Surprise Party for Maggie

I am REALLY excited about this blog post for a couple of reasons.

First this party was just SO much fun to do! Second it's going to be the best looking post ever because I did not take the pictures! My talented sis in law Alexia did! Check out her blog.

Okay back to the party! So our friend Maggie is turning 4o. Her husband, Grant, wanted to throw a big surprise bash for her. So he called her trusted friend Jeanie (who happens to be my cousin...see where this is going?) to be the brains of the operation. This is a cool hair flingy shot of Jeanie, work it girl!

So we talked and planned it all out... see the plan

CRAZY anal I know... I'm used to that word, it doesn't hurt anymore.

We had another friend of Maggie's DRAG her out of the house for some much needed

girl time. As soon as "the coast was clear" we hurried over and began setting up.

Look!

It looks just like our plan!! Pays to be anal.

We got the inspiration for the decor from a

Tomkat Studio party.

Napkins and forks.

Okay now for the food. All of the recipes will be at the end of this post.

My friend, Liz, taught us how to make spinach dip with fresh spinach. Isn't it beautiful!

Crab dip

Family favorite for as long as I can remember! My mom

makes this every Thanksgiving.

We also served a hot artichoke dip, courtesy of Paula Deen.

Chicken salad.

This is my favorite chicken salad EVER. It has rice in it, so it's great for feeding a crowd.

This is one of those great mother-in-law recipes!

Jeanie made those adorable food labels, and a lot of the food... but shhh, she doesn't know she did most of the work!

Tomato basil soup shooters with grilled cheese triangles.

My sister in law Laura is an event planner in St George UT.

She is AMAZING. A couple weeks ago she did a blog post all about

mini appe "teasers". Check out her blog for more fun ideas!

This mocktail is a strawberry sunrise slushy. It came from

a cowboy cookbook we got in South Dakota... yeehaw!

It is SOO good!

Doesn't this picture belong in a magazine? Lexi, you are amazing!

Oreo truffles... no party would be complete without them!

If you haven't tried them you must live under a rock, go here.

Again, magazine worthy right!?

Cupcakes.

These are my berry cheesecake (newly named raspberry quarter pounders)

and Everything-but-the-kitchen-sink flavors.

Both recipes can be found here.

Well, now that everything is ready

we just need our guest of honor to come back home.

NOT DECIDE TO GO OUT TO DINNER AND BE GONE ALL NIGHT!!

Cue jeopardy music, and play it for a while...

With a little nagging interception from a good husband, we FINALLY got her home.

And boy was she surprised!!

She went straight to her honey

For a big ole I-love-you-you're-the-best-husband-ever-smooch!

Then she walked into the party room...

And started

to cry

A

Lot.

I think it's fair to say she had no idea!

So there it is, a big 40th bash, for a wonderful friend!

Happy 40th Maggie, WE LOVE YOU!

Time to go home, put up my feet, and veg!

Wait!! I have to make a cake!?!?

Who's brilliant planning was this? Not the anal one...wait, yes it was.

So I stayed up til 4 am making this puppy.... er, cheetah.

Recipes

Spinach Dip

Follow the directions on the back of the Knorr spinach dip package, EXCEPT

instead of using the box of frozen spinach get a (10 oz) bag of fresh spinach.

Chop it up in a food processor along with a can of water chestnuts. Now add

the rest of the stuff the package says to.

Crab Dip

1 pkg. Cream cheese (8 oz.) softened

1/2. C. Sour Cream

1/4. C. Mayonnaise

1 pckg crab meat

1 C. Seafood Cocktail

2 C. Shredded Mozzarella Cheese

1 Green pepper

Mix together cream cheese, sour cream, mayo.

Spread on platter. Spread with cocktail sauce.

Sprinkle with grated cheese, crab and diced bell pepper.

Three Cheese Grilled Triangles

Mix together:

1 (8 oz) package cream cheese

2 t Italian seasonings

Spread on one side of bread, we used Italian bread.

Place 1 slice of cheddar cheese on top of cream cheese spread and slap

on another slice of bread.

Mix together 1/2 c softened butter, 1/4 c grated parmesean cheese and 1/4 tsp garlic salt.

Spread on both sides of sandwich and grill. Cut off crusts and cut ino triangles.

Tomato Basil Soup recipe can be found here.

Chicken Salad

Mix together and marinate overnight or 5-8 hours:

5 C Cooked Cubed Chicken

2 T Oil

2 T Orange juice

2 T Vinegar

1 t Salt

Next day add:

3 C Cooked cooled Rice

1 1/2 C Grapes cut in half

1 1/2 C Chopped Celery

1 can Pineapple tidbits

1- 11 oz can Mandarin Oranges, drained

1/2 C Slivered Almonds

1 1/2 C Mayonnaise

More mayo may need to be added if salad seems too dry.

Sunrise Strawberry Slushy

6 C water

1 lrg box strawberry Jello

1 can orange juice concentrate

1 can pineapple juice concentrate

Juice of 2 lemons (most of the time I use

about 1/2 c lemon juice concentrate)

1 1/2 C sugar

5 pureed bananas

1 20 oz can pineapple, pureed

Boil water, add Jello. Stir until Jello is dissolved. Add remaining ingredients.

Pour into 2-3 gallon size Ziploc bags and freeze for at least 24 hours. Pull out of freezer 2 hours before serving to let it start to thaw. Place contents of 1 Ziploc bag in large mixing bowl and add sprite. Use potato masher to combine and turn slushy. Repeat with other bags of mix. Serve in glasses. We topped each drink with whipped cream and a fresh strawberry.