VVDDP - 2015 Edition

Our annual couples gathering for February had to be rescheduled to this past weekend due to weather.  We were thrilled that all the couples were still able to make it in March and the day couldn't have been more beautiful outside!  We kept the menu simpler as our focus was more on spending time with friends.   The table decor was spring like as well!

There will be a follow-up post with all the recipes 

and links to where  I found them. I have to admit this year was simpler but was not without taste! I have found a go to chicken recipe for the grill I know we will make again!  

My favorite part of the gathering was the games.  Our friends DD and JD did a GREAT job of preparing a super game (s)!  I won't share all the photos but I will tell you we were all laughing having quite the time!  I now have a few games to do at future other gatherings!

It was such a nice day that a couple of our guests drove their beautiful vehicles.
So we took our annual group photo with them!

I want to talk about the games for just a moment. 
 It was like the game Minute to Win It. 
 Did I mention how much fun it was?  
We did several different ones.  
Here's a little information on each.

One used conversation candy hearts, while another 
used candy corn and a paper plate.  
How about pasta and spaghetti!

Oh and the one with all our hot air!
My sister won this round!

I think my sister cheated, she used the end of the counter!

Then there was the one where 
the guys used pantyhose and pennies! 
 The guys had to wrap us girls in crepe paper too. 
 Those photos are hilarious 
but I better not post them, my friends 
might not come next year!

And the only reason I am allowed to show 
this next photo is because my husband was the 
winner of this round!  
Yep, he's got talent! 
He can get a cookie from his forehead 
to his mouth without using his hands!

The couple that won with the most points was MG & LG.  They have been married for 24 years, but this game it took skills, not years! Apparently they had the best and their prize was awesome from DD & JD!  A Gratitude Smash Book!  

We all got little prizes, which ours was a piggy bank that had LOVE BANK on the backside! :) 

Thanks again to DD and JD for their fabulous game and prizes!

Our menu for the gathering is below.  

My sister and her husband brought an assortment of cheese, grapes, and crackers for us to munch on.  I had some mushrooms I needed to get used up as we were heading out of town the next day, 
so I whipped up my recipe for stuff mushrooms!

Beer Cheese Soup
Herbed Chicken Cutlets with Mustard Sauce
Parmesan-Lemon Roasted Broccoli
Chocolate Italian Love Cake
Strawberry Yogurt Pie

Milton & I were very pleased with the meal.  It was good tasting, healthy, and fun to prepare.  We look forward to start planning our 2016 gathering!

Be sure to look for the recipes and links to the menu items!
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Julie & Milton

VVDDP - 2014 Edition

Before I begin to tell about our annual gathering I wanted to share how much 

I love preparing and creating for these types of events. 

 If I had endless amounts of money and time I would spend it 

creating opportunities for people to join together.  

The clincher is I'd want it to be for free for them.

 (I know, I'm living in a dream world right!)

Spending the day yesterday in my kitchen was wonderful for me.  

This year I didn't have alot of time to plan and prepare like usual.  

In fact, I "winged it" and took easier routes than in past years.

It turned out lovely and it was less stressful in some aspects.

Sometimes it's ok to use "not homemade" and it still impresses.

But honestly, impressing my friends wasn't really the goal at all. 

It was about coming together. 

(and for some of them this is the only time they see one another each year)

There were conversations about Route 66, current job situations, 

family updates, old car talk, and laughter galore.

This event brought me back to the fact that I need to entertain more.
I need to not allow busy schedules and lots of time to pass before I invite others to our home.

This has my "invitation and date open" mindset on! 

Whom will be the next to come enjoy some time together!

NOW!  For your viewing, our 2014 VVDDP event!

Let's start with the table decor.  There is this great fair trade store in Lindsborg, Ks

 called CONNECTED that sells the neatest stuff!  

I found these hearts there and knew it was a must for this years gathering!

I chose one heart for each couple.

On each heart there is a word, I chose the one that I see in their relationship 

through my eyes.  They got to take their heart home with them as well!

I placed the extras with the centerpiece.

MENU

(click on the links to find the recipes from the original source)

Not the most beautiful plating, but get get the picture! :) 

Flat iron Steak (2 ways)

Garlic Brown Sugar with Chimichurri

Marinated Steak with Blue Cheese Cream Sauce

My hubs did a super job grilling. It was tender and delish!

Braised Potatoes

Yummy!

Green Bean Bacon Bundles

THESE ARE THE BEST!  Seriously, AWESOME!

Desserts 

(Cookbook Just Mini Desserts Vol. 2)

Coconut Creams

Sweet & Salty Chocolate Pizzazz

My favorite was the Coconut one. Really good!

At dinner, I usually try to keep the conversation going, although with this group it's not really needed!  I had found a conversation starter on Pinterest and decided to try it.   Before everyone arrived I gave Milton the task of finding pennies with not so close years on them.  Then we placed one at each person's plate.  We went around the table and they had to tell things about that year.

It was fun and interesting to hear about the person's life.  

Sometimes it was difficult to remember that far back for some of us! :)

This led to one of the guests wanting us to tell of one good thing from 2013!

(SEE chain reaction, isn't it awesome!)

So we went around the table and got to go back in time a short way and 

feel those great feelings once more.  Milton said this one and I said the 

Oklahoma weekend trip my hubby planned last year!

GAMES

Two years ago we began a tradition with our gathering.  We play a game and whomever wins get a prize.  The winner of the current year must organize the game and prize for the following year.

This couple won last year, so they created the game for this year!

This couple is pretty FUN and they did a GREAT job!

It was called 

"I know you by heart"

3 parts to the game

#1 - Blind fold the ladies, line the guys up, and we had to figure out 

by scent which man was our spouse. Then it was the guy's turn!

#2 - Blind fold the individual and figure out which opposite 

sex was your spouse by feeling their hands.

It was extremely difficult NOT to laugh when playing!

#3 - Then we were asked twelve question, six that pertained to the ladies, and six for the men.

Every time a couple got something correct, they got a point.  Couple with the most points won.

This couple won a FABULOUS prize!

It was a box of envelopes with date instructions, a monthly date calendar, and other items for dates.

The LOVE shadow box is for the couple to take something from each date and display it.  

The box will be full by this time next year!  I'm totally jealous they won! Watch out next year!

Good friends, Good food, Good times!

One of our usual couples wasn't able to attend! They were missed!

Thanks to our friends for such a wonderful evening!

Until next year!

Julie

10 Dates in 2013 Summary

Now that Milton & I have a good start on our goal, I figured I'd create a post. I will just update here throughout the year!

Our first date was the weekend away that you can read about here!

I am considering the second date when we had our VVDDP!

Our third date occurred this past weekend! We headed on over to our local high school  to support the after prom committee. We had a nice dinner of salad, lasagna, and chocolate .  Then Christopher Carter, a hypnotist/mentalist performed. No I did not volunteer to be hypnotized. Honestly, I wouldn't mind it at all, but I'm not doing it in front of a gym full of people from my local community! :)  We laughed a great deal and that is a wonderful thing within itself!  We spent the evening visiting with some friends from church as well, so it was a fun night all around!

Photography by PV!

I know it probably seems, wow three dates in one month! They must have alot of free time! No it just happened like that, I figure come April, Milton will be much more scarce! Farming season picks up and busy busy busy! So some of those dates could be at home dates, tractor dates, or tailgate dinners together! :)  

Stay tuned!

Thanks for stopping by!

Julie

4th date - April 2013

Ok I finally have another couple "dates" to post about!  I think in our relationship it goes in spurts, do any of you relate?  I was lucky this month because I have gotten two dates and it's only April 21st! :) The only reason we had time for the first one is because the ground was too wet to plant corn! We spent a day, which was our actual wedding anniversary together.  We headed to Wichita to do some shopping, I had this gathering the next day.  He tagged along and we were able to have lunch and spend time together.  Shopping is not Milton's favorite thing to do, but there are things about it he enjoys.  For instance when we go to a food store or kitchen utensil store, as we both like to cook, these are things we can connect on.  We had a nice lunch at Ciaos as well.

There is one other store that brings me PURE delight. We stopped in there on this day.  I have never felt this way about any other type of store, it's weird I know.  But when I walk into The Fresh Market, it brings a relaxation over me and I just enjoy being in the store.  Whether I buy anything or not, for instance on this day, we only bought croissants. When you walk in, there are beautiful flowers, lovely music playing, the produce department is immauclant, and it is just a lovely place to be.  They have a cheese department that my husband could stand and look at for hours, the meat department is like you would find in a large city I presume, and they have a dessert case...well..I won't even go there!  If I had lots of money, and it was closer than an hour away I might shop there more often.  It's just a clean, pretty, delightful experience for me.  Even if I only buy one thing, which is usually the case, as their prices are higher.  But I will say, the produce looks ALOT better than at our local department store or grocery store. They have not your common food items as well.  (This is not paid endorsement by the way, I just really like the store!:)

Date # 5  HALFWAY MARK!

You can read all about date # 5 by clicking here! It's a true celebration!

Date#6 - 5/28/13- The new Iron Man 3 has been out for a couple weeks now!  We love the Iron Man movies, I was anxious to go!  It finally worked out for us to take in a mid-day show!  We headed to Wichita, made a stop at Cabela's (he had giftcards to use!) and then lunch at Cheddars, and to the Warren Theatre!  I recommend the Dijon mushroom chicken at Cheddars, MV had it and it was DELISH! I'm getting it next time!  Good movie, glad we went and then headed home to get our little girl.  Finished the date off with her with our first trip to the Sno Cone Shack!  YUM!  I'm a cherry gal, PV is a grape, and MV he picks something different every time! :)

July 2013 - Night time combine ride on the acres we own.  Stroll down the road under the stars enjoying the peace and quiet while waiting on the grain truck to return to the field.  Best memory ever!

November 2013
We spent the entire first Saturday together! I am thinking that should be called TWO dates!  Yes we are behind! With my new job we don't see alot of each other and when we are together we usually spend it as a family!  But we got to spend the first Saturday at our first Kstate football game courtesy of our crop insurance company!  We also attended a friend's birthday party that night.  So it was a nice time all around!

VVDDP 2013 Recipes

Honey White Bread - From Eat2gather

Two Cheese Bread - From Tales of a Kansas Farm Mom

Olive Garden Salad Mix - From CopyKat Recipes ( found on Pinterest) Salad dressing purchased at Sam's Club.

Paula Deen Orange Coconut Cake - From Paula Deen Magazine

Strawberries Dipped in White Chocolate - these are pretty simple, easy, & delish! Melt chocolate, wash strawberries, dry good, and dip.  I then lay them on parchment paper and put in frig till solid!

Nonalco Punch - From Allrecipes ( this was  DELISH!)
Cherries Jubliee - From Taste of Home



The following recipes were given to me by friends.  Which are the best kind of recipes!

Gilbertini

4 cloves garlic, minced                            1 lb sausage (I used italian)
1/2 c. oleo                                              12 oz. assorted pasta, cooked & drained
1/2 c. flour                                              6 oz. shredded Mozzarella cheese
4 c. milk                                                 1/4 c. shredded cheddar cheese
1 1/2 tsp. salt                                          Parmesan cheese
dash of pepper

Saute garlic in oleo.  Add flour to make a paste.  Add milk and cook.  Stir till bubbling and thick.  Add salt and pepper.  Brown sausage and drain well. Add meat to sauce.  Add pasta.  Put in greased 2 qt. casserole.  Top with cheese. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.  Bake at 375 degrees fro 20 minutes.  Can add mushrooms and black olives if you like.


Lasagna

1- 8 oz box lasagna noodles ( I use oven ready)          

Meat sauce: 1 lb ground beef, 1/2 lb. sausage, 1 large jar spaghetti sauce
Cottage cheese mixture: 24 oz. cottage cheese, 2 eggs (beaten), 1/2 c. parmesan cheese, 1 tsp. black pepper.
8 oz mozzarella cheese slices
8 oz shredded mozzarella cheese

Use 9xl3 pan or next larger size pan.  Grease pan.

Brown beef and sausage, drain and add spaghetti sauce, simmer.
Mix together ingredients for cottage cheese mixture.
Cook noodles if not using oven ready.

Layer in pan: noodles, meat sauce, mozzarella slices, cottage cheese mixture, noodles, meat sauce, mozzarella slieces, cottage cheese mixture, meat sauce, and shredded mozzarella.

Bake for 1 hour at 350 degrees.  Let stand for 10 to 15 minutes before serving.


Enjoy!
Julie

VVDDP - 2013

Once again we had a lovely time with friends at our annual couple's gathering (VVDDP)  We mentioned it earlier here in this post! 

Check out this group of people! Aren't they the cutest! :)

At our annual gathering, there is always lots of food, laughter, and connections to be made!  Connection, I believe, is what makes not only our friendships stronger and last, 

but our marriages as well.

Throughout the evening I used my best talk show, announcer kinda voice and would say "tonight is all about revitalizing our marriages"! 

I love these people so much, they didn't even blink an eye or laugh at me at me 
(well not in front of me at least!)
Thank my Lord for good friends that let me be silly!

I mean really, what hostess makes them go around the table 
and tell one thing that they love about their spouse, IN FRONT OF OTHERS!?

ME ME ME! 

That's right!

ME ME ME!

Of course I served the food first! 
Get them all full & comfortable!

The men said lovely things about their wives and vice versa! 

There was sweetness going around like crazy! Just how I like it!

Each year we have a tradition, we play a game, and whomever wins gets a prize.  We were missing one of our favorite couples this year, but they had won last year so they supplied the prize and game anyway!  

This dynamic duo (DD & SD) won the game!

 I can't wait until next year to see their prize & game,

this is one fun couple for sure!

The prize this year had a cute little story to go 
along with items for a "date night". 

I have to say DD & JD did an excellent job in the prize department for 2013!

Thank you DD & JD!

I should probably show a few shots of the food and table settings huh?

Desserts were Orange Coconut cake and White Chocolate Strawberries!

We served two types of bread, salad, lasagna, and gilbertini!

We went with a black, white, and silver theme.  We kept it pretty simple!

Last minute I made these cute little name cards with 
a silly Dr. Seuss saying!

My mother gave me & my sisters these lovely
drink dispensers for Christmas!
I love them!

This year we took a little simpler approach to our dinner, usually we try

new recipes. We wanted to go with a easy meal, so we could enjoy the evening more.

On Saturday, my time in the kitchen was so wonderful! 
Brought lots of Joy to me! 
I will post the menu and recipes in a separate blog post.
As usual, Milton was a wonderful co-chef /dishwasher.  
Thanks to him I am able to pull this all off!

My favorite part of this party was probably putting together these!

You do recall I said it was "revitalizing your marriage" night, right?

We gave each of the couples a "date box". 
We included items for their "first date" and then things to use thereafter.

Crush Pop - Act like you have a crush on your spouse!
Small Candle- ambiance for the date!
Conversation Hearts - When words just aren't coming from the lips!
Chocolates - No need to explain this!
Popcorn- for the movie date night!
Cheesy Cheap Movie - For the movie date night!
Calendar - To mark down every time you "date" or have a significant moment in the marriage! 
Then at the end of the year or in 1 year you can review it together. Take a trip down memory lane!
Journal - To write down memorable times, and also to write love notes to the other person. Then you hide it, and wait for the other person to do the same, then they hide it! 
Just a fun way to keep CONNECTING!
Ideas/Aides - Conversation starters,  
3 things your spouse enjoys,
 3 things you would like your spouse to do for or with you, 
100 ways to make your marriage rock, & date night ideas!
The box can be decorated and store your memories in! 

Or you can take the box and each time you want to ask them on a date, 
leave a sweet note or put "items" to give them hints for the date inside! :)

This is Milton & I's date box! :)


The ideas I used came from many different resources, and some
I came up with on my own.  
I  didn't write down each place they came from, my bad!
 (Sorry to the blogging world!)

Connection is essential ( I believe) 
to being inspired, motivated,
nourished, and to grow from within!
I hope this post brings you a least one of these things!

Thanks for stopping by!
Julie

2013 Couples Gathering
Me & My Farmer!

VVDDP

I awoke on New Year's Day and my mind literally started focusing on our VVDDP (obviously this is an acronym for the title of our annual couple's gathering for Valentine's that we host!)

So much to come up with in what seems to be a short period of time!  But I am so thrilled because all the couples have confirmed and can attend on February 16th! 

To be honest, I am most excited about the "party favor" they get to go home with! I think I enjoy this part of the preparation the most!  The cooking is  pretty close in the running though!  Which brings me to the menu...... Milton and I are struggling just a tad with the menu.  Oh don't worry my friends that read this that are coming, we will prevail! 

This is our third annual gathering and to be honest, I really do enjoy having our friend's over for this event! Obviously, in the month of February showing love has it's own day/holiday, and although we should do it all the other months of the year, life gets busy. So, if I can play any part in nourishing a friend's marriage, I will gladly do it!  Bring on the romance, bring on the laughter, bring on the silly jokes and warmth of friendship. I believe sharing a delightful experience with a spouse can only enhance the love between them and help them to grow closer. If that means I need to create a beautiful table, light a couple candles, share a meal, and make them answer a silly relationship question at the table about their spouse, I am up for the challenge! :)

I can't wait to share this experience with you for our 2013 gathering!  Here are a few shots from our past years!

To all of you readers, may your love grow and bloom often!

Thanks for stopping by!
Julie