Shop ALDI For Your Holiday Party

 Last weekend, I had an intimate little Christmas party.  Okay, so maybe "party" is not the right word since it was just myself and a very special friend of mine.  I served some simple foods that paired well with wine, all courtesy of my local ALDI grocery store. 

It had been a while since I had shopped at ALDI, and I honestly had no idea they had such a wide selection of wines, all very reasonable priced.  In fact, everything they sell is reasonable priced at almost 50% less than traditional supermarkets. I got four different bottles of wine, totaling about $24. Since I am not normally a big drinker, I was a little clueless when it came to picking out the wines I wanted.  The manager of the store heard me talking to myself and came over to help me find the selections I needed.  She was awesome!  She even walked around the store with me as I selected the rest of my purchases.  I was very impressed with the customer service I received.  The only drawback was that I forgot that they do not bag your groceries, so I had to purchase a reusable shopping bag to bring my things home in.  It was only $1, and I can use it again the next time I shop there (or anywhere else!), so it was worth it.  

My favorite wine was the Gonfalone Chianti, and I served it with cheese and crackers.  I used a recipe ALDI supplied for a Baked Brie, and I can not tell you how delicious it was.  It was so simple to make, too. 

ALDI Baked Brie with Cranberry Sauce

Ingredients:
1 wheel edenVale Brie Cheese
1/2 cup Southern Grove Dried Cranberries
1 cup Burlwood Cellars Chardonnay
1/2 cup Berryhill Blackberry Fruit Spread

Directions:
 1. Preheat over to 350 degrees.  Place unwrapped brie on a foil-lined baking sheet.  Heat in oven 12-15 minutes or until brie is warmed through and soft to the touch.

2.  Meanwhile, bring dried cranberries and white wine to a boil in a small saucepan.  Add fruit spread, reduce heat to medium high and simmer 10-15 minutes, stirring often.. Sauce is ready when liquid has thickened and coats the back of a spoon.

3.  To serve, pour over warm brie.  Can be eaten alone or spread on crackers.

The final result:

Okay, so maybe it doesn't look as good as it tasted, but trust me when I tell you it was delicious!  I served it with ALDI's Savoritz Entertainment Crackers - Six Cracker Assortment.  I plan on making it again the next time I have guests over.

I am big on desserts, so I also bought a Belmont Premium Cheesecake Sampler and paired that with the Chaza Moscato, as ALDI suggested.

This was my friend's favorite wine. I liked it, too. In fact, we finished off this entire bottle! I am a huge cheesecake fan, and I can say without question that this cheesecake was awesome.  I especially liked the turtle slices.  The raspberry was great, too.

ALDI has so many great selections when it comes to party food, and this time of year, we are all either having our own or attending friends and families Christmas parties.  You can look like a rock star if you hit up ALDI first and arm yourself with some of their wines.  Just don't forget to pick up all the goodies they offer that pair with the wine so well.

I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of ALDI and received a gift certificate to facilitate my review

It's That Time Of Year Again

Every year for Ryan's birthday, I throw a Halloween themed bash.  It started about four or five years ago, and the kids always have so much fun.  I was debating having it this year since we are in the apartment, but decided to go ahead with it.  I love decorating the house, and making scary themed foods.

I usually buy decorations when they go on clearance after Halloween every year, so I have quite a bit.  Some of them, however, are getting old, so this year, I want to get some new stuff.  I was looking in a party supply store online and found some pretty awesome things.   We have a little porch outside with a railing about it, and I need decorations for that.  I want to hang things from the hooks we have out there, and these shrunken heads will work perfectly. 

Aren't they great?  I'll probably get a few sets and hang some inside, too.  I also found these little figures that I want to put on the food table.  They're pretty great, too, don't you think?

I have all kinds or bowls and platters that I bought last year, but still have to get plates and napkins.  I usually buy black and orange ones, but I think this year I want to get Halloween themed ones.   I hope I can find some scary ones, and not cute ones.  I mean, ghosts with smiley faces just won't cut it for 16 year old boys.

Kasi's Birthday

Kasi's birthday is in less than a week.  She is going to be 14.  I am sitting here wondering when I got old enough to have two teen aged kids.

It really blows my mind, because I don't feel like I am almost 40.  I don't act like it either.

Anyway, she has decided that she wants me to take her and a couple of her friends to the movies for her birthday, and then come home and have more girls come over for a slumber party.  Sounds like fun, right?  You wish you were me, don't you?

Thinking about parties got me thinking about Ryan's birthday, and I was trying to figure out how I am going to do his annual Halloween bash in this apartment.  I have already been looking at Plus Size Costumes trying to find something that I could wear.  Now that I am separated, I can do what I want and dress up.  I found some pretty cute Halloween Costumes | Plus Size Costumes | Childrens Costumes at HalloweenAdventure.com, and I am thinking about ordering costumes early this year so there is nothing to worry about in October when money gets tight.  I'm not saying that money isn't tight now, but if I start buying one costume at a time, I think I'll be alright.

But before I do any of that, I need to get through Kasi's party next weekend. 

Wish me luck.

Should We Rent A Photo Booth For Kasi's Birthday?

 I can not believe it is almost April Fools Day.  This past month has gone by so fast.  I seriously hope this next year goes by just as fast, because I can not wait to be divorced.  Kasi has a birthday coming up in May, and I am not sure what we are going to do for her.  I know that will be right around the time we are going to be moving to my mom's house, so the house will be mostly packed up.

I need some party ideas that are not only inexpensive, but fun as well. If the weather is nice enough, I can hope mom has the pool open and I can let her have a pool party.  Otherwise, the girls will have to hang out outside, which means no slumber party.  Unless they want to pitch some tents and camp out.  Now that would be fun for me, because I would make sure that I found a way to scare them in the middle of the night.

I was also trying to think of ways to make her party special, because of everything that is going on around here.  Two years ago, we had to skip her birthday party because I had surgery and we were moving.  I don't want that to happen again.  I know I can't afford to rent photo booth, even though that would be pretty awesome.  The girls would love having keepsakes, and I am sure they would come up with some interesting poses.

For now, I am going to try and find a way for her to have her slumber party.  My best friend volunteered her house, so that might be an option.  Or I might see if she wants to do a bowling party or something.  Any ideas on what type of party 14 year old girls would love?

A Christmas Party

Last night was my husband's work Christmas party.  Honestly, I was very surprised when he informed me a couple of weeks ago that he actually wanted to go.  This is the first time in five years that he has had anything to do with work outside of work.  Did you follow that? 

I am usually a little anxious about things like this, but I ended up having a really good time.  I know a few of the people he works with, and we all sat together and had a nice time.  There was good food, good conversation, and then the DJ got to work.  You could tell who was drinking and who wasn't by the way people were dancing.  And of course, once the DJ finished setting up karaoke equipment, you really knew who'd been drinking.  You also found out who could sing and who couldn't.  Unfortunately, my poor ears didn't think any of last nights "singers" were very good, but I give them credit for getting up there and doing their thing. 

We didn't stay for the whole party, though.  Once they started playing "Baby Got Back" and that song that Sandra Bullock sings in the woods in The Proposal, I was ready to go.  I know, I am such an old lady! 

I am looking forward to getting together again with some of Junior's coworkers.  I just hope I don't have to wait another year to do it.

Three Shots

I took a lot of pictures before the party of the food and Brandi and I in our costumes.  During the party, I took, um, about ten pictures.  I was so busy enjoying myself, I forgot all about my camera.  As you can see in these three shots, the kids had as much fun as I did.

Here's Brandi, taking a swing at the pinata.

Here's Kasi, after bobbing for apples.

And my son, acting like a goober, as we were singing happy birthday to him.

Chocolate

Ryan's birthday party is Friday night, and I am trying to get everything ready, which is a big undertaking because I am extremely lazy and tend to leave everything until the last minute.  Like cleaning...I will probably be cleaning like crazy woman all day Friday, even though I have all week to do it.  I guess you could say I work best under pressure.

Anyway, over the weekend I made these cute little chocolate pops.  You can't see it clearly in the picture, but the first one is a spider in a web, and the spider is green.  It's my favorite of all the chocolates I made.  I still have to make the chocolate covered pretzels....maybe tomorrow.  Or the next day.

Party Prep

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Dollar General. All opinions are 100% mine.
I have so much to do this week to get ready for Kasi's parties this weekend.  That's right.  I said parties.  Plural.  She is having two.  On Friday night, she is going to have a few girlfriends over for a slumber party, and then on Sunday, we are doing a family party at my mom's house.  Well, it's a family and close friends party on Sunday.  I am super excited for this one, because my mom should have the pool open by then, which means the kids can swim.  Okay, so I'll probably swim too.

My only problem is that I spent way too much money while I was away over the weekend, so now I am on the hunt for cheap snacks and stuff for the party.  I found the New Dollar General Circular online, and am going to head there to get the chips and soda.   They have Doritos (which are a family favorite) for $2 a bag, and sodas for $1.  I can also get the paper plates and napkins there, and their prices are cheaper than Walmart.

These prices are good this week (5/16-5/23), so if any of these deals look good to you, head to your local Dollar General before Sunday.  This is only the first page of the circular, so be sure to head to their website to check out the rest of this weeks sales.  Be sure to check out their mix and match 10 for $10 section.  Let me know which ten things you would buy.  Me?  I'd go for the candy.

Is that really a surprise to any of you?

An Opportunity To Make Friends?

At the beginning of last week, Brandi brought home an invitation to a birthday party. It was for a little boy in her class, and it was being held at a local pizza play place, Mr. Gatti's. I was excited for her, and thought it would be a great opportunity for her to bond with her classmates and make new friends.

The party was today, and she had a great time. The pizza place has a buffet, so in order for us to stay, we had to pay for the rest of us to eat. I told Brandi that she would go in the party room herself, but that we would be nearby. A few times I saw her alone at the buffet, but she looked happy. When the kids were let into the play area, I snuck a peek, and saw her playing air hockey with the birthday boy. Then they rode the bumper cars.

When it was time to leave, I went in and had her thank the mom for inviting her, and she told the birthday boy goodbye. I asked if she wanted to say goodbye to any of the other kids from her class, and she said she was the only one who showed up.

How sad. The birthday boy must have been so disappointed! That is why I don't let Brandi invite the kids from school to her parties. I learned with Ryan and Kasi that at this age, the kids just don't come. I hated seeing Ryan and Kasi waiting for their friends, and none showed up.

The good news is that as they got older, more and more kids would come. When Kasi turned 10 or 11, I can't remember which, she had 15 girls show up for her sleep over. And Ryan's first Halloween birthday party had a huge turn out.

For now, I will keep bringing Brandi to the parties she is invited to. I want these kids to know that she is a good friend.

Because she is.

A Wonderful Sunday

We finally had Brandi's birthday party yesterday. She had such a wonderful time! Her two best friends came, as well as all of her cousins. The kids made a craft thingy, ate lots of goodies, and left with gift bags in hand.

I still can't believe she is 8. I am, however, thankful that I am past the stage of having little children. Watching my brothers kids run around..they have 4 younger than Brandi...and watching my sister with Carson and Lylah...I am so glad I don't need to be so "hands on" with my kids.

I'm too old for that! lol!

Candy

More party goodies. The cups of candy and goodies are going to be the prizes for the costume contest, and for the winners of whatever other games the kids decide to play. The bowls of twizlers and jolly ranchers and smartees will be for the kids during the party. I was going to put them in the pinata, but they didn't fit. As usual, I am sure I am preparing too much food and stuff, but that just means there will be leftovers for the weekend.

Tomorrow's To-Do List, In No Particular Order

~Pray it stops raining so I can move all the buckets...we're up to 9!...and mop the floor and vacuum.

~Go to the store and get the bread for the chicken sandwiches.

~Make the chicken salad.

~Play Cafe World on Facebook.

~Wrap the monster toes and cut out the nails.

~Go to therapy with Junior.

~Put up some of the decorations.

~Pray it stops raining. (I know I said this already, but I really need it to stop raining!)

~Dust.

~Boil the eggs for the deviled eggs.

~Watch Survivor.

Okay, I just watched the forecast, and it looks like the rain will stop in the morning, and Friday should be rain free! Now I just need to pray that the huge mud puddle that is my yard dries out so the kids can hit the pinata out there!

Quick Pics

I am beyond busy this week, and waking with a migraine this morning didn't help me get everything done today. I did finish my pumpkin brownies:

They look great, right? I am pretty impressed with myself.
I also made these little witch hats:

Now I just have to clean this house, make the monster toes, deviled eggs, sandwiches, decorate, make the prize cups...ug. This is not helping my migraine!

Ryan's Invitations

Like most people, when I think of holiday cards, I immediately think of Christmas. Until today, that is.

I was online trying to find invitations to a Halloween/Birthday party for Ryan. Let me tell you, that is not an easy task. There are lots of Halloween party invitations, but I wanted ones that also said birthday party. My only option was to find a general card, and put my own words in it.

I loved this one, where I could use a picture of Ryan on it. I am going to write my own message on the back, inviting everyone to his birthday/Halloween party. It came out pretty good, right?

I Want To Be A Witch

I was shopping the other day in the dollar store, and couldn't believe that they already have their Christmas decorations out. It's only August! They totally skipped Halloween and Thanksgiving. I'm hoping they will put some Halloween stuff out, because it is almost time for Ryan's Halloween birthday bash.

His birthday is November 6, and two years ago I did his party a little early, and had all the kids dress up. It was awesome! So many kids showed up, and I had tons of games planned. I think their favorite was the "in the dark scavenger hunt". This was when we lived in the house and had an acre yard. Last year we also had a Halloween themed party for him, but we were in the apartment, so there wasn't a lot of room. IT also rained that night, so the kids were stuck inside. I had so many new games planned, and was pretty disappointed that we couldn't play them. I do make some cute Halloween themed food, like monster toes (little sausages wrapped in flour tortillas, with BBQ sauce on the end, looking like bloody toenails) and deviled eggs that look like eyeballs. I really need to start looking for new recipes for this year's party.

The past two years, I have wanted to dress up like the kids, but have ended up just slapping on a pair of ears, and wearing black. This year, I want to get a real costume, but it is so hard to find one in the stores that fits right. I decided to look for Halloween costumes online, and found this AWESOME witch costume. And you know what the best part it? It comes in plus sizes! I am so excited! I really hope I can save the money to get this before the party, because come on, what costume better suits my personality than this?

You should check them out, too. If you find something you love, you can get free shipping on orders over $50 by using the code "pppfree". I think I need to talk to the kids and see what they want to be this year, and order all the costumes at the same time, so I can get the free shipping. I just love saving money!

So tell me, have you thought about what YOU want to be for Halloween this year?

Botox Parties?

I have heard of brides doing all they can to look their best for their big day. I know many women starve themselves so they can lose weight and fit into their skin tight wedding gown. Many brides get manicures and pedicures, and have their hair done by a professional. Never having had a wedding myself, I missed all the pampering that goes with being a bride.

There is a new trend that I find a little over the top, but then again, I have never been a vain person. It seems brides are having Botox Parties Chicago where they have their entire wedding party botoxed. How crazy is that? All the women go to the Tiffani Kim Institute in Chicago, and are pampered as they receive botox treatments. I understand wanting to look your best on your wedding day, because these are memories, and pictures, that you will treasure forever. I am just not sure that I would want to go through botox, or any kind of treatment, just to get rid of a few wrinkles.

I know there are women out there who would love to have botox treatments before their big day. If you are one of those women, check out the Tiffani Kim Institute. They also offer other treatments, so if you are like me and botox isn't your thing, I am sure you will find some other treatment that will help you look your best, not just on your wedding day, but every day.

Cleaning Up

My house, and yard, are a mess!

There are tons of little balloon pieces to pick up that are all over my lawn.

The pinata was beat to pieces, and that needs to be cleaned up.

There are so many dishes to be done, I can't even look into my kitchen without cringing.

I need the maid to come in today....oh wait, that would be me!

Great.

Matching Tees

A few years ago, my sister got married. Her friends decided to throw her the ultimate bachelorette party. They all rented a limousine, and headed to the big city to party the night away. She wore a shirt that said bride, and it would have been so cool if her bridesmaids had bachelorette party t-shirts to wear, too. They might even have gotten better service and more free drinks!

If you are planning a bachelorette party for someone close to you, you should check out the Bachelorette Party Shirts at Wedding ParTees.com. They have long and short sleeved bridesmaid t-shirts, available in four different colors. They also offer a camisole design which I love. You can choose between black, light pink, baby blue, and white. They even have three different colored Swarvoski crystals to choose from. They have clear, rose pink, or sapphire blue. I, personally, like the black shirts with the pink crystals. To me, the are very feminine. These shirts would be the perfect gift for the bride to give to her bridesmaids, and they can be worn even after the party. They can even be given as a way of letting your friends know you want them to be your bridesmaids. Make sure you check out the site before planning your next bachelorette party, and suggest it to all the brides to be that you know.

Great Shots!

Missy has posted some pictures from our halloween party.

It's fun to see through someone else's eyes!

I'm just glad she didn't post the shot she got of hubby trying to bite my boob.

He acts like's such a booger sometimes!

So go...check them out!

Pictures From The Party!

The party was great! It rained, ad the kids got soaked! They limboed in the rain...they played tag in the rain...the acted like idiots in the rain! It was a success.

Know what the best part was? Missy, sam and alex! I'll admit...I was a little worried that it would be awkward at first. But they walked in, and it was hugs all around. It felt like old friends getting together. They are the nicest people, and let me tell you, her sense of humor in writing is nothing compared to the real thing. I think I laughed the entire time! I told her she couldn't post pictures without my permission, because my hubby is a freak and was acting like a fool! (If you want to see them, I'm sure she'll have them posted soon :D) I know we'll be seeing more of them as soon as we can. And yes, we talked about all of you! :)

OMG......it's me and missy!!!!!.......and sam and missy!faith.....................carson hitting the pinata
horsing around...............the girls put makeup on chris
doin' the limbo in the dark...and in the rain!

some of the girls.....................little man reading

diving for candy from the pinata.....hubby smeared cake in nicoles face!

chris (best costume winner)..........donnie

my pumpkin..................and winnie the pooh

the devil (nicole)........................ryan and donnie

ryan and donnie again cause I don't feel like fixing the picture

hubby after nicole got him with some cake

the kids opening their gifts