Wishing you all a very, very happy Mother's Day!
Just a few quick pics of my brunch table today. My parents are coming over soon and I still have so much to do. The weather is gorgeous today - sunny and breezy - and I have all the windows wide open. The girls helped me with selecting the flowers and table settings...
Hydrangeas, roses, pink glasses, vintage china and linens.
They know their mama so well. :-)
Enjoy your special day!
XOXO
Jessica
Yay! We did it! Mini-mini-me managed to stay healthy this time around and the cake-decorating party (finally) went off without a hitch! I can honestly tell you that I have never been so happy to have a party behind me. But, it really was a great party and I promised to share, so here it is...
We had twelve girls attend the party. This was a manageable number, but I really wouldn't suggest going too much higher than that. Upon their arrival, we greeted the girls with one of the frilly no-sew tulle aprons that I showed you all previously. They seemed to go over pretty well - I mean, who doesn't like tulle and ruffles? After the girls washed their hands and put their hair back in ponytails, they got busy decorating their cakes. I had already set up the table with all the necessary cake decorating supplies and a two-layer cake was placed at each setting. Now, if you have the time and the desire, by all means, bake the cakes yourself. Sadly, I didn't have the time (or the desire), so I ordered them from a local bakery. ;-) I specifically requested that the cakes be "smoothly" iced with white icing and with no additional piping or decoration. This was important because I wanted the girls to have an opportunity to practice with the icing bags.
I had pre-filled 12 icing bags with six different colored (pastel!) icings and fitted them with a variety of tips.
I placed one bag at each place setting, but made sure to instruct the girls to take turns sharing colors and tips. I also set out plates of pretty sugar flowers that I bought from a cake supply shop...
...and lots and lots of butter-cream roses (which I had piped myself ahead of time)...
Of course, there were also a variety of colorful sprinkles and sugars...
Each girl also received a hunk of pink fondant with which to practice making their own roses and decorations. The girls took the task of decorating their cakes very, very seriously.
And, as you can see from the results, the cakes turned out just beautifully!
Some, like my daughter, took the opportunity to truly "gild the lily"...
While others showed a bit more restraint and went for a simpler design...
When everyone was finished decorating, the girls went off to sing, dance, and scream to Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez, while I packed up the cakes and quickly switched the table over to party mode. Instead of paper plates and cups, I used these pretty pink and aqua plastic ones that I found at Target in the children's housewares aisle! They were such a great deal, too - about 50 cents a piece! And we can use them over and over again!
We had scheduled the party for mid-afternoon, so I was luckily able to avoid the whole pizza ordeal (not good when you have shabby chic white sofas!). Instead, we served cake (ordered from a favorite bakery, so as to not destroy any beautiful works of art)...
..and ice cream with confetti sprinkles. Beverages included pink paper-wrapped water bottles and pink lemonade. Served with lots of pastel striped straws!
And if that wasn't enough sugar, I also gave each girl one of the old-fashioned candy baskets that I showed you the other day...
When it was time to go home, the girls left with their beautiful cakes, a cake decorating kit, and their tulle aprons.
So, that's it. We did it! It was lots of fun and Mini-mini-me had a wonderful time, but next year I think I'll be doing my best to convince her to go bowling!
Don't worry - we'll make it pretty :-)
XOXO
Jessica
Remember that cake-decorating birthday party that I was working on for Mini-mini-me? The one where I was making favors and tulle aprons, ordering a dozen cakes, and staying up until the very wee hours of the morning piping icing roses? Well, it didn't happen. The party was scheduled for a Sunday afternoon. As of that Friday night, I was in pretty good shape. The house was actually clean, balloons were ordered, tables and chairs were rented, and the tissue pom poms were all fluffed and waiting to be hung. I must confess that I am usually putting the finishing touches on my parties right up until that very first guest rings the doorbell, so I was feeling pretty terrific. So organized and on top of everything. But then...
...Mini-mini-me woke up on Saturday morning with a fever of 101! As I stared at that silver strip of Mercury, my heart sank. I knew it was just a party, but I also knew that Mini-mini was going to be so very disappointed. And frankly, so was I. All that planning and hard work! And all those cakes! :-( Definitely not a big deal in the scheme of life, but disappointing nonetheless. We immediately reassured a tearful Mini-mini that we would reschedule the party for as soon as was humanly possible. Then, after I ensconced her on the sofa with the remote control and all the popsicles she could eat, my husband and I got busy canceling the party.
And now, I find myself getting ready to do it all over again! I'll let you know how it goes. In the meantime, I am off to pipe some more icing roses...
:-)
Jessica
Hello! Yes, I am alive (and thank you to all of you concerned readers who wrote to check up on me!). I didn't intend to take a month-long blog break. I truly didn't, I swear. But it somehow just crept up on me. :-) The Autumn is super busy in my household and it seems like we've been going non-stop ever since September. But I am back and have lots to share. In between carpools, dance classes, volleyball games, and homework, I have somehow managed to start thinking about (and shopping for) the upcoming holidays. I love to plan out my tables and color schemes way in advance and I am always on the lookout for pretty china or little treasures that will add just the right detail to my table setting. In the Fall, I like to incorporate my favorite pastels with the golds and coppery browns of the season. Case in point, here I've combined some of my pale aqua and gold china with brown toile prints.
Here are just a few simple ideas that I am considering using for Thanksgiving this year. The first one uses these lovely vintage walnut composition ornaments that I found on Etsy. They are quite old and I just love their patina. Paired with some vintage velvet ribbon, they make an elegant presentation.
You could use real walnuts or acorns as well - just paint them an antique gold color. I am also thinking about using mini-pumpkins. I bought these sweet little white ones...
...and sprayed them with some edible gold food coloring. Them I sprinkled on some edible gold glitter. We won't be eating these, but I like to use food-safe ingredients on fresh veggies and fruit.
My third option is to use these lovely vintage forget-me-not millinery flowers.
I was fortunate to find an old stash of these while antiquing recently and I thought that their faded pastel colors were true perfection.
So, what do you think? Which would you choose?
XOXO
Jessica
I am completely infatuated with IKEA's new SOMMARLOV collection of pretty paper goods.
The flowery prints are reminiscent of Liberty of London - so sweet and colorful.
Perfect for summer entertaining!
The collection includes paper napkins, plates, trays, tablecloths, serving pieces and cups. They don't appear to be sold on-line, but are definitely worth a visit to your local shop.
:-)
Jessica
Here's a super quick, easy, and inexpensive centerpiece for your Easter table...
All you need are some glass votive holders, some colorful candy, and some fresh flowers. I found my votive holders at A.C. Moore (I chose them because of their "egg-like" shape...and because they were on sale for 3 for $1!). I just filled them with some pretty pastel candies. I am loving the sherbet shades of these speckled jelly beans!).
Then I trimmed my flower stems and placed a few blossoms in each votive holder.
If you do this right before your guests arrive, you won't even need to mess around with water. But, if you need them to last for a longer period of time, your stems can be placed in small water vials (found at any florist shop) and then placed in the candy.
I love these clustered in groups going down the center of a dining table, but they also look so sweet placed individually at each place setting. These are so easy - you have to try them!
I also want to say a huge thank you to the The Huffington Post's Stylist Home for featuring my Paper Flower Easter Eggs today! You can check out the full article here.
:-)
Jessica
I found this very chic serving tray at Target this week. The only problem was the color...
Kind of a very blah and boring grayish-green. Definitely not my idea pretty. But I just loved the design, so I broke out a can of white lacquer spray paint and five minutes later, I had this!
Perfect for spring-time entertaining! Just load it up with some vintage juice glasses,
(you can find then for a few dollars a piece at tag sales)
fresh flowers,
and some sweet treats and you've got yourself a party!
:-)
Jessica
Hello All! I do apologize for being MIA all last week. It was not my intention, but Mini-mini-me's Ice Cream Social Birthday party ended up requiring my full attention! So, I thought I would show you some of the party today. If you recall, the party was a sleep-over for Mini-mini and eight of her closest girlfriends. Since it took place primarily during the evening hours, I don't have well-lit pictures from the party itself. But, I can show you lots of the little details. For starters, I kept the decorations really easy and simple - just hung up a bunch of pom-pom garlands and ordered a ton of pastel colored balloons...
The girls arrived and promptly changed into their PJs and set up their sleeping bags. I had covered my family room sofas and rugs with lots of floral quilts - this served to protect my furniture (especially my white shabby chic sofas!) and made the whole room look like one big comfy bed! For dinner we served pizza (from our favorite local pizza place) and veggies (not too popular). After dinner, the girls decorated their very own evening bags. I bought real, adult evening bags (collected from places like Target, TJ Maxx, etc...) that were very simple and gave the girls lots of millinery flowers, rhinestones, feathers, etc...to embellish them. They did such an incredible job with them - I wish I had photos. :-( After craft-time, it was time for the big event: Dessert! We had to have birthday cake (a yummy, butter-cream rose covered one), but the main attraction was the ICE CREAM buffet! I provided all the sundae basics (ice cream, hot fudge, pastel marshmallows, whipped cream, cherries, etc..)...and a "sprinkle bar"!
I put all the different types of sprinkles in cute little plastic bowls from Target (see, I've managed to fit in a Target Tuesday today, too!). They were only $1.99 for a set of four and just the perfect size...
I buy my sprinkles anywhere I can find them (grocery stores, cake-decorating shops, over-seas, etc..). These pretty pastel non-pareils were from the Easter section at Target...
After dessert, the girls danced to music (Adele was very popular - LOVE her!) and watched movies. And just in case they weren't on enough of a sugar high, I set up a concession stand with boxes of movie-style candies and popcorn in cute little boxes. After much pillow-fighting and giggling, the girls finally went to sleep around midnight. We had some early risers (6 am) in the morning. For breakfast, I just served a variety of cereals, donuts, and bagels. I had originally planned to make pancakes, but then I thought better of it. :-) When it was time to go, the girls all received a personalized "ice cream" tubs...
...filled with (yes!) more candy.
I ordered the ice cream tubs from Amazon and then made my own labels with scrapbook paper.
Each girl also received a delicious Ice-cream cone cookie from another one of our favorite local shops, Bundles of Cookies.
It was a really fabulous party and Mini-mini-me had such a wonderful time with all her friends. And hey, I even survived the experience. Now, I think I just need to take a little nap...
:-)
Jessica
I am hosting Thanksgiving dinner this year, so still lots of cooking to do, but I just wanted to pop in and wish all my wonderful readers, friends, and family a very happy Thanksgiving!
XOXO
Jessica
So, "the party". I really don't know even where to begin...there are sooooo many little details to share! First, I should give you some background: The party was held in honor of a teen girl's birthday. It took place on a lovely June evening - on the grounds of a gorgeous historic mansion. It was a seated dinner and dancing, so, in that respect, I suppose it was really more wedding-like than the typical "teen" party. The guest of honor was very involved with the party-planning process and she was certainly a young lady who knew what she wanted! Lucky for me, she loves anything vintage, pastel, and floral - so we were a perfect match! There was no real party theme, per se, but picture romantic 1950's prom meets candy shop! The main colors were aqua blue and candy pink, with accents of mint green and lavender.
Today, I thought I would start off by showing you the flowers...
They were truly spectacular! I had the pleasure of working with the incredibly talented Holly Heider Chapple. Holly is based in Leesburg, VA and her beautiful work has been featured in countless wedding magazines, including Martha Stewart Weddings!
Given the setting, I knew I wanted to use flowers for the centerpieces, but I also wanted something with a whimsical, youthful touch - as this was a party for a young girl. I decided that incorporating candy would be just the right thing. I found some very pretty candy that matched our color palette perfectly and decided that we would use it to fill the vases. Holly worked with me to design the arrangements - we selected clear glass vessels to show off the candy and filled them with the most gorgeous pastel blooms - Peonies, Hydrangea, and roses!
I just love how they turned out! We used simple white cloths on the tables - the perfect backdrop to showcase such beauty. :-) If you are planning a wedding or special event, I cannot recommend Holly enough! In addition to being a fabulous floral designer, she is one of the sweetest people I have ever had the pleasure of knowing!
I also want to thank our lovely and talented photographer, Beth Blinstrub, who did such a beautiful job capturing the flowers...and the entire evening!
I'll be back soon with a little tutorial on how you can make similar centerpieces yourself!
XOXO
Jessica
