Food in Celebration

March 3, 2015 No Comments A Well Crafted Life

Photo via Mary Boyden – Tabasco Shaved Ice Oyster Topping

Just recently I had the opportunity to visit a conference in Portland, Oregon all about food! I learned a lot from the FoodWorx sessions that I was able to catch…more-so, they got me thinking a lot! I’ve got copious notes and many great sources to connect with to bring some more food-centric posts to this blog. However, one of these talks has been resonating under the surface for a while now and I feel that I need to share my thoughts… One short talk that has stayed with me was from Ian Rubin of Whole Self Wellness titled “Rewriting Your Food Story.”

What the heck is a food story? Well, in very simplified terms, it is how life and circumstances has shaped your relationship with food. I’ve known for several years now that my food story (though not entirely unique) has made me look at food different then a lot of my friends. While someday I may get into my food story here on the blog, that isn’t what this post is about. Ian’s talk about rewriting a food story made me remember something a co-worker once lamented about…

“Why do people always want to get together for dinner or drinks? Why can’t people get together for something other than eating!?”

Food in celebration is a part of many different culture’s “food stories.” There are Sunday dinners at grandma’s house, big beautiful birthday cakes, holiday meals that people spend months prepping for… the list goes on and on. Food is a big part of celebration!

Photo from my 31st birthday shindig

I actually LOVE this part of my food story. I love how food brings us together. A large portion of this celebration-centric blog is FOOD. I enjoy brining foods to work for people to share and enjoy. I enjoy planning party menus. I enjoy random dinner parties that I throw just because.

However, with a philosophy that everyday is worth celebrating, I have started to re-think this part of my food story a bit.

I’ve started to ask myself questions regarding the role of food in a celebration. Does all celebratory food need to be healthful and consider my guests nutritional intake? No! Not in my book, I’m definitely going with a decadent cake if it fits the occasion. Perhaps it can add to the wellness of the soul rather than the body when eaten as an occasional treat. Though, a little consideration of the nutrition of guests is never a bad thing.

Over the past couple of years I’ve been trying to be more thoughtful in my selection of foods for celebrations. While many of my parties are still planned with food as a central part of the celebration, I try to consider the food stories of those in attendance. When brining food to work I no longer grab delicious donuts or homemade cupcakes. Instead I opt to bring more healthful and substantial offerings. (I’ll still eat the donuts if YOU bring them to me though!)

Other changes I’ve made in food in celebration is that I really look for quality over quantity as much as possible now days. I will opt to have fewer celebrations, or sometimes fewer guests, in order to be able to purchase higher quality ingredients or meals.

What traditions do you have with food in celebration? What changes have you made as you’ve grown older in this area?

How does Food in Celebration fit into YOUR food story? Comment below.

DIY

Healthy Holiday Neighbor Gift + Free Printable

December 17, 2014 No Comments DIY

This post is the last post in my series of the 12 Days of Christmas DIYs for A Well Crafted Party. There are lots of free printables! (Check out my last post in this series: “Wine Gift Tag Free Printables“) Even though I’m done with my 12 Christmas DIYs… I’m not done bringing fun things to the blog! I’ve got some NYE items up (including free party printables) and more holiday beverages to enjoy!

I work in an office. This time of year the colds start passing from one cubicle to the next. In addition, there is a whole table full of sweet treats in the break room that is HARD to resist. So, when thinking about the ideal affordable, but still welcome co-worker gift I wanted to do something that would encourage a healthful holiday and new year.

These co-worker or neighbor gifts are super affordable and can be filled with whatever you find handy. I bought three little honey containers from Trader Joes for less than $7, a box of tea and some citrus fruit to make these little gifts. After wrapping in cellophane and wrapping in a bow I topped it with a printable tag. Yes, I like printables. 😉

How to use the Happy and Healthy Printables:

Click the link below to download the printables, save to your computer.
Print on cardstock in full color.
Cut out the tags.
Use a hole punch on the white circle and thread ribbon through the hole and attach to your gift!

Click here to download—> Happy & Healthy Printables <—Click here to download

A Well Crafted Party

Wine Gift Tags Free Printables

December 16, 2014 12 Comments A Well Crafted Party

This post is the eleventh in my series of the 12 Days of Christmas DIYs for A Well Crafted Party. Check in each day for the next 12 Days for new DIY posts. There will be LOTS of free printables to boot! (Check out my last post in this series: “Beauty Stocking Stuffer Gift Guide + Free Gift Card Holder Printable“)

So, I obviously am a tad behind with my 12 Days of Christmas DIYs as today is actually the 16th of December. I have my excuses… but, the most important part is that I’m back and I have a new DIY and a Free Printable for you today!

Free Printable Holiday Gift Tags

My favorite kind of DIY is the simplest of DIYs. Give me one to two steps and I am GOOD. Sure, I can do the more involved DIYs. But, I will always choose simple over complicated if given the choice. This DIY is a simple way to dress up a bottle of wine, liquor, juice or other beverage to make it a gift. These are great for holiday gifts and hostess gifts at your next holiday party!

Directions:

Download printable, print to fit in full-color on white cardstock.
Cut out along black lines… if you follow the black lines you’ll end up cutting out the little white circle as well.
Fold along thick white line.
Fill out the TO and FROM areas and slip onto a bottle of wine!

Click here to download —> Free Printable Wine Gift Tags <— Click here to download

About Josh Cellars:

At $15 and under the wine pictured in the above photos would make a affordable holiday gift. Josh Cellars shared their Legacy wine and Cabernet Sauvignon wine with me to tas a pair to holiday favorites such as roasted turkey, glazed ham, pie and all the fixins.

Josh Cellars Legacy Red Blend ($14.99) – “Josh Legacy is an easy-to-drink red blend that pairs well with favorite Thanksgiving staples like turkey and stuffing. Winemaker Joseph Carr created this wine in honor of his father – making it a meaningful choice and a perfect wine to enjoy with family during the holiday season.”
Josh Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon ($14.99) —”This Cabernet is an approachable blend with aromas of rich, dark fruit and baking spices on the nose yielding to fresh plum, blackberry, violet, dried fig, vanilla bean and Chinese five-spice. The wine is juicy with plum and blackberry flavors, prominently layered with smoky and sappy maple oak, roasted almonds and hazelnuts. Its firm tannins and full body will stand up against the rich fruit flavors, spices and brown sugar featured in this decadent pie.”

In addition, from now through December 31^st, for every bottle of Josh Cellars wine purchase, a $1 will be donated to Operation Homefront’s Holiday Meals for Military.

Or, use the tags on mini bottles of champagne for a fun New Year’s Eve favor. Everyone can pop their own as you count down to 2015!

Thank you to Josh Cellars for introducing me to your afforadable reds! FTC Guidelines dictate that I disclose that I received product with hopes of feature on my blog. I was not further compensated for this post. All thoughts are my own. Additional information (in quotes) about Josh Cellars were shared by the company.