How to Phrase an Invitation

Shannon at Rocks in my Dryer is hosting backwards "Works for me Wednesday" today.

My question is this-

I'm hosting a wedding shower in May. I want it to be a little bit different and I'm hoping to make it a "tea party" themed shower. Encourage everyone to wear a hat, have cute little finger sandwiches, have various teas for guests to drink, that kind of thing...

How do I phrase the invitation? I don't want to just call it a "tea party" because I am afraid no one will bring a gift. I don't want to just call it a shower, because I want the guests to be encouraged to participate in the tea party atmosphere.

There will be guests attending that I don't know, so I can't just casually tell the guests what's going on , the invitation needs to give the guests all the information of a normal shower (time, date, place, etc), plus the tea party theme.

Advice?

Thanks so much!

Works for Wednesday, the Question Edition

OK, people. I just want to know how CVS cards work. I hear about the great savings and I am oh so interested, but I just don't get it.

I just don't get how the reward program works, especially in regards to the money they give back with certain purchases.When you purchase certain things, you get "bucks" or something. Do they actually mail you a check? Do you get a credit in that amount, which you can use the next time you shop and they scan your card? Are you required to keep up with receipts from prior purchases?

Any help regarding the CVS rewards program would be much appreciated!
Thanks so much!


Want to help answer other people's questions? Wondering if others have questions similar to yours? Visit Shannon at Rocks in my Dryer.

WFMW - Friends in the Hospital - sending cards

Shannon is hosting Works for me Wednesday this week and here's my idea:

If I know a friend of mine is in the hospital, obviously I want to send a card. But, I never know when she'll be released and I don't like to send the card to the home because then that's just one more thing her husband will need to try to remember to take back to the hospital.

My solution?

I mail the card to the hospital, but for the return address, I use the recipient's home address. That way, if she gets it in the hospital, great, and if not, the post office won't send it back to me, she will still get it back at home.

That Works for Me! For other ideas, visit Rocks in my Dryer.

WFMW - Cream Cheese Poundcake

Shannon is hosting Works for Me Wednesday and I thought I'd pass along my latest find. This is a super easy recipe and always a crowd pleaser.

Charlotte's Cream Cheese Pound Cake

1½ cups butter

1 (8 oz) package of cream cheese

pinch of salt
3 cups sugar

3 teaspoons vanilla
6 eggs

2 cups cake flour *see below

Combine butter and cream cheese. Add sugar and cream well. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in flour and salt; add vanilla. Bake in greased pan. Start in cold oven and bake at 300 degrees for 2 hours.

This was actually too much cake batter for my bundt pan, so I poured some into a loaf pan and took it to work.

**I have never bought cake flour in my life. Since this recipe called for it (and Charlotte told me it was important), I looked through my cookbooks and found a substitution. You'll need a table spoon of cornstarch, a one cup measuring cup, and a sifter. Get your measuring cup and add one tablespoon of cornstarch. Fill the measuring cup the rest of the way with all purpose flour. Sift it 2 times and it equals one cup of cake flour. So, for this cake, I did that twice.

Easy recipe without having to buy special ingredients - Works for Me!

WFMW-Dividing Toys Among Children

Children advice from a non-parent may sound strange, but we do have kids over sometimes and I have found out something shocking. Prepare yourselves.

Children think that everything has to be fair!

"She got more than me." "He got a bigger piece." "That one is prettier than mine."

I'm sure you parents have never heard these things at your house, but when hubby and I have kids over, we hear it occasionally. This is how we solve it:

For example, I bought a multi-pack of gum. Various flavors=danger zone. We have 4 kids at the house. I tell them, "I'm going to open the gum and set them out on the table. You have 30 seconds to decide who gets what." They know they have 30 seconds for everyone to be happy (as possible) or I'll pick them back up and we'll pick a number between 1 and 25. Whoever gets closest gets first pick, whoever is 2nd closest gets 2nd pick, etc. This way, they have the opportunity to work it out between them, but if it's not possible, a fair solution is right behind them. And, no one gets to really be unhappy because at the end of it, they are all getting a pack of gum.

I've used this before if I happened across a sale of cute pencils or something along those lines where they are all equal, but look different.

This works for us!

Head over to Shannon at Rocks in my Dryer to see a lot of other helpful tips!

WFMW-getting rid of food residue

Shannon at Rocks in my Dryer is hosting Works for me Wednesday this week.


My tip is how to get rid of stubborn food that is baked on dishes or (gasp!) went through the dishwasher once and is still there.


This works for me 100% of the time: I take the dish and pour a *little* (1/2 a spoonful?) of powdered dishwashing detergent in/on it, then add water - warm or cold. (Wherever the food residue is, that part needs to be covered with water.) Let it set overnight. The next morning, I'll pour out the water and then rinse it with the sprayer. The food just slides right off! Then I wash as usual.


(I've heard that you do the same thing with a used dryer sheet. I'm not sure if this is true or not, but if you find out it works, let me know!)


Either way, getting my dishes clean without using a lot of elbow grease - Works for Me!