Tuesday, February 9, 2016

Whereabouts {Birthdays & Football}

Did everyone enjoy their weekends?  The Super Bowl?  I sure did, hence the silence around here yesterday.  We hosted for the Super Bowl and had far too much fun, stayed up way later than I usually do on a Sunday night (I'm usually hopping into bed around 9 to recover from weekend fun), ate all the good football food, etc.  This weekend was all about birthdays and football for us.


Mom's Birthday:
We kicked off the weekend a little bit early last week and all got together to celebrate my mom's birthday.  She does so much for us so we love a good excuse to celebrate her.  We met up at our favorite italian restaurant for huge food portions and lots of chatter and catching up.  We each pick what dessert we want for our birthday - usually some type of cake but this year mom decided she wanted ice cream sundaes so we had a sundae bar set up while she opened presents.  Great night together.


D.C. & Birthday Brunching:
The birthday celebrations continued over the weekend and we headed down to DC to celebrate one of our best friends, Ashley's birthday.  Derek and I got down in the morning just in time to head to brunch at Local 16 with a big group of friends.  This wasn't our first time brunching there as they have great food and bottomless mimosas/bellinis/bloody marys/pomegranate mimosas and some beer.  We lucked out with seats on the rooftop with heaters to keep us warm of course.



We kept the celebrations going with some bar hopping around.  Also, if you're local to DC, one of our best friends, Dom is the founder of an app called Absorb DC.  It will tell you the best happy hours & deals in town each day and plus their instagram page shares the most delicious treats around DC - check them out!


Super Bowl 50:
We made sure not to stay in DC too late on Sunday so we could get back, rest up and host a gathering for the Super Bowl on Sunday night.  Everyone came over around 5:00 to start the festivities and right around game time we had plenty of apps {chili dip, poppers, sweet & sour kielbasa bites, buffalo wings and a nacho bar} and cocktails to sip.


Before kick off started we set each of the dogs up to pick a winner.  We'd done it a couple years back with our family dog, Nash but this was Stella's first time to join in.  We put a treat in front of each the Broncos and Pathers logo to see which they'd pick.  Nash went first and went right for the Broncos.  Stella was up next and went right to the Panthers, but she made sure to eat the treat in front of the Broncos after.  It was funny how each was so certain.


It was nice to have the food prep out of the way to actually be able to enjoy the game.  Meatballs were slow cooking for the main course and we served them up around half time with some potato skins and caesar salad skewers.  No party is complete without dessert and I couldn't say no to a smaller football cake I saw at the grocery store.


Quick & Easy Recipes:
I hadn't searched Pinterest for football foods since Penn State's season ended and found plenty of new good ones - most I have to save for next season {buffalo wings won out over buffalo meatballs} but I slipped a couple in for the game.  A couple are literally so easy that I figured I'd just throw them in today - the rest will be coming later…

Chili Dip:
Ingredients: one block cream cheese (low fat), 1 can hormel chili - without beans, shredded cheddar cheese
Directions: spread the softened cream cheese in the bottom of a dip, evenly spread chili on top then lightly sprinkled with shredded cheese (I used much less cheese than needed and it was delicious that way).

Sweet & Sour kielbasa Bites:
Ingredients: kielbasa, 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1/2 cup sweet BBQ sauce
Directions: cut the kielbasa into slices (I prefer thin) then place everything into the crockpot (on low) or oven (about 300 degrees) for about 1 1/2 to two hours.  Cook at 350 degrees for about 10-15 minutes.



33 comments:

  1. Jam packed weekend for sure - but so much fun!! I would be recovering yesterday too from all the fun!! xo, Biana -BlovedBoston

    ReplyDelete
  2. Wow you definitely were super busy the whole weekend! Glad you got to celebrate with your mom--so special! And you Super Bowl party looks delicious!
    Sarah at MeetTheShaneyfelts

    ReplyDelete
  3. I definitely can see the need to recover from that weekend - so much fun! Love how you always have framed decorations for your parties. Such an easy thing to do that adds so much.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Wow, I'm tired just thinking about all of the activities you guys have been up to. So glad that you had another successful DC trip! All of that Superbowl food looks SO yummy! And a belated Happy Birthday to your mom!!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Sounds like a great weekend!! Local 16 is one of my favorite DC spots but it's been a few years since I've been. Love the ice cream sundae bar idea!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Looks like such a wonderful weekend! All those cocktails and food look sooo good!!

    Christina :: Simple and Delish

    ReplyDelete
  7. What a great weekend! I love how you always have the perfect thing to put in a picture frame for every occasion from birthdays to Christmas to Super Bowl parties. Also, bottomless bellini? Sign me up!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Talk about a busy weekend filled with lots of celebrating! I love that your mom wanted ice cream for dessert so y'all had a sundae bar! Such a fun way to give everybody exactly what they want as toppings! DC sounds like a blast hanging it with all of your friends, and I don't know how you managed to want make it back home to host a Super Bowl party! But it looks like y'all had a blast, and that Nash is one smart cookie for choosing the Broncos!

    ReplyDelete
  9. girl now i'm hungry looking at all that food! what a spread for the big game! and how adorable are you and your mom? such twinsies :) and bottomless mimosas in DC (which i love both of those things) - sounds like an amazing weekend!

    xoxo cheshire kat

    ReplyDelete
  10. Looks like a fabulous trip and weekend lady. Local 16 is such a fun place, glad you enjoyed the DC life. We will have to grab brunch the next time you're down!

    ReplyDelete
  11. What a fun weekend! Any time bottomless mimosas are involved you know it's going to be a good weekend! :) <3, Pamela Sequins & Sea Breezes

    ReplyDelete
  12. Yum! So much good food!!! Sad for my Panthers but it was still a good time!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Looks like a pretty fantastic weekend!! Love that blush Lush top on you. Your mom is so pretty and love that sundae bar. I'm not a mimosa person, (I hate orange juice) but those look pretty good and colorful! Your Super Bowl spread also looks delicious. I'm glad that you had a fun weekend! :-)

    ReplyDelete
  14. You always have the cutest party layout! Looks like a lot of fun! Happy Tuesday :) I was recovering yesterday as well lol I'm back today though!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Some of us definitely had a football hangover yesterday! I blame the massive amounts of guacamole!

    ReplyDelete
  16. Your Super Bowl spread looks AMAZING, so much good food! Sounds like you had a great weekend!

    ReplyDelete
  17. Looks like such a fun weekend! haha my weekend recap post was late too, I blame the Super Bowl. That's so sweet that you all threw a party for your mom - it looks like a blast!

    ReplyDelete
  18. So much fun packed into one weekend - I would still be recovering! As always,looks like you had a blast. :)

    ReplyDelete
  19. What a fun weekend!! Your game day spread looks delicious!! I got a kick out of the dogs picking a winner when I saw it on Snapchat

    ReplyDelete
  20. Is it weird that I was a little worried about you when you didn't post yesterday... Glad you're back in action today! :)

    ReplyDelete
  21. Your Super Bowl set up looks amazing! Glad you had a great weekend. :)

    ReplyDelete
  22. Sounds like a fun time in DC with friends. Those mimosas look delicious! And you guys went big for the super bowl with an amazing spread. I want to try out the sweet & sour kielbasa bites recipe.

    ReplyDelete
  23. wow, you totally killed the super bowl hosting! i served... wait for it... pizza. hahaha. it was a last minute thing and i was busy all day, so .. nope. ice cream sundaes?! that looks amazing. i need that for my birthday.

    ReplyDelete
  24. You guys certainly had a busy weekend!

    That is so funny that you guys had the dogs pick who was going to win. I need to try this next year with our dog and my parents' dog. So cute!

    ReplyDelete
  25. Bottomless mimosa's are always a good idea ;) All of your food looks amazing - I'm officially hungry now! Glad you had a great weekend and happy belated birthday to your mom!! She looks fabulous!

    ReplyDelete
  26. Your weekend looked like my weekend - birthdays and football! Not his better than great food and company!
    Kate :: A Little NW Charm

    ReplyDelete
  27. Love the idea of an ice cream sundae bar: so cute! :) And of course, those bottomless mimosas look and sound delicious!

    ReplyDelete
  28. I have been loving all your snaps recently - all the food, yum! Your mom's party looks like so much fun :) I'm so sad that the Panthers lost (and Stella was wrong) haha!

    ReplyDelete
  29. This all just looks like too much fun! Love that ice cream sundae bar!!!

    ReplyDelete
  30. I make a chili dip just like that, but I spread salsa on top of the chili then add the chese and microwave it for 5 minutes or so to melt the cheese. Your football decor is so cute!

    ReplyDelete
  31. Happy birthday to your mom!! It looks like you all had a blast doing all the celebrating this weekend!! That ice cream sundae bar is totally awesome! LOVE it!! The football cake came out so good!!

    ReplyDelete
  32. Looks like a great weekend! Happy birthday to your mom!!

    ReplyDelete
  33. Looks like a FUN weekend!!! I LOVE how you framed the pics of the footballs for the party - so CHIC and festive! And your momma's birthday - so sweet!!! Happy Birthday to her!

    ReplyDelete