Fancy House Road » Entertaining

The Perfect “Martha” Gift…

debbie — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 01:50:43 +0000

Need the perfect gift for the “Martha” person in your life?

You know- the kind of person who can do everything, is especially adept at entertaining and loves unusual things. The kind of person that can single handedly do what it takes Ms. Stewart a large creative team of people to accomplish. {Holiday spoiler alert: Martha Stewart does not work alone in creating all that she does.} Well, you’ve come to the right blog because I’ve come up with some of my Dessert Serveware favorites {Oh, the possibilities!}

Patience Brewster High Heeled Cookie Plate

Patience Brewster Domed Pedestal Cake Plate

Alan Lee Princess and Black Diamond Cake Stand with Dome

Alan Lee Decadent Collection Cake Stand with Dome

American Atelier Cake Plate with Dome

One Hundred 80 Degrees Pedestal Cake Plate

One Hundred 80 Degrees Pedestal Cookie Plate…

Now I’m in the party mood…again.

Debs

Allen Lee Collection|American Atelier|Horchow|Neiman Marcus|

Quote of the Day

camberley — Tue, 23 Nov 2010 15:00:41 +0000

We often take for granted the very things that most deserve our gratitude. ~Cynthia Ozick

Pure Contemporary | Country Living | Kitchen Daily | Mama Knows | At Home Interiors

Baby Cakes…

debbie — Thu, 18 Nov 2010 17:00:08 +0000

It’s raining babies in our family!

This next year there will be 3 new additions “flooding” our family. And the fun has already started with the first baby shower being held this past weekend for Jennifer-my hubby’s “baby” daughter. When I was asked to help out I thought it would be fun to make her boy baby his own special Baby Cake.

These cakes have become quite popular because they are original and creative. I love how you can add your own personal touch to this gift and, when I’m hosting a shower, I think they make a very cute and impressive centerpiece for the party. I decorate them to match the theme or to match the baby’s nursery. The nice thing about this party decor is that every item on the cake can be used later on when the baby arrives .

For Jen’s shower the Baby Cake was put onto a silver cake tray and used as a centerpiece for the dessert table. It looked quite impressive when surrounded by all the great sweets.

Here’s what you’ll need if you want to try doing this for the next baby shower you host or attend.

Ingredients for a diaper cake:

• 60 diapers (depends on how big you make it) You can use either disposable or cloth – I like to use cloth diapers for the bottom layer and disposable for all the others.

• Ribbon, 1/2 or 1 inch wide, patterned to fit the baby shower theme. Pink, blue, or yellow are good choices.

• 36-60 small rubber bands (depending on how you want to “build” the cake-You can eliminate these if you just roll your diapers and slip them under a rubber band that you have placed around a large roll of paper towels.

• 6 large rubber bands for holding all the rolled diapers in place.

• 3- 8-oz baby bottle filled with candy.

•Items for top of cake: stuffed animal, one 4-oz baby bottle or sippee cup, small toys, etc.

• A cardboard or plastic cake platter and one roll of paper towels to arrange the diapers around.

• Cake decorations – for example, baby confetti, baby sock roses, artificial flowers (you can even make flowers from small baby washcloths), etc. Hint: your local dollar store is a great resource for these items.

• Baby items for placing berween the diapers: Pacifiers, bottles, lotion, bibs, receiving blankets, miniature stuffed animals, baby towel, onesie, wash cloths, baby hygiene products, toys, etc.

Here’s an up close look at what I put on Jen’s Baby Cake. I believe that the more you add the more fabulous the cake looks.

To make your cake: Roll up the cloth and disposable diapers that will make up the body of the cake. After rolling each diaper I place it under the rubber band to hold it in place (rather than putting a rubber band around each diaper) and keep adding diapers until the roll of paper towels I’ve used for the center of the cake is covered.

Be sure to use 1-2 heavy duty rubber bands in order to hold everything in place. Then add all of the other decorative items that you’ve purchased like baby wash, receiving blankets, lotion, baby bottles, etc. I put as many items inside the rubber bands as possible without breaking it. (Fortunately, I’ve never had one break while assembling my cake.) Then I cover the rubber bands with the ribbon I want to use on the cake.

Once the body of the cake is put together, decorate your cake anyway you want. I like to use 3 different patterns of ribbon and I even string additional decorative items on the ribbons. Then I decorate the bows with additional baby supplies.

So here’s a close up look at how Jen’s Baby Cake looked like when I was finished.

(P.S. Don’t you just love the “roses” made out of baby washcloths?)

Happy Baby Jen!

Debs

Quote of the Day

camberley — Thu, 18 Nov 2010 15:23:45 +0000

So once in every year we throng
Upon a day apart,
To praise the Lord with feast and song
In thankfulness of heart.
~Arthur Guiterman, The First Thanksgiving

I’m Thankful for a Thanksgiving Checklist!

debbie — Fri, 12 Nov 2010 17:41:51 +0000

When I entertain I love to use all of my special platters and dishes. I love to fuss over my family and I love to set a very special table. I don’t consider it extra work or a hardship or stressful. It’s my way of telling my family and friends just how special they are.

But again…..the Holiday and family and friends are what’s important….not the china or the food. So if you aren’t the type of person to pull off a sit down dinner with all the decorations don’t beat yourself up. There are only so many Martha Stewarts around. And she has a staff to help her!

ENJOY your meal…… sit and talk…..

Debs

Let the Fun Begin…Organizing Your Turkey Feast

debbie — Tue, 02 Nov 2010 05:54:47 +0000

Today I packed away everything Halloween and set out the “Give Thanks” decor.

I’m still not sure if I’m going to be hosting Thanksgiving Dinner at my house BUT it hasn’t stopped me from thinking about how to organize the “most important dinner of the year” for our family.

Starting 2 to 3 weeks before the big dinner there are several decisions you’ll need to make in regards to the details of the day. Here’s a few you might want to consider.

What type of gathering you will be having?

Formal or Informal? Small or Large? Your house or somewhere else? With Family or Friends? Part of the success of any party are the details of where, when, how and who.

Will you finally be inviting your “Aunt Betty” ?

Have you considered inviting your daughter’s latest boyfriend (and his twin brother) to meet the family?

How about getting creative with the MENU?

Do you really want to serve cranberry relish and sweet potato’s even if you don’t like them and only serve them because “they are always served at Thanksgiving”? Or do you want to show off your culinary expertise and change the menu up a little bit?

How about this twist on the traditional turkey…serve your turkey and ham together? It will free up space on your dinner plate.

Or how about trying your hand at creativity by adding anchovies to your turkey for a totally different flavor?

Don’t care for turkey? You could join your “vegan” friends and try serving (and eating) a ”faux” turkey.

Or be really different and only serve Ham!

Ham+bananna+cheese=a new way to serve ham at your Thanksgiving dinner. (Recipe courtesy of Paula Dean-so it’s got to be good enough for your Thanksgiving feast.)

Can’t decide which kind of pie to make? Then combine them all to save time and still make everyone happy.

Start new traditions!

The whole point of a Holiday is family and friends and spending “quality” time together. Spend your time on the experience rather than making sure that everything is perfect. Also, remember to be thankful for what you have and not for what you don’t.

Then again, it might be fun tradition to play the “Debbie Downer” game to promote depressing conversation among family members. They’ll never forget it.

Or how about asking your guests to come in their favorite Thanksgiving costume for dinner? This year I’m going to strongly encourage my family to dress up. (Or at the very least wear shirts to the dinner table.)

I could see my hubby as a Turkey Pilgrim. Especially if it means he can carry a gun around the entire day.

My Son-In-Laws could all come dressed as a Referee Turkey. Can you imagine watching football with a room full of grown men with these on their heads?

And my grand-dogs would look great dressed like Pilgrims and Indians.

And next year, the new grandbabies could come dressed like this:

A fully dressed (and stuffed) turkey.

And my daughters-who will be doing the entire meal preparation and clean-up, as well as watching the children while their husbands are watching football…should consider dressing up like this:

“Pilgrim” Sister Wives

I can’t wait to get started on planning Thanksgiving-even if it’s not at my own house. After all it’s one of my favorite food holidays.

Happy Gobble Day

Debs

P.S.

Next time I will be a little more serious and share with you a great Thanksgiving Dinner checklist that will help you to organize your dinner preparations and reduce your stress.