NCAA Basketball March Madness Home Viewing Party

It's that time of year once again.

March rolls around and my husband starts talking in terms of brackets and schedules and predictions... and my eyes begin to glass over from the start of the tournament pretty much up until it is narrowed down to the Final Four.

Or at least that is what I think is going to happen. Somehow even though I roll my eyes every time another game is on TV or I hear "I just need to check the score..." mentioned, I find that it's hard to not get sucked into the excitement of it all.

But aside from my husband losing money in his work pool, we don't tend to have any annual traditions or fun celebrations like we do with other sporting events. It just hasn't been something that we've done before.

This year is different, though. This year we were introduced to the genius of the Party Bluprints Blog and found out just how fun a March Madness Viewing Party can be, particularly with Orville Redenbacher Pop Up Bowls popcorn leading the way.

First up? Planning the party and heading to the store, of course! Armed with my list of ingredients, it was time to hit up Walmart and see just what I could find to make this party great. The trip ended up a little more eventful as I would have liked, seen here in my whrrl...

More check-ins at Walmart #1138

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After finally getting those elusive Pop Up Bowls, we were definitely ready to get the preparations underway. First up was the all-important whoopie pies because as far as I was concerned, it wasn't going to be a party without them.

The recipe (found over on the Party Bluprints Blog) was extremely easy to follow and it wasn't long before we had turned a chocolate cake mix, cream cheese, butter, and a few other ingredients into something that looked awfully tasty.

In fact, I turned away for a minute to put up decorations and found a certain little someone awfully close to taking a taste...

With that crisis averted, we finished putting up our decorations and getting the rest of the food together before our guests arrived... as I hadn't found any basketball-themed decorations at Walmart, we just went with an overall bright colors motif and used a little bit of everything.

I also took the tip from the Party Bluprints Blog to check to make sure that our television was on and ready to go. Our cable company has been known for doing strange things in the past and this was definitely not the day that we wanted to be fiddling with having to reset or adjust anything.

With the party underway, it was time to hang out, laugh, and enjoy some good basketball, good food, and good friends and family. The game didn't hold the kids' attention for all too long, but they still had a great time with the party favors that we set out... and they were happy to provide a little entertainment during commercial breaks.

But the clear winners of the day were two things. First, the popcorn.

The adults and the kids loved the Orville Redenbacher's Pop Up Bowls, they were just so easy, convenient, and perfect for snacking. Two minutes in the microwave and we had another fresh bag-turned-bowl for people to dig in... and when it was empty, we simply threw it out and had one less dish to wash later.

Second, the whoopie pies.

If you haven't tried these, do it. The soft chocolate cake on the outside is the perfect complement to the sugary sweet cream cheese icing in middle and it just ends up one big mouthful of yummmm. I just might have to use these for future parties as well and just tint the icing a different color depending on the occasion!

All in all, I couldn't even tell you who won the basketball game. And I'm sure that probably does matter in the overall scheme of things... but in party terms, we had a great time. I'll definitely be checking back to the Party Bluprints Blog in the future for more fun ideas because I really enjoyed the way that they had their March Madness Party plans laid out.

Now the only question is: what's next? A party for spring? The World Series? Maybe a big Mother's Day Bash?

I was compensated by Collective Bias to write this post. All opinions are my own.

Stanley Food and Drink Storage Products {Review}

When it comes to finding Valentine's Day gifts, it isn't hard to find a long list of the traditional ones.

Chocolate, candy, flowers, jewelry... the list goes on. But what about when you're looking for something a little more customized for your significant other? Of course people love the classic gifts (I read recently that 58 million pounds of chocolate are purchased in the days leading up to the 14th!) but it's also nice to keep your recipient's interests and hobbies in mind as well.

Seeing as I had zero gifts for my outdoorsy husband this year, it worked out perfectly that Collective Bias wanted to send me to Walmart to check out their selection of Stanley food and drink storage items. What a great idea for a gift for an outdoor enthusiast! Their website boasts quite a large number of different products, so it was time to pack up the kids and head to the store.

As for the results? Well, go ahead and click on my Whrrl to see...

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The Stanley 1.1-Quart Classic Vacuum Bottle truly is a high quality, heavy duty item that is made to last. It is residue-free (no liners, coatings or BPA) and the insulated lid and leak-proof stopper go perfectly with the thick, double wall construction that can take pretty much whatever you dish out.

Not only are there multiple stories on their website from people who have run theirs over with a tractor, used it to jack up their car and more, this is one company that strongly stands behind saying that their products are built for life.

So even though my husband isn't likely going to be dropping his Stanley Vacuum Bottle 4,000 feet from a plane or using it to stop a bullet, just knowing that his coffee, apple cider or even soup is going to stay piping hot for hours when he's enjoying the outdoors is still going to make this a great Valentine's Day gift.

(My shopping trip was sponsored through Collective Bias but all opinions shared are my own and honest.)