Cinco de May Wreath

Found this adorable wreath on pinterest today and I had to share.  This would be perfect for the Cinco de Mayo party.

Things you need:
Styrofoam wreath
Cocktail parasols
Hot Glue Gun
Ribbon for trimming (optional)

All you need to do is hot glue in the parasols.  Cute right?

Cinco de Mayo

Today's inspiration comes from The Party Dress, http://www.thepartydress.net/blog/.  I have been a fan for a few years now.  They have even started their own magazine that has wonderful party inspirations.  Today I wanted to post their Cinco de Mayo party.  It is absolutely stunning!!

Kentucky Derby Part 2

I wanted to post a couple of recipes for the most famous part of the Kentucky Derby, and that would be Mint Juleps. 

First is the classic Mint Julep provided by Michael Chiarello on the Food Network, http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/michael-chiarello/mint-julep-recipe/index.html.

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup water
• 2/3 cup sugar, plus more for garnish
• 3 bunches mint
• 1 bottle Southern whisky
• 1 egg white
• Mint or lavender sprigs, for garnish

Directions

Make a mint flavored simple syrup by boiling water and sugar with two bunches of roughly torn and bruised mint in large sauce pot. Boil just until the sugar dissolves completely. Cool and strain the mint out of mixture.

Add bottle of whisky to the infusion. Stuff the empty whisky bottle with last bunch of fresh mint leaves and fill with the simple syrup/whiskey mixture.

Cap and put in freezer overnight. It will freeze to a slushy consistency for serving.

Glasses: dip the rim of each glass in egg white, then in sugar for a frosted appearance and chill. Fill with mint julep mixture straight from the frozen bottle and garnish with a mint or lavender sprig.


Next up Mint Julep Sorbet.  Yum right?  Here is a recipe provided by Emeril Lagasse, http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/emeril-lagasse/mint-julep-sorbet-recipe/index.html.

 Ingredients

• 1 cup sugar
• 2 cups water
• 1/2 cup packed fresh mint leaves
• 1/4 cup bourbon
• 1/4 cup club soda
• Mint sprigs for garnish

Directions

Combine sugar, water, and mint leaves in a small saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Remove from the heat and cool to room temperature.

Add the bourbon and club soda to the cooled syrup, stirring until combined. Freeze mixture according to manufacturer's directions in an ice cream freezer.
Place sorbet in a freezer-safe container and allow mixture to freeze for 4 hours before serving. Garnish with fresh mint sprigs.

And finally, here is Mint Julep Cupcakes, yes cupcakes.  This is provided by Jen on Hostess at http://blog.hwtm.com/2009/04/mint-julep-cupcakes-recipe/.

MINT JULEP CUPCAKES
{adapted from Cooking and Booking}
Ingredients:
Cupcakes
1 cup butter
2 cups sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon mint extract
4 eggs
2 3/4 cups flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
1/2 cup bourbon (or whiskey)
1/2 cup Creme de Menthe
Icing
3 cups sifted powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon mint extract
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 stick unsalted butter, melted
milk
*****
Directions:
Cupcakes
Preheat the oven to 350º F, and grease or line 30 cupcake cups.
Combine salt, baking powder, and 1 3/4 cups of the flour. Beat butter, sugar, eggs, and extracts in a large mixing bowl until creamy. Gradually beat in the flour mixture. Add the milk and liquors to the batter, then the rest of the flour (1 cup). Mix as little as possible, just until the batter comes together. Divide the batter evenly among the cupcake cups. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean. Let cool.
Icing
Combine the powdered sugar, salt, extracts and melted butter and beat until creamy. Gradually add milk until the texture is right for piping. When the cupcakes are completely cool, pipe or spread the icing on top. Garnish with cake sparkles or sprinkles, a straw (trimmed to size), and mint leaves.
 

Kentucky Derby

YAY!  My Blog has been fixed and is allowing me to post.  There are a LOT of holidays and special days coming up.  This Saturday is Cinco de Mayo and The Kentucky Derby.  Next week is Teacher Appreciation and then the following Sunday is Mother's Day.  So...I plan on trying to post some inspirations for each day. 

First up is this Saturday is The Kentucky Derby.  There is one party that I have been DYING to throw for the last 5 years and that party is The Kentucky Derby.  The problem is that I am always out of town.  So maybe next year.  For those that don't really care about a horse race, don't write off the Derby.  There could be so much fun for this type of party.  Have all the ladies wear a Derby Hat.  Have a hat contest (crazy hat, best hand-made, etc.).  You can serve up some wonderful Mint Juleps.  Have everyone bet on horses when they walk in the door.  The race itself is no longer than 2 minutes, so it is a perfect party to socialize and watch just a few minutes of a race.  So here is a wonderful party thrown by one of my favorite party goddesses Hostess With The Mostess.  Doesn't this make you want to go out now and get a hat?  Hoping to throw this party next year!

Did I mention that she has free printables?  Check out http://blog.hwtm.com/2012/04/kentucky-derby-taste-of-derby-official-party/. 

Little Man Birthday Party

If I had a singleton or even two boys I would totally throw a "Little Man Birthday Party".  Here is an inspiration board for everyone.  Mustaches and ties are all the rage right now!

Pictures from:
www.hostessblog.com
http://karaspartyideas.com/
gallerystandouts.com

Making a Shower Unique

I try to have something unusual in all my showers/parties.  One of my new favorite things to do for baby showers is to set up a Create a Onsie Station.  I have done one in the past check out my shower HERE:

I saw some even more jazzed up Onsie Stations on pinterest and thought..."I am so doing this!"  Look at Pizzazzerie's shower.  Some GREAT onsies!!

So the next shower I need to have more than just fabric markers.  I need scrap fabric, ribbon and buttons!  Cute right?

Gender Reveal

There is a new trend out there that I soooooo wish was a trend a few years ago.  I missed out by 3 years!  The trend is a Gender Reveal Party.  What is a gender reveal party?  It is actually a little soiree for family and friends for expecting parents to reveal what is the sex of their baby.  I have seen some VERY cute ideas.  Some cute themes are "What will it Bee?" as seen here at Lil Sugar:

 Or I have even seen it set up like a game night.  Check out this ADORABLE gender reveal party at Hostess With The Mostess:

There are a couple of ways couples can get into a gender reveal.  They can know ahead of time and surprise their guests OR they can get in on the surprise as well.  They can get the sonographer to write it down and seal it.  1) They can take that envelope to a baker and have the baker to put a color of icing IN the cake.  So that way when they cut the cake, they find out what the sex is.  Here is an example found at Southern As A Biscuit:

Cute right?  The pictures of the expectant parents are AWESOME!! 

2) Another CUTE idea is to give the envelope to a VERY trusted friend.  (Who you could trust not to give any hints.)  Have them fill a box of helium balloons full of the appropriate colored balloons.  Then at the big moment have the mom and dad to be open the box.  Isn't this cute?!?!  Check out this picture:

Wouldn't this be a GREAT keepsake for the future?  To capture that moment when you find out exactly what you are going to be having?  Priceless!! 

Again....I sooooooo wish we would have done this.  Couldn't you imagine telling all our loved ones in one room that we were expecting a boy AND a girl?!?!  Hopefully I can organize these for friends and family in the future!!

Easter Eggs

Most of us remember dying eggs as kids.  We have all bought the little PET kits and spent time making our eggs bright and colorful.  Todays eggs are extremely creative.  I thought I would share some very creative, but simple ideas.  As a mom of two, two year olds I don't have the time to sit and paint eggs all day.  So the first idea I wanted to was that you do not have to go out an buy kits.  You could actually use some things already in your pantry.  Check out Learning To Coupon's blog about how to use Kool Aide to dye your eggs.  Look how great these turned out!

The next site teaches you how to use things around your house (i.e. rubber bands and stickers) how to make your eggs multi-colored with adorable patterns.  Skip To My Lou has some wonderful ideas.

Finally I have to share Easter Things I Love Pinning blog.  The author had a wonderful idea of using plastic eggs and decoupaging them with glitter.  She has a step by step process on her site. Look at the finished project!

Can you believe these are plastic eggs?  Well hope you got some inspirations!  Hope everyone has a fantastic Easter!

Easter Cuteness

Happy Good Friday everyone!  Only two days away from Easter, do you have your party ready?  What about your kids' activities planned out?  Saw the cutest idea a few days ago, over at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam and had to share, it is called Magic Jelly Beans.  The idea is to have your kids plant some jelly beans and over night they will pop up into a lollipop garden!  How cute is that?

What are some of your Easter traditions?

Easter Bunny Carrot Inspiration

Hello everyone!  So after several months of working on other projects, I have FINALLY found the time to focus on my party blog site.  So sorry for abandoning it!  So to kick off things I am going to post a few Easter inspirations.  Easter is just a few days away.  I thought I would share some cute pictures of simple things you could do to add to your Easter soirees.  The first picture (found on pinterest HERE) is so simple, but such a great detail for an Easter Party.

Can't you just imagine a cute Easter party with a bunny's favorite snack?  So what could be your party favor?  Why carrots of course!  But not your typical carrot.  These cute goldfish carrots (found over at About A Mom) would be adorable!

What about this Bunny Carrot Cuteness, (found over at a cute blog called It's Written On The Wall)?