hello Friends!

I hope you all had a Happy Valentine’s Day and were able to share the love with those around you!  Thanks to those of you who shared your Valentine’s heart successes … from those of you who committed to doing it for the week before Valentine’s Day; to those who added hearts to a door (or two) for 14 days; to those who watched their kids eat a giant Hershey Kiss in one day – I hope it created some great vibes!

A number of you asked when I was blogging next … thanks to each of you for your encouragement and enthusiasm!  I mentioned in my bio that my family defines me.  Both my mom (Gerry) and my mother-in-law (Sharon) are the BEST chefs I know!  Through the years, they have cultivated in me an interest in and a love of cooking!  Throughout this year, I’ll be sharing some of my favorite tried and true recipes – many coming from their kitchens!  This particular recipe came from my mom … Gerry’s Spaghetti and Meatballs – she’s been making it for as long as I can remember!  The best part of this recipe (well, besides that it’s from her) is that you have most of the ingredients in your fridge and pantry so you just need to pick up a few ingredients at the store and be ready to go!

This is a favorite recipe of mine not only because it is from my mom, but because it is so simple!  There it is again, the Simple Stuff!  This simple recipe has been the birthday dinner meal request from each of my kids for as long as I can remember (in the above picture, is David, enjoying it for his 7th birthday – I am a bit nostalgic as he will be turning 21 this week)!  When you make a batch, there is always extra!  You can freeze the meatballs individually and pull them out one at a time as needed; you can share a meal with a friend; or you can make meatball grinders with the leftovers!  I even had a friend over for a cooking class this month – I taught her how to make this family staple!  She thinks it will be a family favorite of hers, hopefully it will become one of yours as well!  Click here: Spaghetti and Meatballs for the recipe and let me know how if you have any questions!

In Friendship,

Michelle

 

 

 

 

Valentine’s Day is such an easy day to share your love for those around you!  About 12 years ago, showing the love became simple and fun for the 14 days leading up to Valentine’s Day.   

First, decide who you want to share the love with – is it your kids, boyfriend, husband, mom or dad?  After you’ve decided who, cut 14 hearts out of construction paper – I do this for each of my three kids, so I cut out 42!  Then, simply write something you love about that person on each of the hearts.  Tape one to their door at night after they go to bed (or in the morning before they get up).  Watch them come downstairs with a smile on their face after they’ve read your sentiment!  My last heart always directs them to the kitchen table on Valentine’s Day where for as long as I can remember I’ve had a giant Hershey Kiss waiting for them at breakfast (yes, I even let them take a bite or two before school)!

Want to make it simpler yet?  Be ready to go on February 1st when you order your Hershey Kiss KISSES Chocolate, Giant Gluten-Free Solid Milk Chocolate Candy in Valentine’s Gift Box, 7 Ounce Box and your paper hearts  Heart Small Single Color Creative Cut-Out

Print the labels seen in the above left photo on Avery 1560 labels and add your own sentiments to make it easier (and prettier)!  Valentine Hearts

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