Monday, June 14, 2010

Take Me Out to the Ball Game

Last week, I made my first trip to the new Twins stadium to watch the hometown team take on the Kansas City Royals. Truth be told, I'm not much of a baseball fan, but even I must admit that after visiting the new stadium, I have Twins fever. Target Field is gorgeous!

Some stadium accessories outside Target Field.

A view just inside the gate and above our seats.
Here's a shot of the field from section 138 (the overhang!).
I stopped dead in my tracks when I caught a glimpse of all these mass transit options while walking around the stadium. Look out world, MSP is making public transportation progress!
Ooooh, pretty! Gotta love the skyline view.
More of the actual game.
My hot dog! I asked for light onion but ended up with quite a bit. Quite tasty after scraping half of it off though.
Ah, fireworks to celebrate the win!
It's official. Outdoor baseball in downtown Minneapolis is killer. Go now.

P.S. since I'm talking sports, go Celtics :)

Friday, June 4, 2010

Party Planning Skills: Baby Shower

I recently co-hosted a baby shower for a friend who's having a baby this summer. It turned out so cute that I thought I'd share a couple of photos to show off our fabulous party planning skills :)
First shot of the food. We served sandwiches, chips, veggies, pasta salad, fruit salad, deviled eggs, lemonade and iced tea.
Second shot of the spread. We had a garden theme - with yellow, orange and green as the main colors - since our friend has a bit of a green thumb. You'll notice the marigolds that one of my co-hosts planted and we gave away as favors for the guests.
And here's the dirt cake trifle that she also made. Yes, it was heavenly.
Here's the fruit salad freshly prepared at home. Growing up, I never really cared much for fruit salad because it was always made with whipped cream and canned fruit cocktail. Since I was in charge of this fruit salad, I used only fruits I like (which meant no pesky cantaloupe or honeydew!). Strawberries, red grapes and pineapple. I also threw in some drained mandarin oranges for added variety. I let it sit in the fridge overnight, and it was quite delicious the next day.
And here are my deviled eggs. So simple but fantastic every time.
I was also in charge of games and prizes. We played the memory game with a tray filled with baby items that everyone has two minutes to look at and then write down as many items as they can remember, and then a celebrity baby name trivia game. The game, which I pulled off of About.com had some lesser known celebrity babies, so it was a nice challenge for the guests.

The two prizes pictured wrapped above were a "Girl's Night" fragrance gift set from Victoria's Secret (which I've come to think of as my favorite little gift this spring) and an eco journal and garden-themed wall plaque from Bibelot.
The last thing I want to showcase is this beautiful floral arrangement my other co-host put together. She also made adorable orange and yellow shower invitations. Watch out Martha Stewart!

All in all, a great little party :)

Deviled Eggs Recipe
One dozen eggs
Mayonnaise to taste
Paprika to taste
Salt and Pepper to taste

Boil eggs in large saucepan (let sit overnight to cool if timing allows). Peel eggs and cut in half. Scoop yolk into medium bowl. Display eggs on platter. Combine and stir mayonnaise and salt and pepper with yolk. Fill eggs with yolk mixture. Sprinkle with paprika. Fini!