Love You a WAFFLE Lot

This February, our monthly dinner took on a Valentine's/Waffle theme after a friend of mine went to a waffle restaurant, and sent me their menu as an idea.  I decided to run with it, and I kept it all waffle instead of having other breakfast style foods.

Invite: I used an invite background I saw on a blog called Just Add Confetti and just photoshopped the design and writing to better reflect my theme.  I tried to think of waffle puns to put on the invite for added fun.  Alison, the blogger for Just Add Confetti also had various other printables, that I was able to download and alter to fit my theme which saved me a ton of time because I didn't have to start from scratch.

Decor:  I kept the decorations fairly simple for this dinner.  I set out a red tablecloth on my outside dining table, and made a centerpiece that looked like a retro spinning order stand.  

To make the stand, I just used a small cake platter I already owned.  I set it on top of an upside down cereal bowl and hot glued some small white clothespins around the side to hold the "guest checks" that I designed as menu cards for each of my menu items.  On top of the cake stand I baked some waffles, and then added a Cupid's Diner sign to the middle.

On both sides of the order stand, I had a waffle cone vase of red roses. I filled the bottom of the mason jar with white chocolate chips to keep the waffle and the roses in place.  After the party, I moved the roses to regular vases with water, so they'd live longer, but they were cute and perfect for the theme in the large waffle cones.

The rest of the roses, I just added to a vase and put waffles in front of it.  I placed it on the drink table.

I used smaller waffle cones for my napkin holders. Just rolled a napkin to put inside with the silverware.  Simple.

For placecards, I made red heart-shaped waffles and added a fondant initial to the top.  I used a red velvet cake mix instead of waffle mix.  I added an additional egg and a quarter cup flour to the mix before baking to stiffen them up a little bit.  Although these were just decor, and not food, my own kids ate the extra ones, and they really liked them.

I also like to come up with funny ideas for my wine labels.  For the red wine, I created an image with a happy-faced waffle and a happy glass of red wine with the words "Better Together."  The wrap of the label had the Cupid's Diner logo with "a waffley good brunch" logo on it.  For the white wine, I used the diner guest check idea, and created a guest check that read "Will you be mine wine?"

For wine charms, I cut up a Stroopwafel cookie.  If you haven't had these, they are a toasted waffle cookie filled with caramel.  I cut a triangle wedge of the cookie, dipped the end in colored chocolate, and then used a skewer to make a hole in the cookie so I could tie them onto the glass with ribbon. Super cheap and easy to make.  They lasted through the party, but the cookies are soft, so they definitely weren't made to last long term.

Menu:  Of course waffles were a part of every course for the party, and I made a Guest Check to go with each item as a menu card.  

We started with a green salad with tomatoes, feta, and Italian dressing.  I served these in small waffle bowls.  The guest check read, "You're so Romaine-tic! Lettuce be friends forever."

For the main dish, I served Chicken and Waffles.  I made the waffles with a normal mix and got a bucket of chicken legs and thighs from the grocery store to save myself time.  I never do that, but life is crazy with work and softball/baseball practices, so that was my excuse!  I served these with my grandmother's homemade waffle syrup which made them extra tasty.  The guest check for this one read, "I like you a waffle lot! Promise I'm not pulling your leg!"

For dessert, I used my heart-shaped waffle maker to make strawberry waffles using strawberry cake mix.  I topped them with whipped cream and sliced strawberries.  Although these were really tasty, the pink was difficult to see after they have been cooked and have the toasty brown look.  The guest check for these read, "You're a Berry special friend."

Favor: I made favor boxes with a waffle look for my parting gift.  I found a template for boxes online and Photoshopped a waffle background to the template.  These took a while to cut out and assemble, but they were cute.  I put two Stroopwafel cookies inside each box.  I ended up cutting the cookies in half and wrapping them in a cake pop bag inside, just so they would fit.

This was another great party theme.  The food was good, the decor was fun and easy, and all of us had a "waffley" great time as usual visiting together!

Thank You for Being a Friend - Golden Girls Theme!

The world was saddened by news of Betty White's passing New Year's Eve.  She was an iconic superstar with an amazing sense of humor.  As a child, I loved watching The Golden Girls, and she would crack me up with her silly responses as Rose.  I decided The Golden Girls would be a fun theme for our monthly dinner and it truly was fun to put together.

Invite: I designed the invitation on Photoshop using some images I found online.  I incorporated some iconic phrases and lines from The Golden Girls episodes to add to theme.  With the surges in COVID cases, we decided to host this dinner on Zoom rather than in person.  I would have loved to have had the chance to decorate the table Miami-style with some afghans around the room for fun, but we decided to be caution and keep it virtual.

Party Details:  I created the mini wine bottles labels to match the invitations with the four main character faces along the top.  For the white wine, I used Sophia's iconic phrase "slut puppy" with the words Drink Up above it.  For the red wine, I used a phrase that Dorothy said to Rose, "Go to sleep, sweetheart and pray for brain."  I just added "or red wine" to the end of it.

For my napkins, I used another famous quote from Rose that makes me laugh.  Rose says, "The older you get, the better you get...unless you're a banana".  I designed a tag with this quote and wrapped a bright pink napkin around a banana to give to guests.

Menu:  The character Sophia in the series consistently speaks of her younger years being raised in Sicily.  She likes to good Italian food, so this is what I decided to serve for our dinner.  I created this menu to put on top of the boxed meals so guests would know how the food related to theme.

I started with a salad I called Blanche's "You look like a Prostitute" Slutty Salad.  This comment was said by Sophia to Blanche in one episode, and it is so reflective of both of their characters.  This was a simple green salad with diced red peppers, cucumbers, croutons, and Italian dressing on the side.  I used a lip-shaped cookie cutter to cut one large red pepper for lips as well.

I found an easy lasagna recipe online to make for what I termed Sophia's "Picture it...Sicily 1922" Lasagna.  I found the recipe here.  It was tasty and not difficult to make once you have all the ingredients.  I was able to serve the nine guests as well as my family.  Alongside the lasagna I served a bread roll pretending it was from St. Olaf Bakery.

Cheesecake is the obvious choice for dessert, since The Golden Girls are always eating cheesecake during their late night chats.  I cheated this time and just purchased a cheesecake from Costco which I never do.  I just added some raspberries and called my dessert "RaspBETTY White Cheesecake."

Favor:  When I was thinking about what to make for a favor for this party, I ran across this cute purse pattern on Etsy.  I printed the purse on photo paper, cut it out, and folded it to create this purse.  I wonder if it would look better and fold better using card stock, but my printer prints pretty dull on card stock, so I opted for photo paper.  I filled the purses with gold Hershey kisses for The Golden Girls.

This would be a great theme for a Golden birthday.  I had so many ideas for decorations and other things that I was not able to do since we had the party on Zoom.  Either way, it was a fun theme and spending time with my friends is always Golden!

Ho - Ho - Hoedown Country Christmas

Ho - Ho - Howdy Y'All!  Buffalo plaid is everywhere this Christmas.  I love it, and it reminds me of a hometown Hallmark movie-style Christmas.  I decided to keep my theme simple this December and host a Country Christmas with a Ho - Ho - Hoedown monthly dinner. Check out the details...

Invite: A buffalo plaid background and Santa strumming an acoustic guitar were of course part of my design for the invitation. You can't have a Ho-Ho-Hoedown without featuring Santa!  Beyond that, I kept the invitation simple and just used a country-style font for the writing.  I asked guests to wear flannel and boots to the party for added fun.  Plus, I hosted the dinner outside on my patio, so I wanted the guests to dress warmly.

Decor: It was so easy to find buffalo plaid everywhere, that I used it throughout my decor.  I set the table with a red tablecloth & cut a strip of buffalo plaid wrapping paper to use as a table runner.  I could have purchased a fabric table runner for $15, but I already have a holiday table runner in my house, so $2.50 on a roll of wrapping paper that I could use for wrapping presents and making a table runner, seemed like the way to go.

As a centerpiece, I placed my cowboy boots in the center of the table runner.  I filled one of my boots with mini Christmas ball ornaments, and the other I placed a buffalo plaid Santa hat I bought at the dollar store.  I borrowed some mini haybales and copper wire from a friend to place on the table as well.

Lastly, I added a wooden buffalo plaid Christmas tree I made.  I found the wooden tree at the dollar store, purchased the buffalo plaid scrapbook paper from Michaels Craft Store, and just used Mod Podge to adhere them together for a fun look.  I added some wooden trees and plaid reindeer I borrowed from a friend.  She found the reindeer in the dollar bin at Target.  

For my napkins, I designed a simple cowboy boot with a Christmas tree in the middle to cut out of cardstock with my Cricut machine.  I made a plain back of the boot, and used scrapbook glue to glue the bottom and just the rims together.  Then I slid a green napkin into the top of the boot.  Love how they turned out.

I had a bit of silly fun with placecards.  I asked each of my guests to send me a bitmoji of themselves.  I chose a specific bitmoji to have them send - one where they were facing front and I could easily Photoshop the rest of the bitmoji out and just have their head.  Then I found clipart cowboy cartoons online and replaced those faces with those of my guests!

Here's a few more just for fun!

For wine charms, I made ball ornaments out of scrapbook paper to wrap around the wine stems.  These were super easy.  Except for the red buffalo plaid, I found images of holiday plaid online to use instead of purchasing cardstock.  I just printed the backgrounds on cardstock large enough for the ornament, and then used my Cricut to cut them out.  A little silver glitter to add the ornament top, and they were done.

I designed my wine labels to match the invitation and the overall country Christmas theme.  For the red wine, I designed a wine glass with a horseshoe as the cup and made it like a "Wanted" poster - glass or bottle.  For the white wine, I went with a simple holiday phrase "Tis the Season to be Drinkin".

This small Ho-Ho-Hoedown banner was above my drink table.  Instead of using scrapbook paper to make it, I just designed it on Photoshop and then printed it out.  I was short on time, so simple worked for this.

Menu: A Ho-Ho-Hot Chili made in the crockpot was my main dish, and what a good choice it was!  It was delicious, warm on a cold night, and because it was in the crock pot, it really gave me a chance to relax a bit and chat with the girls instead of being stuck in the kitchen the beginning of the party.  I used this recipe.  We liked it so much, I made a second batch later in the week for my family to enjoy.  I set it out with all the fixings for guests to add as desired: cilantro, jalapeños, onion, sour cream, avocado, cheese, hot sauce, and red and green tortilla chips.

Along with the chili, I served Ho-Ho-Homemade Cornbread and Ho-Ho-Homestyle Corn on the Cob.  A bit of a stretch because although I did make the cornbread in my home, it was from a box from Trader Joe's.  If you haven't tried Trader Joe's cornbread mix, I suggest you do. It has little bits of corn in it, and it is really good.

For dessert, we had Ho-Ho-Howdy Cupcakes.  These were simple cupcakes baked in buffalo plaid wrappers with vanilla buttercream frosting, but with an editable cowboy hat on top!  They were so adorable!  The hats are made with Lays Stax chips to give the base of the hat the authentic look.  You could use Pringles, but Lays Stax chips are thicker so it's less breakage when you dip them in chocolate.  The top of the hat is a Rolo and then a red pull-apart licorice for the red accent.

Favor:  I initially intended to make the plaid wooden Christmas tree as a favor that I made for my centerpiece, however, after going to 6 different dollar trees to look for them and only coming home with one, it wasn't going to work.  Instead, I found the wooden door hangers at the dollar store.  I used Mod Podge to glue the buffalo plaid on the wood, and cut out the tree and Merry Christmas with my Cricut.  This favor was definitely simple and inexpensive to make.

Ho-Ho-Hope you had a wonderful Christmas!

Squid Games Dinner

Have you watched Netflix's most popular show, Squid Games?  My husband and I decided to check out an episode after some friends were chatting about it.  We watched all 9 episodes of this series, and found it both disturbing and entertaining. I don't think I will ever think about childhood games like Red Light, Green Light or marbles the same!  With the show being a popular topic of conversation, I decided to theme this month's monthly dinner around the show.

Invite:  I kept the invite cryptic and simple to fit with theme.  I created a Squid Game card and sent it through snail mail to each guest.  The front of the card had just the circle, triangle, and square like the one in the series.  The back had just the date of the monthly dinner and the logo.  No other information.  Since these dinners are always at my home and always at 7:00, it was not a big deal to include no other information.  Once guests RSVP'd, I did send an email asking guests to arrive in a track suit if they had one or athletic clothing.

Decor: There is a pretty large color scheme you could have for this dinner.  You could do all neon bright colors like the stairs/doors the contestants go through in the show, or you could use the dark teal like the track suits.  I choose to use a mixture of colors and not stick with just one or two. I set the table with a red tablecloth and laid a tug-of-war rope along the length of the table to symbolize the Tug-of-War game in the Squid Games.

For a centerpiece, I filled various size vases with marbles to represent the marble game.  Out of the top of each vase, I included a character from the games - Gi-Hun (#456), the disturbing Red Light, Green Light robot girl, and one of the guards.

As guests entered the party, they were given a number patch much like the contestants are given a number.  I used the numbers of all the popular characters in the series, but since I had more than 8 guests, I made other numbers as well. I printed the numbers on sticker paper.  This didn't work really well as they had difficulty sticking.  Ended up just safety pinning them on.  

For place cards, I just printed out the same number patch.  I placed a small bag of 10 marbles next it them to represent the marbles game.  We didn't actually play a marble game, but you definitely could at your party.

For the place setting, I cut a black circle and a white triangle, square, or circle out of cardstock at set it in the middle of each plate to represent the guard masks used in the series.

I made my napkins to look like the coffins.  I cut the bow out of pink cardstock and lightly glued it to a black napkin folded into a rectangle.  I used a pink marker to embellish the bow a little.

If you have seen episode 7 of Squid Games, you will recognize the symbolism of the wine charms I made.  I cut a white mannikin out of cardstock and created a pink bib with black straps for the mannikin to wear. I had nine guests, so the bibs had numbers 1-9.   I lined these up on the beverage table in an arch like they are in episode 7.  I used these bib numbers for the order of our glass bridge game we played later in the night just like they were used for order in the episode.  (Keep reading to hear about this fun game later in the post).

I designed my wine labels to go along with the series as well.  For the red wine, I played off the Red Light, Green Light game and switched "Light" to "Wine" for the red.  For the white wine, I showed the guards with their common phrase of "you have been eliminated" and added the Drink Up above it.

Menu:  There are a lot of food references in the series, but I wanted my food to be extra creative and not just a Korean dish.  We started with just a simple calamari (squid) as an appetizer as guests arrived.

Next, I served a green salad with only green and red items to represent Red Light, Green Light.  I used romaine lettuce, spinach, red bell pepper, green bell pepper, and red tomatoes.

For the main dish, I made beef turnovers, but shaped them into circles, squares, and triangles.  Each guest got two turnovers, each one a different shape.  I called them "Your Turn is Over Turnovers"!  These were super yummy as they always are when my family makes them.  Definitely a challenge to make them into these shapes, but worth it!

Along with the turnovers, I served peas.  I called this dish "Edible Marbles."

For dessert, I made the famous South Korean candy Dalgona.  I served each guest a metal tin with the Dalgona inside and of course the Dalgona had a shape.  I only had small cookie cutters in the shape of a star and a circle, so all of mine had one of those shapes for this party. I didn't have an umbrella or a triangle like they use in the series. 

It was fun to see the guests use a needle to try to cut out their shape without damaging it. 

A successful completion of the challenge!  The circle is intact!

Party Games:  There are so many games that could be played at a Squid Games party.  Besides a quick challenge with the Dalgona, we only played one game at this dinner party.  I recreated the Glass Bridge which was really fun, and definitely not such a "killer"!  

I bought 12 shirt boxes from Amazon and set bottom and lid next to each other down a line. I used giant bricks I already owned under one box at each set, and the second box had only bubble wrap under it!  Guests went in order of their wine glass mannikins just like they do in the episode.  If a guest stepped on the box that happen to have the bubble wrap under it, it popped like the breaking of the glass and the contestant was eliminated.  If they happen to choose correctly and picked the box with the brick, they were able to advance to the next step of the bridge, etc.  Just FYI - A normal size brick would have been dangerous, but the bricks were large and not wobbly at all.  I didn't want any guest rolling and ankle or anything.  Something to think about if you decide to do this game.

Favor:  Throughout the television series, the contestants look up at a huge glass ball that is filled with money each time a player is eliminated.  I wanted to play up this idea for this Squid Games party.  I purchased plastic ball ornaments that split in half from Amazon.  I bought chocolate gold coins and placed some yummy coins in each ornament.  The rest of the ball, I filled with mini South Korean bills (wen) I printed and cut out.  The tag on the ornament let each player know they were the "winner" with the same amount that is awarded in the series.

Just love these monthly dinners with these girls. Glad we all made it out of this Squid Games adventure in one piece!