The Perfect Guy

Posted on May 1, 2013 by DishOnDesignGal

A few weeks ago I was digging through some old photos and high school memorabilia to make a slide show for their wedding reception and ran into this gem…

It’s like a teenager’s dream board for the Perfect Guy. I mean seriously… who wouldn’t love a guy who “won’t get weird on you” or who “buys you stuff”? Especially when there’s “nothing you can do to mess things up”.

Before Ashley met Greg, she was dating someone else and asked me one day if I liked him… If I thought he was “the one”.

I said no.

I mean he was nice enough… for someone else. But no. He wasn’t the one for her.

Of course, she burst into tears and told me I never liked anyone she dated… that there wasn’t a perfect guy… that I needed to stop being so negative.

I told her I was sorry, but that she needed to find a guy that works as hard to make her happy as she works to make him happy. I told her that would be the guy for her.

She said that guy didn’t exist. I said he did. I can’t remember if she hugged me or not. I’m guessing not.

Then one day she met Greg. It took about a year for them to date and a bit more to figure it all out, but one day she called me to tell me that she came home from work to a surprise from Greg… a set of pink golf clubs for no reason at all, except that he wanted her to learn to golf so they could do it together.

He wanted to golf with her. He bought her pink golf clubs. Pink. For no reason.

Suddenly I knew. This was the perfect guy. For her.

A few months later she told me she that she now knew what I meant way back then. Back when I told her she needed to find someone who worked as hard to make her happy as she works to make him happy.

I may have teared up a bit and we definitely hugged. I thought my heart would burst with happiness for her.

So last week when I found the dream board of the perfect guy buried deep in a bin of teenage memories, I knew I had to make this…

I laminated it, forgot to get a better photo and gave them both to her this past weekend at her super fun bachelorette party…

and as we all raised our glasses for a toast before she takes on the world with Greg by her side, my heart swelled again… because she really did find the perfect guy – the perfect guy for her. xo Amy

Creating a Dessert Table

Posted on April 17, 2013 by DishOnDesignGal

A dessert table, in my opinion, is all about the sweets, color, serving dishes and layers. Although, truth be told, if we’re being honest here, it’s mostly about the sweets. Well, sweets and adorableness.

Here’s some tips to keep in mind when creating a dessert table for your next party…

Group Them. Keep your sweets together. Whether you dedicate a whole room or simply a table to your desserts, make sure you group them all together. A grouping creates impact. If you spread things out, they’ll get lost.
Color Coordinate. Select colors that match your theme and stick to them. You could use multiple shades of one color or pick two or three colors to carry-out throughout the table and the theme of the party.
Make the Food your Focal Point. Use neutral or coordinating serving dishes so that the eye can focus on the food – not a hodge podge of mismatched items.
Use Various Heights. Use trays, platforms, tiers, etc. to create interest by introducing layers of various heights.
Add Details. They say beauty is in the details and that applies to dessert tables too. Details can include signs, doilies, banners and more. Just make sure that the details are complimentary to your sweets and not a distraction.

For the bridal shower, I decided to dedicate the dining room (with my new chandelier) to sweets only. The decorations had a “Princess Ashley met her Prince Charming” kind of theme and the horse-drawn carriage that I found at an antique sale years ago was perfect for the center of the table…

I had princess themed card stock leftover from the banners I made and had the “brilliant’ idea of sewing them together until I realized that logistically they couldn’t be sewn together because the paper didn’t roll/bend/fold well. The next best thing was to sew one end of each sheet of paper and then glue them together with a glue stick. It actually turned out really cute and was super simple. I should note, that I am a hack at sewing and If I can sew, anyone can…

I love cupcake tiers to add height to a table. I already had one, but used a Michael’s coupon to purchase a second one for the party. I’ve adapted a few recipes and made these white raspberry filled cupcakes (and some without filling) a few times now and they’re really delicious…

I thought that the cupcake holder on the left was adorable…

and they are… BUT they are also a reminder that looks are always not everything. I will never buy them again, because they are too big, too awkward, and totally ridiculous to use. You cannot put them in a muffin pan – they don’t fit and if you put them on a cookie sheet, you can only fit a few at a time. So cute. So dumb.

I removed the centers of some of the cupcakes for the raspberry filling and rather than ~~eating them~~ throwing them away, I put them in some cute sampling cups with mini-spoons and topped each with raspberry filling and icing. It took me all of about 5 minutes and they were deliciously cute…

In my opinion, a sweet table is not complete with some serious chocolate and I have a recipe for some incredibly delicious brownies. You’ll notice that I haven’t quite mastered how to cut them yet – the plan was to cut them into perfectly adorable 1 inch squares and serve them in individual cute candy cups, but the perfectly part of that dream was a big fat fail. Fortunately, they still tasted delicious…

A few days before the party, I stumbled upon some pink heart-shaped marshmallows at Wal-Mart and decided to dip them in white chocolate and sprinkles. These are such an inexpensive add for a sweet table and they were as yummy as they were cute…

Another big hit was the stemmed maraschino cherries dipped in white chocolate and coconut. I just love these…

You can never fail with chocolate covered strawberries, although I’ve yet to master drizzling 101…

Did I mention there were cake pops? You have to love cake pops…

I need to fit into my dress in a few weeks, so I bought some cute pink to-go bags and announced that it was everyone’s obligation to take home some desserts and ensure that not one sweet thing was left behind at the end of the day. They were very dutiful guests… only crumbs remained.

If you are looking for an overall photo, you’ll have to close your eyes and imagine it. I’m just thankful to have these less than perfect shots, because it wasn’t until five minutes before the first guest walked in the door, that I snapped out of my last-minute frenzy long enough to grab a camera and get these photos.

I’ll share the recipes later this week. xo Amy

A Chandelier and a Ceiling Medallion

Posted on April 16, 2013 by DishOnDesignGal

I finally found a new chandelier for my dining room. I’ve been wanting one for a really long time and last month the stars aligned when I spied her at overstock.com…

Dripping with crystals, the perfect finish, on sale and in the price range I was looking for – she had me at hello.

Of course getting ready to have 50+ people to the house for Ashley’s bridal shower gave me the push to nab it. Parties are such a great motivation to get things done around the house, don’t you think? I highly recommend having one at least one per year.

When shopping for something specific, I like to think out my requirements ahead of time. Sometimes you need to adjust along the way, but establishing beginning guidelines can help avoid costly mistakes….

My Shopping Guidelines

Finish. I wanted an antique bronze finish – my house has lots of stained wood trim and 20-year-old brass door knobs. While I would love painted white trim and brushed nickel finishes, that’s not going to happen in this house.
Price. My goal was to stick to a budget of around $300.00, although I bumped it up a bit and ending up spending $332.09 including tax and shipping. It was worth every penny and I’m especially happy right now, because as I type this, the current price tag for it is $459.99.
Sparkle. I wanted a chandelier dripping with crystals… a bit of glam and drama. Specifically, I wanted glass crystals – you should always read the manufacturer specifications to make sure you are getting what you want. Many inexpensive chandeliers have plastic crystals and in my opinion, glass crystals have it all over the plastic ones.
Designer Look (with a budget price tag).
Size. Picking the right size is critical. I wanted a chandelier that did not get lost in the room (too small) or one that overpowered it (too large). My dining room is approximately 12′ x 14′. I could have gone a bit bigger, but a chandelier that was much smaller would have bothered me.

Tip: Read reviews. I am a huge fan of customer reviews and they have never let me down. Reviews are especially helpful when there’s more than one or two – mostly because I think that the more reviews that there are, the more reliable they are. I tend to ignore the one’s that are over the top good or overly horrible – unless the majority of the reviewers agree with them.

In this case, the reviews were really high with a few cons – most of which proved to be true – fortunately, I was prepared to deal with the cons and (because of the good price) was totally satisfied in the end.

Consider a Ceiling Medallion

I knew that I wouldn’t be happy unless my chandelier was paired with a ceiling medallion and I picked up this plastic moulded 27″ round medallion at Lowe’s a few years ago for a bit under $50.00…

The white wasn’t working for me so I decided to paint it the night before we hung it. Isn’t it amazing what a little paint can do?

I love them together, don’t you?

Tomorrow, I’ll share the details on painting the medallion. It’s a super simple project to do – you really can’t mess it up and if (like me) you decide half way through that you don’t like it, it’s not big deal to change it up along the way. I’ll walk you through it step – by – step! … xo Amy

Inspiration by Gandhi – Free Printable

Posted on April 8, 2013 by DishOnDesignGal

These past few months I’ve been sharing inspiration from Mahatma Gandhi and thought I’d wrap up the series with a free printable I created to remind me of some of his most inspirational words.

If you missed any of the series, here are links to the posts I wrote…

Click here to open the free printable.

I printed, framed and sat mine on my desk. Enjoy! xo Amy

How to Make a Mimosa Bar

Posted on April 4, 2013 by DishOnDesignGal

The Mimosa Bar was a big hit at Ashley’s bridal shower and is one of my new favorite things. The inspiration came from a photo that Ashley saw over at KoJo Designs and another one that I found over at mintlovessocialclub.com.

I’ll tell you more about the decor theme in a few days, but today I wanted share some free printables and details on how to make your very own Mimosa Bar.

Here’s a list of what you’ll need: (quantities are for 50 or so people – adjust for the size of your party)

6 bottles of champagne
1 gallon of orange juice
2 flavors of fruit juice -2 or 3 bottles of each. (see tip below)
Cut-up fruit such as strawberry, pineapple, oranges or grapes
Glasses – we used mason jars with name tags and straws

Tip: I was really worried about running out of juice, but didn’t want to have a bunch left over, nor did I have room in my refrigerator for any more, so I purchased a few cans of frozen juice and ended up using two of them. That worked out perfect.

Tip: My son’s fiance brought a beautiful fruit tray to use with the Mimosa bar which was a great idea.

Ashley found these fun carafes at Meijer’s for less than $10.00 each…

She ~~may or~~ may not get them back. I used them this past weekend for Easter Brunch, I love them.

I’ll share the details about the theme that evolved in a few days, but here’s a close up of some of the the card stock used for the labels, sign and banner…

I cut the patterned shapes with my Silhouette Cameo. The white labels were created in Photoshop…

…and cut out with a 3″ hole punch and the two were glued together. A traditional hole puncher was used at the top of the label and a piece of twine was cut to tie the label around the neck of the carafe. Click this link for a free printable to make your own labels.

I also made you this free printable for the mimosa sign…

The inspiration for the mimosa sign came from Natalie over at mintlovesocial.com. Her friends threw a lovely shower for her and she has some free printables over there as well.

Like the labels, I created the sign in photoshop, printed directly on a gingham piece of card stock and framed it in a 5×7 Ikea frame…

But, after I did this I came up with the brilliant idea of printing the sign on vellum so I can re-use with any pattern…

This way you always have the sign and frame, but can add any style/color of scrapbook paper or card stock to match your theme…

The banner was done 100% with my silhouette cameo. I love how it turned out…

And what about these mason jars with color tags? I made the tags with hairbands and office tags! You can find a tutorial for them by clicking here.

Have a party coming up? I highly recommend a mimosa bar… they’re festive, fun and super easy to do! xo Amy

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Left Over Ham: Ham & Swiss Asparagus Wraps

Posted on April 3, 2013 by DishOnDesignGal

I wasn’t sure what I was making for dinner tonight, but I had left-over ham from Easter dinner, asparagus spears and swiss cheese that I bought for ham sandwiches. Then I saw a recipe from Sam’s Club, made a few changes and dinner was decided.

To say this is easy is an understatement. It was easy peasy and the husband said it was delicious. He woofed down three of them, along with a bowl of clam chowder. Here’s the recipe…

Ingredients: (ingredients for 1 wrap – multiply ingredients times how many wraps you want to make)

Fresh Asparagus Spears 3-4 per wrap with bottoms trimmed
Slice of Ham (1 thick slice approximately 2-3″W x 5-6″L) per wrap (bring to room temperature if cold)
1 slice of swiss cheese per wrap
Freshly grated parmesan
Toothpick or chive
Optional: Drippings from Ham

Directions: Heat oven to 350

Fill a large frying pan with an inch of water and bring to boil
Add asparagus (make sure fully covered with water) and cook for 3 minutes
After three minutes, remove and drop in a bowl of ice water for a few seconds and then pat dry with paper towels
Lay out a slice of ham, a slice of swiss and 3-4 spears of asparagus cut in half
Sprinkle with parmesan
Roll up and secure with a toothpick or tie with chive
Drizzle with ham drippings if desired
Bake for 5 minutes or until cheese is melted and ham is warm.

Note: Could also be served cold as an appetizer

Enjoy! xo Amy

A Sneak Preview (You’ll Heart This!)

Posted on April 2, 2013 by DishOnDesignGal

If you like to be the first one in the know, you’re going to love this, because today I have a special sneak preview and you are the very first person I’m sharing it with. Tomorrow we’re unveiling a fresh new website and when we do, this is one of the first things you’ll see…

Pretty cool news, isn’t it? Chef Art and Jesus (pronounced hay-soos) are two of our most favorite people in the world and they’ve been doing some pretty amazing things with the Common Threads Foundation these past ten years. Their 2013 goal is to get one million kids cooking and eating healthy over the next five years.

Gigi (my friend & business partner) and I knew we wanted to help, so we brainstormed and came up with something we know you’re going to love.

I think you’ll agree that the only thing better than a fabulous bag, is a bag that is fabulous AND pays-it-forward. Isn’t this one beautiful?…

I adore this bag. In fact, I rarely leave home without her. She’s my go-to bag for the office, travelling, shopping and more – she’s even prettier in person.

And she’s not just another pretty face. A close-up reveals she’s pretty darn smart too, with a sheer mesh top, faux leather bottom and pockets for your water, bottle, cell phone, pens – even a clip for car keys…

I see her hanging nearby on a chair and my heart goes pitter patter…

And guess what? The best part about this sneak preview is that today you can get your very own limited edition Common Threads Carry Bag AND a portion of your purchase will go directly to the Common Threads Foundation.

You can purchase the bag alone or make it a combo with our desktop file holder/bag insert…

We love that when the bag and file holder are used together, the bag sits upright wherever you set it down.

Choose either the…

The Common Threads Carry Bag -15.5″L x 14″H x 6.75W $45.00 plus shipping

Or…

The Common Threads Carry Bag plus Desk Top File Holder/Insert - 15.5″L x 14″H x 6.75W File Holder 13″W x 11.5″H x 4.5″D $58.00 plus shipping

Inspiration by Gahndi: Find Yourself In the Service of Others

Posted on April 1, 2013 by DishOnDesignGal

Mahatma Gahndi once said, “The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others. There are many interpretations of this quote, but for me, it means that when we take the time to help others… to focus on something other than ourselves, we actually learn more about life, humanity, purpose and ultimately our own lives.

What I know about serving others is that every single time I reach out to another human being, regardless of if it’s someone I know or even a stranger, I walk away feeling like I’ve gotten so much more in return. My step is a little lighter, my heart a tad bit warmer and my spirit a bunch brighter.

Don’t get me wrong… I am a huge believe in people helping themselves, but sometimes people need a little extra hand to get them back on their feet and I find that if you extend your hand to help them up, you might just be surprised to find you learn a little more about yourself along the way. xo Amy

Adorable Ball Jar Glasses with Name Tags

Posted on March 13, 2013 by DishOnDesignGal

I am just smitten with these glass mason jars. We made over 4 dozen of them for Ashley’s Bridal Shower last weekend and they turned out adorable. Of course there really wasn’t any doubt that we would love them, but we were concerned about how everyone would keep track of which glass was theirs.

Greg’s mom ordered the mason jars on-line and the future Ashley Moeller (see note below) found hot pink straws, but then I started thinking about what to use for name tags… they needed to go around the rim, be fun, easy to do and inexpensive.

This is what I came up with…

They were perfect! Want to make your own? You’ll need some mason jars…

and elastic hair bands to match the theme of your party, along with a box or two of key tags (you can find these anywhere that they make copies of keys) and fun stickers – I used hearts that I already had, but you can use any style you want. You could also use stick-on rhinestones, stamps, scrapbook appliques… you’re only limited by you’re imagination!

Once you have these items…

assemble the tags, add one to each jar along with a straw, throw in a sharpie…

and voila!!! Instant cuteness…

Below are instructions plus a link to a source for each item…

What you’ll need…

Ball regular mouth pint mason jars (Get a dozen or two at Bed, Bath and Beyond – if you have a 20% off coupon, you can get a dozen for $8.00)
A pack of hair elastic bands to match your theme (here’s a pack of 30 at Wal-Mart for less than $4.00)
Metal rimmed tags (you can find these at kiosks that make keys (Lowe’s has a pack of 25 for $5.25)
Foam stickers ($2.24 at Joann)
Straws (50 for $7.68 including shipping)
Sharpie ($2.97 at Wal-Mart)

Directions:

Remove and store the jar lids
Attach the tags to hair bands
Place the bands around the rim of the jars
Add a straw
Provide a sharpie for guests to write their name

The cost to make 2 dozen glasses with tags is around $38.00 or $1.58 ea. What I love about these is once your party is over, you can use the jars to store soups, juices, left overs, etc. and you can never have enough hairbands and sharpies!

Note: Things can be very confusing around here. My daughter is Ashley Moeller. She has a friend from high school named Ashley M. who is a bridesmaid in her wedding. There’s a debate around here regarding if she used hang out at our house during high school because of her friendship with Ashley or if she really came because she thought my older son Michael was adorable, which of course he is.

Either way, fast forward 10+ years and Michael has asked his sister’s friend, Ashley (who is also an Ashley M.) to marry him. We are so excited about that, except that every time anyone says “Ashley” they both think we’re talking to them. Until we figure this out, we’re just call her the future Ashley Moeller. Very. Confusing. Yes. I. Know. But, we adore the future Ashley Moeller, so all is good.

Next up is the Mimosa Bar! xo Amy

Planning a Bridal Shower

Posted on March 12, 2013 by DishOnDesignGal

I love crafting, planning and creating fun, beautiful things. I love things that match and don’t match, but still match in a fun kind of way. I love friends and parties and a cup of coffee. I love a good love story, happily-ever-after weddings and planning a wedding.

Have you met my daughter Ashley? She’s smart, beautiful, hard working, thoughtful and sweet. I highly recommend having a daughter just like her. Ashley has met her prince charming – his name is Greg and they are about to ride off into the sunset and live happily ever after. She could not be happier…

We’ve been knee-deep in wedding planning, but I took a break recently to co-host a shower for her at my home this past Sunday, with her future mother-in-law and fiance Greg’s two sisters. It was such a beautiful, sunny, perfect day and there’s so many things to share with you that I’ve decided to make this week all about the details. Who knew hosting a bridal shower could be so much fun?

Some of you may be saying whoooaaa… “it’s not appropriate to throw a shower for your daughter”, but I can promise you – I’ve looked into that. The idea for a large shower originally came from my friend Lynne. She, along with her son’s future mother-in-law, hosted a bridal shower last year for Lauren, her future daughter-in-law. Until then, I had never entertained the concept of having one big shower, but was so intrigued.

A quick google search confirmed that it’s a new trend for the mother-of-the-bride to throw a shower for her daughter and according to Emily Post Etiquette, it really is okay. Ashley loved the idea of having one big shower with friends and family from both sides and we thought it would be fun that everyone could meet each other before the wedding.

Pitching in to help was Ashley’s maid of honor (mom of a toddler and three-week old adorable baby girl), the bridesmaids and other friends who brought fruit for the mimosa bar, Servati’s baked pretzels with spinach dip, a healthy vegetable tray, cucumber sandwiches, seared salmon and tuna, a yummy salsa and more. It definitely was a group effort that came together seamlessly. The food was delicious… I’d show you a photo, but it didn’t occur to me to snap a picture until the food was long gone.

Guests included friends of Ashley, Sandy (Greg’s mom) and I, along with family from both sides. Most of the guests didn’t know each other before Sunday. We love that they have had the chance to meet and chat prior to the wedding.

The only people missing were friends and family from out-of-town and a few relatives from my mom’s side of the family that were invited the week before to an intimate brunch/shower for nine hosted by my Aunt Shirley at her home a few weeks ago. Ashley’s great Aunt, Betty Jane, would have been overwhelmed at a large shower, but the small gathering that included her sisters, their daughters and daughter-in-laws was just perfect for her. It was such lovely afternoon with a yummy menu and beautiful details. We all had such a great time catching up with each other…

Shirley’s shower was themed in patterns of black and white… This past weekend it was all about shades of pink, green and sky blue. Think princess, prince, frogs, castles and carriages. I’ll give you a close up of the details each day this week, but for now, here’s a sneak peek…

There were so many awesome gifts… the designer in me loved how well they coordinated with the banner in the background. Isn’t it adorable? I made that with my new favorite ~~toy~~ tool… a silhouette cameo that I got for Christmas. It was so much fun to create banners, garland, labels and more with the happily ever after themed card stock I found at Hobby Lobby.

Of course a party wouldn’t be complete without some festive tissue poms and lanterns…

Ashley sent me a link for a mimosa bar she saw on Pinterest. We decided to create our own and it was a huge hit…

We wanted some fun glasses, so Greg’s mom got 4 dozen mason jars, Ashlee (my son’s fiance – yep, there’s another wedding in the future -yay!) found some hot pink straws and I came up with an idea for colorful name tags to help guests keep track of their drinks…

Confession: At times, I may ~~or may not~~ have a hard time letting people do things… some might use the term control freak or perfectionist… I prefer the term executive detail coordinator, but you would be proud of me. Greg’s sister Gina offered to do the games and prizes and although it was slightly painful for a few seconds, I graciously handed her full control – full, as in from that point forward, I didn’t ask a word about it – ever… I trusted her impeccably and boy, was I was glad I did… she did an amazing job. She brought these little mini rose bushes as prizes… how cute are they?

The dining room was home to the sweet table. We provided “to-go” bags and made everyone promise to take ALL of the sweets home with them to help ensure I fit into a smaller sized dress next month. Thankfully, we had dutiful guests and these plates were emptied by the end of the day…

along with all the other serving dishes on the table…

In decorating news, I finally got a new chandelier and dimmer in my dining room. It was looking all “look at me” and glam – dripping with crystals above the sweets table…

Tip: I highly recommend having at least one party a year… it’s a surefire way to get things done around the house. I painted a ceiling medallion at midnight last week to match the antique bronze finish of the chandelier before we hung it. I love, love, love how it turned out. That’s a DIY “how-to” topic for next week!

All in all, it really was a perfect day, because seriously… how could it not be perfect with a guest list that included 55+ of the most fabulous women in Ashley’s life? Check back tomorrow for the mimosa bar and mason jar details! xo Amy