You Know They Feel at Home When.....

...they plan a party to be hosted at YOUR house! And we wouldn't have had it any other way...!

Enjoy these photos of the infamous Italian Dinner...

(PHOTOS: 1. Seated for dinner (as you can see, we added 2 benches to accomodate everyone!); 2. Emily & Stephany, setting the table; 3. Table is ready to go!; 4. Girls on stairs, all dressed up for dinner; 5. Girls in the living room; 6. The group on the stairs (where we always take photos!); 7. Marissa making cheesecake (Sarah helped, too!)

NOTE: Click on each photo to enlarge it for a better view!

Last fall, Sarah and Stephany, a couple of the gals in my son's close group of friends, came to see me. They said, "We need your help." "Ok," I said, "what are we doing?" They went on to explain that they wanted to host a dinner and wanted my help. Well, naturally that was music to my ears! The two of them were representing the 'girls' of the gang who wanted to host an Italian Dinner for the 'guys'. What a great idea, I thought! And it was! The girls wanted to host the party here in our home and in our dining room, which also thrilled me! I cannot express how delighted I was that they were comfortable enough to want to have it here! And needless to say, we were thrilled that they were comfortable enough to ask!

We plotted and planned what to serve, how and whom to invite, what date would be best, how to convince the guys to 'dress up' and so forth. I'm not sure who was more excited - the girls or me! They decided what items they would serve and who would be responsible for each. In fact, they decided pretty much everything. It was their dinner and I wanted them to make decisions they would feel good about.

Our plan was to get back together to decide which dishes and centerpieces to use. I pulled samples of my collections so the girls could see what choices were available. The day before the dinner, Marissa and Sarah joined me in the kitchen and I taught them how to make cheesecake. I so enjoyed having the gals in the kitchen with me!

The following evening, Emily and Stephany came early to set up for the dinner. That was a fun time, too. Please see all the photos....

The time finally arrived and all the guests were here. Unfortunately, several from the group of friends could not attend because of work schedules, but the 13 who could attend seemed to have a fun evening. I know Ken and I sure did! We just let them take over the formal areas of the house and we surfaced only to serve, as needed (although the girls had that covered, too), and to take photos. We miss our kids, but we treasure the times we spent with them. We love you guys!

The Curb Appeal of Our Homes

PHOTOS: Annie the duck (in her new dress), and Jeffrey Bob the tree)

How is the 'curb appeal' of your home? In other words, is the outside of your home appealing and welcoming to others? Is it pleasant and warm? Does it appear approachable and welcoming to family and friends?

We try to be warm and welcoming once folks make it to the front (or back) door. To help guests feel welcome before they get to the door, we've enlisted the help of a couple of characters (no, not our dear neighbors!) to assist us in this process. On our front porch, Annie the duck keeps an eye out for visitors, wanting to be the first to say 'Hello'! Now, we realize that most people who have these family members (from the 1980's!) have geese, but Annie thinks she's a duck, so we'll just leave it at that. We acquired Annie during the surprise Bed & Breakfast weekend getaway my husband planned for our anniversary earlier this summer. We purchased Annie at that time as a fun way to commemorate the weekend. Ken named her "Annie" in honor of our anniversary. So, when you come to see us, you'll find she's ready to welcome you to our home!

In the backyard, we have another family member we've named Jeffrey Bob. He's full of personality and he changes his look from season to season, as his hair-do (and its color) changes. When the tree is especially full, he sometimes look Jamaican. Other times, he looks a bit older, with thinning up on top.... Jeffrey Bob is visible from the kitchen and breakfast room on the back of our house and he keeps me company as I cook or work in the kitchen.

My friend Donna has a lovely decorative pond in her backyard landcaping. It's relaxing to sit by this little pond, complete with beautiful lillies and frogs (live and not), all in and around her pond. I always think of Donna when I'm out shopping and see ceramic frogs in the outdoor landscaping area of stores!

I have a neighbor who uses an old bicycle with baskets on both front and back which she fills with seasonal items. It's so cute! For the Christmas season, she might have a bunch of weatherproof poinsettias in the front basket and a wrapped "package" or two in the back one. During the summer I've seen fun seasonal items like gardening items and a straw hat in those baskets. What a fun way to decorate the outside of your home! I drive by sometimes just to see what treasures await passersby.

These are all fun ways to show your personality and welcome family and friends to you home. It's also part of the curb appeal of your home. When I sold real estate (in Charlotte and Durham, North Carolina), the quality of a house's curb appeal was always my first thought when looking at a house. It's sometimes very difficult to get a buyer inside a house with poor curb appeal. To sell a house, it's obviously important to get folks inside, so as an agent, I worked with my clients to help them overcome that potential barrier by helping them make the outside appear more welcoming.

I suppose it should go without saying, but the first part of making the front area of our houses welcoming is to keep it swept and free of cobwebs, leaves and critters (well, except for the aforementioned family members). I have found that keeping glass cleaner stored near the front door is an easy way to keep the glass and hardware clean and shiny. Sometimes I specifically go in and out the front door just to see what others see when they visit. When we use the back door or garage door all the time, it's easy to forget to check the front area. (With all the rain we've had last night and today, this reminds me that our front porch needs to be swept!)

Experts say when possible, paint your door a bright, welcoming color. Ours is a bright red door, which complements the gray brick and siding. A bright yellow or deep green also works well, depending on your color scheme. Lovely wood doors can be welcoming, too. Accessories become more important for these entries as the focus tends to land on peripheral items.

Using seasonal color is an easy way to brighten the entry areas to our homes. Obviously, spring, summer and even fall flowers are a terrific and easy way to accomplish this. Use colors that complement the exterior of your home. This summer we again have red flowers, which I love. They are mandevillas and are easy-care and bloom all summer. Unfortunately, flowers sometimes 'lose' their beauty as the summer wears on and the heat takes its toll. Quite honestly, for me, I get bored with some of the care involved after a while, especially with the flowers we have in the backyard. As my cousin, Lynn, used to say about such things: "The new wore off it!" It's true. After a while, I just don't have the interest and energy to keep working the summer flowers... I figure that's why God gives us new flowers for each season! In the meantime, Ken is always faithful to water the flowers and tomato plants that I so energetically begin in May!

I should say that when trying to sell your home, it's important to make it welcoming, but not too personal. Buyers need to be able to see themselves living in the space, not the current owners' possessions. But when we're not selling, just loving our homes and making them warm and welcoming, personalization is wonderful! Does the exterior of your house reflect the personality of you and your family? What does the outside of your home say about you?

Matthew (and Parents'!) Update

Let me first say thank you to everyone who has visited, called, emailed, texted and IM'ed us since Matthew left for college. Your support has been amazing and Ken and I appreciate each one of you! I know that it is your support and especially your prayers that have gotten us successfully to Day 6 (but who's counting?!).

(This photo was taken at Summer Orientation several weeks ago, in front of the residence hall where Matthew now lives.)

So many of you have asked about Matthew, so here's a little update....

We helped Matthew move in on Wednesday of last week and then assisted him with some related moving in/college issues on Thursday. We said our goodbyes and left for home, not sure what to expect. Well, God is good. He takes care of us and He answers prayers. As you can tell from my tone (I hope) we are doing fine and life has gone on - imagine that! (And yes, Susie, we DID leave him at Miami! ;-)

Matthew is doing GREAT! He loves Miami University and has begun to adjust very well. He seems to be enjoying his classes so far (he has 6 classes including business, psychology, English and Calculus). He's met a lot of new students and has reconnected with several friends and acquaintances. He knows people there from summer orientation, Buckeye Boys' State and even his People to People Student Ambassador trip to Australia! It truly is a small world! One of his best friends from high school, Trent, is also a freshman at Miami this year.

Matthew is in the Honors Program at Miami and lives in one of the Honors Dorms (which, by the way, is co-ed). His roommate, Patrick, is from Cincinnati (which is less than an hour away) and the two of them seem to be hitting it off well. Trent is on the same floor, in an adjacent corridor. And some of the girls Matthew knows there live on floors in the same building.

Here are some fun tidbits Matthew has shared:

1. His Calculus professor stops about halfway thru class for a couple of jokes. He shares one and the student joke-teller of the day shares one. I love it!

2. Matthew loves his laundry service. Yes, they provide a laundry service (up to 12 pounds a week, I think). Matthew texted me and shared that he placed his laundry in his assigned bag and placed it on "the cable" Monday night about 11:00. After returning from his Calculus class on Tuesday, he was pleased to see his clean, folded laundry placed in a bag and laid on his bed. Amazing!! (Think they make house calls?) I think Matthew has decided to wash his towels and jeans and submit everything else to the laundry service.

3. After only a brief while, he has become increasingly impressed with Miami's Farmer's School of Business (for which Miami is known). He is seriously considering marketing as a major within the School of Business (he DOES take some things after me! :-) I know that regardless of what field of study he choses he will do well. He has drive and ambition and I have complete confidence in him and in whatever area he chooses.

4. Probably most importantly, I can tell that Matthew is making efforts to learn the campus and find out what's available to him and where it's all located. Miami's freshman orientation is wonderful (it's a 4-day event they call 'First Year Institute'). Activities during those days help students immensely, encouraging them to explore the campus. He is meeting people and participating in fun events around campus. We learned he sent an important 'thank you' via email from King Library one day while he was out and about. That was the day before the official orientation at the library, but he was scoping out the campus on his own and making use of the resources there, which we thought was terrific.

Needless to say, being away at school is an adjustment for student and parent. No matter how long we prepare, it's a challenge for everyone. Yet, I take great comfort in my belief that Matthew is where he needs to be at this point in his life. I will always miss him when he's not with me, but I know that he must pursue his passions, and as much as he loves Orrville, well, Miami University isn't here. So, I pray he makes good decisions and I ask God to keep him safe until I have the opportunity to see him again. And I have to say, that quick text or brief IM session with him has meant everything to get me this far. I know he's matured a great deal. Hopefully it's that maturity that enables him to see how very important that contact can be for us as his parents. It's been a little, but oh, so important way that he's been able to show hospitality to us from across the miles.

Easy Hot Fudge Sauce **

I mentioned a recipe for hot fudge sauce in yesterday's blog posting. Upon request, I am including it, below. It's easy and delicious! One batch makes about 1-1/2 cups.

1 (6-ounce) package semi-sweet chocolate chips
OR 4 (1-ounce) squares semi-sweetchocolate
2 Tbls. margarine
1 (14-ounce can) Eagle Brand Sweetened Condensed Milk
Dash salt
1 tsp. vanilla extract

In heavy saucepan over medium heat, melt chips and margarine with sweetened condensed milk and salt. Cook, stirring constantly, until sauce is slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. DO NOT LET SAUCE BOIL OR STICK TO BOTTOM. Remove from heat; stir in vanilla. Serve over ice cream, cake, anything! Refrigerate leftovers.

Note: To reheat, add a small amount of water. Heat SLOWLY until heated through. Do not let sauce boil; stir frequently to keep from sticking.

** From Classic Desserts

Be a 'Party in a Box'

For those of us who love to entertain, we envision the perfect setting where great planning, delicious food, fun activities and a clean house converge. Sometimes that happens and life is good. And sometimes we wait. We tell ourselves that we’ll wait until the kids are out for the summer, until the kids are back in school, until the kitchen is painted, until, until, until. But if we wait until these things happen or until our house is ready, we’ll never entertain. I know this is true because I’ve been there.

Our family has lived in Orrville for 12 years, but prior to that, we lived in 12 places in 13 years (yes, that’s right- 12 places in 13 years!). Hard to believe, I know. It’s hard even for me to believe it when I look back on those years, but it’s true. Ken only worked with a couple of companies during that time, but because he was in management, we had to 'move on to move up', as I have referred to that time of our lives. Believe it or not, I don’t regret a single one of those moves; I felt each one was the right decision at the time and if we had to, we’d make those same decisions today. Fortunately, all (except the last move) were prior to our son, Matthew starting school, and many were before he was even born. (Matthew began first grade in Orrville and graduated here earlier this year. Based on our early history, we are very proud of this!)

Because we lived in so many places, much of our early married life was literally life in transition. It seemed that by the time I got the house to a point where I was comfortable having people in, we were on the road again! We made and left many friends in those years. You’ve read my thoughts about how I feel I’ve neglected some of those friends through the years. As Barb, one of those old friends recently said to me, “Vanessa, you can’t worry about that. You were just trying to keep your head above water.” And while true, as one who loves hospitality and entertaining, I have regrets about much of that….

But, I digress! What I want to say is that I have learned the best way to overcome that is to simply BEGIN! Start somewhere! My best friend, Linda, was merely an acquaintance when she helped me to see the importance of doing just that. Although we had once worked at the same place, I did not know her. We actually met Linda and her husband, Brad, when my husband and I were invited to a small get-together at the home of mutual friends (Ray and Wanda) for ‘game night’. We all had so much fun and enjoyed ourselves immensely. Later that school year, all our sons (of the three couples) played baseball together on the high school baseball team. We really got to know each other at the games where we cheered on our sons’ team!

At one of those games, I made the suggestion that we should all get together at our house sometime. While I was trying to think of a good night to do that, Linda, in her ‘act now’ mentality (I call Linda our ‘party in a box’), suggested we get together after the game. That night!... On the way home!... At OUR house! Now, I keep a pretty clean and organized house, but I generally like to KNOW when I’m going to have eight extra people in IMMEDIATELY after a game, with no notice or planning whatsoever!! My friend Wanda, has teased me for years, telling me that I need to be more spontaneous. Well, I shocked them all that night when I said, “Why not?!” So, I ran it by Ken just to be sure. As expected, my husband who is my greatest supporter said, “Of course! Let’s do it!”

So, we did a mental check of what snacks we had at home, stopped by the grocery store for a few more things and then headed home where we were greeted by the first attendees of our impromptu party! Talk about a last-minute gathering! And it was a blast! We all had such fun! Our friendships with these couples only deepened. The next year we even went on vacation together with our families. And it REALLY began that night, when Linda invited herself and everyone else to our home. Everyone should have such a best friend!

I have to admit, these two couples are our ‘go-to’ friends when it comes to ‘easy’ entertaining. Whether we go to one of their houses or have them over at our house, it’s easy and comfortable. We’ve had all sorts of no-fuss events, like a Christmas party where our gift exchange was in the form of a ‘white elephant’ game (where each one brought a wrapped “gift,” something they had been given which was not only no longer wanted, but was never wanted in the first place. It’s a great way to get rid of something and a fun way to do it!) Easy! We have had game nights, and watched videos of Christian comedians, and even grilled pizza for a 4th of July celebration. Easy-to- please, easy-to-be-with friends! We all need those kinds of friends!

So, knowing that we all have some of these fun-loving, impromptu friends, how can we do impromptu entertaining without stressing out? Here are 10 quick suggestions, things I’ve learned to help me (the ultimate planner) with the ‘spur-of-the-moment’ get-togethers:

1. Make the food plan easy. Grill burgers, arrange a quick potluck, even order pizza. It’s the company, not the food that’s important.
2. Keep easy foods on hand. I sometimes joke that I like to visit my friend Sam (a.k.a. Sam’s Club!). At warehouse clubs you can find all sorts of easy foods to keep on hand. Cheese and veggie trays as well as sandwiches and quick-heat appetizers are always available there. Even their desserts are yummy. Bite-size cheesecakes and cream-filled popovers are frozen, but thaw quickly for an easy dessert. Now, I prefer to make all these things homemade, but again, quick is the name of the game for easy, no-fuss get-togethers.
3. Plan a game night. There are so many fun and easy games for a mixed group of friends and families with kids. Try Apples to Apples, UNO, or some of the other tried-and-true favorites. As your friends to bring their favorite games, too. Usually snack foods and sandwiches are easiest for these nights. (We always have potato chips, pretzels and crunchy snacks available thanks to Shearer’s, where my husband is plant manager. BTW, if you live locally and haven’t tried Shearer’s company store, you’re missing out! Lots of ‘seconds’ make for easy – and inexpensive – party snack food items!)
4. Plan a movie night. What’s easier than popcorn and apples for feeding everyone at this easy type of get-together? Add a bag of Junior Mints and Twizzlers and you’re good to go!
5. Set up a tentative time each month or quarter to get together. Then you have time to think about it a little in advance, assign foods, drinks, etc. If you or your friends have specialties or their own go-to foods, have them just plan to bring those. Linda makes a delicious homemade macaroni and cheese and we all love knowing we’ll have that at any gathering where more than desserts are served! Wanda is a terrific baker and anything she brings is always good! (Her cinnamon rolls are awesome and I request those whenever possible for early-day things!)
6. Meet at the park and enjoy a picnic. No one has to prepare their home and everyone brings enough food to share or maybe just items for your own family to enjoy. We live in a small town but we have a couple of places where we can pick up a bucket of chicken and joe’s (oven-fried potatoes) for an easy lunch or supper.
7. Just do dessert. Homemade ice cream and seasonal fruits are real crowd pleasers. How about s’mores? Easy, easy! I sometimes make brownies (homemade sometimes, box anytime!). Serve with Vanilla Bean ice cream and my easy hot-fudge sauce for a yummy dessert.
8. Keep needed items ready. Store paper plates, plastic utensils & cups as well as napkins in a large Ziploc bag for a quick grab-and-go to the picnic table or family room, wherever your party is congregating.
9. Keep homemade cookie batter in the freezer for easy cookies in a hurry. I’ve tried a variety of recipes for use in this way and I’ve never been disappointed.
10. It’s in the bag! Keep easy and fun activities ready to go in a bag or bin. Outside activities like yard darts, bocce ball or corn hole are always big hits. Bottles of bubbles keep the smaller kids happy. Why not add a few coloring books and crayons, too? Inside, a variety of games keeps everyone happy. Board games are a must, although Guitar Hero and Wii are always a blast in a group setting, too. Some group games are useful, but so are individual task-type games and puzzles. Years ago we used to have a puzzle set up to work on as the mood struck. Why not dig one out of the closet today? You’ll be surprised at how many of your guests (and family members) cannot resist placing a few pieces!

Most importantly, be a ‘party in a box’ person like Linda! Be willing to make those calls, invite your friends, and enjoy the time you have with them. Life is too short and circumstances are rarely perfect, so let’s make the best of today by making some memories with those we love and whose company we enjoy.