I just joined in on "The Ultimate Blog Party!"

Hi Everyone!

Ok, while I think that my FESTIVE FRIDAY FIESTA is the Ultimate LINK Party...hee hee.. =D

I recently found a cool new blog that hosts the Ultimate BLOG Party!   It's a once-a-year event that showcases blogs of all different styles and I decided to "throw my hat in the ring" so to speak with it!

It was created by Susan and Janice from 5 Minutes For Mom and it seems like a great way to share your blog with a pretty large group of other bloggers!  They do it once a year from April 5th through 13th and they feature thousands of blogs!



I found that one of my blogging buddies, Kathy from Life on Lakeshore Drive was doing it, so I went to check it out.  It looks really neat!  I'm excited to check out all the neat blogs out there!

If you're visiting from the Ultimate Blog Party....Welcome!  Come on over, stay a while and peruse the site!   I feature Tablescapes and the bargains that make up those tablescapes, DIY projects, Easy and delicious recipes, and a weekly link party every Friday called the FESTIVE FRIDAY FIESTA!

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Here's a little about me....

My husband and I moved to South Florida in 2008.  We found a wonderful house that was pretty close to being my dream house. It was also just the perfect house for entertaining.  The only problem was...I had NO idea how to "entertain"!  

We started making some great friends and in 2009 we hosted our own Super Bowl Party for some of our friends from church...and invited anyone to come who didn't have their own Super Bowl plans.  Well, they all came, AND some of them also told other friends about it. We had over 50 people at our home and I was a WRECK!  

I LOVED having people over and seeing everyone having fun together, but I felt like I was always in the kitchen or getting someone something I had forgotten to put out.  My friends were so gracious and forgiving of course, but I knew I needed some help with how to entertain.  I was SO EXHAUSTED after that party and I didn't want to be that way!

Luckily, some of my wonderful new friends were GREAT at entertaining!  They had mastered the art through years of trial and error and just plain ol' "party smarts".  When we'd go to their gorgeous house for get-togethers, they'd have like 50+ people, and I noticed how everything was just so smooth....the hostess actually had time to TALK and laugh with her guests...she wasn't frantically running to get one thing or another for people. 

So I talked to her...and asked her how she does it!   She gave me some pointers and I tried again.   We had our married couples ministry party at our house....it went a little better....

Life changed for us after our two children came into our lives last year (we adopted two of the most wonderful children through foster care in March of 2012 and a sweet doggie from a rescue in April of 2012),

But now that they are settled in and doing great, I have been getting the itch to begin to host more things at our house.  Maybe not 50 people every week...haha...but I really believe we have this lovely home for entertaining for a reason...not just for us to enjoy, but also for others to enjoy!

So...In 2013, I decided to forego the "usual" resolutions I have  (lose weight, exercise regularly, etc.)  because I choose those every year and by January 9th or so, I break them...haha!   I decided to make my 2013 New Years Resolutions the following:

"To master the art of entertaining family and friends in my home by hosting more events where people can come and enjoy eachother's company in a beautiful setting."

AND

"To create a beautiful, organized, and God-Filled HOME for my family, for entertaining, and for my own sanity!"

This translated into organizing and getting rid of lots of clutter in my home, hosting a new weekly "Sunday Family Dinner" for our family, which you can read about the most recent one HERE, and put new entertaining events ON THE CALENDAR instead of just talking about them!

I started pouring over Pinterest and other blogs I found on this blogging journey to see how others decorated their tables for their guests.  There are some REALLY GIFTED decorators and hostesses out there!  I share my Tablescapes every Tuesday from our Sunday Family Dinners as well as various events on TABLESCAPE TUESDAY!

I started trying to find new recipes to make that were easy and delicious to make for our Sunday Family Dinners and parties and I now share things that I've made on this blog every Wednesday for "WHADDA WE EATIN' WEDNESDAY"

I've also started a Link Party for all things creative (recipes, tablescapes, tips and tricks, DIY projects, etc) called the FESTIVE FRIDAY FIESTA and I have been loving all the creative blogs out there who are sharing their ideas!

Thanks again for stopping by.  I'm hoping we'll see lots of eachother!  Have a great weekend!