laughter is the best medicine

...or wait, is that coffee?

Happy Thursday :)

A Retirement Party

John's Done Working On The Railroad!

This last Saturday, my aunt threw her husband the most fitting

retirement party! After a lifetime of commitment, he has retired from Amtrak.

The food was delish, the beers were cold (which was a good thing because it was HOT out)

and the laughter & love was a-plenty.

I was a lucky enough lady to help Mary with her party. From the invitations, to treats & decor!

Here are some snaps!

The invitation

(customizations available in the shop)

banner #1

Didn't make these, but it's definitely on my to-do!

DJ Lilly

Some treats I made for the party:

banner for the bathroom :)

Banner for the Kitchen

Everyone got stickers 

some of the gang.

The man of the hour...with his Bubble Gun.

All-in-all, it was a great day...and I should have taken more pictures!

Thanks Mary, for letting me help!

Cakeballs.

Contrary to popular belief, I DON'T live under a rock

and I DO understand that Cakeballs are nothing new.

I have, however, noticed that every time I tote this delicious little morsels with me

someone asks how I made them.

So here's how I do it:

First you gotta bake a cake.

Any cake, any recipe, anyway

I usually bake it in a 13X9 but it literally doesn't matter cause after you bake it...

...and it has cooled...

you crumble it into a bowl.

Yep, get it in there.

then whip up your favorite homemade frosting...

..and throw that in there too.

Now for a cake-ballers (yes I did just call myself that) most prized possession...

Scoop (the well combined mixture) into balls on a wax paper/tinfoil lined baking sheet

and put them in the freezer. 

You should do it for at least an hour, but I often do this portion the day ahead of time 

and pick up where I left off the next day.

Your call.

When you take them out of the freezer, roll them into smooth balls 

with the palm of your (clean) hands.

Melt your chocolate.

focus your camera

Dip.

 

Decorate.

Display.

Devour.

Cake balls are easy, delicious, portable, and pretty fun to come up with combos.

Here are some others I've done.

Try and see if you can figure out what my favorite decorating technique is....

Watermelon Cakeballs

Strawberry/Vanilla - Mother's Day

Carrot/Cream Cheese - Eatser

Brownie Balls - Chili Cook-Off.

Yellow/Chocolate - Wylie's Look Hoo's Two Party

Various - Christmas

Yellow/Chocolate - Thanksgiving

Chocolate/Nutella/Peanut Butter 

Spice/Cream Cheese - Grady's Rustic Baptism

Do YOU cakeball? 

Currently Being Inspired By...

Jars!

jar 1 |jär|noun:a wide-mouthed, cylindrical container made of glass or pottery.
Get with the times, Webster, the ol' Jar can be used for so much more!

Here are a few of my faves:

Loving these printables from Howdy!

DIY Lamp courtesy of this Etsy artista.

Homemade Snowglobes? Yes please.

Clever little catch-all.

Such a fun twist for lunch, right?

This is totally on my DIY to-do list.

Paint the inside of old jars for a cute new feel.

LOVE!

Of course, what Jar post would be complete without

cupcake in a jar?

So, what do you think?

Are you over the jar trend?

Do you love them more than ever?

Talk to me.

Happy Monday!