Party Ideas

Little Cowboy Baby Shower

September 11, 2012 31 Comments

I am SO excited to share this baby shower with you dolls!
One of my best friends in the world is expecting a little cowboy in October! I am thrilled for her and her first baby!!

Kassi and Meghan – My wedding July 2011

The theme was based on the bedding she chose, red paisley, denim, brown…
Little cowboy!
The invitations for her shower and the Daddy Diaper Party {hosted by my husband for her husband, Kenny} were designed by my friend, Laura of . I gave her the wording I wanted, the outline of the cowgirl mommy, the colors, and she did the rest!

The shower invite reads,
“A little cowboy is on his way… So let’s shower mommy before the delivery day!”
And then, “One last request: instead of a card for baby and mother please give a child’s book with your thoughts in the cover. By signing your book, they’ll remember and share your special gift even when you’re not there!”

We had so many comments on what a good idea the book instead of a card was!

The daddy invite reads, “Daddy Diaper Party! Join us for a round of golf, drinks and good eats to celebrate father-to-be, Kenny! Please help Kenny prepare for lots of ‘changes by bringing a pack of diapers.“

My favorite part of the decorations was the little cowboy onesies. I purchased the iron-on set from Whimsical Printables. The rope they were hung on matched the table clothes and other decorations that came from Party World via Meg’s other friend (and my partner in crime for this shower), Kendra. I made some in several sizes so she’ll have some cute cowboy onesies to dress her little guy in for awhile!

Above you’ll see the games and door prize table. I have a whole post planned for those. Perhaps next week. 😉

How stinkin’ cute is that cake!?! Meg’s Aunt Alysha, commissioned it for us… Adorable!!!

Kayli and I made the little blue cowboy cookies using this recipe and this royal icing recipe. I purchased the .

For the punch we mixed a blue Hawaiian punch and club soda. It was delicious!!! Drinks were served in mason jars with cute denim striped straws from .

How cute is this watermelon buggy that Kendra made!?! The rest of the food was a combo of finger foods brought by close family members.
I made this queso dip and served it in my warmed crock pot… it was a hit! We invited the men from the diaper party in to eat after they finished golfing and they practically licked it clean. 😉

Guests signed a red photo mat that goes inside a lovely barn wood frame for the little cowboy’s room. Kayli found the frame and mat on sale at Hobby Lobby for me! Whoot! You can see the favors in the baskets here as well. A post of their own is coming soon! 😉

We hosted the shower at a local country club so while the ladies showered mommy inside, the gents entertained daddy outside with a round of golf! It rained all day but they carried on anyway! And daddy received a ton of diapers!!

That’s the hubs and daddy-to-be, Kenny at the front of the pack there. 😉

I had an absolute blast planning and putting this little cowboy shower together for my sweet friend. Kendra was awesome to work with… we did it all through text messages if you would believe it. 😉 And sweet Kayli came the weekend of as added support.
It was just perfect!!

Plus, mommy to be, Meghan received more baby stuff than she’ll know what to do with… I call that a baby shower success!!!
Hope you’ll be back tomorrow for a special baby shower addition of What I Wore Wednesday. And I promise to share more on the games and favors next week.

Thanks for ‘partying’ with us dolls!

Linking this here and here and .

P.S. Hope you enjoyed this post! If so, we’d love if !

Filed Under: Party Ideas Tagged With: baby shower, cowboy, Party Ideas

S’Mores and Cider

April 4, 2012 7 Comments

Here in Arizona the weather is already warming right up!

We still have a cool evening every now and then though…

Two things needed for the PERFECT cooler weather evening?

S’Mores and Cider!

They also help to make a perfect warmer weather evening if you go with cold instead of hot cider… But I digress.

My Hot Caramel Apple Cider recipe is SUPER easy!!

All you need is 1-2 gallons of store bought apple cider, an orange, some caramel syrup and a couple of cinnamon sticks.

Pour the cider into a crock pot about an hour before serving time so it can heat up.

Slice the orange, then add the slices and the cinnamon sticks right to your cider.

Your house is going to smell AMAZING while it warms up!

Once it’s ready squirt some caramel syrup in the bottom of your cup and fill with cider. Stir and sip!

It’s so yummy and so easy to do!

For S’Mores, we roast marshmallows over the fire pit in our backyard, then sandwich between two graham crackers with a hunk of chocolate. S’Mores are my favorite!!!

Chancey loves them too. 😉 Especially the roasting part.

Hubs and Kassi… A little smoked out from the fire…

You can have a fun, but inexpensive evening get together with your family this Easter weekend!

All you need is a little S’Mores and Cider!

Have fun lovelies!!!

Linking this here and here and .

Filed Under: Family, Party Ideas, Recipes

Sponsor Spotlight – Jaimie of Legos in my Pocket

March 3, 2012 4 Comments

It’s KAYLI’s Birthday Month!!!

Our LOVELY sponsors have all pitched in…

Each lovely lady has a little something (either an item from their shop or a specific blog post) they’ve specifically picked out just for her!

It’s a virtual/imaginary birthday party if you will… 😉

First up to share their virtual present for Kayli is….

Our NEWEST large ad sponsor!!!

Jaimie of Legos in My Pocket!!

Just as our other AMAZING sponsors will be sharing throughout the month of March… She has a special birthday wish for Kayli today!

The special surprise birthday cupcakes…

Don’t they look beautiful and yummy!?!
Kayli would be a very lucky girl to receive those!
*Click the photo to see the full recipe!

Jaimie just started a Bucket List Challenge over at her place… She’s challenging YOU to write your bucket list, link it up to her linky party… then get started living!!!

I’ve already linked my page to her party… Won’t you join us!?!

Jaimie also has a photography blog where she shares beautiful photos that she’s taken, called Pocket Memories.

A few of my favorite photos from her site are shown below…

Take your cue from Jaimie today friends… SMILE! 😉

Oh… AND HAPPY BIRTHDAY MONTH to the BEST little SISTER…

Um… EVER!!! 😉 Love ya Kayli!!!

Filed Under: Kayli, Party Ideas, Sponsor Spotlight

A uh.. Unique Date Idea

February 1, 2012 8 Comments

I may have mentioned before but for those new to Truly Lovely, the hubs and I attended the same university.

Go AGGIES! {NMSU, specifically.}

In college we played a lot of a game that we’ll just call um… water pong. haha.

Also known as beer pong to some… but any who….

It was kind of our thing. We even had a HUGE piece of plywood that we spray painted black, then invited all of our friends to sign using those paint marker things.

It served as our pong playing table top.

It was awesome!

While doing our Christmas shopping this year we discovered that Wal-Mart carries a Sports Pong set.

Yep, you can now buy your plastic cups and ping pong balls in a nicely boxed set for less than $10!

Who knew?!

I thought it would be fun to get a set for the hubs’ birthday and surprise him with a college flashback style date night!

It’s been windy here lately and everyone knows you can’t play water pong in the wind! 😉 So I set up a pong court, as it were, inside! Complete with plastic drop cloths to save my carpet if any water were to spill… which can happen. 😉

The note in the middle reads, “Consider this a challenge! See you tonight!”

The sports pong set comes with 12 games, which makes for lots of fun, friendly hubs and wife competition. 😉 Don’t worry, if you can’t find a Sports Pong set, a package of those good ol’ Red Solo cups (Toby Keith, anyone?!) and a set of ping pong balls is EXACTLY the same thing.

The point of the game, in case you’re unversed in the art of water pong, is to stand at one end of the table, and take turns tossing your ping pong balls into the other person’s (half water filled) cups, essentially knocking out all of their cups before they get yours!

SO if you’re looking for a fun date night idea this Valentine’s Day…

Or any night really…

Maybe a friendly game of water pong would be just the thing.

In this date night version winner gets a back rub. 😉

Or if water pong isn’t your thing, the point is to think of something your love used to really enjoy and bring it back for date night! 😉

Have fun lovelies!

Linking this here and here and .

By the way… Did you know you can find Truly Lovely here…

* * * *

AND Kayli will be ANNOUNCING something SUPER fun here in a few hours!

Hope to see you back later for that!

Filed Under: Kassi, Party Ideas, Stuff for the Hubs Tagged With: Date Night, Games, Just for fun

Wanna cookie, sugar? Er…sugar cookie…?

January 24, 2012 8 Comments

Hello loves! It’s Kayli!
So…. I don’t know if you know this but… I’m sort of a party animal. I really can’t be tamed. Quit laughing, I’m for real.
IF by party you mean chilling with my Nook, a bag of pretzels and some Nutella, it’s true. I’m wild. 😉

I really did PLAN a party once though. It was a bridal shower!
I was pumped because it’s all food and games and catching up with everyone. I’ve been to a few bridal showers- so I knew the protocol. Cupcakes, some toilet paper, women walking around with clothespins clipped onto their clothes…. no biggie.
I wasn’t really up for baking and frosting 3 dozen cupcakes though.
So the Sugar Cookie Bar was born!

{All spread out.}

So I started with a super delicious, easy sugar cookie recipe.
But you can use yours if you want. Whatever slides your toboggan.

2 cups of sugar
1 cup of butter
2 eggs
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
A pinch of salt
1tsp vanilla
1 tsp nutmeg
3 cups of flour

I refrigerated the dough overnight so I could put them in the oven in the morning and they’d be ready in time for the partayy.
I pulled them out of the fridge, and baked them for about 10 minutes at 375 F.

Once you get your baking rotation going, let each batch cool for a bit and then put them on wax paper, then put more wax paper on top and stack. This will keep your cookies in good shape while you wait for guests and are serving the food and what not.

Now for the bar part! Beforehand I went out and bought all kinds of candy. Gummy worms, Gummy bears, Pieces Candy, Sour Patch Kids, all that fun stuff. Just whatever catches your eye!
Then I opened up a few cans of frosting.
(I might be becky homecky but I am NOT superwoman homes. If you ARE super woman, feel free to whip up a few flavors yourself, but count me out- I’ll be at the other end of the table “opening” the potato chips. 😉

{My kind of bar!}

And that’s it!
The rest is up to your guest and the strength of their sweet tooth!

Happy Eating!

P.S. In case you were wondering, the bride we showered that day IS living Happily Ever After.

Filed Under: Kayli, Party Ideas, Wedding ideas

Our first family Christmas party

December 29, 2011 1 Comment

A few days before Christmas last week we had our local family members over for a Christmas party of sorts. I don’t think I’ve mentioned it before, but my husband’s older brother and his wife bought a home directly behind, catty corner to ours.

They just moved in over this last month.

This was our first real, of many I’m sure, get together as neighbors!!

We had ham and mashed potatoes that my SIL Brianne made and brought over.

I whipped up my friend Meg’s recipe for a yummy chile/corn side dish, and we had for dessert!

We actually took these post opening presents, thus the reason the presents are shown in the pictures haha.
Guess you know you did well when they don’t want to put them down… 😉

While we were getting dinner finished up the kiddos, (Corryn and Chancey) made some ice cream cone Christmas trees. They decorated their trees with M&Ms after their momma iced them.

Chancey and his tree.

Corryn and her tree.

Once we’d finished eating it was time to open presents!

Chancey got some little trucks and Corryn, a Barbie doll and doll clothes.

Brianne, Chancey, Corryn (Hubs and BIL in the background)

My FIL and his wife, Tammy.

Like Uncle like Nephew… 😉

Opening their bigger presents.

A game for Chancey.

And a Piggy Scentsy Buddy for Corryn.

It was really fun to have our first Christmas get together with our nearest family.

I’m sure they’ll grow through the years, but as our first married Christmas, it was nice to have a small get together and enjoy the ones we love in our new home.

We spent Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with my parents and family in my hometown.

For one reason or another I didn’t take any pictures! BAH!!

I still have a few things I’ll share about that later as well as how AWESOME the hubs did for his first Christmas as a married man. 😉

We hope your Christmas was MERRY and BRIGHT and spent with the ones YOU love.

P.S. We’re looking to schedule some FUN NEW Bloggie Besties!!! Interested??

Leave a comment with your email address or email us at trulylovely.laney @ gmail.com (no spaces).

Filed Under: Family, Holidays, Party Ideas Tagged With: Christmas

Bloggie Bestie Blog Swap with Ami of AliLilly

June 9, 2011 5 Comments

Happy Thursday lovelies!!!
For today’s Bloggie Bestie blog swap our LONG TIME BLOGGIE BESTIE, the lovely

Ami of AliLilly has a FUN tutorial to share!!!

Please leave her some bloggie love friends!!!
And when you’re done, check out my guest post over on her blog today!!

Here’s Ami!

Hello awesome TL readers!!! It’s Ami with AliLilly stopping in!

Now, since I was here a while back doing a swap with TL, I thought for the Besties Swap today, I would give y’all a fun little tutorial!! Y’all know that Kassi is SOON to become a Mrs., right? Did you know she is making tissue paper pom poms for her wedding?? I made some last weekend for my sweet Alie’s 3rd birthday party. But I ALSO made some of the tiniest tissue paper pom poms for her cake. I thought it would be fun to share that tutorial with y’all.

SO, you could call this the “How to make the tiniest tissue paper pom poms ever!!!

First cut your pieces. I used a little cup for her plastic kitchen set to measure the width of the paper. I knew the cup was about the size I wanted my pom poms to be. I cut the tissue until I had 8 sheets laying on top of each other.

Fold the sheets accordion style.

I took a few twisty ties and torn off the plastic to expose the wire. Then cut the wire to fit.

Wrap it around your folded tissue paper.

CAREFULLY lift up each layer of paper and spread out.

When your done you should have a bunch of these cuties!

I hot glued mine on to a strip of twine.

Tied the twine around some sticks…

and TA-DA!!!! You have a super cute pom pom banner cake topper!

Here is a few more pics which include my sweet lovely birthday girl herself! My Alice Marie!!

The inside layers of the cake match all the colors of her party!!! If you’d like to see that or up coming tutorials on the decorations of her party, please stop by my blog and say hello!!!
http://alililly.blogspot.com/

Thanks Kassi and Kayli for having me over today!!

THANKS SO MUCH to AMI for being this week’s BLOGGIE BESTIE!!!
And for sharing her tissue paper pom pom tutorial with us today!

Happy Birthday to Miss Ali Marie!!!

Have a lovely day all!!!

Filed Under: Bloggie Bestie, Guest Posts, Party Ideas

My First Work Christmas Party…

December 21, 2010 5 Comments

This last Friday was my VERY, FIRST EVER “real world” Work Christmas Party.

I mean, since graduating from college and getting a “real” job!

So of course… I was hoping to make a good impression!

The invite said to bring…

1) A Guest

2) White Elephant Gift $15 Value

3) Dessert or Appetizer

So I brought…

1) My sweetheart of a fiance as my guest… 😉

Even though he was REALLY hesitant to go… Not his thing!

2) A Heavenly Plug-in and Embers Scentsy Bar for my Gift!

(I sell Scentsy as one of my many ongoing adventures! Check out my website here!!)

3) Chocolate No Bake Cookies! My first attempt at them by the way! And I think they were delicious!!!

Armed with my newly acquired Christmas jewelry from AliLilly, I feel like my first “real” job Christmas party was a SUCCESS!!! At least I had a really good time, and so did my fiance! And I acquired a sweet set of makeup in the gift I ended up with from the gift exchange!! So win, win!!!