As the school year is ending, so are so many of our other activities, and the last two weeks have been extremely busy. Two weeks ago, I hosted a brunch for my Mothers of Preschoolers (MOPS) table. I have been blessed to have been the discussion group leader for a table of eight other moms of preschoolers and our mentor mom. We have become close friends through our meetings, our playdates, a few dinners out (sans kiddos), and several shared hobbies. I love these ladies, and I had a great bunch of reasons to have a party.
Several times I had applied to host a Shutterfly party. Shutterfly is the company I use to print almost all my photos, several photo books, personalized thank you cards, and even a beautiful Christmas ornament with a photo Allen took of a church in Santorini. This is a company I use, I love, and for which I often advertise. I was thrilled when my application to host a party was accepted -- I KNEW it would be fun and easy since I already like the products. What I didn't realize is just how much stuff would be sent for the party. Not only did I get a free album that I created ahead of time to show an example, but each of us got a free album and a set of personalized cards, a tote bag, and a pen. I know I don't get any commission, but I had fun -- they even sent balloons!
All my MOPS gals brought a dish to share, and the kids all played outside with my babysitter so we could visit without many interruptions. I've always wanted to have a girly party, and get girly decorations, so I tried tying the theme into the colors that Shutterfly sent to decorate with (orange & brown.) I loved going with the tropical theme (Will's nursery had a similar theme and you can ask any of the students when I taught what I decorated with --they'll roll their eyes and say it was always tropical or jungle-themed in my classroom.)
The week before, my mom-in-law shared a fruit bouquet with us when we visited. I took all the skewers so I could make another. Here is what I came up with:
I started with a head of iceberg lettuce in the bottom of the bowl. I skewered the strawberries, leaving the leaves on and going through the leaf/stem, but not all the way through the berry. For the other fruits, I had some long decorative (hibiscus) picks. I put three grapes or one pineapple chunk through each. I arranged the fruit picks around the head of lettuce and created this cheerful version of a fruit tray -- total time, about 30 minutes, but that includes cleaning the fruit. I did purchase the pineapple precut.
...and since having a party meant I should perk up a few more areas, I splurged on a bouquet of flowers at the grocery store. I did one arrangement for the kitchen, but I had a few leftovers. For the powder room, I had the pink carnations left from the other arrangement, but mixed them with basil, mint, lavender, and daisies from my garden. I love having fresh cut flowers all over my house, and its been a few months without. Now that the garden is in bloom, I'll have them around for awhile.
Well, our party was fun. We enjoyed plenty of tasty food. I taught my friends how to make a photobook through Shutterfly. We had fun talking and giggling -- you know? girl stuff.
The next day was actually our last MOPS meeting of the year. It was bittersweet, but since we plan to continue playdates, bookclub, and scrapbooking through the summer, I know we'll still see each other often. Our last "meeting" was at a spa and almost all of the group (about 35 women) had pedicures. It was a nice, relaxing way to start summer -- especially since now my toes are ready for sandals.
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