I have been living in California for the past 2 months working with ‘Not For Sale.’ So far the experience has been incredible and I am excited to be apart of such an amazing organization. They truly believe that slavery can be ended in our lifetime, and I look forward to the day when it is. A few weeks ago ‘Not For Sale’ celebrated their 5th birthday, and I was asked to throw a small party for all the staff. Here are some pics from the party!

One of my favorite shower games is a ‘purse scavenger hunt.’ We divided the shower guests into groups (by table) and told everyone to take out their purse or handbag. Give the host a list of random items you might find in a purse or handbag. As items are called, the first table to bring up that item gets a point. Our list included things like an out of state drivers license, tweezer, credit card that expired in 2014, nickel, family photo, pink iphone case, etc. The table with the most points at the end wins. We gave out small boxes of chocolates to the winning table.

My car is packed up with everything I own and I am driving from Connecticut to California this week. Have a great week and we will be back Monday!

{Image via Ruche’s lookbook}

happy holidays from all of us at elevencupcakes!

Hi everyone- this is Holly!  I know I am really bad about writing about my personal life on elevencupcakes, it something I am working on. As part of my attempt to share more, I have some exciting news! I love party planning and it has always been a hobby of mine, but I’m not sure you could call it a passion. When I was in college I spent 4 months living in Mukono, Uganda. I learned about plenty of injustices and issues that needed passionate people, but I never heard about anything that got me fired up. For the past 5 years I have been praying for God to give me a passion. I wanted something that would get me out of bed in the morning that I had no choice but to do something about, a passion I could not ignore.

Last year I heard a speaker who talked about sex trafficking. Present day slavery is a huge issue around the world and human trafficking has been slowly increasing, without much notice. I knew there were still brothels and prostitutes in parts of the world, but I was ignorant to the reasons behind it. I spent the next year researching everything I could about sex trafficking and slavery, and God has been slowly breaking my heart for this issue and the people who are trapped in it. This summer I was able to intern with love146, an amazing organization here in Connecticut that fights child sex trafficking. I was still working full time and could only devote so much time to this, but I knew I wanted to do more.

I am so excited to announce that I was recently accepted to participate in a 6-month fellowship program with ‘Not For Sale’ in Half Moon Bay, California.  The Not For Sale Campaign is a global organization that fights to end slavery in the world and creates new futures for survivors.  I will be assisting with operations and donor development, as well as event planning. I recently  re-signed from my job and am in the process of packing up everything I own to move to California. If you are interested in learning more, I have a separate site with more info.

Erin and I will still be trying to post party ideas on a regular basis, but I might not be able to do as much as I normally have. I’m excited for this new adventure, and will keep you updated.

Thanks for reading- Holly

Halloween might be over, but fall is just beginning! Here are some of our favorite fall treats. Click on the picture for the original link.

We rounded up some Harvest Party posts from last year. Just beause Halloween is over doesn’t mean there still isn’t time to throw one of your own!  Click on the picture for the link to the original post.

image via www.bettycrocker.com

As we finish up our week of healthy food ideas we wanted to share a favorite healthy dessert: parfaits! Instead of setting up an ice cream sundae bar set up a parfait bar.  Set up a few different flavors of yogurts  and then don’t skimp on toppings.  Just about anything can go in a parfait: cereal, fresh fruit, dried fruit,  granola, sprinkles, marshmallows, candy or cookie pieces, just about anything you have in your fridge or pantry.

Kids will love making their own colorful and delicious creations and they won’t even notice they’re not eating ice cream!

We hope you enjoyed our healthy party food ideas this week.

We love fruit kabobs and healthy crackers like goldfish and Annie’s Cheddar Bunnies. Set food out and lets kids munch throughout the party.

We set out ‘Dorothy’s Goldfish’ at a recent Sesame Street Party.

Chocolate covered strawberries are a good alternative to candy or other sweets.

This ‘confetti’ fruit salad was a big hit at a Cupcake & Confetti party. 

Fruit Kebobs are fun for all!