The prince's 3rd birthday recap 2 { all about the yummies }

As I promised in my first recap of the prince's birthday party...

a post all about the yummies we served for lunch { smile }

I had originally planned to make all of the yummies that I mentioned here, but reality kicked 

in a few weeks before the party and I decided that 

{ one } it would have been too much food, what with the pizzas I was planning to also serve 

and 

{ two } it would have taken way too much time to make all of it.  

Enough background, here's what I decided to make and serve...

{ first }

anti-pasto skewers

And... this is an actual picture from the party.

{ thank you, Heather }

I got the idea from here and made a few changes, some of them on-the-fly...

{ left out the tortellini }

{ used plain/unmarinated mozzarella balls }

{ served artichokes & pepperoncinis (mild Greek peppers) on the side }

{ second }

guacamole

(picture & recipe to come in a future post)

But for now here's a run-down of the ingredients that I use...

{ avocado }

{ garlic }

{ shallots }

{ jalapeno }

{ tomato }

{ fresh squeezed lime juice }

{ salt & pepper }

{ third }

watermelon salad

Picture & recipe via FoodNetwork.com

Again, I made a few changes to this recipe

{ used blackberries instead of blueberries- it's what Costco had available }

{ did not add the additional lemon zest & mint leaves as pictured above }

This salad was DELICIOUS and I will be making it as much as possible while all of these ingredients are in season.

Seriously you've got to make this one!

{ fourth }

brie tarts

Picture & recipe via Plain Chicken

These were AMAZING!  

I was told to give these a very high rating on Pinterest!! { they were that good }

Again... AMAZING!!

You've got to make these, too!

{ fifth }

the drink...  strawberry lemonade

Picture & recipe via scjohnson.com

Use whatever berry you prefer or have on hand in the recipe...

strawberries at Costco are much more budget friendly than raspberries.

AND...  instead of making my own lemonade with the simple syrup mentioned in the recipe

I used Newman's Own Lemonade.

Another "you must try" recipe!

{ desserts }

In yesterday's post I listed the desserts that I made, but here are the links to the recipes 

{ in case you want to try them yourself }

{ cherry vanilla cupcakes }

{ chocolate chip cookies }

{ train sugar cookies*** }

*My inspiration for the look of these cookies.

*I used this recipe for the sugar cookies this time, but have also used this recipe.

*Royal icing recipe.

And before I forget...

a big THANK YOU to those who helped pull this party together.

Mom Woods { for letting us use your beautiful home for the party }

Mom { for helping put together everything the day of the party }

Hubby { for making sure we didn't settle for non-Thomas balloons & marking the route to the party }

Dad { for lightening up the mood in the car when stress levels were high }

Lacey { if it wasn't for you those brie tarts would never have been made }

Have a wonderful Saturday, and trust me you've got to try these recipes!!

The prince's 3rd birthday recap { finally }

{ THREE }

AND...  as of tomorrow it will be two weeks since the prince's 3rd birthday party and this mommy is finally getting around to telling all of you about it.

First things first...

No.  I didn't forget to post about it, we've just had a busy two weeks.

Second...  how about a picture of my sweet birthday prince!!

Third...  the dessert table { before I forget to share it with you }

I made the bunting out of newspaper and craft paints.

{ It says, "Carter is three"... in case you don't have x-ray vision to see through the balloons }

{ Cherry vanilla cupcakes* }

{ Train sugar cookies* }

{ Chocolate chip cookies* }

*all made by me

YUMMMMMM!

{ you may remember when I shared the inspirations for this party here }

And finally on to the party fun!!

The coloring station.

Thomas trains to play with or for some... { teething toys }

Of course there were presents to open...

{ reminder for next year...  do cake before presents because after having opened all of the presents someone didn't want to even blow out the candles on his cake }

My boys = { LOVE }

Last, but not least a few pictures of the cuties that we got to spend the day with...

{ best buddies, sharing in their love of choo-choos }

Seriously.  Those blue eyes. { LOVE }

And for those wondering what was served for lunch...

You'll have to check back this weekend for the details.

{ FYI, the food was eaten before I could remembered, to get any pictures }

But... there were some amazing recipes that I used and everyone LOVED them, 

so come back this weekend to see which ones they were!

Have a FABULOUS Friday, lovelies!!

Girly chic with lace and pink, Part 1

Pink and lace are the perfect combo for a party celebrating everything we love about being girly.

I have found some beautiful items that will add the perfect touch of girly chic to any celebration...

from a baby shower, celebrating the arrival of a sweet little princess

TO 

a bridal shower, celebrating a beautiful bride to be and her new life to come with her love.

{ Also perfect for... the very important birthday celebration for your princess, at any age! }

And here is my inspiration for this theme...

A simple piece of lace for the cupcake wrapper and a sprinkling of sugar pearls makes this cupcake perfectly chic!

{ I love it! }

For Part 1 (of a 2 part post)...

I'll be sharing the AMAZING dessert ideas that I found for the most perfectly chic dessert table, EVER.

Dessert Table Details

1.  Rose-water madeleines are both pretty and elegant, these wonderful french sponge cookies are perfect for a girly chic party.  

Recipe and picture via Martha Stewart, get it here.

2.  A luscious classic pavlova with cherries, this dessert is great because you can use any berry or fruit that you want to fit your guest of honor's tastes.  

Picture via Dust Jacket and recipe via Donna Hay.

3.  Beautiful blush pink macarons with a splash of gold, seriously could they be any more chic?!  Picture via My Sweet and Saucy.

4.  Flower shortbread/sugar cookies... simply a cookie decorated with royal icing and then topped with an edible flower.  The flower gives the cookies both color and texture in such a unique application.  

Picture via Martha Stewart.

5.  Dainty meringue cookies are another perfect addition to this dessert table for their whimsical touch.

Recipe and picture via The Novice Chef Blog, get it here.

6.  Cupcakes, of course... and what better cupcakes than the ones which inspired this theme.

Check out Loralee Lewis for a pretty frosting technique, the ruffle flower pile up, for your cupcakes.

{ I will definitely be doing this technique for my next batch of cupcakes }

7.  A beautiful ruffle tier cake...  you can do a cake in addition to the cupcakes or just the cake, whatever your preference.

This frosting technique is much easier than it seems and there are a number of tutorials online to help you achieve the look you want.  

Picture and tutorial via Martha Stewart.

I am baker also has a fabulous tutorial you can use.

And before I forget...

8.  Some elegant and sophisticated adult beverage options for your girly chic party...

Drinks pictured include (starting from the top left)...

Raspberry Mojito

Pink Martini

Pink Russian

Pink Lady Martini

So pretty and... PINK!

{ love }

Picture and recipes via Hostess { with the Mostess }

Okay!

I think that about covers the desserts and drinks...

Next to come in Part 2- Beautiful Decor options, I can't wait to share what I found with you!

Until then lovelies...

Good company, kids playing, and cookies!

I know you've been dying to read about the cookie exchange that I was a part of...  it happened today and it was wonderful!  From the company, to the kids keeping themselves entertained, to the YUMMY cookies!

So I made two types of cookies, originally I was only going to make one...  but after making one batch of the Salted Caramel Shortbread I didn't have the energy to make another, so instead I made some regular shortbread to compliment the salted caramel.

Would you like to see how they turned out?!?!

Salted Caramel Shortbread, recipe from Annie's Eats...  get it here!

Shortbread, recipe from My Recipes (not actually my own recipe, that's just the name of the website)...
get it here!

They were both a hit!  But the salted caramel definitely left the biggest impression, and a good one at that { smile }

And here are all of the cookies together!!

Now what to do with all of the cookies I have, there's no way we can eat all of them ourselves...  or at least we shouldn't  { smile }

Cookie exchange and Santa, oh my!

Today is a SPECIAL day...  We will be seeing Santa! { huge smile from the Prince }

We go to Nordstrom in downtown Seattle and wait in line for almost 2 hours just 

to get a picture of these two together. { precious } 

Grandma went with us last year, so you know we couldn't miss the opportunity to get a picture of all three of them together!

And last,but not least a picture of our little family with Santa...

On top of seeing Santa this afternoon, I'm also baking away in the kitchen...  making cookies for the cookie exchange tomorrow!

Here are the ingredients I'll be using...

 Can you guess what type of cookies I'm making?

Have a wonderful Saturday everyone!