inspiration — The Blog

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the end of january is almost here and that means the end of football season. cue sad trombones. while i'm not the biggest football fan, i am a huge fan of any occasion that lets me throw a party and eat a ton of delicious food!

over the years i've learned to keep things simple when hosting. there is nothing worse than having so many ambitious party plans that the you run yourself ragged trying to execute everything. as far as decor, i'm a big believer in using what you have. this is why i tend to use "real" dinnerware, etc instead of disposable. it's less for me to buy. a few simple elements, classic white dishes and flowers(i am a florist so that's non-negotiable!) are all you need to create a festive party!

i drew inspiration from the idea of a gentlemen's study. i wanted it to look masculine but not scream FOOTBALL. i settled on a little bit of plaid, denim, metallics and a touch of vintage.

i love the way it turned out! it's a little sophisticated but relaxed enough that my husband and his friends can enjoy the spread.

this brings us to the most important thing when hosting a #homebowlparty...the food! i grabbed some of these cute REESE'S footballs(because chocolate!),a few 6 packs of Coca-Cola and saved some money by using my CARTWHEEL app while making my weekly, err... every other day, target run. i knew these would be perfect to round out the party menu which included pulled pork sliders, homemade kitchen chips, and coleslaw. i decided to set up a DIY float station with the Coca-Cola. And, a party just isn't a party with dessert! these REESE'S cup mini cheesecakes are sublime!

INGREDIENTS

Crust

4 graham crackers
1 Tbs Sugar
2 Tbs melted butter
a pinch of salt
8 REESE’S Miniatures

Cheesecake

7 ounces of whipped cream cheese
1 large egg
¼ cup Ricotta cheese
2 Tbs Flour
½ cup white sugar
½ tsp vanilla

TOPPING

½ cup chocolate chips (melted)

INSTRUCTIONS

Use blender or food processor to pulse graham crackers into almost a flour.
Stir sugar into the graham crackers, and add melted butter, mix together and add a dash of salt.
In a separate bowl cream together the cream cheese, ricotta, vanilla and sugar.
Add in egg, and blend with hand mixer until fully incorporated.
Mix in 2 Tbs flour until fully incorporated
Use a muffin tin, and line with cupcake liners.
Spoon about a tablespoon of graham cracker crust mixture into the bottom of each liner. Press firmly with the back of a spoon.
Unwrap a REESE’S Miniature, and place one in the center of each liner.
Fill the cup with cheesecake mixture.
You should have 4 empty muffin slots, fill each of these with ¼ cup of water, the water will help the cheesecake bake more evenly.
Bake at 350 for 20-22 minutes, until just set in center. Do not overcook.
Remove from oven.
Let cool in pan for 15 minutes, remove from pan to cooling rack, and let cool an additional 45 minutes.
Put in fridge for a few hours to set.
Remove from fridge and top with cut up REESE'S Miniature.
Melt chocolate in microwave for about 35 seconds.
Drizzle melted chocolate on top

you know how before you have a baby you say ridiculous things like, "i'm sure our living room will stay neat, organized, and kid friendly rather than kid focused" so many LOLS! 18 months into this new kid gig and our living room looks like romper room. and, i am ready to reclaim the space.

step 1 is moving some of rowan's activities up to his room. i'm attempting to add more structure to our days. i'd like to have morning unstructured play time in his room while using some living room storage for toddler busy boxes, craft supplies and books.

before rowan's birthday party last march my husband painted our living and dining room(connected spaces)a very pretty pale gray and it did so much to lighten up everything! it had been a shade of green that made the room seem really dark and heavy especially in the winter. pillows and lighter curtains brightened things up even more. as of now our living room is perfectly adequate but i don't think it feels like us.

since my husband prefers visuals when we're discussing changing anything i put together this mood board to lay out the master plan.

i've been looking for a velvet tufted sofa. i have a vintage settee in the basement that i considered having reupholstered but it's a bit too small for the living room. i've been a fan of bob and cortney novogratz since their design show aired on bravo. i kept seeing this sofa pop up on their facebook page but i never clicked on link because i assumed it would be $$$$. i finally went in search of it and discovered that the novogratz9 vintage tufted sofa sleeper is selling at wal-mart! yes, that wal-mart and it costs less than $350. seriously! i've read through all of the reviews and the quality appears to be excellent for the price.

with that, the rest of the room came together quickly. i'd love two modern chairs to balance out the traditional look of the sofa. we have a really nice hutch in our basement. it's currently bright white which is lovely but i'd like to paint it either pink or green. the most difficult thing in my search has been a pair curtains in a bright floral pattern to tie everything together. i'm excited to see how it all comes together!