Spoon microphone

Sunday's Super Souper Bowl was a blast, and I tried to get some interviews with some of the contestants. I had been drinking a bit by the time these interviews started, and it shows: I accidentally stumble over my words and call my blog the Marsha Initiative. 

Which is weird, because I don't even know a Marsha.

But using a ladle as a microphone?  That just makes sense.

The background is kind of loud (there were eight kids, six of whom are under the age of 5) and I hadn't warned anyone about doing the on-camera interviews, but I think that only improves the content. Enjoy!

Manda Monday--The 2nd Annual Super Souper Bowl

The 2nd Annual Super Souper Bowl was a huge success and a ton of fun!  We had five entries and everyone had a great time.  Three of the entries were from new competitors...if this keeps up, I might have to get a bigger kitchen island in a few years!

Entries included a traditional chili, a pork chili with ditalini, jambalaya and bacon-infused potato soup.  All were delicious, but this was the winner:

We provided appetizers, drinks and desserts for our guests.  Here's the dessert table:

I made dipped pretzels, cupcakes, cookies and a pretzel-jello dessert not shown because it was in the fridge. And I have to admit, the eclairs are store-bought.  It happens sometimes.

These cookies, however, were not:

Decorated sugar cookies are always a hit, and these are quickly becoming a family project.  The kids and I make the dough, the Big Guy rolls it out, the kids do (most of) the cutting, I bake everything, and then the Big Guy and I decorate the cookies.  My plan is to withdraw bit by bit from this process over the next few years, so eventually I'll be able to supervise from the couch while eating bon-bons and reading magazines.  And maybe napping.  Good times!

I hope everyone had a great Sunday afternoon/evening, whether it involved watching TV or not.

A trophy for the Titan of the Tureen

Our Second Annual Super Souper Bowl Party is right around the corner.  There's still a lot to be done (clean the house, rearrange furniture, make all the appetizers, bake desserts, stop the kids from destroying the house that I will have just finished cleaning, etc.) but I am totally ready with the trophy.

For those new to the blog, our Super Souper Bowl party is a contest: guests bring their prized chili, soup, or stew, everyone samples the fare, and we vote on our favorite.  The winner takes home a totally awesome trophy and bragging rights for the year. Last year's winner Michelle won with her version of Paula Deen's taco soup:

Just like last year, this year's trophy is hand-made from bits and pieces I found at a local resale shop.  The candlestick was $1.50 and the bowl was $0.90. Unbeknownst to me, both were half-off, so the cost for the materials was only $1.10. Score!

After cleaning both pieces, I used a hot glue gun to adhere the bowl to the candlestick.  Easy!  Side note: I love my glue gun but rarely use it. I need to find more opportunities to glue stuff together.

Once the glue was dry, I spray painted the whole thing gold.  It's gorgeous! Truly, this is a chalice worthy of a Queen of the Crockpot.  Or Titan of the Tureen.  Or King of the Cook-Off. 

Whatever we call the champ, and whoever that person may be, I think we all know who the real winner is:  ME.  Because people are bringing food to my house.  So that I can eat it. And award this awesome trophy. Score!

Valentine's Day inspiration

Valentine's Day sneaks up on me every year and I'm not sure how it manages to do that, being as it comes with chocolates and flowers (two things that really grab my attention!). 

Maybe I don't notice right away because it's still winter, or maybe because Valentine's Day is on the heels of the Super Bowl (which is a really big deal in my house)? For whatever reason, I haven't done too much with Valentine's Day.  However, now that the Little Guy is in preschool and has to give Valentines to his friends, Valentine's Day has become a BIG DEAL in the TMI household. 

Being a Martha Stewart enthusiast, I want to make some homemade Valentines for my kids' classrooms rather than picking up a box of ready-made cards at the store.  It just makes sense to me that for a holiday revolving around love and friendship, tokens of such should be handmade.  Fortunately, I'm finding a lot of great Valentine ideas on Pinterest.

With all these great ideas, I'm set for classroom Valentines for Little Guy and Little Miss for the next 10 years or so.  I am constantly amazed by the wonderful crafts and fun ideas I've found on Pinterest.  Take a look at my Valentine's Day board, and you will be, too!

Free football party printable round-up

Whew! What a mouthful! But that's exactly what I have today.  The Big Guy and I are hosting our Second Annual Super Souper Bowl, and I've been perusing my favorite party sites for free printables.  I'm finding some great stuff, and I want to share it with you!

The Big Game Bash collection from Hostess With The Mostess is awesome!  I really like the football player silhouettes and the buffet labels. 

Kim from the Celebration Shoppe has designed a great collection specifically for the Giants-Patriots Super Bowl game.  In addition to the team specific colors, she includes a football field mat and chevron grass mat for fun displays.

Catch My Party is showcasing another great collection of personalized printables from 9 to 5 Mom that is also team-specific.  The cupcake toppers and Touchdown banner are awesome!

I can't believe our Super Souper Bowl party is less than a week away! I need to get printing, pronto. 

Small confession: I don't even care about football. I'm just in this for the food and the commercials.

Happy printing! And thanks to all the bloggers and designers who create and provide free printables for party animals like me--your work is amazing!