recommendation: pottery barn design studio

I was furniture shopping (for our new house!!) online recently and stumbled upon this great resource that I wanted to share - Pottery Barn Design Studio. Besides having great inspirations for room designs, they have a whole section on their site that outlines the steps to planning a great party and includes templates for invites, favor ideas, and even playlists! There are such great ideas on this site on how to set up the table, what things to include and even themes - great for supper clubs! I want to be invited to a Comfort Food Party, sounds kinda amazingly delicious.

I absolutely love pottery barn and the style of the store. I do not adore their prices but think buying SOME key pieces from there are worth it. I've been constantly referring to Pottery Barn & Crate and Barrel for style and decorating ideas and then have been on the hunt to find my own! My mother-in-law and I went to a complimentary

one-hour class this past weekend at Pottery Barn called "How to Decorate your Home for Autumn." They used different decorating pieces - mercury glass candle sticks, flameless candles, wooden pumpkins, terra cotta vases, wooden trays, faux leaves, acorns, branches, etc., to show how you can dress up a sofa table or sideboard in different ways. We got some great ideas! I've always enjoyed window shopping there, it was fun to get inside the store before they opened and get ideas on how to do it myself! Here is where I'm going to look to recreate some of their looks: Home Goods, TJMaxx, Marshalls, Target, Walmart, Michaels, Bed Bath & Beyond and Kmart. Let me know if I'm forgetting any others.

I'll let you know how my fall decorations turn out!!

recommendation: hot ham & cheese sandwiches

In preparation for a big game two weekends ago (University of Michigan's first night game!), my mom was menu planning for a pre-game lunch/dinner at my parents house. She needed to find a main course that would accommodate people eating at different time intervals as we all had different afternoon plans but all needed to fuel up before tailgating and drinking. She decided on her trusty ham & cheese sandwiches. These sandwiches have been a staple in my childhood and I now make them as an adult when I need any easy make-ahead dinner. I didn't think much of the recipe until I saw a blog post about them being used for a baby shower lunch and got jealous and wanted to lay claim to them too! I have this recipe too! I eat these too! Why is that we always feel so territorial about great ideas when it wasn't even us who invented them? But I guess that is why I have this blog - to recommend the good ideas I find myself or through others.

So here are some perks of these sandwiches
- they are super easy to make, quick recipe
- individually wrapped so you can throw a few in the oven as needed
- easy to change up - when I was little my mom made a mustard-less version for me. This weekend she made a meat-less version for my sister (instead of ham, we put tri-color pepper rings so it was similar to a cheesesteak hogie, minus the steak). You can also swap the swiss for something more adventurous - gouda? brie?

This blog post uses mayo (i think that part is unnecessary) and served them at a baby shower. I think her buns look great (I normally use plain hamburger buns). They are great for a sporting event or birthday party and are also pretty inexpensive!

Here is my mom/grandma's recipe:
Hot Ham & Cheese Sandwiches
1/4 # butter (# = pound!)
1/4 tsp worcestershire sauce
3 TBSP prepared yellow mustard
1 small onion, chopped
1 # shaved ham
3/4 # shaved swiss cheese

Soften butter, mix in worcestershire sauce, yellow mustard, onion. Spread this mixture onto hamburger buns. Add ham & Cheese. Wrap in foil, bake 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Makes 8-12 buns depending on size of bun and how much ham & cheese you pile on.

*I use I can't believe its not butter b/c its already soft. Also I Don't measure, just eyeball everything. Lastly, I use reduced fat swiss and have them shave the swiss & ham verrrrry thin, so its falling apart (yes, the cheese too).

Enjoy!