Clothes Swap Party

One woman's ratty handbag is another woman's new purse for Fall.  And that is the reason why I decided to host a Clothes Swap party.  My friend had hosted one a few months ago and it was a great success- we all ended up with some great new pieces and the rejected garments went to charity.  So last Saturday night, the boy and the cats were confined to the bedroom, and the girls came over to shop from each other's wardrobes.  Something that I was very proud of was that I brought out my apron and did some cooking for the party (and those of you who know me will be in shock and awe at this revelation!)

First up- the Decoration!

This involved a solid day of cleaning (I am not known to be a neat freak in any capacity) as well as some inventive decor.




British Fashion magazines courtesy of my Mum

 

Harvest gourds; Indian Corn and Sunflowers for the food table

 Next up- the Food!
I conducted some preliminary research on party food and then whipped up some fun dishes such as Sweet Pepper Poppers (off the TGIF menu) and Cucumber.

Sweet Pepper Poppers

Prep 25 minutes, Bake 20 minutes
Makes about 50 poppers

Ingredients:
Olive oil no-stick cooking spray, Pam®
2 pints baby red, yellow, and orange bell peppers and/or jalapeño chile peppers
1 package (8-ounce) cream cheese, softened,Philadelphia®
1 cup shredded pepper-Jack cheese (4 ounces), Tillamook®
2 green onions, finely chopped
1 cup fresh chunky salsa

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Lightly coat a baking sheet with cooking spray. Set aside.
 Let stand for 30 minutes.



2. Cut each pepper lengthwise through stem. Using a spoon, scrape out seeds and veins. Set aside.




3.  In a medium bowl, stir together cream cheese, shredded cheese, and green onions.




4. Fill hollowed-out peppers with cheese mixture. Place peppers on a baking sheet. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until heated through.





5.  Once cooked, top each pepper with a spoonful of the fresh salsa.


Salmon-Cucumber Hors D'oeuvres

Prep 20 minutes.  Makes about 2 dozen.

Ingredients:
2 English Cucumbers
Herb and Garlic Cream Cheese,  Philadelphia®
Smoked Salmon
Fresh Dill

 

1.  Peel the English Cucumbers





2.  Cut the peeled cucumbers into thick slices and scoop out the centre with a melon ball scooper (I used a teaspoon)





3.  Top the cucumbers with a teaspoon of cream cheese, a slice of smoked salmon and a sprig of fresh dill



Mint Chocolate Gluten-free Cupcakes from 5 Cupcakes in Ottawa and Apple Cinnamon Streusels



Can't forget- the Drinks!

I made a 'Celebrity Punch' that was dangerously delicious and I bought a cheap-o Chenin Blanc for the girls (although perhaps due to the copious amounts of punch consumed- we accidentally drank the expensive Chenin Blanc my boyfriend had bought- luckily he doesn't hold grudges!)

Celebrity Punch

Ingredients:

6 Lemon slice 

6 Orange slices 

2 750-ml. bottles Ginger Ale  or one 2 litre bottle

2 cups orange juice 

10 oz.  gin

10 oz.  rum 

1 l. grape juice 

Small jar maraschino cherries 

Mixing instructions:

Pour chilled spirits and fruit juices into punch bowl with large cake of ice and stir well. Gently stir in ginger ale and jar of cherries, including juice. Garnish with fruit slices. Makes about 40 4-oz. servings.

Party Favours - Grownup Goody Bags!

Don't you remember how you used to get goody bags after each kid's Birthday Party you went to? These were my favourite part of the parties so I thought I would make grownup goody bags for my guests! I bought jewellery on sale from Smart Set ($1-$2/piece); Ring Pops (the edible jewellery) and Kisses from Bulkbarn decorated with personalized stickers from Wrappers Uniquely Yours (cute idea but not worth the price) and Pink takeaway Chinese boxes from Chinatown decorated with fashion pins from Chapters.  Oh yeah- and after all this effort I forgot to give everyone their goody bag when they left- doh!





And most importantly- the Clothes!

I cleared out numerous pieces of rejected clothing from my wardrobe and the ladies brought some great pieces from their closets.  At the end of the swap we ended up with 2 industrial sized garbage bags of clothing to give to a local women's shelter! (I will be wearing my new clothing items sporatically throughout my blog posts so stay tuned!)