Holiday Treats, Round 1

I planned to teach my mom and grandma how to make Cake Pops over the holiday weekend.  We couldn't find any lollipop sticks in my parent's little town...so we made cake balls instead. 

Yummy, yummy cake balls. 

Chocolate cake, chocolate frosting, and a little peanut butter thrown in for fun!

Aren't they pretty? 

I think I like the white sanding sugar the best...they look like little snowballs. 

Hot Holiday Drinks!

I'm sitting here in a snow-covered winter wonderland, flipping through some of my mom's old magazines. 

I am inspired to try some of the hot drink recipes I'm finding.  Don't these all sound yummy? 

Harvest Apple Drink

Photo and recipe from Taste of  Home.

1 can (46 ounces) apple juice

1/3 cup packed brown sugar

2 cinnamon sticks

6 whole cloves

In a medium saucepan, bring all ingredients to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Strain and serve warm.  Makes ~4-6 servings.  

* a splash of rum would make a nice adult version of this one! 

White Caramel Hot Chocolate

Photo and recipe from O Magazine. 

1/2 cup grated white chocolate 


1 cup milk (2 percent fat or higher)




1 tablespoon caramel syrup






Whipped cream and caramel sauce, for garnish





In a saucepan, combine the white chocolate, milk, and caramel syrup, and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Boil 1 minute. Garnish with whipped cream and drizzle with caramel sauce. 

Makes ~1 cup.





*Kahlua would be a nice addition to this drink! 

Egg Nog Hot Chocolate

Photo and recipe from Redbook.

2 1/2 cups milk



12 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped




4 cups egg nog




1/4 cup Kahlua




Whipped cream & peppermint sticks for garnish

In a medium saucepan, bring milk and chocolate to a simmer and then remove from heat. Let stand for 2 minutes.  Whisk chocolate until melted and smooth. 


Stir in egg nog. Gently heat over load heat.  Stir in vanilla and Kahlua.  

Top with whipped cream and peppermint sticks.  

Makes ~8 cups. 

Any of these would be perfect for sipping while decorating a tree! 

Gingerbread House!

My Mom, Grandma and I decorated a gingerbread house today. 

It was so much fun -- truly an activity for all ages. 

 Now it feels like Christmas season!

Do you love the thatched roof as much as I do? :) 

We used a kit to make ours. (Similar to this one).  The pieces of the house were pre-cut, and it came with directions on how to "glue" them together with frosting.  

My mom went to a party with girlfriends this week and the hostess had purchased pre-manufactured houses that just needed to be decorated (I think they used these).  This would be a good method for a party, or if kids are involved.  It eliminates the time spent waiting for frosting to harden. 

Sooooo fun! I think we may have a new tradition!

My Thanksgiving Love: Mom's Chocolate Pie

The food item I most look forward to at Thanksgiving?  

Not the turkey, not my dad's homemade rolls (which are awesome, by the way), not the stuffing.  

It's my mom's pie.  Chocolate Pie with a whipped cream top. 

I.can't.wait. 

There's lots of great pie-inspired ideas out there in blog-land over the past few weeks.  

One of my favorites is the single-serving pies...especially when served in a mason jar. 

Could this be any cuter?  There's a great tutorial on Our Best Bites for these.  

I hope to try this before the holidays are over.  

This article in the Seattle Times caught my eye this week...it basically says cupcakes are on their way out, and pie is taking over as the new hot trend in desserts.  

What do you think? 

I'm not sure if I agree with this prediction....which I'll admit could be due to the fact that I haven't tried  this recipe yet. 

I tend to think there is room for both in the world of desserts.  The more the merrier, right?

But on Thanksgiving, there is no competition: my mom's chocolate pie takes it every time. 

Happy Turkey Day everyone! Hope you have a delicious day with family & friends!

Party Banner: 3 Peas in Pod Baby Shower

I wanted to share the party banner I made for the 3 Peas in a Pod baby shower that my friend Marci is throwing...

 

We decided to go with "Welcome 3 Sweet Peas" for the banner. 

I can't wait to see what else she does with this fun theme! I should have pictures soon. 

Invitation: Housewarming Party

This may be one of the cutest invites I've ever received!

My friend Lindsay is having a housewarming party...and these mailbox invitations are to-die-for-cute!

Here's what's inside when I pulled out the mini envelope inside...

I believe she's planning to use them as change of address notices to out of town friends who won't be able to attend the party also.  

Adorable, don't you agree? Can't wait for the party! 

Inspiration: 3 Peas in a Pod Baby Shower

A friend of mine contacted me and asked for help for a last minute baby shower she is throwing for a mom-to-be who is expecting triplets.  (Woah!) 

I immediately thought of the popular theme "Three Peas in a Pod".  I told her I would get her some inspiration ASAP. 

Invitations 

I think printables would be perfect for this party, as there is a huge time crunch. 

 I found this cute printable one at Parents.com that would work well (and you can't beat a free download!): 

This is another cute option from PolkaDot Design:

Styling Ideas

There are so many great ideas out there for this theme! 

And this is one of my favorites: 

I looooove the Peas-as-vase-filler idea. So cute and easy. 

Photo credits: Let's Entertain, Parents.com

My friend Samantha used this idea at a Sweet Pea themed shower she threw, which I shared here.

I love this centerpiece from Everyday Celebrating.  Just using Felt and 3 plastic dollar store balls! I think its so great here, paired with the white flowers. 

Green & white table linens...in ginham or polka dot prints are perfect. 

Photo credit: Imprintables

3 pea pod onsies, strung on a ribbon would make a cute decoration and a gift for the mom-to-be.  I found this one on Etsy, but you could also search local stores (like this one at Babies R Us), or find a iron-on template and make your own. 

 Party poms or lanterns are always great over a table, and I think they fit in nicely with this theme. And if you're really pressed for time, even balloons will work. 

Guest Book

I love having guests sign a children's book at a baby shower. 

 How perfect is this one? Available on Amazon

Party Favors

There lots of appropriate, and not too expensive, options for favors that work nicely with this theme.  

 My friend Samantha used one of these at her sweet pea shower, and I think its perfect. 

Sweet Pea scented shower gel, body lotion, or hand sanitizer from Bath & Body Works.  

Edible items are always popular favors.  

You can have a baker make up pea pod cookies, or get a cute cookie cutter like this one and make them yourself!

Hawaiian Desserts

I was in charge of the desserts for Lindsay's Hawaiian Birthday Feast.

I had a lot of fun whipping these up! 

Mango Pineapple Cupcakes!

The cupcakes were inspired by Bakerella's Aloha Cupcakes.   

I made a simpler version though.

For the Pineapple Cupcakes...I added a 20 oz can of crushed pineapple to a boxed yellow cake mix.  (I pureed the pineapple as Bakerella suggests). 

For the Mango frosting...I added one pureed mango to store-bought Vanilla Frosting. 

Then I sprinkled graham cracker crumbs on the top. 

Sooooo easy!

Pineapple Upside Down Cakes!

For these cute little pineapple-shaped cakes, I borrowed an awesome pan from a friend. 

This pan is from Williams Sonoma, and I loved it! If you are a fan of Pineapple Upside Down Cake, I  recommend this pan.  I was skeptical at whether or not it would be easy to get the little cakes out and whether or not it would be easy to clean.  No problem...after cooling for 10 minutes they slid right out.  It cleaned up very easily after I let it soak for a little while too.  

I followed the recipe that came with the pan for the topping, and then used a yellow boxed cake mix.  

Again...sooooo easy!

I was not reimbursed in any way to write about this pan, I just really thought it was great. 

Real Party: Hawaiian Birthday Feast

My friend Lindsay celebrated her birthday this past weekend.  She was craving Hawaiian foods, so she and her husband recreated some of their favorite dishes straight from the Islands, and invited a bunch of friends over.  

Luckily we had amazing weather this weekend, so the tropical foods worked perfectly! 

What a feast we had! 

Appetizers were fruit skewers and spam musubi, one of Lindsay's favorite treats to get in Hawaii.  I was nervous to try these, but they were pretty good.  Most of them were gobbled up actually!   

Lindsay couldn't believe it, she thought only she and Janelle would eat them! 

And then the main meal: 

Pulled Pork for Sliders...

...with Tropical Cole Slaw  (which was regular Cole Slaw, with some pineapple added - Yum!)

Huli Huli Chicken

Leslie's Chinese Chicken Salad with Toasted Macadamia Nuts

Katie's homemade Pita Chips with Fruit and Avocado Salsa

Traditional Hawaiian-Style Macaroni Salad

And last, but not least: Mango Martinis!
Here's the recipe:
1oz Vodka
1/2 oz Triple Sec
1 oz Mango juice
1/2 oz lime juice

Leslie also brought orchids for the ladies hair! Too cute...

Happy Birthday Lindsay!
Thanks for humoring me and letting me make labels! :)

Check back tomorrow to see what I made for dessert!

Real Party: Birthday Party Bus

My friend Deb wanted to make her husband's 30th birthday party an extra special one.  

We took the surprise celebration on the road in this: 

A bus from Cali Party Bus!
 The bus took us from San Francisco through the Napa Valley wine country, making several stops along the way.
Deb put Lindsay and I in charge of the food and decorations.  (And thanks to Christina and Drea for all the help too!)

Since this was a mobile party, we decided box lunches would be the way to go.  For this specific occasion we had to make sure all decoration and box lunch items weren't cutesy...this birthday boy would not appreciate the hours and hours of work we could have spent on decor.  But, things had to be fun & festive. 

Now I need to explain something before you think my friends are some kind of perverts...The only bus we could find that held all 24 of us was a bus that had...well, see for yourself:

And in case you are wondering, there were no "performers".

Anyway, because of the presence of this item, the theme for the party was born:
Daniel's Dirty 30!

And we tucked the boxes around the sides of the bus so people could grab their lunch whenever hunger struck.

We added a few balloons and streamers and we were ready to roll (pun intended).

The very surprised Birthday Boy!

Now, what was in those cute lunch boxes?  How nice of you to ask!

Mini water bottles...and a label with the birthday boy chiding the drinker for taking a break from all the wine tasting. ;)

Delicious turkey sandwiches with their own sassy label...

...with Lindsay's homemade pesto mayo on the side.

Mediterranean Potato Salad was served in small plastic cups which we covered with saran wrap. 

The highlight were the cookies for dessert. We made Bakerella's Pillow Cookies.

 I didn't get a picture of a wrapped & labeled cookie. :(
We followed Bakerella's instructions, including using a 1/2 cup of cookie dough.  I am quoting Bakerella exactly when I say these cookies were ginormous.  I would probably try to make them smaller in the future. Somehow they were all eaten though. :)

We finished the box off with cute red & white napkins tied around plastic silverware with raffia. (Again, no picture! I cannot be trusted when I am having fun at a party!)

I think we achieved a nice balance of coordinated, fun, and functional; while managing to avoid cutesy. 

Now for the good stuff! Some scenes from stops we made in the beautiful Napa Valley:

pictures taken by Lindsay Kanetomi and me
Lunch boxes were from here.

Happy Birthday Daniel!