// DIY Aca-awesome Chocolate Fondue Bar with Pitch Perfect 3

This post is in partnership with Universal Pictures

Hey Pitches! The Bellas are back for one last call in Pitch Perfect 3! Now available on Blu-ray, you can even check out the new musical performances, gag reel, and extended scenes that weren't even shown in theaters. Grab your favorite gals and throw together a #PitchesNightIn - whether it's a potluck, cocktail party, karaoke show-down, dessert bar or even slumber party, Pitch Perfect 3 is the ultimate movie to watch with your ladies. There hasn't been a single Pitch Perfect movie that I haven't absolutely adored, and this one is no exception.

Since we're gearing up to move and I'm having to say "See ya later" to my friends here in town, I've been extra sentimental. Growing up is hard when it means you have to leave people that you've grown close to. Knowing that's just how the military life works I'm trying my best to just enjoy the time I do have with whatever friends I make, and then making it a priority to remain as close as possible despite distance. Anyway, some of y'all might know of Whitney. Whitney is by far my best friend here and I honestly don't know what I would do without her. She's the person I know I can always rely on to celebrate the good times, or wade through the bad. We're both always in Mom Mode so when we get a chance to just be together as friends, without other responsibilities, we try to take advantage of it. It's never dull! But to celebrate the Pitch Perfect 3 release we whipped up this spread and had us a grand ol' time. Since Pitch Perfect really accentuates such a diverse group of women and their surprising-yet-incredible bond, Whitney and I threw together a Chocolate Fondue Bar. All of the little bits and bites are our various personality traits and while they're great on their own they are made all the more better by the bond of friendship (chocolate). Ha! Did I totally sell you on my cheesy spiel? I'm just being sentimental, but for real. Whit is my person and knowing that she won't be just 1 mile down the road anymore has me feeling all sorts of ways. I was really really glad I was able to do this with her. Such a fun little "work" project because it didn't feel like "work" at all. While we don't need an excuse to have a girls night, it was fun to have a "obligation" to take time away from life and do something fun together! Here's what we put together...

Our Fondue Bar included a pot of melted milk chocolate, Rice Krispie treats, ripple potato chips, cinnamon graham crackers, Goldfish crackers, jumbo and mini marshmallows, fruit gummies, Reese's eggs, butter popcorn, caramel popcorn, fresh kiwi, tangerines, strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, chocolate chips, and sliced bananas. We also enjoyed some red moscato with our sweet treats! It was totally indulgent and such a great way to spend a Thursday! We obviously didn't eat everything (ha!) and there was loads to share with the kiddos and other friends. But we most definitely made sure we got to enjoy the spread before having to share it with anyone else. Constantly thinking like a Mom here! :P

 

Check out the trailer for Pitch Perfect 3 below, and go grab a copy to host your own girls night in! You can also check out the #PitchesNightIn tag on Instagram to see what others did to celebrate the release - get some fun ideas to throw your own bash! Happy weekend, Pitches!

// Your Holiday Party Must Have: A Sangria Station!

This post brought to you by Santa Margherita Wines. The content and 
opinions expressed below are that of This Charming Life.

Sangria is quite possibly the best thing to happen to life ever. Wine + fruit?! Count this lady in! Sangria is always such a hit when it comes to get togethers and parties. It's got a little bit of somethin' for everyone. Of course that comes in handy if you're a considerate host because naturally you'll want to ensure all of your guests are accounted for when it comes to what you'll be serving, right? Since holiday parties are about to be in full swing, I wanted to share a super simple and cost effective way to appeal to all of your guests! A SANGRIA BAR! Or "station" because, you know, alliteration. 

A sangria bar is exactly as simple as it sounds. Sangria and a whole lotta options for flavor and garnish! This setup was actually my "test run" for my annual party contribution coming up in a couple weeks. I had 2 bottles of this Prosecco from Santa Margherita Wines so I thought it'd be fun to see it comes together before the actual event. By the way, I had no idea what Prosecco was for the longest time. But it basically takes everything I love about champagne (the bubbles!) and mixes it with wine (white wine!). Prosecco is only made in Italy, whereas champagne is only from France. BOOM! Prosecco Wiki all up in here.  

For my sangria bar I opted to mix all of the liquid ingredients together in a pitcher for easy pouring. I garnished the sangria with cranberries and pomegranate seeds, too. I then cut up and laid out a variety of fruits for mixing and garnishing. There are even a few frozen stirrer sticks (well, they were frozen...) If you're interested in the sangria recipe I used, here you go!

HOLIDAY SANGRIA

• 1 bottle Prosecco from Santa Margherita Wines
• 1 can frozen white grape juice
• 16oz La Croix cran-raspberry sparkling water
• 1oz rosemary simple syrup (1c water, 1c sugar, 4 rosemary sprigs)
• 3oz pomegranate juice
• Cranberries + pomegranate seeds as garnish

The fruit I chose to lay out for the sangria bar included: raspberries, blackberries, pears, granny smith apples, pom seeds, cranberries, limes, grapefruit, and oranges. And of course rosemary sprigs for garnish. I'm loving how easy yet practical this whole set up is. Everyone is free to flavor as they please! This is a stellar way to incorporate a lot of options without a lot out of pocket.

So here's a little info on Santa Margherita Wines in case you haven't tried any of their wine before! They're pretty rad because they're eco-friendly, energy efficient, vegan-friendly, and sustainable. They pride themselves on their commitment to helping preserve the environment, and while that has nothing to do with this recipe really, I felt like that deserved to be mentioned haha! Anyway, I'm a huge fan of Santa Margherita's Pinot Grigio. I've bought that very wine numerous times to give as a gift, and it's always been met with excitement. I've had that Pinot Grigio at brunch, at Thanksgiving dinner, and various other family functions. The pinot was absolutely ace, but give me wine with some bubbly goodness and I am hooked.​

One of my favorite things about this sangria bar is that it's such a fun and fresh take on a super traditional Italian wine. I absolutely cannot wait to entertain with this setup this holiday season. Plus, there's no reason sangria should be a summer-time only drink anyway, right?

Whatever parties you have happening this holiday season, a sangria station is sure to be a big ol' hit! Are you a big sangria fan? If so, what's your favorite concoction? Any suggestions on fruits I should add for the party?

Happy partying! Cheers!

xo KB

// 18 Easy Halloween Snacks For Kids + Parties

If you're a parent of a young'n, chances are likely that a Halloween party is in your very near future. I've been brainstorming what I wanted to whip up for Toby's Pre-K party next Thursday, but feeling a little uninspired. What's a mom to do in that situation? Pinterest. Sometimes Pinterest overwhelms me, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't love it. I spent part of last night scouring the site for some inspiration and I picked 18 of my favorite kid friendly ideas!

I tried keeping it peanut-free since peanut allergies are so common. There are a few dairy-free options, too, as well as ideas that lean a bit healthier than others. I'm still not totally sure what I'll be doing for Toby's party, but I'm hoping it's: quick, simple, can be made the night before, and is easy to distribute. 4 year olds are pretty messy by nature... so those rice krispie snacks are looking good... But boy oh boy they're sticky!

Here are the 18 ideas I liked (clockwise):

ONE:  frankenstein rice krispie treats // tootsie pop spiders // spiderweb pretzels // candy corn marshmallows // tombstone pudding cups // TWO: ghost poop goodie bags // candy corn rice krispie treats // "boonanas" // mummy pretzel bites // spider bites // THREE: pumpkin cupcakes // frankenstein cones // ghostly oreo pudding cups // vampire apples // frankenstein marshmallow pops // FOUR: peanut butter eyeballs // mummy pops // jack skellington cupcakes

Any other fab ideas you want to toss into the ring? This girl is all ears! Happy Tuesday!

// How To Throw An Epic Shark Week Party

I moved the August giveaway yet again (to tomorrow!) because duh! SHARK WEEK! It starts tomorrow! And if you know anything about me, you know that I basically live for shark week! It's a religion in our house. Mike and I threw a Shark Week premier party in 2011 and we've been itching to do it again ever since. I was out of town last year (but still caught the premier at a bar with my best friend in Indianapolis... dedication!) and this year we're 2 hours away from all of our friends. I'm thinking 2014 will mark the return of the Flynn's Shark Week party... yeah? Who's coming?!

Since we can't whip up a big to-do this year, we're planning on celebrating in our own way. Just the three of us and some snacks. Can't really argue with that! I wanted to share my tips on throwing the best shark-inspired bash, that way YOU can celebrate the greatest animal to ever live! ;)

The food and drink at any party is crucial. But when you're talking shark theme, you really need to theme it up!

A few handy things we always have on hand for Shark Week include:

1. Goldfish crackers!

2. Swedish fish (I'm totally not a fan of the taste, but hey, some people are!)

3. Shark cupcakes! (Our 2009 version was all gore... these are a lot nicer hey?)

4. Lifesaver candy (Bonus points if you spring for the gummies!)

5. Salsa. It may not sound as appetizing when you think of chum, but it's perfect and delicious!

6. Tortilla chips. There's something swimming in your salsa!

7. Shark cookies. Everyone needs a shark shaped cookie cutter in their pantry!

8. Land Shark lager. The perfect beer for Shark Week!

If you're getting really fancy and want to go all out, you can add some sushi to your menu, too! We usually have small finger foods and sandwiches (cut into triangles... naturally) since I'm not really a sushi person. But I'm sure you can see how it fits the theme!

When we're having an actual party with guests and all that jazz, we tend to whip up an "Ocean Water" punch to serve our guests. You can make it as a cocktail or mocktail! We like to serve both since we have some friends who don't drink, or they volunteer to DD!

Ocean Water (cocktail) Punch

3 cups Malibu (coconut) Rum

3/4 cups Blue Curacao

2L Sprite

Garnish with Lifesaver gummies + Swedish Fish

Ocean Water (mocktail) Punch

5 cups coconut water

2L Sprite

~5 drops blue food coloring (or until you reach desired hue)

Juice of 1 fresh orange

Garnish with Lifesaver gummies + Swedish Fish

Once the food and drink have been taken care of, it's time to think about entertainment! Of course Shark Week in itself is plenty good entertainment, but sometimes it's fun to spice it up a bit. If you're having an adult-only shindig, you can play the Shark Week drinking game (below!). Regardless of the age range in attendance, you can also play Shark Week Bingo! Just change up the rules and prizes accordingly. (Click here for several Shark Week Bingo cards!) Psst... Goldfish crackers make great bingo chips! I'm also not above playing some drunken/blindfolded "Pin the fin on the shark" haha! That's a great DIY game to whip up. Or even a costume contest! Everyone loves an excuse to dress up!

(click here to download + print the drinking game rules)

If you need some decorations for your party, toss out some crepe streamers in various shades of blue. If it's a kids' bash, let your littles craft some fish out of paper plates and paint! You can even download the shark infographic I made back in 2010 and teach your guests a few things while entertaining! (Shark trivia, anyone?!)

The great thing about Shark Week is that it appeals to such a wide variety of viewers! Shark fanatics, casual observers, and people who just love a good party! You can tailor your Shark Week fete to fit kids and adults of all ages! I can't wait for tomorrow's premier... but I really can't wait until next year so I can get back in the groove of throwing a massive Shark Week bonanza! You're all invited! haha

Would you attend a Shark Week party?! Happy Shark Week!

// Outdoor Summer Dinner Menu

Hi there lovely readers of Little Chief Honeybee! I’m Ashley from over at Rainstorms & Love Notes, where I write about things like being a newlywed, packing a carry-on bag with travel essentials, and making delicious (and easy!) food. Today I’m excited to share an Outdoor Summer Dinner Menu that I put together just in time for sunny weather and outdoor dining. My goal was to come up with an easy set of recipes full of light, fresh ingredients that all go together nicely. This menu would be perfect for a stay-at-home date night or an outdoor dinner party with lots of friends, as the portion sizes can easily be adjusted. I hope you enjoy!

 

Pico de Gallo

Serves 4-6

Adapted from here

Ingredients

1/2 medium white onion

1 cup water

ice

1 large tomato

1/4 cup cilantro, chopped

1 jalapeno

Instructions

Finely chop the onion, and place in a bowl of ice water; drain.

Chop the tomatoes and cilantro.

Remove the seeds from one half of the jalapeno, and finely chop.

Combine the onions, tomatoes, cilantro, and jalapeno, and stir together.

Refrigerate, then serve with chips.

Chile-Rubbed Grilled Chicken

Serves 2

Adapted from here

Ingredients

1/2 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp minced garlic

1 tsp chile powder

1 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp paprika

juice of 1/2 lime

1 tsp salt

Instructions

Combine the olive oil, garlic, chile powder, cumin, paprika, lime juice, and salt in a large bowl.

Add the chicken and turn to coat.

Cover and refrigerate at least 30 minutes.

Grill the chicken over medium heat, turning once, until marked and just cooked through, about 4 to 6 minutes per side.

Grilled Corn with Lime Butter

Serves 2

Adapted from here

Ingredients

2 ears corn, shucked

1 tbsp butter

1 tsp lime zest

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

Instructions

Place corn on a grill rack coated with cooking spray.

Grill 10-12 minutes over medium heat, turning as needed.

Combine the butter, lime zest, salt, and cayenne pepper in a small bowl and microwave until melted.

Spread over the corn and serve.

Strawberry Lime Sorbet

Serves 6

Adapted from here

Ingredients

2 ripe bananas

1 cup frozen strawberries

2 small limes, peeled and quartered

2 tbsp sugar

Instructions

Slice the bananas and place in the freezer until completely frozen.

Place all ingredients in the bowl of a food processor and blend until it has the consistency of soft serve.

Freeze until it reaches desired consistency.

 

Sparkling Cucumber Limeade

Serves 6

Adapted from here

Ingredients

1 cup sugar

1 tbsp lime zest

1 cup water

1 cup fresh lime juice (4 to 6 limes)

1/4 cup fresh mint leaves

1 cucumber, halved and very thinly sliced

2 cups chilled sparkling water

Instructions

In a small saucepan, simmer the sugar, lime zest, and water over medium heat, stirring constantly until the sugar has dissolved. 

Remove from heat and stir in the mint leaves.

Let cool for 30 minutes.

Strain the syrup through a sieve into a pitcher. Add the cucumber and lime juice and refrigerate for at least an hour. 

Just before serving, add the sparkling water.

Major thanks to Ashley for putting in all of this hard work to whip up this amazing summer dinner spread! I can't think of a better post for a Friday morning... you can spend your last hours at work thinking about the delicious sorbet and refreshing cucumber limeaide... Then you can run out after work to nab all of the ingredients and invite your friends over Saturday! We've already been doing a crazy amount of grilling this season, but I think we'll be adding the chicken to our menu for next week!

If you want to witness more of Ashley's magic, pop over to her super cute blog Rainstorms & Love Notes! You can also find her on Twitter and Pinterest, and you can follow her blog via Bloglovin! I'll be back tomorrow with a really fun

HOLY HUGE UPDATE, BATMAN!

oh goodness gracious, must i always start these updates with the same line? maybe i should... nevertheless, its been a busy week thus far! while i've accomplished far less than i care to admit, i've managed to spend time with some of the most fantastic people in my life. tonight is the first night in WELL over a week that i havent slept beside Mike. true story. i love cuddling up in bed with a movie and just falling asleep, and then seeing his adorable face upon awakening. as silly as it may sound to say this about a boy, i'm truly blessed to be where i am currently and to have someone who cares for me so incredibly much. he's quite amazing and it almost feels weird to be treated this well. however i stand by the fact that i most certainly deserve to be treated like a queen, as do all of you. and i do my absolute best to reciprocate that to him. it's amazing to just lay there with someone you can have SUCH an intelligent conversation with. forgive me for saying this, but hands down, most all of the boys i've dated in the past were just plain STUPID. i felt like i needed to dumb myself down to his level so that he could understand me. but mike has the intellect, and vocabulary to match, that anyone would be proud of. he's always so willing to help any and everywhere he can, and he's simply a breath of fresh air. absolutely brilliant brilliant brilliant! and to make things EVEN better, my mother adores him so (she always has) and my step-father already agrees. a funny sidenote: i (regretfully) broke up with mike for adam 3 years ago and my mother was SO livid. i remember conversations with her on multiple occasions for how selfish and ridiculous my decision was. granted, she knows i'm a grown woman and i can do as i please, however she was NOT a happy camper.

upon finding myself in a very very awful mood thanks to the ex, my mother simply said "don't worry about him. focus your energy on your relationship with mike because kaelah, you've got something good thing. i have a feeling this is exactly what you've been looking for"... maybe thats a lot of pressure to put on such a young relationship, but i have no expectations. i'm completely open to experiencing things as they come.

oh my goodness i'm gushing! i should really stop that :) i apologize for my 9th grade girl moment there. i'll just say that i'm incredibly happy with the turn of events. :)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

on tuesday i ventured up to hendersonville to get tattooed. jason worked on the forearm of my sleeve for about 3 hours. we just filled in the black of the octopus' ink cloud up around my elbow. the tattoo didnt hurt at all, thank goodness. i just read trashy celebrity magazines the whole time, but man oh man, i was in pain for 2 solid days after. i'm still sore now. it was so bad i couldn't use my right arm all day yesterday. i even sported some blue saranwrap at our party last night!


after that i headed over to Mike's place and we watched some tv, ran many errands, started making the vodka gummies for the party the next night. we had an entire bag of gummie worms, then an entire bag of gummie bears. we sliced each in an area or three and poured an entire bottle of vodka over the top. i dont drink vodka, so i didnt partake in the consumption, but i was told they were WAY WAY potent. luckily a girl loved them so much, she asked for a huge ziploc bag of them. i gladly obliged, seeing as i didnt want them at my house afterward haha this photo is directly when i made them, over 2/3 of the vodka was soaked up within 18 hours.


at some point i managed to go to target, probably when i wasn't supposed to... seeing as target is my absolute evil when it comes to my bank account. man oh man, i wonder if its possible to be OCD with Target? like, i feel if i DONT go to target and buy dresses, etc, then i may die. serious. well... sort of. no, totally serious. here's 5 of the 7 dresses I bought.... ha! (the other 2 were just tank dresses, but totally cute tank dresses! and even better, they were on clearance! hey 2 dresses for $28!!!)










while running errands, we passed past the 4 tacky decorated houses that just so happen to be down the street from mike's house. these are the houses i claim tripped acid and then santa threw up on them. HOW ON EARTH IS A FIRE-BREATHING DRAGON RELEVANT TO CHRISTMAS?! oh wait, he's wearing a santa hat. TOTALLY MAKES SENSE, BRO!




the party was wednesday night and it was a lot of fun. i barely drank really, and i'm glad that was the case. i've been toying with the idea of giving it up completely. i'm beginning to think that even though i'm a bartender and i love to go out socially, a cleaner lifestyle is something that i should be focusing on at this point in my life. we'll see. i'm sure i'll continue to go out for beers with my friends randomly, but i even told Mike tonight that i've considered giving it up for a while. hmm.. anywhoo, lots of lovely faces showed up and i was grateful for everyone stopping by. the house was abuzz from about 8:30pm until 1:30am or so. i was so glad to crawl into bed at 2am. so so so glad. here's a picture of Caitlin, Tiffany, and myself. Tiff showed up in teh same exact dress as me, but the pink version! i color coded mine to match my blue saran wrap that you can't even see in teh picture. bummer!


today mike and i went to the mall, had some soup at panera, drove down to my parents' house in hohenwald, hung out, got dinner, and then he drove to his parents' house in lawrenceburg. i've been kicking it, watching shark tv shows, the jersey shore, and a straight edge documentary... livin' the life. baby g is snoring in front of me and i'm about to call it a night.

oh, peep the church marquee coming into my hometown. haha look familiar? it's the same quote that is on my upper arm in my right arm sleeve. but mine is the actual quote "i cannot change the direction of the wind but i can adjust my sails" niiiiceee.



OKAY! DONE NOW! I PROMISE TO NEVER GIVE YOU AN ENTRY THAT LONG EVER AGAIN! gah! mission accomplished! going to bed. goodnight all <3

ps; please do my formspring! just click HERE! its anonymous!