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!

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.

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?

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?

Arabian nights and a whole lotta cake

Last week was time to party at the office, we had a surprise retirement party for our co-worker, Elena, who was retiring after 14 years with the company.

Once the girls in the department and I found out about the retirement, we knew we had to send off Elena in style (and make it a surprise, of course). We all got down to business to plan an Arabian nights themed party, since it's one Elena's favorites.

We reserved a conference room and transformed it into our own Arabian nights-style "tent". We draped chiffon ribbons from the lights to give the illusion of a tent over the table.

Luckily, the room is already brightly colored, but we helped that with brightly colored tablecloths and plates and napkins. We added little lanterns with electronic candles (since real candles aren't allowed). We also added to the ambiance by dressing up, the guys wore turbans and the girls wore belly dancing belts.

I, of course, made the cake for the party. But I had to make a slightly bigger cake than normal. I made a round cake and a 1/4 sheet cake too. I was baking for days. Mom helped me with the cake decoration, and we added a few gems to the cake to make them go with the Arabian nights theme.

The cake itself wasn't really an "Arabian nights"-type flavor though. I asked around, and Elena really liked guayaba, so I had to make a guayaba filled cake with cream cheese frosting. I got rave reviews on the cake, even from my taste tester, Abuela, who's not really big into sweets.

It was a great fun send off for Elena. It was bittersweet to see Elena leaving us, but we know that now she'll be living the good life of the retiree, while we're all still stuck at the office.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ On this day of remembrance, I just wanted to say that we will never forget those lost and we wil always remember 9/11/01.