An Alphabet 2nd Birthday Party

   For my son's second birthday, I planned an outdoor party (thank God for summer birthdays!) with an alphabet theme.  Decorations were easy to improvise since many of the supplies needed I could purchase a an office supply, Target, or a school supply store.  I used cut up sentence strips to label snacks and goodie bags.  I used a school print font and ran them through my printer.  Any extra sentence strips were cut apart to be made into napkin rings.  I had a chalk board on hand, and this made for an easy "Happy Birthday" banner.  Magnetic letters were used to embellish straws and handmade tissue fans.  Just use one Glue Dot and they will stick the whole party.  Bulletin board strips (purchased at a school supply store) made a nice decorative fringe around the cake platters.  Just cut and attach with Glue Dots.  (Bulletin board strips come in a huge variety of colors and designs, and can be used for endless projects.)
   Many other decorations I had around my son's bedroom - for example beginning reader board books, large stackable alphabet cubes, and vintage wooden alphabet blocks.

   Simple plastic containers in primary colors can be easily purchased (often on clearance), and used for food and drink presentation.  The square art boxes and sand pails I used can be re-purposed for serving ice cream bars at a beach party, candies at a Valentine's party, etc.

   Since it was held in the afternoon, all I needed to provide in terms of food was snacks and cake.  I put out pretzels, fruit, and water bottles prior to the cake being served.  I tried to keep down the candy/juice factor since I knew the amount of frosting on those cupcakes!

  Speaking of cupcakes - I decided to make a small single layer cake for my son to eat (well, not eat - mash), and individual cupcakes for all the party-goers.  Cute red and white polka dot cupcake papers were purchased at Michael's.

   At each place setting, I used large pieces of construction paper for the place mat, placed a copy of Richard Scarry's The Best Little Word Book Ever! , a little bag of organic alphabet cookies, a container of play dough, a large punching balloon, and a treat bag containing flash cards and crayons.  All very affordable, easy to find, and will be appreciated much longer than the typical cheap plastic goody bag toys.

All set up on a simple re-painted picnic table.  
Giant balloons are a must!

   

I'm how old?????

(see www.naughtybettyinc.com)

Great thought for the day for this newly 42 year old.  Damn, time goes by fast.  

Here's another great one from Naughty Betty (and they even have drink coasters!)

Tour de France Party

  It turned out that July was the perfect time to host a Tour de France party.  We decided to combine an airing of the Tour de France (we recorded it that morning and replayed it) with a wine and cheese tasting event.  Although ideally I would serve all French products, I came to the conclusion that it was neither practical nor affordable!  A wide variety of cheeses found at local grocery stores fit the bill.  Because we were drinking Cabernet for the tasting, I looked on line to determine which types of foods would compliment that type of wine.  With a little creative editing and replacement, I found what I needed.
   For the cheese platter, I simply cut a few slices from each cheese, and then placed them on a wooden cutting board.  The labels stating the name of each cheese were made on my computer (using the same font I used on the invitations), and then cut out using punches and glued onto small wooden picks.  Various specialty cheese knives were found for a very reasonable price at World Market.

   On the decor, I mimicked a Provencal atmosphere by draping tables and the buffet with a simple natural linen material and taupe burlap cloth.  Since I was going for a rustic look, I merely used the material as it was purchased - sans hemming.
   In various areas on the table I placed clay pots of rosemary and French bottles filled with single sunflowers.  I used emptied bottles that had held flavored water, and then dressed them up a bit by tying them with some thick brown twine.  Again, all affordable items found at various discount stores.

   Sets of utensils were stored in a tin tub - each set wrapped in a red, white, and blue napkin and tied with twine.  Wine glasses were placed in rows on a side buffet.  Under each wine glass I set a small card explaining what to look for when tasting a Cabernet.  On the stem of each glass, I tied a small tag with one of the more popular cyclists' names.  This was an easy way for party-goers to keep track of their glasses, and at the same time familiarize themselves with TdF contenders.  (In addition, people loved to look for their favorite cyclist!)  Bottles of wine were next to the glasses, and individuals could choose which ones they would like to sample.  A large jug of lemon water was also available for in between tastings.

   Since I felt that the space was not large enough inside, I opened up the front patio as well.  Paper lanterns in red, white, and blue with large globe string lights gave a more festive atmosphere.  In addition to the linen, burlap, and sunflowers, I placed candles and antique oil lamps in strategic areas (where small children could not reach them!)  Italian sodas, Swiss chocolates, and Madeleines were offered to guests on a small side table.  I also didn't forget to include Red Vines, which are a local popular snack for road bike races!

   For dessert I purchased two Paris Brests - traditional French pastries invented to commemorate the first Tour de France.  They consists of two puff-pastries in the shape of a bicycle wheel, which are filled with a flavored pastry cream and topped with toasted almonds.  Needless to say, they were very  popular and were finished off in minutes!

    

   A couple of extra touches were included to involve party-goers in the race.  I typed up an up-to-date list of top contenders, teams, and stages.  I also placed a large French map on the wall and traced out the route of this year's race.  Several different cycling magazines featuring articles on the Tour were set out within easy reach.  At lastly, the necessary ingredient to any party - music.  A carefully hidden stereo on the patio played Edith Piaf.  (see The Best of Edith Piaf  featuring the wonderful "La Vie en Rose")

   Even though dogs and children raced through the living room (with the kids breaking out into a squirt gun fight later in the evening!), the party was a huge success.  It was a perfect compliment to a warm summer night.

Soccer team party

  Last weekend was my first venturing into party design.  Yes, I've held parties before and put up some decorations, but this time I decided to go full "Martha".  It was my son's soccer team's end of the season party.  Their jerseys were orange and black, and their mascot was the tiger, so I decided to go with a black, orange, and white theme.

 
   I used as much soccer paraphanilia I could find (goals, balls, cones, even the team banner we put up at every game.)  Favors bags contained a decorated bag full of orange, white, and black M&Ms and a small soccer ball.  I also made frisbees and personalized visors for every team member.

   For a centerpiece I found some soccer player cake toppers and placed them on a piece of fake turf to simulate a soccer field.  (The fake turf can actually be used for a variety of themes - think flower lollipops poked into it.)

   I covered the water bottle labels with my own label  I made on the computer. There are several free font sites on the internet, and I found the "College" font that I used there.  The straws were also decorated with little tags I made from my computer and stuck to the straws with a soccer ball sticker.

 The banner and the hanging dot decorations behind the table I made out of construction paper and curling ribbon.  Pretty simple - just the cutting of the circles was time consuming.  I'm on the look-out for a large circle punch!
 
   The soccer ball "cake pops" I made following a recipe from Martha Stewart's web site (of course!) They were simply cake crumbled up with enough frosting to make balls, dipped in candy coating, covered with b/w sprinkles, and put on lollipop sticks.  Here's the recipe http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/cupcake-pops .  (Martha's look so much nicer, though.)  If you do decide to make the recipe though, don't tell anyone how many of the "broken" ones you ate.

   Gifts for the coaches were ESPN World Cup preview magazines (perfect timing.)  Most of the supplies that I purchased I found at Michael's.  I also found some very useful clear geometric bowls at Walmart (for a great price) that I used for the cake pops and the M&Ms.  There were many other items I could have used as well that I found including orange and black water bottles (instead of bottled water I used), whistles, black and white coolers to hold drinks, tiger paper plates by Hefty, small plastic tigers that you could glue to napkin rings, orange Gatorade, personalized soccer balls for every guest (or a soccer ball all the kids could autograph for the coaches), and large black and white balloons with orange ribbons, to name a few.
 

"I Dream of Jeannie" Inspired Living Room

My latest favorite web site is polyvore.com .  Although it looks just like a fashion site at first, click on "create a look" and you can set up an inspiration board on anything design related.  You can also download a feature that will let you clip photos from anywhere in the net and drop them into your categories on polyvore.  You can create inspiration boards for interiors, party design (including food and drinks!), fashion, you name it.  For my first creation, (which I have easily frittered away over 3 hours on), I present a retro 60's living room inspired by the television show "I Dream of Jeannie."  Enjoy.

Risotto Tonight!

 Made Gordon Ramsay's Mushroom and Sage Risotto tonight for dinner.  It was the best risotto recipe I've ever tried!  Basically, it is risotto with sauteed mushrooms, crisp fried sage leaves in butter, white wine reduction, and lemon juice with some peel. To make a complete dinner out of it, I included a fried egg on top (fried in butter, of course!), and some roasted asparagus (toss with olive oil and sea salt.)  The perfect meal was rounded out with a glass of Chardonnay.  Don't want to know how many calories.  Sometimes you just have to throw caution to the wind.

Guilty Pleasures

   As Easter nears, I am tempted once again by one of my many guilty pleasures - the Cadbury Cream Egg.  ( I mistakenly found out how many calories one of these puppies has, and you don't want to know.)  These chocolates, to me, are basically mini versions of the "fruit and nut" filled eggs that I got in my basket as a kid.  They were about 3 pounds of whipped sugar with maybe some nuts, but definitely no fruit that I could recognize.  The whole shabang was wrapped in a casing of some sort of chocolate substitute and decorated with bitty flowers that you were tempted to eat, but later regretted it when one of your fillings came out.

    My second guilty pleasure is America's Next Top Model.  The show is all-out stupid.  I'll admit to it.  When all those girls scream and almost pass out when they see Tyra Banks for the first time, I come very close to turning off the TV out of sheer embarrasment., but, alas, I do not.  What follows in the subsequential weeks is not pretty, and I hide my head in shame at the very thought of it.  The only show that possibly reaches this level of humility is The Bachelor.  If one more drunk desperate 20-something takes off her thong underwear and gives it the Bachelor at the "meet-and-greet", I will have to ...have to..... well, even if I don't stop watching it, I'll have to at least write a letter about sub-standard programming!  So there!

   My third guilty pleasure is Conway Twitty and Loretta Lynn songs.  It must be my genetic heritage - I come from a long line of rednecks that go way back to the Revolutionary Rednecks of yore. "Louisianna Woman, Mississippi Man"  is my personal favorite, but I love Conway's solo "Hello Darlin'" and Loretta's "You Ain't Woman Enough To Take My Man".  Makes me want to put on my flip-flops, pop a Yoo-Hoo, eat some "balona" sandwiches, and hang out at the gas station with my cousins.  (Don't ask, it's a real memory.)


   Well, now that I've bared my soul, I feel so cleansed!  I may not have given up anything for Lent, but I have rid my soul of some sins (at least, for the week-end.)  Happy Easter, y'all.

Damn, caught a cold when chaperoning my son's field trip.  I've tried Sudafed, Benadryl, Tylenol, you name it.  But, nothing has helped until..........Franzia.  Yes, it's what the doctors don't tell you.  Franzia box wine cures all.  (Especially the red kind, whatever that is.)  Two glasses and your throat doesn't hurt, your sinuses no longer throb, your headache has disappeared.   AND, so much cheaper than even the giant bottle of generic Tylenol PM!  Ahhhh, now I can sleep....Goodnight all.