Camp Purple Cake

My five and a half year old niece, Sadie, is staying with us for a week.  We are so excited to have her! Her two big brothers are away at camp while her mommy and daddy are enjoying a much needed beach vacation.  Well, I'm not about to be out done by a camp and a beach...if everyone in Sadie's family is doing super fun stuff this week then I figured Sadie should get to do super fun stuff too.  So, we're making our own "camp" at home.

We've decided to call it Camp Purple Cake.  The name was chosen because craft time one day this week Sadie is going to make her own cake and she's picked strawberry with purple icing and rainbow sprinkles.

Today was day one.  We fed fish in the pond, went swimming and out for pizza and games.  And craft time was painting canvas.

Painting is so easy and fun with little kids.  We used both washable finger paints and washable regular paints.  We spread an old sheet out on the patio, put paints on plastic plates and gave Sadie and Maggie (almost 2 years old) small canvases to paint on.  And when we were done painting the canvases we painted each other.  Since the paints are Crayola washable we just sprayed off with the hose in the yard and then went to the pool.

Edible Cupcake Invitations

Printed invitations are expensive! And what's sweeter than an invitation you can eat?  For Maggie's 2nd birthday we're doing a simple Cake and Ice Cream party. Most of her friends are neighbors so we delivered cupcakes to invite them to the party.

First we made vanilla cupcakes with vanilla icing.  And added little toppers with the party details.

Then Maggie and I delivered the cupcakes to our neighborhood friends.  Maggie had a hard time not tasting each one.

And when we were all done we enjoyed a little treat ourselves.

For the family members not close enough to get a cupcake we sent photos of the treats and Maggie in an email with party details.

This was a lot of fun and a very inexpensive way to create invitations.

A Christmas Tree for the Birds

My sister had this great idea of doing a Christmas tree for the birds (and fun for the kids).  This would be a great Thanksgiving weekend activity to do with the family.  Give the kids a set of binoculars as an early Christmas gift and let them bird watch from your windows.  Between Thanksgiving and Christmas the kiddos can check the tree to see how many treats are left and restock it.  This provides a great opportunity to talk to kids about giving and doing for others, even the little bitty birds.

Treats for the Birds.

Make your own from the list below or order some pretty bird-friends ornaments like those above from Nature Favors.

• Bird seed, that's a given.  You can put it in bird feeders of varying sizes you hang on the tree
• String stale unsalted popcorn with cranberries and raisins for garland
• Kids can string cheerios and fruit loops for easy garland
• Tie a string around a pine cone and smear the cone with peanut butter. Drop it in a paper bag full of bird seed and shake the bag around to cover the cone with seed.
• Tie a string around an apple stem and cut slices out of the apple. Fill the spaces with peanut butter and toss the apple in a paper bag full of bird see
• Hang stale bagels from your local bagel store and hang from the tree with red yarn
• String peanuts in the shell and hang them from the tree, in the way icicles would hang.  

Fun for Kids Christmas Trees

My post on The Foundary this week will be about finding inspiration for your home's Christmas Tree.  While the centerpiece of your home at the holidays may be a beautifully trimmed tree, another tree in your house could be something more for the little kids.



A Candyland Christmas Tree
Inspired by the classic children's board game, a brightly decorated tree is so sweet for the really young ones.

Choose a smaller tree to decorate in the children's room or playroom.  Ditch the pine and go for something fun, like hot pink or bright white.

The tree can be trimmed with faux candy ornaments like these from Department 56.

Make a few of your own candy inspired ornaments like these with gum drops.

Instructions here.

Top the tree with a giant lollipop or a glitzy cone and streamers like this one.

Include real candy on your tree using ice cream cones or paper cones from bright glitter paper.

And you'll end up with a fun Candyland tree for your little sweets.

Like the idea of a candy-themed tree but don't want to decorate an second tree?  Consider doing a small gum drop tree like this one from Solutions.com.

Cookie Time Is A Comin'

Ladies, it's time to get prepared for all those cookies you'll be expected to make this holiday season.  It may just be the first of November but before you know it those Cookie Exchange Party invitations will be coming to your mailbox and inbox.

Of course I'll provide easy and tasty recipes as the season gets closer but if you're planning ahead, here are a couple new resources.

Gourmet Magazine just release their Cookie Book featuring nearly 70 years of favorite cookie recipes.  Buy it now at Amazon or get the recipe for the Polish Apricot-filled cookies here on the Today Show.

The Gourmet Cookie Book: The Single Best Recipe from Each Year 1941-2009

Not the baking-type or the crafty-type?  Make it easy on yourself.  Order a couple of these mason jar cookie mixes from Simply Divine Desserts.  Use the mix from one to make your cookies.  And take the second jar to the hostess for the hostess gift.  

Simply Divine Desserts

Cheap Find: Silver Looking Plasticware

If you're hosting any parties this holiday season and don't plan to use real china and silver, these are a great alternative.  Ditch the red and green paper plates and use silver looking platters, plates and cutlery.  You can find them in bulk at Costco for super cheap.  They're made of heavyweight plastic that can be reused or disposed of, but they look a lot nicer than your standard plasticware.

Here's to entertaining with a little more style.

http://mozaikbysabert.com/ 

Pier One Imports -- Surprised and Impressed

Have you shopped in a Pier 1 Imports recently?  I hadn't.  In fact, it had been years since I'd been inside one of the stores until recently.  I was driving passed a Pier 1 Imports the other day and on a whim decided to stop by and see what they had, fully expecting to be unimpressed.  Shame on me!  Turns out I  was inspired.

Pier 1 has redone their store concept and now have huge displays of gifting and entertaining products.  The furniture is still there but it's behind tables filled with barware, kitchen gadgets, holiday decorations, jewelry and handbags. Yes, I said jewelry and handbags.  Yes, at Pier 1. And yep, it's pretty cute stuff.

This is a new go-to place for hostess gifts and party supplies.

There is one thing I found at Pier 1 I especially had to share with y'all -- the Tasting Party Collection.  Pier 1 has designed sets of serving and dish ware specifically for small bites and tasting servings.  From mini martini glasses on a tray to mini trifle bowls, they have everything you need to put together a tasting party or serve individual bite-sized dishes.

Holiday Party season is approaching.  When you're expected to bring a dish to a holiday party take something in one of the tasting collections.  It will surely impress the hostess and her guests.

Long Table Tablescapes

I love having a party and sitting everyone at one long table.  I think it creates a really fun and interesting dining experience.

In early October I hosted a small shower for a friend at my house.  To create a family-style brunch I put three folding tables next to each other and covered them with burlap.  Every guest, including the small children, had a place at the table marked with a box of cookies displaying their name.  The food was set around the table and passed.  Everyone sat there chatting long after the meal was over and enjoying the intimate company.

Here are photos of my simple long table tablescape and some other's I love.

My Table for a Fall Brunch

The shower colors were brown, orange, blue and green.  Dark brown burlap with cream dishes and napkins set the table.  The napkin rings were tissue paper poms in blue and green, and the pumpkins and bright flowers added the orange.

Onesies, hats, mittens and blankets in the shower colors hung on a clothesline.

 More Long Tables

The place tags also served as the favors for the shower.

Small take-out containers contained mini chocolate chip cookies and were tied with a ribbon.

Each guest had their own container with their name on it.

A simple yet sweet item on the menu is seasonal fruit served with a honey-yogurt dip. It's also healthy and a crowd pleaser.

Slice season fruit and place it in individual serving dishes, like a small cocktail glass.

Mix 2 cups vanilla greek yogurt, 1/4 cup honey and a teaspoon cinnamon.  Put a dollop of dip over the fruit and serve.

Easy Potluck Party

It's 8:15pm on a Saturday and I'm sitting in my PJs watching college football, nicely snuggled in for the night.  My house is clean and my daughter's sleeping.  But just an hour ago my house was full with families dining, mingling and celebrating fall.  This is bliss for a lady who likes to entertain.

Easy Potluck Party

My Mom's Group wanted to have a fall party to get our families together so I offered to host a potluck.  We settled on 4:00pm to start since that's after the kids nap times and gets everyone home in time for bedtime.  As the hosts my husband and I provided the main course, a smoked brisket, and a dessert, pumpkin cupcakes (recipe below).  Everyone else brought a side, dessert or drink.  This is the easiest kind of party and the variety of dishes easily provides conversation topics.  Since our kids are too young for organized crafts or games, we simply blew up some balloons and put them on the floor. They were a big hit with the wee ones.  

Since our house was already decorated for fall and Halloween, we didn't do much to get ready for the party.  I just sat out plates, cups and flatware and cleared counter space for everyone's yummy dishes.  Then we relaxed and enjoyed visiting with our friends. 

When all the guests were gone we just had to put away leftovers and take out the trash.  It's like getting two Saturday nights in one -- we hosted a party and had the rest of the evening to relax at home.  I love easy potluck parties!

I love this caddy.  It's perfect for displaying cups, straws, napkins, or cutlery.
Keep a couple sharpies in a caddy so you always have a way to mark cups.

Little signs throughout directed guests to the playroom or the powder rooms.

For additional outside seating provide a basket of picnic blankets.

Bells on the door are fun and let me know when a new guest has arrived.

Yum! Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting and Caramel

Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting and Caramel
When hosting a party for large groups I'm all about keeping it simple.  Baking or cooking anything too complicated would only stress me out.  These cupcakes are very easy and only partly homemade.

Start with Martha Stewart's Pumpkin Cupcakes (makes 24).  After the cupcakes have completely cooled pipe cream cheese frosting on to cakes and drizzle with caramel sauce. 

Pumpkin Cupcakes by Martha Stewart
2 Cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon coarse salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon all spice
1 cup packed light-brown sugar
1 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
4 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 can pumpkin puree

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cupcake pans with paper liners; set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and allspice; set aside.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together, brown sugar, granulated sugar, butter, and eggs. Add dry ingredients, and whisk until smooth. Whisk in pumpkin puree.
3. Divide batter evenly among liners, filling each about halfway. Bake until tops spring back when touched, and a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes, rotating pans once if needed. Transfer to a wire rack; let cool completely.

Newlywed Gift

When it comes to giving a wedding gift, always buy the couple something from their registry, but put your own special touch on it as well.  I noticed newlywed friends of ours registered for batter bowls and a large pancake spatula, so I added a container of good pancake mix and in the card wrote, "Take time to enjoy the simple things...like making pancakes together on a lazy Saturday morning."

You all know I'm a big believer that presentation is important in all things, so I had to share with you this uber cute Mr. and Mrs. gift wrap I found at Wal-Mart.  (Big box stores can really surprise you with stylish products some times!)  It's made by Hallmark, maker of the best wrapping paper in my opinion.  What makes good wrapping paper? It must be thick, not easily torn or wrinkled, and have grid lines on the back for cutting.  Hallmark's paper never fails.  While I love the variety of fun colors by other brands, no one beats the quality of Hallmark paper.

Kids Birthday Party: Thing 1 and Thing 2

My daughter is spoiled.  She's only one but she's already loved by so many.  We have a rather large extended family and so over the weekend they threw a family birthday party for Maggie and her cousin, Brayden, who just turned two.  My sister-in-law came up with the idea of doing a Dr. Seuss themed party "Thing 1 and Thing 2" since we had a one-year-old and a two-year-old.  It was perfect.

This is a great theme for a dual birthday party, a baby shower for twins, or for any kid that loves Dr. Seuss.  And who doesn't love Dr. Seuss?

The party was held out on "The Farm," residence of my in-laws on the most perfect early fall evening.   Everything you see here is the work of my creative sister-in-law. I only provided the birthday girl and the cupcakes.  She did a great job.  I hope you enjoy it!

Thing 1 and Thing 2
Tutu from Just Samantha on Etsy.com
You'll see this again.  Maggie will be Thing 1 for Halloween as well.

Extra Large Cupcakes for the Birthday Kids
The Messy Blue Icing is Intended to Represent the Things Messy Blue Hair

   

Red Fish, Blue Fish, One Fish, Two Fish
Goldfish and Swedish Fish in Fish Bowls for Snacks

 

Seuss Juice:
Juice Boxes and Water for the Kiddos

Green Eggs (No Ham)