A Party in a Jiffy

Due to my husband's unpredictable and frustrating work schedule that calls him in all hours through the day/night, we were unsure as to whether or not we could have a formal birthday party for our soon to be one year old.  If we did have a party, depending on hours, I wasn't sure if it would be a breakfast or bedtime snack function.  Thus, I didn't want to purchase food or supplies in case it wasn't what we needed.  24 hours before my son's birthday, we received word that my husband would not have to work all day long.  Wahoo!  Why not have a party then?! Which meant the challenge was on-throw a quick little gathering without major shopping or preparation for 12.

First things first, decorations.  I just checked what we had for fall decor.  Pumpkins, napkins, towels.  Perfect.

Next off, centerpieces.  Black eyed susans in bloom.  We had indian corn and fresh squash.  The table cloth is quilting fabric spread out.

My husband wanted streamers.  More quilting fabric in coordinating fabrics draped over our arbor.  Check. As a bonus surprise, my brother won this awesome live carnation  pumpkin ball at a triathlon, which I love.

Use fabric and ribbon to quickly wrap gifts.  Check.

Check the freezer.  There's two loaves of homemade bread.  What can we make with bread?

BLTs.  Had turkey and veggie bacon.  Pick up fresh lettuce from the farm stand.  Pick tomatoes from the garden.  Done.

Adding the toaster outside meant no work for us.

We have tomato, cucumber and basil in the garden.  A quick salad with a homemade maple balsamic marinate (must blog recipe).

Had one last zucchini from the garden.  Zucchini bread (must blog recipe).  Check.  Throw in a bag of chips and we have a meal.

But, we can't forget cake. What's a party without cake?  I made a double batch of banana cake, with cream cheese frosting.  Using different size circular pans, I came up with these bears.

I must say this little impromptu shindig turned out great!  Stay tuned...on Wednesday, I'll post pictures highlights from the day.