a GRAND painting party…and our charBOOterie board, too!
- Our Grand Lives
- 1 day ago
- 5 min read
Friday, October 10, 2025
There’s nothing more GRAND than spending time with longtime friends!
There’s just something about old friends — they know your stories, your quirks, and, of course, your snack preferences (chocolate, please)!!!. You know the kind of friendships we’re talking about… the ones where you can pick up right where you left off, no matter how long it’s been, and before you know it, you’re laughing until your sides ache and wondering why you don’t do this more often!
Laurie is blessed with such a group of friends!
High School Band Tour
Sophomore Year - 1979
As we’ll discover, these friendsÂ
have shared LOTS of fun times together
and made lots of memories together!
Today she’s sharing highlights from a recent gathering she hosted!
As you probably know by now,
I welcome any chance I get to spend time with those I love!
This party took a bit of planning ahead of time
and was the perfect way to welcome October
with a very special group of friends!
For almost 45 years now,
I have been friends with the most amazing group of five women!
In fact, while this group has been friends since high school,
three of us actually went to kindergarten together!
As you can see in the photo above, our friendship first began when we all ended up in marching band together in ninth grade. We spent four years sharing band shows, tours, and many, many Friday and Saturday evenings together, laughing, talking and making memories! Â
Then came college, jobs, marriages, children… We were not always together every week or even every month any more, but whenever we could find the time in our busy schedules, we got together, picking up just like we were fourteen years old again! Â
We have been a tight knit group who call ourselves The Founding Friends! Â
We have supported each other for all these years
and we know almost everything there is to know about each other! Â
Christmas Party 1997
These days, as we each slowly retire and our children grow, we have more time to meet and always love the chance to get together and try a new project or game - at Christmas parties, Winter Blues get-togethers and long weekends at cabins. Â
How GRAND is that?
Through the years, I had seen this painting project on Pinterest - taking an old painting and turning it into a Halloween scene by painting Halloween decorations on it. Â
Last May, I finally remembered to tell my friends about it! Their job was to spend some time during the summer checking out thrift stores and garage sales for an inexpensive painting for this project. Â
We gathered at my house in late September for our painting party!
First we took time to catch up with each other!
We always have so much to talk about!
 We had a snacky lunch with the fall charBOOterie I put together
and another friend also brought a salad.
You’ll find more details about this char-BOO-terie board later in this post,
so, keep on reading!!
Finally, it was time to get down to business!
We admired each other's paintings.Â
took them out of their frames,Â
and gently cleaned them with microfiber cloth.  Â
(The cost of each painting ran from $2 to $6)Â Â
For inspiration,
I had printed some pictures of some of the paintings I had seen on-line Â
We set out newspapers on the table,Â
acrylic paints, different size paint brushes and pencils. Â
We were set!
The room got quiet as we all started studying and concentrating on our next moves. I have to admit, it was hard to make those first paint strokes, but it became easier as we all became more relaxed. Talking and laughing soon started again!
We spent time admiring each other’s detailsÂ
and one by one we found ourselves finishing up!Â
Everyone agreed… It was a VERY fun activity! Â
One friend even admitted that she had arrived with very low expectationsÂ
but had really enjoyed it! Â
We left as we always do, relaxed and filled with the joy that only an afternoon with good friends who know-you-better-than-you-know-yourself can bring!
When people got home, we sent each other photos
of how we were displaying our beautiful art work!
Our families loved our masterpieces!
We love a good charcuterie board
and so does everyone else we know!
It was the perfect choice to kick off our afternoon of fun!!
I filled the board with nuts, grapes, olives, cheese, crackers, salami, apples and caramel, orange cheese puffs, ginger snaps and candy corn! Â
I used my pumpkin and ghost cookie cutters to make holiday shapes out of cheese! Â
It’s one of my favorite ways to decorate a fall charcuterie board! Â
Simple and festive!
With my friend’s salad and our Apple Ginger Fall Fizz drinks,
our Painting Party was off to a wonderful start!
CHEERS!
Celebrating with Apple Ginger Fall Fizz drinks.
Find the recipe in last week’s post HERE.
When lifelong friends get together, it’s always a good time!Â
Whatever the occasion,
laughter is the main event and memories are the ultimate party favor!
Thanks so much for taking the time to stop by today!
If you and your friends have fun ways to share the fall season together
(or any season for that matter)
PLEASE SHARE!
We learn so much from you all!
We’ll be back next week with a new post,
Boo-tiful Ways to Celebrate Halloween!
We’ll be revisiting a few of our favorite traditions
as well as sharing a bit of new inspiration, too!
If you know of anyone else who might enjoy our content,
please share our site with them…
including other GRANDS who love spending time with their own Littles!!
Also, feel free to sign up to subscribe to our blog,
especially if you want to receive our latest content.
THANK YOU!
You’ll find lots of additional ideas there!
There’s something so special about gathering withÂ
the friends who’ve known you forever…
 the ones who’ve seen every version of you and love you anyway!Â
Whether it’s a cozy dinner, a backyard bash,Â
or simply laughter around the table while painting,Â
time together with lifelong friends always feels like something to celebrate!
Special thanks to these Founding Friends!
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