Kris's 40th Birthday Party

I've gotten back on a little party roll lately, and with my bestie having a big milestone birthday this year, I knew I had to do something for her. So along with her husband, Eddie, we decided to throw Kris a big 40th party.

We decided it'd be easiest to make the party happen at Kris and Eddie's house. This way the kids could stay and play, as the adults chatted and had fun. I totally got inspired by some black and white stripes I saw online paired with bright peonies, so the theme was done. Finding the striped plates and napkins wasn't easy, but I finally found them online. Then I called in to a local florist and he was able to set aside some peonies and garden roses for me. Eddie got a few balloons and the decor was done.

Eddie had a great idea for a taco bar, since Kris loves Mexican food. It was so easy to set up. Just some crock-pot taco chicken and all the fixings. Add some chips and we were set.

Since we were having the taco bar, we had to have margaritas. I made regular and strawberry margaritas. I used a mix they recommended at Total Wine, and they were great. Plus, they looked super cute in Mom's drink dispensers.

For the strawberry margaritas, I just added some fresh strawberry puree to the mix. They were perfect and not too sweet.

I couldn't throw my bestie a party without making some cupcakes. Since we were already making strawberry margaritas, strawberry margarita cupcakes were a no brainer. I also made chocolate and vanilla cupcakes for the kids, I didn't think they'd like the strawberry tequila filling.

I also made a little cake to add to the top of the cupcake tower. I decorated it with some of the fresh flowers and it looked amazing.

The birthday girl just loved it!

This girl is one of the best friends anyone could ever have, and I was so happy to be able to throw this party for her. We all had such a great time at the party. And this girl makes 40 look good!

Sweet Angels Cupcakes

Mom and I put a little site together to show off our cupcakes. There you can also check out all the flavors we can make, and even look at our custom cakes and other sweets.

We have a little bit of everything, basic flavors, chocolate, vanilla, and red velvet. Then you can also check out our premium flavors, things like strawberry lemonade or rocky road. And our popular "boozy" flavors, mojitos and margaritas and more.

We also have a page showing off our custom cakes and the other sweets we can make.

Check out Sweet Angels Cupcakes and take a look at all the yummy we can make!

Oreo cupcakes

I love getting cupcake requests, cause it forces me to come up with new flavors of cupcakes. My friend, JP, asked for Oreo cupcakes for his birthday, and I was more than happy to oblige.

These cupcakes start with an Oreo on the bottom. Can you imagine anything yummier? Separate the Oreo and put the half with the cream on the bottom of your cupcake liners. Save the tops of your Oreos to add to your buttercream later.

I then filled my cupcake liners with the batter. I added crushed Oreo pieces to the batter. Next time I'm gonna mix them in, so you can get little Oreo pieces throughout the cupcakes.

They baked up so nice.

Now, it's time to make the buttercream. I started by making a basic vanilla buttercream. Then I took the Oreo tops that I saved from before and crushed them in my mini food processor. Make sure the Oreo crumbs are fine, so they won't be clumpy when you add them to the buttercream. (I took my Mom's suggestion and passed the crumbs through a strainer before adding them to the buttercream.) Then just add your Oreo crumbs to the buttercream and mix them in.

Then frost your Oreo cupcakes with your cookies and cream frosting and sprinkle some extra Oreo crumbs on the top.

These cupcakes were great, chocolatey and full of Oreo goodness from the frosting all the way to the cookie at the bottom. These are perfect for a choco-holic or Oreo addict!

Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes

Happy St. Patrick's Day everyone! Today is the one day a year I'm Irish (well maybe just redheaded). Since St. Patrick's Day fell on a Monday, I had time to try out a new cupcake recipe for the occasion.

I had to use some Irish spirits to make the cupcakes really scream St. Patrick's without too much green. I got some Bailey's, Guinness, and Jameson to make some Irish Car Bomb inspired cupcakes.

First I made the cupcakes, instead of the liquid needed, I substituted the same amount of Guinness. It made the cupcakes nice and fluffy.

Next I made a chocolate ganache, spiked with a little Jameson's Irish Whisky. This gave the ganache just a little kick.

I filled the cupcakes with ganache. And I would like to thank the internet for letting me in on a little secret. I used the big frosting tips that I have to cut a hole in the cupcakes for filling.  This is so much easier than using a knife.

 

I made my regular vanilla buttercream, but made it "Irish" by adding some Bailey's Irish Cream to to the mix. It gave it just the right hint. Then a few green sprinkles and they were ready to go.

I know everyone at the office will enjoy this little treat.

St. Paddy's is always such a fun holiday. I hope you're wearing your green so you won't get pinched.

Lego superhero party

My nephew, Xander, turned 7 last week, and he wanted a birthday party at home, so that's what he got. He's still all about superheroes, but we had to change it up a little (since he ALWAYS wants a superhero party). He loves his Lego video games, so Lego superheroes was a great twist on the superhero theme.

The color palette for the party was easy, red, yellow, and blue.

And then, we just added a few Lego details, and Lego superheroes, to round it all out.

I also made some cute (and super easy) Lego inspired goodie bags for the kids to take home with them.

We had a twist on pin the tail on the donkey too, we played "pin the spider on Lego Spiderman." I can't take credit for this though, that drawing was all Eddie!

 Spidey ended up with spiders in very interesting places at the end of the day.

And no birthday would be complete without cupcakes. We decorated them with cutouts of Lego superheroes.

X had a great time at his party, and the Lego superhero theme was a total hit.

Are you in on the Lego craze?

Dulce de Leche cupcakes

It's birthday time around these parts, and I knew exactly the cupcakes that I wanted to make Damaris, it had to be dulce de leche!

I whipped up this new flavor of cupcake with Damaris in mind. Anything involving dulce de leche (or leche condensada for that matter) is high on her list of loves. I made a vanilla cake, filled with dulce de leche topped with buttercream and a dulce de leche drizzle, it was just perfect for this sweets-loving girl.



I was also dying to use my new dessert ferris wheel, but alas, the cupcakes were a little too big to fit inside. I'll have to figure out something for next time.

I thought the dulce de leche filling might overwhelm the cupcake with sweetness, but it was just enough to give the dulce de leche flavor, without being cloyingly sweet. The cupcakes were a great surprise for the birthday girl and she loved her personal flavor.

Nothing says happy birthday like a cupcake. And these were a total hit!

If you could pick any cupcake flavor for your birthday, what would it be?

A sprinkle of love (Baby shower)

A close friend of mine is having a little girl in January, and though she didn't want a big shower, her friends and I decided we needed to at least have a little sprinkle of love for the little one.

We decided to have the sprinkle shower at a local restaurant. That way we could enjoy the party, while letting them take care of the food, and more importantly the cleanup. I did bring a few handmade touches though, to make it a little more personal.

I made some flower arrangements for the tables. We ordered pink roses and were surprised to see they came with lilies and astromelia too. They were perfect little arrangements to adorn the tables.

I had to make cupcakes, of course. Since the mom-to-be is a huge fan of my cupcakes, I knew I had to create a new flavor for her shower. I decided on raspberry white chocolate, vanilla cake with raspberry filling topped with white chocolate buttercream and I topped them off with a fresh raspberry. They were delicious, light and not overly sweet. And I finally used my pink cupcake sleeves. They were the perfect cupcake decoration for the shower.

I brought some fabric with me to help decorate the room. I used the pink and green to give the cupcake table a little touch of girly-ness. I also added some flowers to this table.

I wanted to make a little favor for the guests to take with them, and I thought my smores pops were a great idea. Just adding a little ribbon made them perfect for the occasion.

It really goes to show how a few little handmade touches can turn even the most ordinary into something really special.

I know the mommy-to-be loved the little sprinkle we gave her. It was so nice to be able to spend some time among friends celebrating the new little one that will be coming soon.

Cowboy dessert table

I was asked to handle some decorations and the dessert table for a cowboy themed 50th birthday celebration. I was more than excited to do it, and was super psyched to make the desserts that they ordered from me.

They ordered some brand new flavors. First the rocky road cupcake. It's chocolate cake, stuffed with marshmallows and walnuts, and topped with a roasted marshmallow.

Then, for a vanilla based cupcake, we had the strawberry shortcake cupcake. It's vanilla cake, with strawberry filling and topped with a whipped buttercream and a fresh strawberry.

I also made brownies, both with and without nuts. (I make my brownies chewy!)

They also ordered s'mores on a stick. It's just like a s'more, but without the mess. It's a marshmallow dipped in Hershey's chocolate (gotta keep it authentic!) and then rolled in graham cracker crumbs.

I set up my desserts along with some other desserts brought by the hostess. Then I put out all the dessert labels. I just think the labels really bring a dessert table together. Plus it makes it easier for everyone, since they can see what they are having.

I also helped set up the rest of the part including making flower arrangements and setting the tables with the favors and bandana napkins. The party had a real cowboy/country feel.

I was so excited to help out with this party and dessert table it gave me the chance to delevop a few new recipes and set up a fabulous table full of yummy goodness.

What do you usually grab at the dessert table?

Hello Kitty party

My best friend and I had no problems picking a theme for my niece, Veronica's 2nd birthday party, it had to be Hello Kitty. This little one is obsessed with the kitty, so we just had to make the kitty-ness our own.

We had a simple cake and ice cream party. With a LOT of Hello Kittys all over the place.We thrifted Hello Kittys anywhere we could find them.

I got some hello kitty coloring pages for the kids to have fun with. The birthday girl got very serious about coloring.

Then it was time for cupcakes and ice cream. The cupcakes were a group effort. Rachel baked them, and I made the frosting. We had both vanilla and chocolate cupcakes and I made pink cream cheese frosting and purple buttercream. I brought my tips to frost them all pretty and added these Hello Kitty cupcake toppers.

The ice cream bar was super fun. We had marshmallows, sprinkles, mini chocolate chips. candies (which were the birthday girl's faves) plus chocolate and caramel sauce and waffle bowls. It was yummy.

Miss V seemed to love the cupcakes!

This was a simple party, but with a few handmade touches we really made it into something special. Veronica loved all the Hello Kitties everywhere.

Happy 2nd birthday Veronica!

 
What was your favorite birthday party as a kid?