Christmas Swap FUN

If you missed the neighborhood Christmas ornament swap party, then you missed out on a fabulously fun, lively, festive and delicious get-together!


Friday, December 4, brought together a merry bunch of Oaklyn Hills residents (tacky Christmas wear and all!) at the home of Brandi Bradberry for a first-ever neighborhood ornament exchange! Guests "oooohed" and "ahhhed" over the gorgeous Christmas decorations while sharing stories, listening to Christmas music, sipping some wine and munching on a variety of home-baked goodies.


The atmosphere was nothing less than festive, creating a warm, lively tone for the ornament swap that took place a little after 8:00. Done in the "Dirty Santa" style, swap participants picked numbers at random and selected a wrapped Christmas ornament, one at a time.


All was calm and mild as happy present openers discovered beautiful ornaments for their trees... until the "Dirty Santa" part kicked in, and suddenly, guests were snatching ornaments from one another and quickly unwrapping replacements, only to get those picked up by someone else moments later!


Thanks go out to Beth for organizing the event... and most of all to Brandi who opened up her lovely home and graciously hosted the fun and festive party!

Don't Miss Out -- Mary Kay Open House, December 13

Our neighborhood is full of good things, including opportunities to shop for everything from pet products, kitchen goodies and home decor... to jewelry, purses and makeup!
Be sure to check out the special Mary Kay Open House coming up on Sunday, December 13, from 2-4pm, at the home of Shelley Shores at 149 Oaklyn Hills Drive! Enjoy refreshments, door prizes and more! (Bring a friend, and get 10% off your entire purchase!)
Support our neighborhood businesses, and get some great products for yourself and others... like the coworkers, teachers, employees, friends and family members still on your Christmas list!

You're Invited: Christmas Ornament Exchange -- 12/4/09

The event committee would like to invite you to our Christmas ornament swap party on Friday, December 4, at 7pm!

Please note the following event details:

• This is an adults-only event.
• We would love to know if any babysitters in our neighborhood will be available this evening so couples can get away for a few hours without the kids.
  
• Goodies and non-alcoholic beverages will be provided.
• You are more than welcome (but not required) to bring wine to sip and share!
• The party is "open-house style" beginning at 7pm, but the ornament swap will occur around 8pm, so please be sure to arrive in time or stay long enough to participate!
• There is no "theme" or "style" for the Christmas ornaments. Just purchase something nice, something you would display on your own tree (and be sure the price is around $10... but not more than $15). Also, be sure to wrap your ornament so it will be a fun surprise when it's selected and opened!
• Dig that holiday garb out of the closet, and don't be afraid to go "over the top." Prizes will be awarded to the "Best (or is that worst?) Dressed" male and female at the party (immediately following the ornament swap.)

Please let us know if you have any questions.
And be sure to RSVP by Tuesday, December 1.
Happy Holidays!

Purchase Christmas Gifts -- From YOUR Neighbors!

Attention all neighbors!
It has come to our attention that there are several folks in our neighborhood who have their own home-based/home-party businesses! That means there are GREAT items to buy -- for Christmas and beyond -- right here in Oaklyn Hills!
If YOU or someone you know in Oaklyn Hills is one of these entrepreneurial folks, please let us know! We would love to be able to post about the wonderful shopping opportunities we have right next door... or right down the street!
Comment on this post or e-mail us at oaklynhillseventcommittee@gmail.com with some details!
Thanks -- and happy shopping!

November Bunco

It was great to see several new faces along with the familiar ones at last night's Bunco game at the home of Tina on Rolling Hills Drive.

With 16 excited players ready to roll (our largest group to date!), we added a 4th table for more Bunco fun! As well, the group had to determine some new yells for the recently added "snake eyes," "baby buncos" and "big buncos!"


Participants in the November 3 game included: Angela, Brandi, Cara, Cathryn, Christy B., Christy C., Cindy, Jill, Kathy, Krystal, Leigh Ann, Natalie, Paige, Season, Susan, Tina and Toni. And with the additional players this time around, a 4th prize was added to the usual mix of winners. "Most wins" went to Season, "second-most wins" to Krystal and "most buncos" to Christy B. And with more than one "loser," a roll off was held... and Leigh Ann won the honor of "most losses" of the night.


Special thanks go out to our hostess, Tina, and her helper, Brandi... and to Paige for her outstanding job organizing the Bunco nights each month!


Just FYI for all Bunco players: We plan to skip December but will gear back up in January. We've also decided to move our Bunco games to the 3rd Tuesday night of the month so we won't conflict with the Homeowners' Meetings. So be ready to play again on Tuesday, January 19, 2010!

Halloween Parade Highlights

Yes, it did rain....
And, yes, it was a bit cold....
BUT neighbors and friends in our community STILL showed up in large numbers (more than 50 kids signed up!) to participate in Oaklyn Hills' first ever Halloween Parade!


With wagons, various props or umbrellas in hand, the group of costumed kids, parents and siblings marched (or rode) down Rolling Hills Drive and up part of Rolling Rock Trail to the dead end.



Onlookers peered out windows or stood on the sidewalks to watch and cheer on -- or even bark for -- the parade participants.


The parade's completion held more surprises with a bake sale, snacks, drinks, craft tables... and a costume contest for ages 0-3, ages 4-8 and ages 9-13.



One boy and one girl from each age group won a special prize for their great costumes!
(Here are Alex as Mickey Mouse and sweet Little Bo Peep!)

(Landon and Kenzie pose as a very realistic dragon and a "bat witch.")

(With very creative costumes, here are Kayla as Mac & Cheese and a clever scuba diver!)

Shure Pets Fundraiser is sure to help raise money for common area!

We're excited to share some Grrrreat news with our fellow pets, pet owners and animal fans! Oaklyn Hills has em-barked on a new fundraiser with Shure Pets!


For the next two weeks (Sat., Oct. 31 through Fri., Nov. 13), you can pamper your pets, care for them AND spoil them rotten simply by clicking HERE and sniffing out the paw-some products in the Shure Pets Cat-a-log. From conditioning shampoos, "aromutt" spritzers, health record books and treats... to fashion collars, leashes, tug toys and purrrsonalized pet throws -- select items for your online shopping cart, and buy them right HERE! Or, contact Oaklyn Hills' resident, Beth Alcazar (bethiswriting@yahoo.com; 205-602-0815), for Shure Pets Cat-a-logs, order forms and ordering information. (Use party #1793 so all orders are counted for our fundraiser!)

25% of the proceeds will go to us for our common area!
So, get those tails wagging and help us raise some money!

Oaklyn Hills Halloween Parade

With nearly half of the month of October gone already, Halloween is quickly coming our way! And that means our neighborhood Halloween parade will be here before you know it!
So get your favorite costumes picked out for your kids... and your pets... and sign up to join us for some festive fun!


The Halloween Parade will take place on Saturday morning, October 31 (Halloween day). Participants will need to be ready to go by 10am at 520 Rolling Hills Drive. The route will follow Rolling Hills Drive to Rolling Rock and finish at the dead end. Parents, kids and pets may walk the parade route or ride in their own wagons or carts. As well, we will plan to have a few trailers for folks to ride on.

Along with the parade, we will have some fun costume contests for various age groups and categories. And immediately following, there will be a BAKE SALE as well as snacks and crafts for the kids! (Proceeds from the bake sale will support the common area! And we need lots of volunteers to make goodies for the sale... and plenty of people to buy goodies to take home after the parade!)

We need to hear from ALL participants -- parade and/or bake sale -- by Monday, October 19. (E-mail the event committee at oaklynhillseventcommittee@gmail.com)

We're looking forward to a treat!

October Bunco Fun

The fun continued last night, October 6, as our neighborhood Bunco group got together at Krystal's home for a lively evening of visiting, snacking, dice rolling and prize winning.



A lot of familiar faces were there, along with some new Bunco group members! There were also a few new "rules" added to the mix, as players did their best to avoid "snake eyes" (rolling three 1's, which resulted in losing all points for the team) and had fun shooting for "baby Buncos" (rolling three of a kind, but not a Bunco, which added 5 points for the team).

Bunco participants included: Beth, Brandi, Cara, Cindy, Christy, Gail, Jill, Krystal, Season, Tina and Toni. And the lucky rollers of the night were: Cindy, with most wins; Season, with most losses; and Cara with the most Buncos.



Thanks again to Paige for organizing the event, as well as to Krystal and her helper, Cara, for hosting. Next month's game night will be held at the home of Tina on Tuesday, November 3.

WANTED: Your Recipes

If you read our latest neighborhood e-newsletter, you know that the event committee is currently organizing a cookbook, filled with the best -- and favorite -- recipes from our community! But we need YOUR RECIPES to make this project a success! So start digging for those go-to favorites for anything from delicious appetizers, sauces, breads, soups and desserts to easy, microwave meals, crockpot dinners, family secrets and more!

We hope to have the customized product complete in time for delivery by Mother's Day 2010. But the cookbook will make a great gift for birthdays, weddings, anniversaries and Christmas as well! (And proceeds from the sale of the cookbooks will go to the common area, so it’s for a great cause.)

Please e-mail YOUR recipes to oaklynhillseventcommittee@gmail.com

Party Time -- This Weekend

Oaklyn Hills has a few exciting, home-party events taking place this weekend!
Be sure to check them out... you can get some Christmas shopping done, or pick up a few new things for yourself!
Here are the details:

B's Purses Party (ONLINE Launch Party!)
Friday-Sunday, September 25-27 (all weekend!)
Hostess: Beth Alcazar
Location: Online! Go to bspurses.com/balcazar
Contact: 602-0815
Details: Design your own purse!
Check out the gorgeous Fall/Winter 2009 collection of B’s purses, totes, luggage, accessories and more … and customize your very own!
B's Purses lets you choose the style and shape of your custom bag, select the fabric for the inside and outside and finish it off with the handle and hardware of your choice (and even add ribbon, piping or a monogram)!
When you find that special something you just can’t live without, order it directly from Beth's B’s Purses website. (Just be sure to use party number 5800.)
You can also check out Beth's blog and get entered for some great prizes! (This is a launch party, after all!)



"September Sparkle" Premier Jewelry Party
Sunday, September 27 (2:00 pm)
Hostess: Krystal Fielding
Location: Krystal's house; 232 Oaklyn Hills Drive
Contact: 678-8151
Details:
Fall is here and sweaters are near
So you need only one thing...
A little zing to your bling!
Come join us for fun
We're sure to have a ton
As we check out the new styles
Of Premier Jewelry with smiles!

Got Events?

Birthday? Anniversary? Graduation? New baby? Garage sale? Home party?
If you have a special event happening in Oaklyn Hills that you'd like to share with neighbors and friends, let the event committee know! If we have the chance, we'll post the information on our blog... maybe just some happy greetings or announcements or the details on big sales or home-party fun!
So let us know what's happening with you!

Oaklyn Hills' Ladies Are On a Roll

Tuesday, September 1, marked the very first night for Bunco in our Oaklyn Hills community. Twelve ladies from the newly formed Bunco group met up at Beth's home on Lakeland Ridge for a lively evening of food, conversation, competition and prizes!
"We started out mostly as strangers," Beth commented, "but we ended up leaving as friends... with something fun to look forward to for the first Tuesday of each month!"



The group, which included a few Bunco veterans and mostly "newbies," played two rounds of the fast-paced, dice-rolling game. After learning the rules, making a few trial runs and working out all the specifics, there were three very active tables of cheers and chatter along with some fancy dice-rolling techniques and many excited exclamations of "Bunco!"




Winners for the night were Brandi, with the most wins, Krystal, with the most losses (yes, there is a prize for that!), and Beth, with the most Buncos. Other participants included Amy, Cara, Cathryn, Debbie, Jill, Nancy, Paige, Season and Tina. Everyone ended the night with some great memories... but the three lucky ladies (pictured, below) also had a little extra spending money to take home!



The entire group would like to extend thanks to Beth and her helper, Season, for a successful and fun inaugural Bunco night... and is especially grateful to Paige (and the Oaklyn Hills Event Committee) for planning and organizing the monthly event.

{*Next month's Bunco night will be hosted by Krystal, with helper, Cara, on October 6.}


(It's not too late, by the way! If you'd like to participate in our Bunco group, let us know! There is still room for players and "substitutes.")