Fun Holiday Potluck Dips

The holidays are coming up and I, for one, usually have a few potlucks to attend with friends & family and at work. I've been looking for some fun dip ideas from blogs I follow and via Pinterest and wanted to share some ideas I came across. 

White Cheddar and Cranberry Dip
via Little Broken

 

BBQ Chicken Dip

via Home of Malones

Cauliflower & White Bean Dip

via Martha Stewart 

Pimento Cheese Dip

via (me) Martinis & Bikinis

7-Layer Mexican Dip

via Chew Out Loud

Avocado & Yogurt Dip

via Two Peas and their Pod

Texas Caviar

via Scattered Thought of a Crafty Mom

Pumpkin Dip

via The Sequin Notebook

Do you have any go-to potluck dishes (not only dips) to share?

Celebrating Things To Come

As I mentioned on Friday, I've been needing a "my Netflix and my snacks" kind of weekend but this weekend had different plans for me. Friday night was pretty chill though, thankfully!

After going to dinner and drinks with my team on Thursday, we all arrived to work feeling rough on Friday. Very professional, I know, but sometimes we have to entertain clients and new hires that come into town and if they want to go out drinking then that's what we have do. We sent our new hire with a nice hangover on her flight back to the Netherlands on Friday.

K and I were supposed to go to a winery on Friday night that had live music and food trucks but I could barely keep my eyes open when I got home from work. We settled for a quiet dinner at Bonefish Grill and headed home after that. I've said this before but I'm obsessed with the bang bang shrimp at Bonefish. It's a must have when we go there! 

On Saturday we headed to K's hometown 2 hours away for a friend's co-ed baby shower. Baby Harper will be here next month and she got some wonderful gifts from their family and friends. 

After the shower we went out with some friends to catch up at the guys' favorite watering hole and then spent the night at my in-laws house.

On Sunday we headed back into town for one of my best friend's gender reveal party to find out whether their baby is a boy or a girl. Hence, the name of this post as we celebrated two babies coming soon.

The hosts asked everyone to wear either pink or blue depending what you thought the baby is going to be. I thought it was going to be a girl so I showed up in pink and K went in blue. They had a cute monkey pinata which the grandma-to-be was given the stick to hit and reveal the surprise. After many attempts out came a flood of blue candy. It was a really cute way to reveal the gender. 

As you can see based on the two teams below, the majority had a feeling it was going to be a boy. I was on the losing team but so excited for the soon-to-be parents and I'm looking forward to planning her baby shower.

How was your weekend?

Joining Biana for Weekending.

4th of July Weekend Celebrations

Hope everyone enjoyed the weekend (long weekend for those in the US).

I went on my first blate last week with Rebekah and Kate at The Wine Room. It was really nice meeting Rebekah and talking about bloggy stuff while sharing a cheese plate & some drinks. 

On Friday/4th of July, I went shopping for some festive outfits to wear to our friend's pool/BBQ party.

I made a berry trifle and then headed over to the party that afternoon. We had a great time with friends, fireworks and delicious food and drinks. We played some flip cup and the girls won, of course!

On Saturday, K and I went shopping for a new fridge and also ended up getting a new smart TV. We've been saving up for a while now and, with the 4th of July sales, we found some great deals at Best Buy that were too hard to pass up. We had a quick Thai lunch date & went home to play with our new toy.

On Sunday, K and I had brunch at home, cleaned and relaxed. It was just what the doctor ordered after many back-to-back hectic weekends.We grilled some BBQ ribs for dinner and watch some more Orange is the New Black.

How was your weekend?

Joining Molly for Funday Monday and Biana for Weekending.

Mother's Day Brunch Ideas

It's no secret that Sunday brunch is one of my favorite "pastimes".  While I love going out for brunch at local restaurants, hosting a brunch at home would also be a great way to spend some time with your Mom for Mother's Day. I found some Pinterest pretty recipes & ideas to share:

Pineapple Coolers

via

Baked Eggs in Breakfast Bowls

via

Broccoli & Comte Frittata

via

Bloody Mary Shooters

via

Strawberry Cream Cheese Pankcake Rollups

via

Tea Sandwiches

via

Strawberry Grapefruit Mimosas

via

Eggs Benedict with Ham and Asparagus

via

 

What's your favorite Sunday brunch dish or drink?

Also, I'm guest posting over at Green Fashionista today while Kate is on vacation so go check out some fun ways to spend quality time with your mom this weekend for Mother's Day.

Easter Festivities with Friends

Hope everyone had a great Easter yesterday! 

I had Good Friday off of work so it was a nice long weekend and finally got to catch up on some Zzzz after the NOLA Bachelorette trip. Easter is the one holiday we don't celebrate with family because we just can't swing the 3 hour x2 (there and back) drive on a Sunday, so we threw an Easter potluck dinner on Saturday for friends.

I made deviled eggs and we baked a ham, roasted a turkey and everyone brought a dish so we had tons of food & desserts. It was fun catching up with the girls and everyone had a good time playing cornhole & ladder ball in the backyard. Of course cocktails and shots flowed throughout the night because that's just what happens with our group of friends.

 
A few friends brought their kids so I made some Easter goodies for them.

Two friends also both brought Easter lilies for me. They're so pretty but let's just hope I can keep these babies alive. The orchid K bought me a few weeks ago has already started to perish....Need some green thumb advise!

This triple berry trifle was also on the menu for dessert. It was my first attempt at making a trifle and it came out SO good so it'll be featured on the blog tomorrow for our Recipe Swap every Tuesday.

How was your Easter weekend?

Joining Molly & Carly for Funday Monday.

NOLA Bachelorette Recap

After a hectic 3 nights of binge drinking and shenanigans through the streets of New Orleans, I made it home on Sunday night with no voice and a lingering hangover but I'm in one piece nevertheless.

A group of us girls flew into NOLA on Thursday Night, checked in to the hotel in the Garden District and then headed out for some dinner and drinks. This gift basket full of goodies was waiting in the room for the bride-to-be.

On Friday, we toured Bourbon street in the matching tank tops we got customized for the bride. The streets were packed with people and lots of bachelor & bachelorette parties. Fireball shots were flowing along with my favorite Louisiana beer, Abita Strawberry and we even stopped at Pat O'Brien's for some Hurricanes.

On Saturday we went to the French Quarter Festival, which is the largest free music festival in the US. Lots of good food, music, drinks and people watching.

After the festival, we checked out some voodoo shops and then hit some more bars on Bourbon street ending at a gay bar where we made some fun new friends!

Sunday was our last day and we were all feeling a little rough but our flight wasn't until later in the night. We had lunch at Coop's Place and then a few drinks at Margaritaville and a few other places before heading to the airport.

So glad I got to finally experience New Orleans but I think I need to sleep for a full week to feel "normal" again. Is it the weekend yet?

St Patrick's Day Party Gear

One of my favorite celebrations of the year is St Patty's day. The perfect excuse to drink Guinness and indulge in Irish food, which is exactly what I'll be doing tonight with friends.

St Patrick's Day by martinis-bikinis featuring a baseball tee

 

How do you plan to celerate St Patrick's day this year?

St Patrick's Party Food Ideas + 2013 Recap

I've been looking around for festive appetizer and finger food ideas on Pinterest to make for a St Patrick's day party and stumbled across some cute ideas.

Mint Oreo Triffle via this The Girl in Red Shoes.

Mint Chocolate Chip cookies via True Couponing.

Shamrock Spinach Quiche via Diamonds for Dessert.

Lucky Charm Bars via Cozy Home Chronicles.

I love celebrating St. Patrick's day with friends. Last year we went to a friend's potluck-style
party so we ate all sorts of festive food and, of course, had way too many Irish car bombs. It was a fun night and the same friends are throwing another St Patty's party this weekend.

One of my friends recreated this Rainbow Fruit Tray with a Pot-O-Gold Rainbow and I thought it was such a cute idea for a St Patty's party.

via Pinterest

Are you planning to make any festive appetizers, desserts or cocktails for St Patty's this year?