Pumpkin Crazy!

With fall in the air, it's the perfect time to add some pumpkins to your tailgate! Place some pumpkin crafts on your table, and serve some yummy pumpkin spiced treats!

Here's one of the dryer vent pumpkins I made. A Diamond in the Stuff has a great post on how to make these super easy pumpkins. They only cost about $4.00 to make!

Another easy trick is using a pumpkin as a flower pot. Just carve the inside of the pumpkin out, and place the flowers in the pumpkin. You can even leave your flowers in the plastic pot so you can reuse them after you're done with the pumpkin.

 Unfortunately the Grove does not have an open container policy, but you could always use this cute pumpkin ice bucket idea for your Watch Party at home!

 Add some mini pumpkins to your flower arrangement! This would be really cute with cotton stalks.

Paint some pumpkins! These Ole Miss pumpkins are adorable and perfect for the Grove.

I love these scarecrow/snowmen pumpkins! Be creative and turn one into Colonel Reb! 

 Carve out a pumpkin and use it as a serving dish. Perfect for chips or dip!

This fall Chex-Mix is a great snack for the Grove. Serve it in a cute cupcake liner!

These White Chocolate Pumpkin Blondies are amazing! I made them last year and fell in love. A little hint... and some more pumpkin spice to the recipe.

 Turn cinnamon or orange rolls into Jack-O-Lanterns for a morning game!

 Chocolate Dipped Pretzels decorated like pumpkins are another great treat to add to your tailgate. Here's a tutorial on how to make them.

 If you haven't tried these pumpkin spice kisses yet, you are missing out!! DO NOT MAKE THESE COOKIES WITH SUGAR COOKIE DOUGH! Trust me, after attempting multiple methods it was a disaster. Definitely something for pinterestfail.com.

Follow this recipe from Picky Palate to ensure you're cookies turn out better than mine.

Have fun adding some pumpkin to your tailgate! Hotty Toddy!

Watch Party

If you aren't heading to Little Rock this weekend for the Ole Miss vs. Arkansas game, there's no need to leave your tailgating decor in the garage... throw a watch party!

Watch parties are a fun way to get your friends together, and still enjoy a little "tailgating" in the comfort of your own home. Hosting a watch party at your house will also let you cook some different foods that would be too hard to transport and serve in the Grove.

Recently I've been on a chili kick, and I think this is the perfect thing to serve at your watch party! Just make a big pot of chili, cornbread muffins, and set some bowls out! There are tons of recipes you can find all over the internet. My mom's chili is my favorite hands down. Here's the ingredients she uses:
1 lb. lean ground beef
1 can crushed tomatoes
1 can tomoto puree
1 tbsp chili powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 tbsp sugar
3/4 cup worcestershire sauce
1 can kidney beans
1 can pinto beans
1 can red beans
1 can mushrooms
1 chopped onion

Don't forget to decorate! Bring out your tablecloths, hang your chandelier, turn your house into a min-Grove! What are your favorite foods to serve while watching Saturday football at home? Comment and let me know! Hotty Toddy!

Ole Miss Homecoming 2012

Finally an SEC win! The Rebels broke their 16 game SEC losing streak when they defeated Auburn yesterday. What a great homecoming to be had by all the Rebel Nation! The Grove was full of alumni and fans joining in on the celebration. Here's some pictures of my set-up this weekend, and you'll spot a few of the crafts I've posted on here.

My mom sewed these awesome ruffled tablecloths and red burlap runners! I also hung some tissue paper poms for a little extra frill. 

Orange rolls, biscuit bar, and a jar of pumpkin spice kisses. If you haven't tried these seasonal Hershey treats, go buy some ASAP!

Cinnamon Bites- these were huge hit! I just bought cans of Pillsbury Cinnamon Rolls, and cut them into fourths. Then I put the fourth into a mini muffin pan and baked for about 10 mins. Put some of the icing on them and serve with some cute toothpicks from this post. You'll also notice they are served on the football field platter I posted about here. 

Here are some more tailgate treats served on my terra cotta cake stands. 

This breakfast braid was the star of the show. Find the recipe here. 

I was so proud of my Colonel Reb planter! He looked so good with the mums, and was a great addition to the table.

The chandelier really topped of the tent. I've posted some other blogs' tutorials here.

This was such a fun weekend, and I was so excited the Rebels won! I hope you all had a wonderful time in the Grove as well. Keep in mind there's 3 weeks until the next home game, so you'll have plenty of time to craft some of the fun things I've posted. Hotty Toddy!

Vaught Hemingway Platter

I found this old terra cotta flower tray in the garage one day, and decided to craft it! After scrubbing it down, I decided to turn it into something I could use in the Grove.

My inspiration for this project was this Ole Miss stadium platter below, which you can find at The Lilly Pad, the campus bookstore, and other gift shops for $55.00-$75.00. 

After a few coats of paint and a little creativity, I had a Vaught Hemingway field platter to serve my tailgate treats on! (This photo was before I applied the sealer)

I used this Patricia Nimocks sealer (available at Wal-Mart) to finish off my platter. Not only does it give the paint a nice glossy finish, it also helps protect the platter from food. 

To add a little extra, I used some straws, hot glue, and yellow paint to make goal posts.

This project only cost me about $5 for the sealer! If you don't have a clay platter laying around, you can get one from Wal-Mart for about $4.00. Super easy and cute!

Hotty Toddy!

Bow Tie Labels (Freebies!)

I shared some food label printables with you in a previous post, but I stumbled upon these cute bow tie label cards on Southern Wedding's blog and decided to put my own "Grove" spin on them. They turned out so cute I just had to share them with you!

First I Google Image searched "Red and Blue Bow Ties" and found The Perfect Necktie website. I searched through their red and blue bow tie sections, and found some bow ties that I liked. A few copy and pastes into a word document later, add in some text boxes (with fun fonts thanks to DaFont), and you have some cute labels for your tailgate treats!

I just printed out the bow ties on my computer, laminated and cut them out. If you go to this link you can download the word document I created and enter your text in, like the picture below!

Then using some hot glue I glued the bow ties onto clothespins.

Now you can clip the clothespins onto your terra cotta cake stands, serving platters, or whatever else you'd like!

I clipped a few onto my stacking plate holder, mentioned in my Dollar Store Deals post. 

All together, this project costs about maybe $5.00 tops (for clothespins and hot glue). These labels are great for adding a little decoration, and they also help your tent goers know what yummy treats they are about to devour! 

Have fun crafting and Hotty Toddy!

Dollar Store Deals

In the words of Honey Boo Boo, "a dollar makes me holla!" Believe it or not you can make your tent look just as elegant and expensive as the most beautiful tents in the Grove by shopping at dollar stores. Yes, you read that correctly, I said dollar stores.

After yesterday's game, I needed a little retail therapy. But being Sunday most stores were closed, so I made a trip to Oxford's Dollar Tree Store, "Where Everything is $1.00!" Dollar Tree has some great basic party supplies and other crafty items that you can use in your tailgate. Here are a few things I found... and trust me, when you see them in my tent this Saturday, no one will believe I got them at the dollar store!

This faux silver plate is great! It's is nickel-plated, so it doesn't feel plasticy. It even has a design etched into the plate, so it really looks like a vintage silver platter. And guess what... it was only a dollar!

I got this stacking plate holder at an antique store for $5.00. I added three of the faux silver plates from Dollar Tree, and voila it looks like the other expensive silver serving trays seen throughout the Grove.

Dollar Store carries these Nickel-Plated Trays in a variety of shapes and sizes. 

I also found these great "Silver Look" plastic forks, knives, and spoons. They are thicker than the average plastic cutlery you buy, and they look very much like real silverware. This cutlery comes in sets of 12, and the best part... it's only a dollar!

You can use ribbon almost anywhere in your tailgate. Tie a ribbon around a flower pot, add bows to a drink bucket, the options are endless. I found this red and blue grosgrain ribbon in the craft isle with the fake flowers. Each roll has 5 yards for only a dollar! I don't even think Wal-Mart can beat that deal. 

Check out that receipt! I got all this stuff for my Grove tent for only $8.56! So run out to your local dollar store and see what awesome things you can find!

WARNING: Dollar stores sometimes tend to be a bit unorganized, so be prepared to dig through the isles to find the good stuff! Hotty Toddy!

Some Final Add-Ons

Adding some paper printables or flags can be an easy way to add some extra frill to your Grove table. Check out my older post with some FREE Ole Miss cupcake toppers and printables. You can also download these cute prints from Ole Miss News for free! Just grab an old frame and print them out!

Everyone has some scrapbook paper laying around. Grab some red and blue and make these cute little flags! Just cut out the triangle shapes and use double-sided tape to tape them around a toothpick!

You can put these flags on almost any sort of tailgate appetizer. Here is an Arkansas fan's table, where they used all sorts of flags to decorate!

You can cut your flags in a variety of shapes. Here are some good ideas!

Hope everyone has a wonderful time in the Grove and at the game tomorrow.

 Let's beat those Aggies! Hotty Toddy!