Next week, many of you have children going back to school, if they haven’t already. There are a few very important things we do to prepare for this event. Clothes shopping is so fun this year because we moved back to Texas and there are NO MORE UNIFORMS! Woohoo!! Besides the back-to-school shopping, there are a few other things that I’ve had on my “list” that I’ve had to tackle and plan for.
First, if you have a daughter around the age of 10 like mine, you know how big of a deal a cute lunch bag (they were called lunch boxes back in my day) is to her. I don’t know why, but out of all years that it’s most important, we have had the HARDEST time trying to find something she loves. I feel like all I’m seeing are “Elsa”, unicorn, or character lunch bags. That doesn’t work for her, or for me! Our usual big stores have left us totally disappointed this year. After a couple weeks of looking and complaining and finding nothing, a couple of friends were on Facebook sharing their same dilemma. One had a solution for us and I’m soooo glad she did! She asked if we had heard of Pursebox. Nope, we had not. We visited PurseboxShop on Instagram and on their website and WOW! How adorable!!
This was the one! We’d found a lunch box that looked like a purse. Pursebox! Brooklyn and I were both squealing with excitement! Although pink is her favorite color, Brooklyn also loves aqua so she picked that one. I love the pink, aqua and blue colors that it comes in. Isn’t it just the cutest?! You can take your lunch back to school in style or take it to a friend’s house for a play date. Thank you, PurseboxShop!! You’ve solved all our “tween” problems….for now, ha!
Next item still left on the list….a “Back-To-School” dinner party! We love celebrating a new year to help get them excited about starting a new year with a new class, teacher, and friends. This is usually the week or weekend before. Just not the night before because we need to get to bed at a decent hour and get everything ready.
This year I kept it “simple”. Simple to me, at least. No balloons, no streamers or banners…just the food, a nice place setting and lovely floral arrangements. We had one of our favorite drinks, Strawberry-Kiwi no-calorie drink, rolls, a large fruit platter (forgot to take a pic…eek!) and a fabulous chicken pasta salad (see below). A friend reminded me that I had not pulled out my Kate Spade Flamingo Placemats all summer! {GASP!} And every girl knows, Kate Spade is not meant to be kept in a drawer so I pulled these babies out and decided they were just the way to start planning my tablescape.
I knew immediately that I wanted a lovely pineapple/floral centerpiece. There were no large pineapples at the grocery store, so I grabbed 4 mini pineapples for around $1 on sale and used them for my “end of summer/back-to-school floral arrangement”. I cut off the top, carved out the middle with a knife and spoon (takes just 2 minutes each pineapple, so it’s quick) and added a short, small glass cup. Then I grabbed some pink roses that matched the pink flamingo placemats, white hydrangeas, and some green filler for the middle. Easy peasy and very inexpensive. I placed each one at the head of each place setting.
Being the end of summer, it is still HOT here in Texas and I wanted something light but filling. My friend shared this fabulous Chicken Teriyaki Pasta Spinach Salad years ago and I’ve loved it ever since. You serve it cold but it is soooo tasty and hearty and everyone loves it. Here’s the recipe:
Ingredients:
1 lb raw baby spinach
1 lb. farfalle (bowtie) noodles
2-3 chicken breasts (or 2 cups rotisserie chicken)
2 cups honey-roasted peanuts
1 cup dried cranberries
1 small can water chestnuts, sliced and chopped
1 large can mandarin oranges (14 oz)
1/2 chopped sweet onion
3 TBSP finely chopped fresh parsley
Dressing:
1/2 cup teriyaki sauce
1/4 cup oil
1/4 cup vinegar (either rice, white or apple cider vinegar works)
3 TBSP brown sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
Instructions:
Prepare dressing by combining all of the ingredients well.
Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain water and add noodles to a large bowl. Toss the cooked noodles in about half of the teriyaki sauce and refrigerate until cooled.
Season chicken breasts with salt and pepper and grill until cooked through. Shred chicken or cut into small pieces.
Combine the spinach, cooked chicken, peanuts, dried cranberries, sliced water chestnuts, mandarin oranges, parsley, and chopped onion in a large salad bowl. Add the pasta to the bowl and toss to combine. Add additional dressing, if desired.
For dessert, I wanted to keep it light still. I grabbed a sour cream angel food cake from my local grocer bakery. At home, I make homemade whipped cream and diced strawberries and folded them in. Then I smothered the cake with it AND even added another dollop of leftover strawberry whipped cream after slicing and serving each piece. The perfect summer treat! We enjoyed all the strawberries we picked the other day.
And third, our Back-To-School Breakfast on their first day of school is our other fun thing to plan! This day is important. I want them to eat but I know they are full of nerves and anticipation also. So, I get up and do something fun or special or just extra yummy so that they look forward to it. I haven’t decided exactly what I’m doing on Monday. Last year, the kids begged me not to do a big breakfast. They said they just wanted to do something like muffins and juice. So, I did this….(pardon the iPhone picture)…
And you know what? They absolutely LOVED it! Just taking a minute to display something in a special way can make all the difference in the world.
What are you doing for the 1st day of school or what traditions do you and your family have? Leave me a message and let me know. I’m curious as to what others do and love to be inspired by your ideas! Good luck, mamas! And good luck to your kiddos, too!
xoxo, Summer
Oh my goodness!!! Everything is absolutely gorgeous! The food looks so delicious! Brooklyn is a doll!!!!
Awwww thank you soooo much!!!! 💕💕💕😘😘😘
Ohhh that’s just so sweet!!! Your daughter is gorgeous and your little mini me! I love her purse lunch box . I am totally going to have to make that pasta dish and I loved the pineapple center pieces! You’re such a fun mom! 😍😍😍
Omgosh Yuni! You are just TOO kind, thank you!!! I sure love doing these fun things with the kids! I can’t believe how quickly the summer has passed. Your little ones are adorable and I hope you guys are having a fun summer! You definitely need to get one of those purse boxes! Hugs!💖💖💖
This is the best!! Love it all!! As a momma of 3 girls and a girly girl at heart, you roped me in big time 💓
Awwww Martha I’m so glad! Omgosh they would love a pursebox im sure! It’s fun having girly girls ☺️! Thanks for all your sweet words! Muah😘
Summer – that lunch purse is the cutest and so is your daughter, what a beauty! I love your flamingo table too and I’m dying to get myself gold flatware! How special that you celebrate back to school like this! Love it all! xo
Oh Tam, thank you sweets! They are at such a fun age and I have a loved doing things like this since the minute they were born. I took back my gold flatware from West Elm because it was starting to turn color and expensive. This Target set has lasted longer and held up better already so I’m happy with it, especially for the price! And I only hand wash. Thanks for stopping by… Muah!😘
everything including your daughter is absolutely beautiful.
Life is just Rosie
Thank you so much Rosie! So sweet of you to say that and drop by! 💕☺️
Such an adorable post! Best wishes to your daughter for a wonderful school year! The pasta salad looks delicious…I will give it a try this upcoming week. Thank you for sharing.
Oh my goodness, Lynne, you are just so sweet! Thank you thank you and hope you love the pasta salad! We are excited for a new school year. Appreciate you stopping by! Xoxo
Okay, first off, that lunch “bag” is ADORABLE! Almost makes me wish I had to pack my lunch for work each day! Now, that tablescape! I wish I had celebrated back to school like that! Those mini pineapples are SO cute! The placemats are perfect! I really have a thing for flamingos this year…did you see my flamingo dinner party? Or if you saw me hosting FB Live for Hometalk, I have people wanted to come and steal the flamingo pillows on my bed! I am so glad you stumbled upon Celebrate and Decorate and came to Celebrate Your Story! I am following She leaves a little sparkle now and followed several of your Pinterest boards! I hope I see you at the parties again!
Oh Chloe, that is just the kindest thing ever! Thank you so much! I know, I want a pursebox too…ha! I need to go and check out your flamingo party! I’m obsessed as well! I hate for summer to end because I still have lots of flamingo stuff to use 😜. Oh well, next summer! So glad you stopped by! I followed you as well and look forward to getting to know you better and being inspired by you! Hugs!
Love.the pink. So pretty. You daughter is darling..
Thank you soooo much, Carol! I’m so glad you stopped by! Xoxo
your daughter is a doll just like her mama! And that strawberry whip cream frosting looks delicious
Thank you, darling Mysha!! She is so sweet and at such a fun age! 🙂
I love the purse lunch box idea, hire cool is that? And yay to no more uniforms! I went to Catholic school fur 8 years and the uniforms were U G L Y green and red plaid.
So many other fun things for back to school! Thanks for linking up to Waste Not Wednesday!
Thank you, Toni! haha I know we do NOT love uniforms! They just started this morning and it went well dropping them off. So excited for them! Glad you stopped by! xoxo!
Summer, Im so glad you shared this!! Making memorable meals (that tablescape, tho! Swooning!) and having a cool lunch box (a PURSEBOX,love this, need one!) really is special for the kids. I’m going to make the pasta dish and I love the easy light dessert idea! Thank you for sharing your sparkle and creativity, it helps those of us who struggle to come up with cute ideas on our own! Xxoo Good luck to your sweethearts at school this year!
Oh Jen, I’m so blown away by your sweet comments…thank yoU!!! Glad I can share some fun ideas and I know whatever you do it’s gonna be perfect! B loves her purse box and I want one too haha! Best wishes and hugs for this new adventure! xoxox….
What a beautiful special tradition that you have with your sweet daughter heading back to school! So lovely! I love the super cool lunch purse too!!
Thank you so much, Sam! The kids love it and look forward to it every year 🙂 I will miss these days! xoxo