Now that I’m off on vacation, in sunny Mexico (yeah – I’m rubbing it in) – I’m leaving you in the hands of some ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS Guest Bloggers.  To kick things off – I leave you with one of my dearest bloggy friends, and fellow Ohioans – Andrea – from Off Her Cork.

Hi Green Dog Wine readers!

My name is Andrea and my little home on the web is called Off Her Cork. Allison is off gallivanting around and she put the call out for guest posts.  She asked if I would do a Tips-style post and I am more than happy to oblige!  The holidays are upon us and that means we will be glitzing it up and attending holiday parties.  Some of us might even be hosting our own! So GDWers, here are some of my favorite party planning tips!

If you are hosting a party and plan on making it Adults Only, you must state this specifically on the invite.  Many times people will assume that you can’t possibly mean that /their/ kids are not invited somewhere and will arrive with them in tow.  Or they will call and ask what you are serving so they can make sure it is Bobby and Suzie friendly food.  Put the kibosh on that right away if it’s Adults Only.  Subtle hints on the invite like “Call a babysitter” won’t work.  Trust me.  Been there done that.  If the party is open to kids, put that on the invite, too!   My point being, make your intentions very clear and stick to them.

Label the food items that you have out.  Just little paper labels that you create on your computer work well.  I have found that individual labels by each dish work better than having a main list at the head of the food table.  People tend not to read that or even see it, thus still bombarding you with questions like “What is this?!” or “Oh, this tastes like it has cream cheese in it!”  Which they would have known, had they read the menu.  Individual labels that clearly indicate what the dish is work really well.

When labeling the foods, keep in mind food allergies and make a note of them on the label. For example:

/Creamy Risotto with Goat Cheese
*Contains NO dairy but does contain walnuts/

This way, someone with a dairy allergy that might otherwise pass this dish up now knows it’s dairy free.  And someone with a nut allergy knows they cannot eat that particular dish.

Keeping in mind diets and allergies, if you are serving a large amount of people, make sure to take into consideration different dietary restrictions.  I’m not saying that if one of your friends is a low carber, all of your food offerings should be low carb.  But have a few offerings of different things so that the meat eaters, low carbers, and veggies have some choices and don’t feel pushed aside.  It’s easier than you think to have cocktail foods for everyone, it just takes some planning.

If you are having a cocktail party with cocktail foods, keep the foods simple and small.  One thing I have noticed is that people at parties don’t like to work for their food.   They like to put it on a plate and eat it.  If they are required to fuss too much with the food, for example, making a sandwich or cutting bread for cheese, things turn messy quick.  Make sure things are pre-made and small so they can easily be put on a plate and then easily eaten without much fuss.  If you want to offer sandwiches, make them ahead of time and make a few varities.  Keep them small as they are easier to manage and less messy.  Have cheese and bread already cut up into bite-sized pieces.  Less work for your guests and less mess for you after the party is over!

It’s inevitable, every party has the early-showers! If you are still prepping things, put them to work!  Have them help you plate food items and bring things out to the table.  You can even give them the task of developing a signature cocktail for the evening if you’re feeling particularly bold.

Have a candle or a few candles going in the guest bathroom.  Candles are great multitaskers in the bathroom! They help keep things smelling fresh but also provide a bit of light so guests can find the light switch.  Nothing worse when navigating a new bathroom and you can’t find the light switch!  Fresh soap, towels, and also some hand lotion in the bathroom provide an extra touch that your guests will appreciate.

Provide music, but keep it low so that people aren’t shouting to be heard.  With lots of radio stations being digital now, it’s easy to find a station online to fit the mood of the party.  I find that 40s music is great for playing in the background.  It’s easy on the ear and pretty pleasing to everyone.

Those are some of my favorite tips and tricks for creating a party that all your guests will enjoy while also keeping things less stressful for you as well!

For more tips and tricks please come visit me at Off Her Cork!

Happy Holidays guys!

My philosophy today was – why dirty a dish I am just going to need to clean before I leave? 

Rather than dirty one of my precious #1 Dad coffee mugs – I had this:

[Insert picture of Venti Starbucks coffee with two pumps of sugar free Hazelnut syrup]

I love Starbucks coffee but it always throws off my routine!  By the time I thought about breakfast – it was 10:45am!!!!

Rather than have cereal or oatmeal that would dirty a bowl – I had:

Don’t worry – I scraped the “burnt” off, and then made sure to make it delicious with copious amounts of spray butter.  I have no shame.

Rather than eat the leftovers in my fridge and clean the container, I ordered a Turkey Reuben from Liquid Planet:

MMMMM Thousand Island!

and for a snack – rather than pack anything from home – I stole:

[Insert Red Vines and Pretzels stolen from my coworkers!] 

After a trip to Target (where I was “planning” on spending $10 on travel size toiletries but somehow walked out having spent $45…) – I came home and finally caved and ate the rest of my leftovers.

Warning – this is possibly the worst looking picture I’ve ever posted on the blog:

It doesn’t look good – but it was tasty!   It’s quinoa, black beans, peppers, onions, tomatoes, and a slice of fat free american cheese!

Now – I’m catching up on our mail and trying to tie up all our loose ends!  One fun thing I already found in our ridiculous pile of mail:

a wonderful package full of fabulous goodies, with a lovely note from one of the funniest, and most fabulous girls I know – Amie from the Healthy Apple!  Thank you my dear!!

One last thing to share…since we are leaving our puppy child behind, I obviously feel guilty, and felt like I should compensate by buying her things, and then taking lots of pictures of her playing with said things:

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Seriously though – isn’t she the cutest?   I’m gonna miss her silly little face while we are gone!

I hope you guys are all off and having fun this evening! I have fabulous guest posts going up every single day that we are gone, as well as 3 special post from me scheduled!

With that – I bid you adieu for 7 whole days!!!   See you in a week!  Have a wonderful holiday weekend!

I have an EXTREMELY important question for you.    A comment that was left yesterday is what made me think of it…

Have you ever made “Rice Krispie Treats” – but subbed in a different cereal, instead of Rice Krispies?   In college – we would make them with Fruity Pebbles.  Oh.MY.GOD – those were the best treats EVER!!!!   

If you have a fun spin on the traditional Rice Krispie Treat – let me know!  I think I need to experiment after we get back from our trip!

My day started with another bowl of cereal (and the last of the almond milk! – check that off the “Finish before you leave” list! )

While I’m still totally digging the Fruity Cheerios – they do NOT fill me up.  I’ve been starving by 10am the past two days at work! 

Lunch was a half baked (no pun intended) recipe I dreamt up the night before around 10pm:

In an effort to finish everything – I attempt to whip up some stuffed peppers:

that I can honestly say – were a fail.  I didn’t season them right since I was just “winging it”.  Very, very, very, very, VERY bland! 

I mixed in some roasted broccoli, 2 laughing cow wedges (yeah – it was that bad), red pepper flakes, and some hot sauce:

After my additions – it was edible, but I’m pretty sure the 2nd one I have waiting in the fridge is going in the garbage.  Or – maybe I’ll try to see if anyone I work with would like it (and then hope that they eat it before they read my glowing review above! )

Abrupt transition:  Remember a few weeks ago when I was cursing all the office candy bowls?  Well this week I’m cursing the office “economy size tub of pretzels” – I can’t keep my hands out of it!!!

Look at how much salt was on this one!!! (it was going to be heavenly…until KRISTIN stole it, and didn’t even apologize! )

Once I finally got home from a work – I had a list a mile long of things to get done tonight – but the most important on that list?  Eat. (Of course!)

While dinner was heating up – I snacked on some cukes:

I’ve been loving cucumbers lately.  I go through love/hate phases with them – and I’m full on in love right now!

Dinner was a PROPERLY seasoned bowl of the “stuffing” that went into the aforementioned “Stuffed Peppers”:

This was MUCH BETTER!

After cleaning, laundry, packing, walking Lander – I sat down to work, blog, watch Biggest Loser and test out my very own personal jar of:

My friend Kelly was able to snag me a jar this weekend!  I really do love this stuff!  I know others aren’t huge fans of it – but I really enjoy it and think it tastes just like regular PB – you just have the ability to make it as thick or as runny as you like it! 

Happy Hump Day!