So my Truvia Brunch Party went pretty well, although I didn't get to take as many photos as I would have liked to, because I was busy attending to everyone. But we still had a blast! I decided to hold the brunch at my parents house, so I could make them coffee and muffins and be able to visit them on my only day off from work. :-)
For our brunch, I made Cranberry Orange Muffins with Truvia Baking Blend - using this recipe actually: Cranberry Orange Muffins. I also made a pot of the Folger's Gourmet Selections Vanilla Biscotti Coffee, a bag of which was included in the party kit. Both were a huge hit! My parents and I really liked the coffee (my boyfriend doesn't like any coffee); my mom liked the vanilla flavor, and also liked that there were no added sweeteners in the roast. And every loved the muffins; we all went back for seconds... well, in my dad's case, it was thirds, haha. Which was great, because he didn't think he would like the muffins because they had Truvia in them (he prefers sugar). So I think the fact that I won him over in the end says something about how good Truvia Baking Blend is! Or maybe I'm just a good baker, haha. :-P
I had a lot of great supplies to put together a great brunch, thanks to Crowdtap and Truvia and the awesome party kit they sent to me. They sent me so much stuff, I was able to gift some Truvia to my parents, as well as bring a box of Truvia to work for my coworkers to try!
Here Are Some Pre-Brunch/Brunch Day Photos:
The party kit arrives!
Me, testing out my sweet stuff from Truvia and Crowdtap!
The baking has begun.
Making use of my new apron.
My Dad being a goofball and showing of the Truvia samples while grabbing a coffee, haha.
The Cranberry Orange Muffins are ready!
My parents kicking back and enjoying their coffee and muffins
After getting everyone else settled, I was FINALLY able
to get myself some coffee!
So thank you again, Crowdtap and Truvia, for the opportunity to try your product with people I care about, and for providing such a fun way to promote your product. It was fun, and I would definitely do it again!
Questions and comments are always welcome, read, and replied to...
Hello everyone! So I realize I have been on a very long hiatus, but hey, I'm back! So what is bringing me back?
Well, besides the fact that I missed my blog, I was selected by Crowdtap and Truvia to host a brunch party this Sunday , and I wanted you all to be able to share in the adventure.
So be on the lookout for my account of the brunch sometime in the following week, and be sure to keep an eye on my Twitter page for some posts during the party!
So like any good geek, I love (and NEED) my caffeine, which for me is usuallycoffee. And when I want coffee, I would rather not have to run to a coffee shop and leave my computering/gaming behind just to get my fix. My solution? Make my my own!
Sure, a pot of coffee is easy enough to make on your own. But when the weather gets warmer, I lean more towards coffee Coolattas from Dunkin Donuts... but that is inconvenient and can get expensive. So when I got my new blender for Christmas, I decided that I needed to solve this problem! And after much trial and error, I think I finally have this recipe down. So go ahead and try it out, and see if I'm right!
Homemade Mocha Coolatta
Ingredients:
1 1/2 Cups of crushed ice
1/2 water
3/4 milk (I used soy milk for mine)
Sugar, however much you would usually put in your coffee
1 tablespoon instant coffee
1-2 tablespoons cocoa powder (optional… for awesome mocha!)
Directions:
Put all ingredients in a blender, and… blend, lmao.
Yes, it sounds simple... but that is because it is, haha. Not to mention convenient, because it's made from stuff I always have in my kitchen. And this recipe makes enough to fill my ginormous mug! Awesome, right? Now off to drink my coffee...
Did you try the recipe? Let me know how it came out! Found some ways to make it better? Then send those ideas my way! (Please?)
So I have to say, the party was a LOT of fun! I spent a lot of my time making food and taking photos, but for me, that is part of the fun with my parties. My Dad had fun playing with the masks, and insisted on my taking photos of him with each of the male character masks, lol.
I had seen that AMC was supposed to be playing a Season 4 marathon of Mad Men in the hours before the party... and was kind of disappointed to find that it didn't happen. Luckily, Netflix saved the day with that part of the festivities.
I think one of my favorite parts of the whole party was dressing up in 60s garb... although my hair was being a pain in the you-know-what and didn't want to curl (FAIL). But I still ended up looking presentable, lol. As for everyone else, if there had been a contest, I'm pretty sure my friend Heather would have won it. She look awesome!
As for food, I was able to make the chicken a la king and the virgin pina coladas without a hitch, and everyone seemed to enjoy everything. I wish I had gotten the chance to make the Butter Cake a la Mode... it sounded fraking delicious! I'm just going to have to create another event just to make it for everyone, haha,
Everyone loved the neat stuff in the the "House Party" Party Pack that I received from HouseParty.com, the mask being the biggest hit. A couple guests even took door hangers home with them! So glad I got the opportunity to receive such a neat party pack. (^_^)
The best part of the party? The premiere of course! The highlights for me:
Pete running into the wall and giving himself a bloody nose. It was hilarious, and I'm not a fan of Pete... so it was somewhat satisfying, lol.
Lane's dancing reenactment for Joan of the events at Don's birthday party. Both because it was highly amusing to see his character like that, and because of the slight creepiness of this moment when thinking of this actor's character on Fringe. (Watch Fringe and you will understand... or just go watch Fringe because I tell you so...)
Megan singing Zou Bisou Bisou to Don at his "surprise" birthday party. Mostly because the song had everyone at my party laughing and saying, "WTF is happening right now?", haha.
I probably missed a whole bunch more because I was having fun chatting with everyone and tweeting about the party and show on Twitter, but the episode is already online, so I definitely plan on re-watching it!
Anywho, here are some photos from the party, along with a video tour of the Ad Room we set up!
The Decor
The bar top in the living room :-)
The music!
The Ad Room bar.
The entertainment center.
The Ad Room
The party favors.
More of the Ad Room
The living room bar.
The Food
Chicken a la King, rice, and Utz chips & dip.
Deviled eggs.
Utz potato chips and pina coladas.
The Guests Having Fun, lol.
Me, as Joan
Heather :-)
Me!
My Dad as Roger
My Dad as Pete
Dan and I <3
My Dad as Don Draper!
Heather!
Everyone watching the premiere! Yay!
Draping!
Me!
Heather
Heather photo-bombing my Dad's #draping photo, lol.
My Dad
My Mom
Dan
Even the cat got in on it, haha!
A Video Tour of the Ad Room! :-)
Comments are nice, so leave one! (Please and thank you!)
So New Year's 2012 is almost here and like most people, I have a small list of things I would like to have happen next year. Unlike most people, some of things I have included on my list aren't exactly resolutions... just things I kinda want to get done. My list so far, in not particular order:
I mean seriously, this wallpaper is just not pretty. :-\
Get an awesome job.
Write a new song.
Actually play guitar more than a couple times a month.
Finish watching Farscape and Legend of the Seeker.
Lose even more weight (Doing well so far on this one!)
Complete at least a couple of my many unfinished video games. (Especially since I started yet another one... *sigh*)
Start drawing on a regular basis again. (Already got a head start on this one!)
Buy a car. (The awesome job might help with this, haha)
Put some money BACK INTO my savings. (Hello awesome job? Can you hear me?)
Spruce up my house... for example, get rid of the ugly-ass wallpaper in my living room. *blech*
Find a way to put my degree in computer science to use. (Like with an awesome job of some kind...)
So yeah, that's my list so far.
Other that the list making, I have been preparing for the hopefully-super-fun New Year's Eve shindig my boyfriend and I will be throwing at our place. Food, movies, music, and video games... fun, right? But in the typical crazy Shantelle fashion, I decided to make a turkey dinner for our party. An 18 pound turkey. With potatoes, stuffing, cranberry sauce... yeah, you get the idea. Half of me is saying, "WTF ARE YOU THINKING!?", while the other half is saying, "Mmm... turkey.... *insert Homer Simpson gurgling sounds here*." It should be fun though, even if I went a little overboard. I'm pretty excited for the most part, haha.
Well, that's all I have to ramble about for now. Until next time!
Comments and/or questions are always appreciated, so please feel free to leave me something!
And as always, thanks for reading! (^_^)
So my friends and I had a pretty awesome weekend. We have been planing this Harry Potter weekend for the past couple months or so, and we were SUPER excited that it was finally here. And I have to say, it did not disappoint! On Friday, my friend Heather and I made Harry Potter themed decorations to put up around my house. Then Friday/Saturday we made all sorts of Harry Potter themed food and drinks. All of this lead up to our two day Harry Potter DVD watching event on Saturday and Sunday! I swear, I felt like a little kid on Christmas waiting for Heather and my friend Ashley to show up, haha.
We ended up watching movies 5-8 only... and then it because Battlestar Galactica Weekend, which looking back is kind of funny considering the change from a series of kid-friendly movies to... well, a not so kid-friendly sci-fi show. But either way we had a fantastically fun and geeky weekend, and that all that really matters, right? Right?! haha.
So anywho, we took some photos of our HP decorations and food, so here they are!
Why yes, the Whomping Willow does reside in my front yard!(Sign made by Heather)
Platform nine and three-quarters sign that Heather made for my front door.
My living room, with the banners Heather and I made, and also Heather's Sorting Hat!
Leaky Cauldron sign that I made for the kitchen.
Pumpkin juice!! It was actually really yummy, and I am not a huge fan of pumpkin.
Tiny caldrons filled with "Berty Bott's Every Flavor Jelly Beans." (Actually, just Jelly Belly jelly beans, lol)
