Getting Ready for the Par-tay!

While the kids were at school, Matt and I were busy turning the house into an autumnal cookie paradise.  (Really that’s just fancy for saying “clean and picked up.”)

All the decorations were inspired by the invitation, which the wonderful Amy Beasley created:

Here’s my cookie table:

I found some ribbon in the perfect colors (and splurged on it) to wrap around the cookie containers.  I mostly used what I had for the containers (jars, vases, cake stand), but I also bought three jars that I knew I’d be able to use to store other ingredients and baked goods once the party was over.  I’m going to link to all the cookie recipes online.  You can just click the name of the cookie and it will take you there!

Pictured above are the white chocolate pumpkin spice cookies, peanut butter cookies (from the BHG cookbook), and Oreos (from Nabisco).

There were oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, peanut butter cookies with Hershey kisses, and no bake cookies.

And there were Sugar cookies, Snickerdoodles, and Chocolate Chip cookies.  Yummy!

Just for kicks, I included an ingredients list on the cookie labels.  I pretty much made the recipes as they are on the links, except I always subbed freshly ground whole wheat flour for all-purpose flour, and I used sucanat or turbinado for the white sugar.  And I hope it goes without saying that I would never ever ever ever use margarine.  Ever.

My mom picked up some colorful flowers to use in the décor.  I also used some pumpkins (which I plan to bake soon!) and gourds.

Amy also designed some labels for our “milk bottles” (Starbucks Frappuccino bottles).

I ordered some paper straws from Etsy in the same orange and green.

I put some ingredients in jars just for fun (sucanat, chocolate chips, wheat berries).

I printed some of our pumpkin patch pictures to hang up.

I covered the door out to the laundry room with pretty paper and put 13 pictures of James up – one for each month plus the day he was born.  I stole this idea from Amy; she always does that for her girls’ birthdays on their office door.  I love it!

More labels for the milk…

And the homemade chocolate syrup.  This stuff is good.  :)

Some yummy snacks…

A basket of napkins, which almost no one used.  My mom says people were scared of them?

I made some pom poms, which are still up.  I think they’re pretty.  :)

Dinner:  sandwiches, veggies, and fruit.  Light and yummy!

Peanut butter and homemade peach jam – yum!

I was very excited that it was, for the most part, a pretty “green” party.  There really was nothing to generate trash.  That made me happy.  :)