Hop on over for Bunco!

Yes, one more year of hosting Bunco done …. and it was so much fun!!!  It was a little stressful because I couldn’t decide what food to serve, but other than that and some last minute time things, it all came about so easily.  And as the A Team use to say, “I love it when a plan comes together.” 🙂

With a little friendly finiggilling (thanks Brittany) I managed to land a month that I could do an Easter theme.  I started collecting things for this last year to add to stuff that I already had.  So when it came time to actually host this year, I mostly had to decorate and cook since I’d been planning it in my mind for a year.

One of the big projects I did have to complete was this wreath.  I bought the mesh to do it last year when it was on sale.  Somehow when I make a wreath, I end up spending about a $1000 dollars.  It would be cheaper for me just to buy mine.  The girls at Bunco said I could make and sell them, but I’d have to come down on the price.  LOL! 😀

Table 1

I borrowed the box back from my daughter that my husband built for my Bunco in August and gave it a new look with spring flowers.

I scoured the Internet for these off white plates … so many too choose from.  Then I added the green salad/dessert plates from Pier 1.  The napkin rings I got on sale at a drug store, of all places, in Fairhope, AL. 🙂  Love to shop in Fairhope!

This little bunny, along with the cake plate, came from Pottery Barn.

Table 2

Table 3

There’s a place in town called The Lucky Rabbit that only opens the first weekend of each month and I pick up a lot of my finds there … like this silver dish, the pink candleholders, the antique door knocker, the big bunny, along with the antique box and most of the stuff inside that sits on back of the toilet.

This bird’s nest I picked up in a shop in Fairhope.

These bunnies sit on my mantle and are some of my favorites.  You can’t help but to love them!  I bought them a couple of years ago at Cracker Barrel … another great place to pick up awesome decor.  As a matter of fact, I loved these so much, I bought my sister some too for her birthday.

NOW I see I should have turned out the overhead light (still learning).

This pink plate also came from The Lucky Rabbit and I love it!  That cool rabbit came from Ole Time Pottery in Foley, AL … another great place to shop.  Love it!  Can’t go to Gulf Shores without planning a stop there.  And there’s the sweetest story about those flowers.  My husband sent me those (?) flowers on Valentine’s Day.  He picked them out especially to match that Easter wreath I made and told the lady at the florist that they would have to live until my Bunco party … and she assured him they would.  🙂  Well, the flowers didn’t make it.  I hadn’t told him that the flowers had deceased and I’d decided that they were perfect for this spot on the mantle and I didn’t know what I would replace them with.  So while shopping for the food at Walmart, I saw these flowers and bought them.  I brought them home and arranged them in the arrangement that he’d sent.  Voila’!  Problem solved.  Fresh flowers in his arrangement.  Not as pretty as what he sent and doesn’t match as well, but better than dead. 🙂  The only problem is, by now that white stuff in that vase smells putrid!!! I had to put the flowers outside.  Tomorrow I need to clean it out and put them in fresh water.  Gag!

This chair is actually Gunner’s high chair.  Just added some Easter things to it like the towel I picked up last year at Pier 1, Dakota’s Easter bucket and that vintage bunny from the 80s.

I love this little bunny my sister gave my daughter when she was little.

Chopped Fruit idea came from a local restaurant.  Place fresh fruit in rows on a glass platter along with lightly candied pecans, then drizzle with vanilla yogurt.  I used a row of strawberries cut in half vertically, then fresh pineapple chunks, then blueberries, then green grapes, then pecans, and started the process over again.  I had pecans left over so I offered them in a bowl on the side.  This was a huge hit!

To drizzle with yogurt, place yogurt in sandwich bag and nip the corner with scissors.  Then drizzle over fruit in zizag line.   You may want to thin yogurt a bit and practice a little ahead of time to get a smooth drizzle.  You can also use a pastry bag or new condiment bottle.

Lightly Candied Pecans
http://mirlandraskitchen.com/recipe/make-lightly-candied-pecans-5-minutes/

Cheesy Spinach Chicken Pasta
http://www.crunchycreamysweet.com/2014/09/24/cheesy-spinach-dip-chicken-pasta/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=cheesy-spinach-dip-chicken-pasta

Stuffed Mushrooms
This I made up. 🙂  I chopped up the stems of 24 mushrooms and sauted them in butter and garlic.  Then I placed the mushroom tops in a casserole dish sprayed with Pam and spooned the stems into the tops.  I chopped up about 3 oz. of cream cheese and stuffed it into the tops and sprinkled 2 T of Italian bread crumbs over them.  Then I layered on mozarella cheese.  I baked them for about 30 min. at 375 degrees.  Rave reviews!!

Spicy Deviled Eggs
Another creation. 🙂  I just added mayo, sour cream and Spicy Ranch dressing to the egg yolks to create the mixture to stuff the eggs.

Bathroom

A couple of years ago I missed picking up an antique castiron mailbox similar to this door knocker.  So when I saw this in January, I didn’t hesitate much at buying it because I’ve regretted not getting that mailbox more than once.  Even my husband saw the charm in this vintage door knocker and didn’t fuss about having to hang it. 🙂

Prizes

This arrangement was top prize.  I just happen to see this piece of wood laying around at my Dad’s the last time I was there and it was perfect for this.  (He didn’t think the wood was any good and went to look for me a “new” piece. 😉 )  Chris did a great job in making it into this box.  I had extra flowers left over from the main centerpiece, so I created this.  I really loved it so much, I hated to use it for a prize since it looked great where it sat. 🙂

When Daddy was looking for better pieces of wood for me, he found a couple of other pieces of wood.  So Chris made another box complete with character flaws which I love.  Now I will say, Chris did not want to build this box using this wood.  He didn’t love the character flaws like I did and he wanted to at least sand and paint the box so it would be “pretty”.  He would love to paint it gold!  Ha! Ha! Ha!  He says I never let him paint anything gold. 😉

These are the cutest carrots!  Got them at Hobby Lobby.

From Ole Time Pottery in Foley.  Isn’t he adorable? 

Also from Ole Time Pottery.

Salt and Pepper shakers from Amazon.  Too cute!

I always try to send everyone home with a little something … so these cups were their little something.  Dakota filled them with Easter grass and chocolate candy and I added the bows.  I got the cups on Amazon.

Front Porch

We had some issues with the front porch.  Things kept blowing around due to the wind and I always have issues with the sun when taking photos.

Love this rabbit.  I got him last year in Fairhope and have been saving him just for this!

Just got this sign at Kirkland’s, but you can get an even cuter one on Etsy for $2 more with free shipping! (just found that out 🙁  )

I’m going to go back out and try to get some better photos of this when the sun isn’t so bright.

That’s it.  Hope you enjoyed the photos as much as I enjoyed planning the event and we enjoyed the night.  I think we had a record number of Buncos that night and had 5 people in the roll off for Most Buncos.  Everyone was excited about winning that Top Prize! 🙂

Until next time … and yes, I am already planning my next Bunco. 😉