parties Archives - Rave & Review

Game day party recipe: RITZ® Crackers sliders with Coca-Cola pulled pork and coleslaw

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #BowlTimeSnacks #CollectiveBias Around here, football isn’t just a sport. From late summer until the last game is played, Seattle becomes a different place as we all unite for our team. Anyone wearing team colors is greeted with a cheer and usually a discussion on how the season is going. This is especially true for game day when we all come together to celebrate, so it’s best to plan for a crowd if you are home watching the game.

This past weekend was my turn hosting and I knew I wanted to do something a little different. I was looking for something you could eat throughout the day instead of a formal meal, and ideally it would be as hands-off as possible so I could get a chance to watch the game, too.

I headed to the store to see what inspiration struck and within minutes I hit on the perfect game time menu: RITZ® Crackers sliders with Coca-Cola pulled pork and homemade coleslaw. It looks delicious, right?

Send them back to school on the right note with SOL REPUBLIC {DECK wireless speaker review}

Are you in the thick of back to school planning like I am? There are clothes to buy, glue sticks to stock up on, and there are goodbyes to plan for, because back to school is sneaking up on us quickly.

But, what if your baby isn’t quite a baby anymore and those days of construction paper and pencil cases are well behind you? For you, back to school shopping requires some creativity in order to send your child off to school on the right foot.

Sure, you need the latest sneakers and some updated clothing, but what I think is more important than that is what your child will be listening to. Sending them back to school with a good pair of headphones, earbuds, or even a portable speaker can make those early mornings, bus stop waits, and late nights studying a whole lot more enjoyable if you have your music with you.

Lee Jeans rocked at BlogHer ‘13 Chicago

If anyone out there has never been to BlogHer before, you’d probably think it was ridiculous how much people obsess about clothing beforehand. I am along the lines of “if it fits” and I’m definitely in the minority at a big blogging conference like BlogHer. It’s not that I think those that plan way ahead are silly {I mean, there are literally thousands of socially connected women with cameras at the ready}, but high fashion has never really been my forte.

Really, I’m just a jeans a t-shirt kind of gal… unless it’s scorching hot, and then I’m a skirt and tank top kind of gal. And, this year there was so much talk of how hot Chicago is in the summer that jeans seemed a little silly. In fact, I almost turned down the chance to try out a pair of new Lee Jeans thinking that they would just be taking up space in my bag and I would never get a chance to wear them.

Thank goodness I didn’t turn down a brand spanking new pair of Lee Jeans, because Chicago turned out to be freezing in comparison to our Seattle summer this year. I wore a dress exactly one day of my 7 day trip, and was freezing that entire day. As for the rest of the time? I was rocking my Lee jeans and loving it. I wore my Lees with flip flops, wore them with sneakers, and wore them with my favorite new accessory – my Tieks by Gavrieli foldable ballet flats with the bright blue soles. I wore Lee jeans to a wine tasting, a dinner with one of my favorite brands, a boat cruise, a BlogHer session, and a whole bunch of private parties.

This is me with Xenia from Thanks Mail Carrier {left} and Liz from A Nut In A Nutshell {right} at the Sheraton Social Hour that kicked off BlogHer. The strangers thing was a joke, I'm pretty sure we've been friends forever.

Birthdays, holidays and more: growing up a Gymboree kid

You know how sometimes you just look at your kids and they seem so grownup all of a sudden? Never is that more true that during the summer months when I dig out all their warmer weather clothing from the previous year only to find that everything is a few inches too short and we’re due for yet another clothing run.

With so many birthday parties for friends and family this time of year, I find I’m constantly searching for something nice for the kids to wear that still looks festive and fun. And, with events ranging from pool parties to pony ride parties, my daughter thinks there’s always a good reason to get dolled up.

In my search for kid-approved clothing that can go from event to event, I always turn to Gymboree as their clothing tends to be the kids’ favorite in terms of fit, style, and flair. This year was no exception, and I found so many awesome styles that are the first clothing pieces that the kids grab each day.

Items like the Glitter Star Cowgirl boots, which my daughter would wear every single day if she could {and she pretty much does, even in record high temperatures or when we’re going to the beach}.

Our ActiFry Holiday Party

Ultimate Holiday Gift Guide – Day 8 Have you seen the ActiFry multicooker before? We were introduced to this PTPA winner a few months back and have been simply amazed at all the entrees, appetizers and desserts you can create with little or no effort. This amazing appliance is launching this week at Costco, so … Read more

Thursday – BlogHer’11 San Diego recap day 1

Having gotten into San Diego at 11pm on Wednesday instead of the 1pm we should have arrived, I was happy my Thursday BlogHer events started out slowly. We started off the day at the P&G Life Well Lived event that included some really amazing speakers, a nice brunch, and a really good opportunity to chat … Read more