Such Pretty Things

Mini (Half) Birthday Bundt Cake

I think I've mentioned before that half-birthdays are a pretty big deal in our family. I guess we just love any excuse to celebrate...and eat cake! This year, I cheated a bit and bought a mini vanilla bundt cake at Whole Foods.  It was so cute and just the perfect size for a "half" birthday.  I whipped up some pink icing to drizzle over the top and decorated it with a variety of colorful sprinkles...

To add to the festive feel, I added some pastel confetti,

mini party hats,

and a sweet little birdie garland...

If you personally don't embrace the whole "half-birthday" thing (although you really should!), this mini party would be great for just a regular old birthday as well. :-)

XOXO

Jessica

Pretty Parties: Mexican Fiesta!

So, Mini-me is officially 16 years old! Thank you all for indulging my weepy sentimentality the other day and for all your lovely comments and emails.  I allowed myself a few tears, but then it was time to PARTY and celebrate this wonderful occasion! Mini-me took the lead on the party planning.  She really wanted to do something fun and colorful, so she decided on a Mexican Fiesta!

The party was held at night in a dimly lit room, so unfortunately, the photos are not blog-worthy.  But I still wanted to share our party details and some of the resources I found along the way.  Mini-me LOVES Mexican food, so we decided to hold the party at one of her favorite Mexican restaurants. So easy for me...and honestly way less expensive than trying to transform my pastel, flowery home into a hacienda! With the food and venue taken care of, we decided to primarily focus on the decor and dessert. 

We shopped around at the local party shops for decorations, but nothing seemed especially authentic or special (i.e., really junky).  After a bit of research, I discovered a wonderful on-line shop, Amol's, filled with an enormous selection of reasonably priced Mexican flags, banners, pinatas, confetti, etc... That was a fun box to open!

The restaurant was already festively decorated, but we added our own touches by hanging pretty paper flag banners and a ton of multi-colored light strings (purchased at Target's after-Christmas sale for 75% off!). Pinatas were a must. We bought a huge one (locally) and Mini-me decorated it with lots of extra paper flowers and rhinestones. A real work of art which is sadly no longer with us. :-) For the tables, I found wholesale brightly colored floral oilcloth to use as tablecloths. You can find similar patterns from one of my favorite shops on Etsy called Oilcloth Addict.

We put bouquets of Mexican paper flowers in blue glass mason jars and placed them on the tables.

Cute mini pinatas, maracas, and confetti were scattered down the center of the tables.

For place cards, we used those pretty vintage paper fans shown at the top of this post - we just added tags with each guest's name.

For dessert, we had a dessert table set up with several cakes, including one we ordered from Mini-me's favorite bakery (the same one that made the cake for her very first birthday!) that was covered in brightly colored sugar roses.

We also shopped at a local Mexican grocery store for authentic sweets and candies to add to the dessert table...

So fun and colorful!

The party went off without a hitch!  Mini-me had a fabulous time with all her friends...and best of all, I didn't even have to clean up! :-)

XOXO

Jessica

Homemade Hot Chocolate

Like much of the Northeast, we are enjoying another snowy day around here.  The girls are delighted to miss another day of school and we're having fun just hanging out in our pajamas, snuggling under piles of blankets, and watching movies. Oh, and drinking hot chocolate. LOTS of hot chocolate.

On lazy days like this, I like to make my own - it's really simple and tastes sooo much better than the grocery store variety.

Here's what you'll need (Makes approx. 4 cups):

- 4 1/2 cups of milk

- 1/4 cup of good quality unsweetened cocoa (Hersheys is good, but also try Callebaut or Droste)

- 1/2 cup sugar

- 1 tsp. vanilla extract

- Marshmallows, whipped cream, sprinkles (optional)

Directions: In a saucepan, mix the cocoa, sugar, and 1/2 a cup of the milk together. Cook at medium heat, stirring constantly until the sugar has dissolved and mixture comes to a boil. Reduce heat and add remaining 4 cups of milk and vanilla. Heat to desired temperature.

And serve with toppings of your choice!

Stay warm and cozy!

XOXO

Jessica

 

 

Pretty Resources: Paperless Post

You may already be familiar with Paperless Post, a very cool e-vite type company that allows you to send free virtual invitations. But did you know that they also sell beautiful "real" paper invitations and stationary with a colorful, modern vibe? And they have really fun options like the ability to choose your own custom envelope liners in a zillion patterns! We're gearing up for a bunch of parties around here and found the cutest invitations!  We had to get the sprinkles (of course!), but here are some of our other favorites...

You really have to check out Paperless Post PAPER!

:-)

Jessica

Pretty Resources: Tutu du Monde

Mini-mini-me and I were desperately searching for pretty ballet costumes for Halloween, when I came across some of the most beautiful tutus and dance costumes I had ever seen... 

Tutu du Monde is the brainchild of Andrea Rembeck, a designer mom who couldn't find beautifully made tutus for her young daughter. Designed in Australia and handmade in India, Tutu du Monde's tutus and costumes are any little (or big) girl's fantasy...

Imagine silks, tulle, sequins, and dusty pastels...

This is the stuff that dreams are truly made of...

Fortunately for us, they ship to the U.S.!

And, while the prices reflect the incredible craftsmanship, luxe materials, and attention to detail, these are true heirlooms that could be passed down to generation upon generation.

I just wish they made them in my size...

:-)

Jessica

* first photo by Moi, the rest from the Tutu du Monde website.

Frozen Lemonade Popsicles

With long, hot summer days upon us, I thought it would be fun to make some frozen lemonade popcicles.  My family LOVES frozen lemonade and we always make sure to get some when we are visiting fairs and amusement parks.

These popsicles couldn't be easier.  All you need is lemonade (I like homemade, but there are many good store-bought varieties available), liquid food coloring (this is optional, but I just love the colorful results), popsicle molds, and popsicle sticks. To make the striped pops, simply divide your lemonade into as many parts as colors desired. Add your food coloring to each one. Home-made lemonade has barely any color, so you really shouldn't have any issues getting your desired colors. For pastel shades, just use a tiny drop and if you over-do it, just dilute with more lemonade. Now, fill each mold with a little bit of the first color and freeze. When that layer is frozen, add your next color and so on. Remember - you will need to add your popsicle sticks when the liquid level is high enough to touch the sticks. Continue layering and freezing until your molds are completely filled.

You can also try tilting the molds (just be careful not to spill!) to get a diagonal effect!

Voila! The perfect summer treat!

XOXO

Jessica

Travel "Bags" for Kids

My girls are really good and experienced travelers at this point in their lives, but there are still those times when trains are delayed and flights are bumpy and one needs something to make the trip a bit more enjoyable. I written about my "surprise bags" before, so these "Travel Bags" are really just an updated version...but I just love the concept and they are soooo effective!

It's also a great way to use up all your leftover treat and goody bags from parties gone by!

In the weeks leading up to a trip, I just start collecting a bunch of little things that I know the girls will like - age appropriate for each of them (i.e., an i-tunes card for Mini-Me and a Hello Kitty toy for Mini-Mini-Me ).

I just place each item in a different treat bag and then seal them up with some pretty Washi tape.

Stash a bunch in your carry-on luggage and then dole them out periodically throughout your journey. They make a really great incentive for good behavior. I mean, who wouldn't want a pretty little bag filled with fun stuff? I wish someone would make them for me!  :-)

XOXO

Jessica

The Cake Decorating Party: Take Two

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

Old Fashioned Candy Cup Favors

I made these little favors for Mini-mini-me's cake decorating birthday party...

I had actually intended for them to resemble old-fashioned candy (or nut) cups from the 1950's and 60's (LOVE that retro look!), but my friend, Michele, promptly informed me that they looked just like little Easter baskets! She's right, of course. But whether you use them as birthday party favors or Easter baskets (how timely!), they are easy peasy to make!

I simply used a bit of hot glue to attach a little sprig of forget-me-nots and a tiny pink bow to each basket.

Then I filled them with pretty pastel candies (O.K., Michele, those are speckled jelly bean eggs in there). :-)

Be back soon with all the party details!

XOXO

Jessica

The Party That Didn't Happen

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