Blue's Clues party

It's party time once again because my niece, Miss V, turned 3! She is an awesome little girl and she specifically asked for a Blue's Clues party. Now if you know, Blue's Clues isn't even on the air anymore, but thanks to the joys of old videos, she's currently hooked on it.

Now what do you do when there are no party supplies in your party theme? Well make them of course! Her momma, Kris and I DIY-ed this party like no one's business.

Kris scoured thrift sites and eBay for anything Blue's Clues, and she found lots of stuff. She got Blue's Clues toys, stuffed animals, a Memory game, and books. She even managed to get a thinking chair! This made the perfect chair for the birthday girl!

We printed TONS of Blue's Clues (aka paw prints) and used them as decorations all over the place. We put them all over the walls and even on the sidewalk coming up to the house. You could tell that Blue was here.

We also used the paws to decorate plain paper bags that were our goodie bags for the kids. They were filled with candy, bubbles and even a handy dandy notebook and crayons for each kid.

It's also really handy that Eddie, Miss V's dad, is a great artist. He drew the invite (which is above) and also a welcome poster for the front door. We had to let people know it was party time...

He also drew a pin the clue on Blue game (which we totally forgot about playing...). Isn't Blue so cute?

And I had to make cupcakes. The ever demanding Miss V told me she needed blue cupcakes for the boys and magenta cupcakes for the girls. Who was I to deny her? I baked up vanilla and milk chocolate cupcakes in blue and magenta wrappers and frosted them with blue and magenta buttercream.

Kris got a bounce house for extra fun and the party was set.

Miss V and her brother, X, had a great time at the party, and so did everyone else. Can't you tell by those crazy faces?!

Needless to say just cause your theme is obscure doesn't mean you can't have a great birthday party. With a little imagination and some quick DIYs, you can make any party as awesome as you can make it.

Happy Birthday Abuelo & Abuela

Today is a very important day around here, it's my grandparents' birthday!

I was so very lucky to have grown up with all 4 of my grandparents. Abuelo & Abuela are the ones we spent the most time with. 

When I was about 8, Abuelo retired and was there every day with my brothers and I. He was our chauffeur, picking us up from school and taking us for snacks, to the park and anywhere else. He taught us to swim in the pool at their house. And was more than happy to play lifeguard every afternoon during the summer as my brothers and I and the cousins had a pool party every afternoon. When we slept over, he would make us fried eggs and tostada (Cuban toast) for breakfast. Abuelo made the best chicken soup and his puerco asado (roasted pork) at Christmas is something I miss every year. My Abuelo (Angel was his name) is no longer with us, but was one of the best men that I knew.

Abuela worked from home when we were little and watched my brothers and I after school. She would make us steak and rice for dinner almost every night... it was so good. She is still my personal seamstress. I never knew that everyone's grandma didn't make them all of their clothes until I was about 7 or 8. I was so used to getting any dress I wanted made at the drop of a hat. She is the reason I sew. She never really taught me, but I feel like I learned just by being around her sewing all the time. Her handiwork is so perfect (and sometimes better than off the rack clothes), that it's intimidating for me to make clothes. I just can't do it half way. She's my roomie now, and still makes those yummy steaks and tostones. And the best congri de frijoles negros. And yeah, she's still sewing. Gotta love her.

So, a very happy birthday to Abuelo, who I know is one of the Angels that watches over me. And a super happy birthday to Abuela who is my partner in crime and a great role model. Los quiero!!

Weekend fun

This weekend I went up to Orlando, but not for a race, just for some fun. I hadn't been to Animal Kingdom with my annual pass yet, so it was time to get wild at Disney.

 

Friday night, Kris and I headed to Hollywood Studios for a girls night. We fast passed before we left the house (gotta love the new FastPass+) and rode the Star Tours, the Great Movie Ride, Tower of Terror and Rock n' Roller Coaster. We then headed to the Tune-In lounge for some adult beverages and a snack before heading back home for the night. It was only 3 hours, but we did so much.

On Saturday, we grabbed the kids (including Miss Alice), Eddie and Kris's Dad and headed to the Animal Kingdom. It was so hot out there, but it was fun. The kids loved seeing the animals and my buddy Xander even rode Everest with me. It was my first time riding, but he got me through it. We kinda got wet on the Kali River Rapids, but Kris really got the brunt of the wave. She was soaked!

I had such a great time over the weekend, it was just the little escape I needed.

Have you been to Disney's Animal Kingdom?

Happy Birthday Mom!

Happy, happy birthday to Mom! Everyone may say their mom is the best, but mine really is. She's crafty and loves to take pictures and loves her family like no one else. She's often my partner-in-crime out going shopping or helping me at a craft fair. I can't imagine not having this awesome woman in my life. Hope you have a very happy birthday, Mom. Here's to many, many more!

Pasteles workshop

Last weekend was time for a pasteles-making workshop. We had a pasteles making class (you can get the detailed instructions there) a while back, but a couple of the cousins wanted a refresher course in making them. A small group of us gathered, to share the tips on how to make the yummy holiday dish and the primas that don't know how to make them got a refresher.

Mom got all fancy and wore her chef hat to the festivities.

Patiti had made the meat the night before, so all that was left was making the masa. Luckily, the bananas and malanga were already peeled, so we just needed to process them. Gisela was able to use the ne food processor that Santa brought her to grate up the bananas, while Alina handled the malanga with our food processor.



It was like Iron Chef in Matiti's kitchen, and Yoly "interviewed" the cooks. LOL! Mom and Yoly were the pasteles masters directing how to make them. We made the masa, and added the achiote oil to the mixture to give it some color.

Then it was assembly time. We pulled out the aluminum foil and started putting the masa and the meat into them. Alina finally got a hand in making the pasteles. After a few, I think she got the hang of it.

Grandma and Matiti supervised the whole thing (and ate some of the test pasteles, of course).

Then it got factory-style in the kitchen putting the pasteles together.

Finally, a shot of the photographer!

 

Of course, there had to be a taste test when they were all done. 

And after all those pasteles being made, everyone got some to take home. I think there were about 60 made!

Doing these classes is so much fun. I love getting together and seeing those recipes done once more.

Do you have any special family recipes that others are dying to try?

Merry Christmas to all!

I want to wish all of you a very merry Christmas!

I spent my Noche Buena (Christmas Eve) at Matiti's house. It was great, since it was just next door.

We had a whole roasted lechon made in the caja china.

My brother, Angel, and my cousin, Marc, had pig duties. They did a great job, it was delicious.

It was a great night spent with friends and family. And, of course, my partner-in-crime, Abuela.

Christmas morning we had brunch here at my house. Mom put out quite a spread.

After we pigged out, it was time to open gifts.

We had a great morning and then it was time to just relax and enjoy the rest of day.

I hope everyone had a merry Christmas surrounded by friends and family, food and fun.

Decking the halls

It's finally December and Thanksgiving is done, so it was officially time to get busy decking the halls this weekend.

First, I had to deck out the Christmas tree. I went with red and gold balls and red ribbons. I also added some gold leaves and red icicles.

Then I it was time to put up our village. The village seems to keep growing and growing, but I think I may have to cut it off now, cause I have run out of places to plug them all in.

Then I prettied up the dining room table with a Christmas tablecloth and one of Mom's stuffed christmas trees, and I can't forget the snowman salt and pepper shakers.

I put the nativity set and a garland in the front entrance.

This nativity is new to us this year. It was my dear Tia Erenia's set, and after her passing last year her granddaughter brought it to us. Grandma wanted to put this one up, so I placed it right as you walk in.

I wanted to make the other side of the house festive too, so I hung wreaths on the bedroom doors.

And finally, a few wreaths on the outside doors too.

It's finally starting to feel like Christmas around here. Now, I'm just hoping for a few more days of chillier weather to make it really feel Christmas-y.

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?

Coffee talk and pop tarts

We had a little coffee talk breakfast this past weekend. It had been a long time since we had a coffee talk, and it was nice to get the mason moms (the planning committee of the family), along with their moms and daughters together. Coffee talk was a potluck, so I decided to try my hand at homemade toaster pastries (pop tarts). I had gotten a toaster pastry mold in the prize pack I won for my mojito cupcakes, and I just needed the perfect excuse to use it.

The pop tarts were surprisingly easy to make. The dough is a basic pie crust. I let it rest in the fridge before rolling it out.

Then I used my mold to cut them out. I then filled them and sealed them with the toaster pastry press. I used two different kinds of preserves to fill them, half were guava and half were strawberry.

I poked some holes in the tops to try to prevent them from bursting, crossed my fingers and put them in the oven. They took about 25 minutes to bake and came out pretty and golden brown. The tops puffed up a bit, but it didn't seem to affect the tarts. And only two of them leaked some jelly out of the side (I'm thinking because I didn't seal them enough), but they still had jelly on the inside.

I let them cool and then frosted them with a simple glaze made of powdered sugar and milk. I decorated them with sprinkles, just like real pop tarts. The red sprinkles were for the guava tarts and the strawberry were green and red sprinkles (just like the store-bought ones).

 

The toaster pastries were a hit, even Abuela liked them. They tasted like the pop tarts from the box, only better. And they were so easy to make I will have to try them again.

Coffee talk is always such a great time. It was nice to get together with the Mason Moms and catch up on life and, as always, hear great stories from the viejas.

Matiti, Abuela & Tia Elisa

Did you love Pop Tarts as a kid? Have you had any little family get togethers lately?