Christmas- Bunco, Wally, and Ornament Exchange!

Every Christmas, a group of gals I know host a Christmas Bunco night with an ornament exchange and a couple games of Wally (see below for how-to).  Everybody brings a dish to share with the Hostess providing drinks and dessert so there's lots of yummies!  The recipe for photo shown here is at the bottom of this blog but for the recipe for MY dish, go to: Poker Night)

THH Tari's Hidden Valley Ranch Sausage Stars (recipe below)

After we've all had snacks, we play two rounds of Bunco.  I ended up being the LAST person to be wearing the Bunco Hat at the end of the night (and came 2nd for most Buncos) so won back my $10 entrance fee.  Woo-hoo!  






Then Hungry Housewife Dawn ended up being a top winner of the night with MOST wins!

Dawn with her Bunco Win Prizes

After Bunco, we moved onto the Ornament Exchange.  This is my FAV way to do this!!!  Every person puts their own wrapped ornament in front of them then Co-Hostess Tami reads aloud the story of The Night Before Christmas.  Every time she says the word "THE", we pass our gift to the right.  Whenever she says "And", we pass it to the left.  At the end of the poem, whoever's gift you have in front of you is the one you get to keep!  No "stealing" involved! 
After we've opened all our gifts, we move onto Round ONE of Wally which involves using quarters followed by Round TWO using dollar bills.

Rules:  You roll the same number of dice that you have Quarters (or Dollars).  As the photo shows above, if you roll a 1,2 or 3, you get to KEEP your money!  BUT if you roll a 4, it goes into the Kitty (the pot).  For a 5, you slide your money to the person to your right or if you do a 6, you pass it to the person to your left.  You do the same thing for EACH dice (for example, if you roll straight 4s, the ENTIRE thing goes into the Kitty!).  

Quarter Wally Winner Heather

Eventually, it will dwindle down to just a few people still with money (time depends on # of players- we had 18 women!).  When it's down to the LAST person, the game is NOT over yet!  She HAS to keep rolling until EVERY Quarter (or $1) is in the Kitty so there is a chance she could lose it all!  

Dollar Wally Winner Dalese

If you are playing Quarters, the Winner will get ALL the money in the pot (so that's $1.25 per person playing).  But if you are playing with one dollar bills, the Winner will get $5 per person so the stakes can get pretty up there (esp if you use $5s or $10s).


Thank you to the hostess- Hungry Housewife Jody for another wonderful, fun night with the girls!

Hidden Valley Ranch Sausage Stars


2 cups (1lb) cooked crumbled sausage
1 1/2 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese
1 1/2 cups grated Monterey jack cheese
1 cup prepared Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing Mix
1 can (2.25 oz) sliced black olives
1/2 cup chopped red peppers
1 pkg fresh or frozen wonton wrappers
vegetable oil
Preheat oven to 350'. Blot sausage dry with paper towel and combine with cheeses, salad dressing, olives and red peppers. Lightly grease a mini muffin tin and press 1 wrapper in each cup. Brush with oil. Bake 5 minuted until wrappers are golden brown. remove from tins, place on baking sheet. Fill with sausage mixture. Bake 5 minutes until bubbly.

Eatin' Out 'N' About at Purple Cafe and Wine Bar ~ Seattle, WA

Purple Cafe And Wine Bar 
Couple of locations but we went to: 
1225 4th Ave Seattle 98101

A few months back, fellow Hungry Housewife Dawn and I purchased tickets to see A Christmas Story- The Musical at the 5th Ave Theater.  OF COURSE if we are hitting Seattle, we want to go out to eat, too, so we checked out the recommended places from the theater which offers discounts.  


Last time we went to see a show, we ate at Rock Bottom right across the street.  Though it was good (bathroom was weird), we wanted to try something new so we walked over to Purple (get 10% off of total bill with ticket stub).  Luckily we got out of the theater quickly because they said they had a bunch of reservations coming in so we had our choice of bar seating.  


Purple's 2nd floor is more of a loft with a bar downstairs in the middle of everything or a more quieter bar upstairs where we sat.  It looked like they had a more private are in the back, the bar in the center and then these super comfy chairs that overlook the balcony.

Sorry Blurry!  Didn't want to use flash.

It was great because we got to watch a lot of prep-work they do up there but the small downside was we sat near the end which ended up being a little bit of an employee hangout.  Wasn't too bad though.

Having NO idea what to get, the menu is slightly intimidating but the waitress will explain it all to you.  There is regular dinner items or you can do Tastings (NOTE:  prices are for the FOOD- wine is additional $5 for each pairing).  

I'm just now "discovering" wine so I'm not sure what I like but I KNOW I don't like it too sweet or too dry.  The server recommended one of the Staff's favorite wines from a NW Winery: McKinley Springs 2008 Chenin Blanc Horse Heaven Hills.  It was sooooo good that after the first tasting, we ended up ordering a glass for $8.50 each (BTW- the cost per bottle was $32 so would have been cheaper overall but is only $12 from the winery itself).  It's described as being "Pale yellow wine with aromas of basil, honeydew melon, and the scent of fresh rain.  It has candied pineapple, nut and tropical fruit flavors.  Finishing with ripe fruit, good acidity and bracing minerality."  The only problem I had was that they gave us our tasting right away but nobody came back for another tasting or a refill when we got our food so we had to flag down somebody.

For pairings, you can get what you want but they recommend you choose 5 items which includes cheeses and prices starting at $3.00.  We ordered Feta Walnut Spread and Candied Walnuts, and Artichoke Hazelnut Spread With Toasted Hazelnuts (both $3 each- shown below left) which comes with pita-like strips.  The FW one was more of a mellow taste with these SUPER yummy candied walnuts on top.  It tasted best with a bite of the spread and the walnuts so I wish the pieces were smaller.  Then the AH was the better one (I love artichoke)- the hazelnuts didn't add anything to it though.

On the far right, is our Brandy Marinated Apricots and Onion, Herbed Goat Cheese Spread, Crostini ($4.00 item) which was topped with basil I believe, and White Prawn Ceviche, Cucumber, Avocado, Cilantro, and Red Peppers ($6.00).  The Apricot was SO. SO. good (which is should be at $2 a piece- it took longer to say the name than to eat it!).  I want to replicate this at home!  I also loved the Prawns which was really tangy but balanced perfect with the wine.

Next we ordered a Baked Brie.  The description for this was "apricot preserves, caramelized onions, candied walnuts, grapes and housemade crackers."  What it DIDN'T say is that it's baked into a phyllo bundle which was reallllllllllly good though it didn't leave you with a lot of cheese inside so was harder to eat with the crackers which were also yummy- reminded me of flattened cornbread.  The Brie is another I'd like to try to make at home.

We rounded out our meal by getting dessert.  The coffee- OH, STOP THE PRESSES (LOL) was THE best straight up coffee I've had at a restaurant.  The price was the best, too- $3.50 for a pretty pot full that says it's good for 2 cups (we squeezed out four).  Normally I would never order the Red Velvet Cake, Lavender Cream Cheese Icing but I'm glad I did- the icing was the best part!  We thought the dessert was a good price too but they're even smallller than the photo suggests (the Sticky Toffee Pudding Creme Brulee, Date Caramel was literally two bites) but for $3.50 each, it left you not feeling over-stuffed. 

We really liked it here- in fact, a week later, I woke up to a text from my friend saying, ""I have been thinking of the Purple Cafe for days!!  Especially their coffee!".  So who knows?  Maybe we'll come back for my birthday this month (cause I would LOVE to spend a day in Seattle!).

Last photo!  Had to share the 5th Ave Theater that we passed on our way back to the parking garage.  Oh, I love Seattle during Christmas!

SPENDING FREEZE- Part Five. IT'S OVER!!!

These are personal notes from my experience doing a Spending Freeze for the month of November.  For more info, see our first Blog about it at: SPENDING FREEZE- THE PLAN

WOW.  This has been an interesting month!!!!!  Thank you to everybody who supported us- I hope that we were able to inspire some of you to really THINK about what you are purchasing.  Though you may not write it all down, I must say having a visual was a real eye-opener!  OF COURSE, what we "saved" was not real money- it was either using coupons or by forgoing something we normally would have gotten if we had the money in our pocket.  LUCKILY for us we did save what we did because we ended up having some unexpected things to pay for, bought a few Christmas presents (w/o using credit cards), and we caught ourselves up on some bills so we ended up almost spending every bit of Hubby's paycheck.  My Hubby said it was so nice because it was the first time in a long time that we didn't have to worry about paying bills on time.

The weight loss was not as low as I had hoped but the weather was yucky so was harder to get in exercise, and we didn't knock out fast food completely (we'll save that scary withdrawal for another blog).  But we did make smarter choices when we were ordering by using coupons and not up-sizing.  

If this was not a good time for you, I'm thinking of doing this again at the beginning of the new year (we have a trip planned) so I hope you will join us!  Thanks again!

Description:

RED is what we spent in excesses or was not "needed"

GREEN was money we brought in or "saved"

ORANGE was free stuff

PURPLE was spending that was necessary to living like bills or groceries

Day 28:

Been waiting for this day!!!!  Hungry Housewife Dawn and I purchased tickets to see A Christmas Story- The Musical at the 5th Ave Theater in Seattle.  This was our one "planned" day for going out and eating.  What a great night!

Activity-

• Stopped at Starbucks for late breakfast
• Went to the 5th Ave Theater to see a show
• Had dinner at Purple Cafe and Wine Bar
• Popped into Old Navy and Target

Spent today-

• Starbucks $14.21 for two drinks and two hot sandwiches.  I got a medium over a large so saved $1.00
• Theater was about $40 each but we paid for these months before so am not counting.
• Purple Cafe was split $33 each (then Dawn left a tip).  We received $3.50 off for EACH of us because we showed them our ticket stub from the 5th Ave
• Parking in Seattle lot $15.00 (which Dawn paid for so not counting either). 
• Didn't see anything I liked at Old Navy so spent $0 but at Target I picked up two shirts on clearance and one on sale for my boys (they have no long-sleeved anything) plus dog jacket for chihuahua (stupid but he NEEDS them!) for a total of $17.50.  By getting them on sale/clearance, I saved $24.06!

Day 29:

Medical day- 5yr old had a Wellness Exam and flu shot (ended up getting 103 temp the next day...hmmm) and it was my Allergy shot day

Activity-

• Went to Pediatrician 
• Stopped at McDonald's 
• After dropped son off at school, I went to allergist
• Hit Safeway to get hubby some lunches and dinner items

Spent today-

• Co-pay for check-up and flu shot $15.00
• McDonald's to cheer up the kid after his appointment. Nooooooooooooooo- they quit taking our coupons from Monopoly!!! So had to pay FULL PRICE (darkness!) $10.03 I did opt for a medium instead of a large coffee and had a coupon for son's chocolate milk from Halloween so saved $2.00
• Safeway was $55.91 

Day 30:

Our lab went into heat today so we had to make an unplanned trip to pick her up some washable body wraps and pads (I KNOW- vomit).  

Activity-

• Went to school conference for 12 yr old
• Snuck out of the house with the hubby and popped into Farm Fresh Produce, Ben Franklin, Petco, Target, gas station and a furniture store.

Spent today-

• Had to pay $10 for middle-schooler's field trip to Tacoma History Museum in Dec
• Farm Fresh Produce for some greenery for a wreath $6.51 and then we went to Ben Franklin for small decorations and one craft present for the kids to make $6.34.  The person we usually buy the wreaths from let us come over to make them ourselves so saved $10.00.
• Walked over to a furniture store that was closing FORever at midnight.  There was a beautiful hutch originally $800 and they said they'd take less than $200 {sigh- I wish!}.  They also had $1,000 valued mattresses they were selling for $175.  We debated and decided to not get the mattress since Christmas is coming though I think the one we have was NOT brand new when we got married 13 yrs ago!  
• Had to run over to Petco for the reusable diapers $26.22 then Target for pads for the dog $14.00 but since we bought two packs, we got $5.00 gift card.
• Got gas in the hubby's car on the way home $35.45

Summary:

Necessities- $234.14

Excess- $10.03

"Saved"- $220.56

Weight fluctuation- no change this week (which is probably lucky since I downed almost a bag of Hershey Kisses).

Month To Date:

Necessities- $5,542.81

Excess- $151.81

"Saved"- $1,310.01.  DOUBLE WOW.

Weight fluctuation-  Lost 3 lb total.  Hmmm.  Well, at least nothing gained!