First Birthday Party

Back in April we celebrated my daughter’s first birthday party. I am finally sharing the photos with you. It was a fun affair full of cakes, cookies, and macaroons. Of course it wouldn’t be a party if it wasn’t full of DIY

Back to School Breakfast

Today I wanted to share with you our simple “Back to School” Breakfast that I whipped up last school year for my daughter and was featured at Everyday Party Magazine. With a new baby and the whole school thing being new to me, I had no idea what’s to expected when my daughter started preschool.

This was a simple breakfast that I set up for my daughter's first day of school. This was her official first day of preschool and I wanted to do something special for her. Of course sometimes we remember things or wanting to do something special for our kids or a significant other at the last minute.

It was the evening before her first day of preschool. I knew that she would be excited and nervous at the same time so I decided that I wanted to make her morning extra special. After searching Pinterest for ideas I realized that I would have to rely on items that I have already and free printables. 

I knew that I will not have time to make warm breakfast in the morning so I decided to cook chocolate muffins the night before. In the morning I set the muffins on a cake stand on top of two books to elevate the stand holding the muffins. I placed her favorite yogurt in a whisky glass (classy, I know) and her chocolate milk in a clear bottle for a better visual. The cupcake toppers are part of a pack of free "Back to School" printables I found of Pinterest. The two prints "Back to School" and " You are Braver than you Believe..." I created and printed the night before. As a place mat I used Michael's scrapbooking paper, left over from a different project.

In all fairness to set up this special breakfast cost me nothing, but the excitement seen on my daughter's face that morning was priceless.

 

             

 

           

Trend Alert: Naked Cakes

Naked Cakes! That sounds dirty, doesn’t it? Yet, it is not! Naked Cakes lack the outside frosting and/or fondant and believe it or not are beautiful.

Naked cakes has been a trend that has been going on for the past year, but you can see more and more brides incorporating it in their weddings, You most likely will see these cakes in rustic set wedding or a garden themed birthday/bridal shower.

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After searching Pinterest I can say I am more and more in love with these cakes!

Do you like them?

Tell me!

Fourth of July Party

This was originally posted/featured in Everyday Party Magazine. I would like to share it here with you as well.

Celebrating Fourth of July as Independence Day has been something that I had to adjust to when I came to the United States seventeen years ago.  Almost eleven years ago I met my husband during Fourth of July weekend and that’s how the holiday became a little more special to us.

It seems that every year Independence day is a low key celebration for my family. We usually spend the day swimming, visiting  the local fair and later going see the fireworks. When it came to this styled shot I decided to do something that we would usually do: a last minute get together with things that we have around the home. As much as we love homemade food, when it comes to putting parties together at the very last minute my husband and I believe in the 70/30 rule: 70% store bought or made by someone else ; 30% homemade by us. In this instance everything in the dessert table was store bought and everything for the main course was homemade.

I decided to arrange the dessert table on a outside bench that my husband made for me. I love simple design and being able to bring items from inside the home. In this instance my big piece was the American flag that we painted and used for the focal point of the table. I have been told that there is noting more American than pies, popcorn, caramel apples and Coca Cola. I used apple, cherry and salted caramel apple pie along the traditional ice cream that I think should be part of any event during the summer.

For the main course we had pork ribs done by non other than my husband, orzo salad, corn on the cob, corn bread, fresh strawberries and chips and salsa. What I loved about the food is that everything was done in less than three hours. The table was dressed with fresh flowers placed in mason jars.

            

Fourth of July means to me to celebrating our freedom, spending time with family and friends and the official start of summer. Hope you have a great celebration this year!

Ultimate Red White and Blue Link Up Round Up

I loved being a part of the Ultimate Red White and Blue Link Up Party and seeing what the other 109 bloggers came up with. Here is a round up of some of my favorite projects.

 

1. Stars and Stripes Paint Chip Bunting by One Krieger Chick

2. Land of the Free because of the Brave Free Print by The Contractor Chronicles

3. 4th of July Photo Booth Props by Capturing Joy with Kristen

4.  Star Spangled Dessert by Giggles Gallore

5.  Red White and Blue Painted Mason Jars by A Girl and a Glue Gun

6. Red White and Blue felt hairbows by Sugar Bee Crafts

 

In case you missed it here is the post with all the linked up projects. My project was the scrap fabric bunting.

Mother and Daughter Tea Party

I have been blessed with two beautiful daughters. I am patiently waiting for the day when I can take them to a real tea room where we can sip on tea and enjoy fancy pastries. While waiting for this day to come I decided that we should spend an afternoon sipping tea, eating yummy deserts, and enjoy each other's company.

As much as I enjoy over the top parties, sometimes having something simple and on a budget is the perfect fit. On a beautiful sunny early afternoon we, with the help of my husband, walked over to the nature spot right next to our home and set up for our tea party. The table cloth is a sheer drapery panel. We used cake stands that I have collected over the years and a tea set that I had been itching to use. The rest of the decor is items from around the house. One things I was taught growing up is to never be afraid to use your fine china. Believe it or not those crystal glasses are part of our everyday stemware.

When it comes to food, with us, the simpler the better. The table spread included different flavors mini bunt cakes, croissants along with raspberry jam, chocolate chip muffins, raspberry white chocolate cookies, and of course fresh fruit. For drinks we had tea, lemonade, and water. When it comes to food for a party I always go for what's going to be most likely to be eaten rather than what sounds fancier. I have starved at too many weddings to let that happen.

 

 

  

I loved seeing my little girl's face lit it every time she sipped her tea or ate one of the mini bunt cakes or trying to act proper. We had a fun filled afternoon and cannot wait to do it again!