My fabulous friend, Jill Chappell, is hitting the big 4-0 later this month, so to celebrate our wonderful friend, Amber, Trish and I threw her a cruise-themed cocktail party with a dozen of her girlfriends. We had such a fun time planning the party and it went off without a hitch!
Our first "treat" was a captain's ship wheel, over which we hung a banner declaring, "Calling All Sailors, Ahoy!" We used these ridiculous props as a photo corner to welcome everyone to the party. It was worth the $40 as it gave everyone a hearty laugh!
Our second "treat" was a string of nautical flags that each said something that we love about Jill: "Forty Things We Love about Chappy".
Some of the write-ups were sweet - "I love that when I'm with Jill, I'm laughing" - and some were flat-out funny - "I love that Jill confuses words: 'I love Mongolian trees. I think you mean Magnolia.'" She loved all of the little messages, so that was a big hit!
Our third "treat" was a cocktail and dessert bar, complete with cupcakes that had Jill's face superimposed on the frosting - a hilarious little detail.
Finally, our fourth "treat" was servants!!
We suckered Seth Wheeler and Spencer Kerr into serving all of the guests, refilling their drinks, restocking beverages, helping with the dishes and any other manly to-do. The women would call out, "Boy!" and one of them would come running to refill a drink or take a-way a plate. They were incredibly good sports about the whole thing.
The piece-de-resistance of the night was a scene that Amber and I should have seen coming. Years ago, when the movie Titantic was released, Jill became obsessed and saw it in the theaters umpteen times. Towad the end of the party, Jill decided to grab Spencer and recreate the "King of the World" scene.
What started out as a funny gag, became downright unwatchable, as Spencer stepped behind Jill, grabbed her waist with both hands and then slid both hands to grasp and hold onto her stomach. You could feel every woman in the room immediately suck in their stomachs! What horror that a man would grab your mid-section and hold on!!!! As Amber's sister, Mendy, said, "I don't even let my husband grab me around the waist! That's a no-touch zone!"
Bless Jill's heart, she went with it...even when Spencer suggested she, "Lean forward", which really undid everyone. All of a sudden, Jill's stomach has captured Spencer's hand as she's leaning forward "flying" and he's holding on with a smile.
Amber and I could NOT pull it together; the whole thing was an unbelievable spectacle that only Jill could have pulled off!
All in all, it was a very fun party and I think Jill had a terrific time.
She's soon off to Paris with her Mom to celebrate her actual birthday, but I think we sent her off in fine fashion!
I’ve never driven a Mercedes before, and I have to say: I like it! It’s a C300, and it's a fun, sporty little car that makes me wish I had to drive 30 miles to and from work instead of 3! When my Saab eventually breaks down (and I fear it’s coming soon), I may have to scope out the Mercedes situation, because this is one fun car!!
Holy Crap!!
Susan, the ever-reliable wingman, was 15 feet away and doubled over laughing as Amber and I stood on the front porch and watched as Kristen pulled and pulled and pulled on the frozen critter. 
Amber and I were hysterical watching the whole scene unfold - Kriten fighting a dead frozen squirrel that was stuck in the bend of the drain pipe. After a 5 minute stuggle, Kristen only managed to get the thing out 3 inches, which was almost worst!! Now, it looked like it was in the birthing position, with all of its goodies hanging out!
We decided to leave the remainder for the grounds crew on Monday, but when Susan returned from a date with Christian Schultz four hours later, he went at it and pulled the whole thing out...ahh, the hands of a surgeon!
My fabulous friend, Jill Chappell, is hitting the big 4-0 later this month, so to celebrate our wonderful friend, Amber, Trish and I threw her a cruise-themed cocktail party with a dozen of her girlfriends. We had such a fun time planning the party and it went off without a hitch!
Our first "treat" was a captain's ship wheel, over which we hung a banner declaring, "Calling All Sailors, Ahoy!" We used these ridiculous props as a photo corner to welcome everyone to the party. It was worth the $40 as it gave everyone a hearty laugh!
Our second "treat" was a string of nautical flags that each said something that we love about Jill: "Forty Things We Love about Chappy". 
Some of the write-ups were sweet - "I love that when I'm with Jill, I'm laughing" - and some were flat-out funny - "I love that Jill confuses words: 'I love Mongolian trees. I think you mean Magnolia.'" She loved all of the little messages, so that was a big hit!
Our third "treat" was a cocktail and dessert bar, complete with cupcakes that had Jill's face superimposed on the frosting - a hilarious little detail.
Finally, our fourth "treat" was servants!!
We suckered Seth Wheeler and Spencer Kerr into serving all of the guests, refilling their drinks, restocking beverages, helping with the dishes and any other manly to-do. The women would call out, "Boy!" and one of them would come running to refill a drink or take a-way a plate. They were incredibly good sports about the whole thing. 
What started out as a funny gag, became downright unwatchable, as Spencer stepped behind Jill, grabbed her waist with both hands and then slid both hands to grasp and hold onto her stomach. You could feel every woman in the room immediately suck in their stomachs! What horror that a man would grab your mid-section and hold on!!!! As Amber's sister, Mendy, said, "I don't even let my husband grab me around the waist! That's a no-touch zone!"
Bless Jill's heart, she went with it...even when Spencer suggested she, "Lean forward", which really undid everyone. All of a sudden, Jill's stomach has captured Spencer's hand as she's leaning forward "flying" and he's holding on with a smile. 
Amber and I could NOT pull it together; the whole thing was an unbelievable spectacle that only Jill could have pulled off!
All in all, it was a very fun party and I think Jill had a terrific time.
She's soon off to Paris with her Mom to celebrate her actual birthday, but I think we sent her off in fine fashion!
The Hugs & Kisses Dinner has quickly become one of my favorite annual traditions. Thanks to some inspiration from Cody's Mom, I hosted a Hugs & Kisses Dinner last year and decided to follow it up this year with some new friends. 
I invited Amber, Jill, Emily, Susan, Patti Papworth, Jenn Johnston, Nichole Robinson, Marissa Osborne, and Kristen Glenn to help me celebrate Valentine's Day. Thanks to Jill, I have a couple of photos from the party - I can't believe I forgot to snap pictures! - and some from all of the prep work. 
I made everyone a valentine, which I stuck in a cute red mailbox, that included passages from famous love letters; and I gave everyone a little present and a take-home bag of X&O sugar cookies.
I first made these delicious little chocolate cakes
And then I added a layer of bittersweet chocolate mousse...
Followed by a layer of milk chocolate mousse and semi-sweet chocolate shavings. 
I was so excited that they turned out and were super yummy. They were time intensive, but really good! The sure sign was that everyone swooned when I brought them to the table!