H2O Bar

We have another party suggestion for you. (Hopefully you're not on overload yet).

 But this one really is a great example of why we started this blog:

We're about taking the ordinary and making it extraordinary,

 and let's face it, it doesn't get more ordinary than water.

But why not get creative with it?

How about adding a few things to customize the flavor of your water?

And how about setting up fun glasses to it drink out of?

And what about adding festive straws to SIP from?

...Throw in a little signage...

Then what happens?

Your boring pitcher of water

becomes a colorful buffet of "create your own" awesome-ness.

What a great add on to your thanksgiving feast this Thursday, don't you think?

We used sliced lemons, limes, and cucumbers.

Can you think of other customizable options could you put out?

(We love hearing your suggestions!)

Sips Launch Party: Chocolate Stirring Spoons

Happy Monday! 

Hope your weekends were restful, productive, fun, or whatever you were expecting them to be, and more. (Adam's and mine was a mixture of productive and fun--not a lot of resting involved, but there's always next weekend for that.) Did you get around to trying out the Sam Adam's Winter Variety Pack or the Pumpkin Chai "Martini"? What did you think?

This week we have a few more details to share with you from our Launch Party and a couple of other surprises in store for you.

But today, we thought sharing how to make Chocolate Covered Stirring Spoons might make your Monday a bit more exciting.

We hope we were right...

You might have seen the original idea on pinterest, like I did. (I've found I spend most of my free time browsing these pages...). I thought they would be a great idea for the favors for our Launch Party.

 But, unlike a lot of the ideas I get on pinterest, I actually followed through with these, and I'm so glad I did.

So if you want to do it too, Here's what you need:

Plastic Spoons

Melting Chocolate

Toppings of your choosing

***Kirstin will laugh that I'm writing this on here, but I was super self-conscious about it at the party, so I want to share with you. Don't choose your toppings based on what goes well with chocolate. You'll see I chose to top some spoons with pretzels and peanuts...good in chocolate BUT NOT IN HOT CHOCOLATE OR COFFEE, gross. So learn from my mistakes so you don't get embarrassed come party time.***

Here's how to do it:

First spread out your spoons in a line on top of wax paper (for easy clean-up)

Melt your chocolate according to package directions

Using a spoon, drizzle melted chocolate onto each spoon.

My chocolate probably wasn't as smooth as it should have been, but I just tapped the bottom of each filled spoon as I went, and it smoothed out just fine.

After filling the spoons, top with whatever toppings you chose.

Again, I suggest avoiding peanuts and pretzels.

Let cool until hardened.

Then, if giving away as favors or gifts (wouldn't this be a fun Christmas present idea too?), wrap each in a baggy, and tie closed with a ribbon. You can even tie on a label if you feel like going the extra mile.

And that's it!

 Very low maintenance, and very cute--which is usually what we go for around here!

Fun, huh?