Table at alphabet flashcard themed first birthday party.

So, my son just turned 2 – and I am just now posting about his 1st birthday, how bad is that?  With two little ones, I don’t get around to posting as often, or ever. My littlest is only 3 weeks old.  Life has been hectic to say the least.  But that is no excuse for the long lapse in posts.  Well, come to think of it…that is a great excuse.   Anyone who has little ones understands.  I have even more excuses too.  You can add a move across the country too.  I would like to say that I am going to jump back into blogging full time – and sure, I can “say it”.  But doing it, is another thing.  Making a commitment to do anything on a regular basis is difficult for me.  Heck, washing my hair on a regular basis can be difficult. Oh yes, I said it and you other mothers know it.

OK, on to the birthday party details…

Jackson was getting ready to turn 1, and like any first time mom, I was ready to pull out all the stops.  I wanted something really cute, and original.  So I decided on an alphabet themed party.  I found a few resources that helped me with ideas.  These were alphabet / flashcard themed parties and you will find all of the details to these resources listed below.

In addition to buying items off of etsy.com I also created several of the decorations using my Cricut.  If you are not familiar with a Cricut – you have got to check out their website.  It is a crafters dream device for cutting out paper. I made an alphabet garland that I hung on the front of the food table.

I adore the sweets tables that Amy Atlas creates, they are just breathtaking.  I wanted to do something similar, but on a much smaller scale.  So I decided to create my own candy buffet table.  I used alphabet flash cards I found on etsy.com as decorations.  My candy buffet table included gum balls, rock candy, candy canes, sugar cookies and little containers of M&Ms.

Candy Favor Table

Alphabet Sugar Cookie Party Favors

1st Birthday Party Hat & Bib - Custom "flashcard" Invitation

I found a website,  BlondeDesigns, they had done a very cute abc flashcard themed birthday party.  This is where I “borrowed” the idea for the invitation.  I found a designer on etsy.com to help me create the image of Jackson’s face for the invitation. You can find details on all of the resources that I noted below.  I also found other sellers on etsy that provided the party hat and 1st birthday bib that Jackson wore.

Birthday Boy Enjoying His First Birthday

I found the paper mache letters at Hobby Lobby.  I then used acrylic paints to paint them in the party’s colors.  They were a great visual addition that made a lot of impact for a reasonable price.

1st Birthday Cake Balls

As you can see, everything was in bright oranges, blues and greens.  These cake balls were a hit.  I created the first birthday toppers on my Cricut.

Hey...it's Jackson

I used the custom drawing I had done of Jackson’s face that I used for the invitation as decoration.  I blew it up and cut it out.  Jackson’s face was everywhere.

C is for Crayons - Party Favors

Now onto the 1st birthday party favors.  Since it was an alphabet flashcard themed party…I decided to give our guests crayons in the shape of letters.  I packaged them up in cellophane bags and added a label that I created on my computer.

Jumpin Jax!  We call Jackson “Jax” for short.  So, how fitting to give out “Jumpin Jax”.  I bought little bags of Jacks at the local craft store…removed the label…and then reattached my own label.  Again, I used the drawing of his face – they turned out great.

Jumpin Jax - Jacks Party Favors

Party Favor "Station"

Rice Krispie Treats in Party Colors

The food table was colorful and fun…which is what I wanted.  Nothing too fancy – all things kids liked to eat.  A bucket full of colorful sodas that the kids could help themselves to sat on the floor.

Colorful "Help Yourself" Sodas

Kid Friendly Foods

And yes, I know, the tissue paper pom poms are played out, but they are so easy to make.  This will probably be the last time I make them – I swear.

Tissue Paper Pom Poms and Paper Lanterns

Check out the following websites for more Alphabet Flashcard Party ideas:

wannabauthor’s Pinterest ABC Bday Ideas Page

This Nest Is Best’s ABC School Birthday Party (funny, I just found this resource.  I did not see it while planning my party – but we had several of the same ideas – how odd is that?)

Brunch with Darling – P is for Party

One Charming Party – Classic School Baby Shower

Alphabet Flashcard Themed Birthday Party Resources

OneOfAKindOnesie – Party Hat and 1st Birthday Bib

HighlandHouseGifts – Alphabet Crayon Party Favors

sugarandflour – Alphabet Sugar Cookies Party Favors

LittleSugarBean – Birthday Party Invitations

5sizes2small – Custom Drawing – this is the line drawing of my son’s face used for invitation

PopHeartPress – Alphabet Flash Cards – I used these for alphabet flashcards for decorations at the party

There are certain things that automatically bring a smile to your face…puppies and their sweet puppy breath…babies and their itty-bitty baby toes…and these colorful creations – the Rainbow Cake in a Jar. I discovered this creative cake concept on my new favorite site (and everyone else’s)…Pinterest. I must give credit, where credit is due – Thanks Brooke Mclay for posting this unique treat.

Not only are these jarred cakes adorable, they last longer than a typical cake.  Sealed and refrigerated, these cakes will stay moist and delicious for at least 5 days. The jar and metal lid are the perfect vessel for shipping.  The old school Mason jar makes for a great presentation, and allows for numerous ways to dress them up.  You can add a pretty ribbon, or a personal label or perhaps a piece of twine with a little card attached.  The possibilities are endless.

It is the perfect recipe for a child’s birthday…I tested it out for my sons 10^th birthday…and he loved them. The best part of this project was the fact my son was super excited to help!

Here’s how you start…

First, gather all of your ingredients and supplies – this includes the jars you will use. My local grocer carried a variety of mason jars.  I chose the Ball wide mouth pint sized jars. Any sized jar will work, simply adjust amount of batter and cooking time.

I used 2 boxes of cake mix for these simply because I knew “cake mix” was a sure thing

Make the cake according to directions.

Divide the cake mix up and color.  I divided all the batter into 6 bowls.  I then used Wilton Gel food coloring to tint each bowl to the desired shade. Gel food coloring is a MUST for this project. You will not achieve the desired saturation needed to make the colors pop if using standard food coloring.  Once you have all your colors it’s time to assemble the jars for baking.

I used 2 cake mixes and 12 wide mouth pint sized jars.  Be sure to generously spray each jar with cooking spray. To keep your colors in the right place, use disposable pastry bags. You could even use Ziploc bags to easily distribute each color into the jar.  You want even, mess-free, layers.

Keep in mind – the cake will rise. Do not overfill the jars! This means filling no more than half the jar. Once you have all the colors layered into your jar, they are ready to go in the oven. I followed the temperature directions on the cake mix box.  Keep a close eye on them; you don’t want to over bake them. I would say anywhere between 30-40 minutes is the norm.  Be sure to space jars equally to allow even baking.  Once baking is complete, let cool completely.  Then you can top them with your favorite frosting and sprinkles….YUM!

We decorated ours with felt stickers and colorful ribbons.  They turned out really cute, and they tasted even better.  My son was so proud of what he helped create – as he should be.  Since discovering these rainbow cakes I have come across other cake in jar recipes…looks like I better get busy baking.  Let us know your versions of Cake in a Jar.

Halloween is one of my favorite holidays.  For one, I am a candy junkie.  So anything that gives me a reason to have 5 pound bags of candy in the house is alright in my book.  Hey, it’s for the kids, right?   Second, I love thinking up creative ways to gross people out.   And my favorite way to do this is by crafting some gross goodies.  Click here for a few of my favorites that I created for a Halloween party a few years back.    

To honor Halloween’s finest gross out goodies – I have decided to give you a list of my favs from around the internet.  These are in no particular order, they are all equally disturbing. 

1.) Brain Cupcakes 

Ooeey, Gooey Brain Cupcakes

Brain Cupcakes are taken from Xsomnis’ PhotoStream on Flickr.  Please view more of her cakes and cupcakes here.  Check out her Zombie Food Guide.  She gives you complete instructions on how to make the Brain Cupcakes as well as were to buy the molds. Nice, thanks Xsomnis! 

2.) Just a really GROSS cupcake 

Most of the time it is the way we decorate the cupcakes that makes them look unappealing – but the inside of the cupcake still looks delicious.  Well, this is a twist on making a gross cupcake…it really is just that, a gross looking cupcake inside and out.  Sugar Plum Pastries created this one, and yes, it is entirely made of sugar.  I really don’t think I could eat this one.  Could you? 

Ewwww...gross. This really is a gross cupcake.

3.) Human Heart Cupcakes 

Some of the most realstic, anatomically correct cakes and cupcakes are created in the Evil Cake Shop.  If you have a second, and a strong stomach, take a look through their website.  But beware, they have several NSFW body parts as well.  Sick. 

Eat your "heart" out

4.) Human Jaw Cupcakes 

Another winner by the Evil Cake Shop, take a bite out of these toothy cupcakes at your next Halloween party. 

Bite Me

5.) Monster Cupcakes 

Chef Lynn of Yummy Cakes by Lynn created these cool monster cupcakes by first crafting an eye out of fondant, then working around that.  I love the bright colors in these kooky creatures!  So fun. 

I've got my EYE on you

6.) Broken Glass Cupcakes

Oh Martha, you always have the best ideas!  Thanks to Martha Stewart for these Broken Glass Cupcakes which use shards of sugar “glass” and a red fruit sauce for blood.   These really are the perfect Halloween Cupcake.

Careful with these ones.

7.) Kitty Litter Cupcakes

You’ve probably seen it before – Heck, I made a Kitty Litter Cake a few years ago – but have you ever seen Kitty Litter Cupcakes?  Cupcakeables took the famously nasty Kitty Litter Cake and modified into a cupcake version.

Meow!

I will have many more creepy Halloween Cupcakes in the days to come…keep checking back.  Happy Halloween!

What is GREAT STRIDES?

GREAT STRIDES is the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation’s largest and most successful national fundraising event. This year, Team Colette is walking in the GREAT STRIDES walk at the 2011 Akron – Hardesty Park walk on 05/22/2011. 

If you are interested in donating to Team Colette and the GREAT STRIDES organization your generous gift will be used efficiently and effectively, as nearly 90 cents of every dollar of revenue raised is available for investment in vital CF programs to support research, care and education.  Click here to help out Team Colette!

What is Cystic Fibrosis?

Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a devastating genetic disease that affects tens of thousands of children and young adults in the United States. Research and care supported by the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation is making a huge difference in extending the quality of life for those with CF. However, we continue to lose precious lives to CF every day. That’s why your help is needed now more than ever to ensure that a cure is found sooner – rather than later. To learn more about CF and the CF Foundation, visit www.cff.org.

Who is Colette?

Please feel free to share this link with anyone you might know who would like to do the same.  Team Colette thanks you for your support!

Team Colette t-shirts!

Yes, it has been some time since our last post…but we are jumping back into it.  I have some parties and dishes to post from the last several months.  So here we go…

Each New Year’s we host a small party and each year I stress over the menu.  This year was no different…fancy? casual? pizza and wings? UGHHH…what to make?

After much consideration, I settled on “mini”.  I love mini themed foods – you know, miniature bites of your favorites – mini pizzas, mini burgers, mini sandwiches. The “mini” party menu theme works for several occasions including a kids parties or an upscale cocktail party.  And of course, it worked perfectly for my New Year’s party.  Your guests can graze all night and sample several of these mini treats. 

You will need to do a lot of planning and prep work to make sure you can pull it off and still have time to socialize with guests.  I suggest prepping everything ahead of time so that you can simply assemble everything before your guests arrive.  I also recommend splitting your “batches” up so that you can put out warm seconds halfway through the night.  

Mini Party Menu

Mini Taco Salads

"mini" taco salads

Mini Burgers

Mini Tomato Soup with Mini Grilled Cheese

"mini" tomato soups

Mini Macaroni and Cheese

Black Eyed Pea Salad (for luck)

"mini" black eyed pea salad

Mini Hot Dogs

"mini" hot dogs

Mini Potato Latkes with Corned Beef and Gruyere

"mini" potato latke with corned beef and gruyere cheese

Mini Party Desserts

Mom’s Cookie Platter

Mini Milk and Donuts

"mini" milk and donuts

Mini Cheese Cake Bites

Plan your own “mini” food party - get ideas from the following mini food party links:

Mini versions of your favorite party foods

Martha Stewarts collection of Pint Sized Foods

The Galley Gourmets Three Cheese Mini Mac Recipe

Something I am very interested in this year is polishing my food writing skills.  I haven’t written much in the last few months, but plan to start focusing more on working on the blog.  Well, I was just over at Cleveland Foodie and noticed that she had information on the Fabulous Food Show’s food writing seminar…count me in!

Here is some info from the website…

Food Writing Seminars now offered at the Fabulous Food Show!

New this year are two great food writing seminars led by Dianne Jacob and Laura Taxel. Jacob is a writer and writing coach, editor and author of  Will Write For Food: The Complete Guide to Writing Cookbooks, Blogs, Reviews, Memoir, and More.

Laura Taxel is a food journalist, professional blogger, and author of Cleveland Ethnic Eats, A Guide to Authentic Ethnic Restaurants and Market in Greater Cleveland, currently in its 8^th edition. 

Friday, November 12th at 10:30am: For Pros Only: Should you Write a Cookbook or Start a Blog?

This 2 hour workshop is for chefs and cooks, restaurateurs, culinary entrepreneurs, and anyone else in the food industry. It will teach the basics of what to expect when writing a cookbook including whether to use a collaborator; who pays for photography; recipe development and testing; what subjects publishers want; what an agent does and how to choose one. Also learn the value of a blog, the steps for starting one, and what it takes to get followers! 

Saturday, November 13th at 10:30am: Food Writing for Food Lovers

This 2 hour workshop is for writing novices and people who want to express their personal interest in food, cooking and/or eating in written form.  Topics to be discussed include how to start and maintain a blog; how to write a recipe; food writing from the senses; writing a cookbook and breaking into freelancing. 

The cost for each session is $50, and includes the price of a single, same day ticket for entry to the Fabulous Food Show.  Click here to purchase your tickets!

In addition to this exciting seminar (exciting to some, but probably not to most) there will be so much more including visits from several of your favorite Food Stars (Michael Symon, Anne Burrell, Guy Fieri, Alton Brown and more). Tasting pavillons, food related seminars, product sampling,  kitchen equiptment showcases and so so much more…a foodies dream essentially.  Check out the Fabulous Food Show website for full details on all that the Fabulous Food Show is.

Farm Animal Baby Shower Cake for Miss Dawn

Let me start off by saying I love this goofy little cake!   It has been a while since I was truly excited about a cake.   Many of the cakes I have done recently have been repeats of ones prior…not much of a challenge.  This time I was given free rein in design and decorating…I love when that happens.  

Two things were for sure…the cake needed to be two tiers and needed to incorporate farm animals.  I got to work the same way I always do by heading to the internet!   Yes I have ideas of my own, but the internet is an invaluable tool when putting together my vision.   I can find new techniques and borrow bits and pieces from others to come up with my master plan. 

This time around I planned to stay away from decorating with fondant; instead I would try my hand at decorating with buttercream.  Don’t get me wrong, I love how smooth and flawless fondant makes a cake appear, but there is something whimsical and scrumptious about buttercream.   Buttercream makes you want to dive in and devour that cake. 

I needed some technique other than decorating with buttercream, something to make it a bit more fun.   Sweetopia not only is one of the cutest websites online, they make the most beautiful cookies.   Aside from showcasing their work, they offer informative tutorials on decorating with Royal Icing.   Did you know…aside from piping royal icing on cakes and cookies you can pipe designs onto parchment paper, let dry and then apply directly to a cake?  Here is the article on how to do it… Royal Icing Flood Work or Runouts.

My Royal Icing Sheep

I decided to break-up the tiers of this cake.  The bottom tier would be the ground…pastures with fence and cute farm animals.  The top tier would be sky with a few clouds and a couple of birds. 

Top Tier of Cake

I tried the royal icing technique on the farm animals.  Pigs and Sheep seemed an easy way to start. I drew out a few designs and placed parchment paper over the top of the design. I then piped royal icing over the lines.  Seems easy enough, doesn’t it?   After all the animals were complete, I placed them on cookie sheets to dry overnight.  I removed them by simply sliding an offset spatula underneath to release them.   They were attached directly to the cake with a couple dabs of royal icing…voila!  Those little sheep and piggies just made me smile…perfect!

"Gill" enjoying the beach...

In a previous post about Pet Friendly Travel, I wrote about traveling with your dog, and how wonderful the Loews Vanderbilt in Nashville was for this reason.  Well, they are now offering up a “Dog Days of Summer” package through August 31, 2010…

“No matter if your dog is a city slicker or beach lover, Loews Hotels puts the WOW in Bow Wow this summer with the Dog Days of Summer package. Included is a deluxe room, a special barbeque meal created by our Master Chef Marc Ehrler just for your hot dog – amazing “Scooby BBQ Sliders” that are veterinarian approved! We’ve partnered with Wendy Diamond pet expert and author of “It’s a Dog’s World” to provide tips on proper dog walking, also included is a “Fling Thing” Frisbee from West Paw Design perfect for catch in the park on a beautiful summer day.”

This cool package includes:

• Deluxe room
• “Scooby BBQ Sliders” meal for pets
• Fling Thing Frisbee from West Paw
• Dog Walking Tips from Pet Expert Wendy Diamond

Even if you can’t make it out to Nashville this summer to partake – we have got the recipe for the Scooby BBQ Summer Sliders for your dogs here.  Treat your dogs at your next BBQ. 

Scooby BBQ Summer Sliders

Ingredients:

4 oz Raw Ground Beef
2 oz Rendered Bacon, soft, chopped
3 slices Large Button Mushrooms
3 each “Pupperoni”
3 ea Mini Dog Biscuits
1 TB Parsley
1 tsp BBQ Sauce (NOT HOT)

Directions:

Mix ground beef, chopped rendered bacon, chopped parsley. Shape into 3″ patties. BBQ for 2 to 3 minutes on each side.

Place 3 patties on a rectangular plate. Garnish with pupperoni, mushroom. Top with mini dog biscuit. Drizzle the BBQ sauce on the plate.

Elmo Cake

I just had to share this adorable Elmo cake that my sister made.  She sent me the photos the other day…and I knew it had to go up on the site.  I am not entirely sure of the whole story behind this super cute Elmo cake, but I assume it was made for a birthday party.

How cute is Elmo?

Loews Loves Pets

Well, we are back – sigh – to our normal lives – sigh – after an awesome trip to Florida.  We stayed in Watersound – a lovely little town that I fell in love with.   I keep reminding myself that I can always return to Watersound…I can, and I will.   I will be posting about that part of the trip a bit later.  This post is dedicated to the trip there…with our two dogs, Gill and Cameron.

Traveling with dogs, I imagine, is similar to traveling with kids.  Snacks – check; toys – check; medicines – check, potty breaks – check.  One big difference in the two… all hotels allow kids, not all hotels allow your furry friends.  Thus, my hunt for a “decent” hotel that allowed pets was on. 

We knew Nashville, TN was about midway between Ohio and the destination – so that is where I focused my search.    I quick search online of “Pet Friendly Hotels Nashville” delivered some good results – the Loews Vanderbilt was one of them.  BTW…how did we ever survive without the internet?

The Loews Vanderbilt was the perfect fit for us.  Upscale, king bed, good size rooms…and pet friendly.  They even offered a “Pumped Up Pets” package that included comfy dog beds, dog dishes, dog dish mats and an amenity bag full of dog food, treats and toys.  It also included a meal for both dogs off of the specially designed pet room service menu.   

The contents of our "goody" bag

When arriving at the hotel I also noticed that they had water dishes for pets outside the entrance doors to the hotel…a sure sign that this was a hotel that truly caters to pets.  My only complaint was the rather small “bathroom” area they provided to walk the dogs.  It was outside the main doors, just past the valet service…lots of cars moving about and not a whole lot of grass for them to explore.  But, they did provide baggies and a bin.  I also did read that a dog park was not too far down the road.   We never did make it to the dog park…we were really only there to sleep. 

Gill loves the luxurious pet bedding

After the pain of unpacking the car, checking in and getting everyone settled in…we realized just how hungry were were.  We ordered off of the extensive room service menu…they ordered off of the pet room service menu.  Yes, a special pet room service menu – how funny is that? 

I was a bit hesitant in feeding them too much that was outside of their normal routine – especially since we were looking at another eight hours of travel in the morning.  I decided that this should be more of a snack.  We ordered up the  Chicken Chow Chow, a mixture of cooked chicken, green beans and carrots.  A very well balanced meal for the dogs; I was impressed, and so were they.   They are a bit spoiled… I know this.

Chicken Chow Chow

Despite the fact that Gill was wise awake and pacing around the room at 3:30 in the morning (he apparently does not like hotel rooms) – the experience at the Loews Vanderbilt was pleasant.  They provided us with everything you would need to travel comfortably with your pets.

- My Guide to Pet Friendly Travel Resources -

Several hotel chains offer pet friendly locations.  Here is a listing of the chains that offer the best selection worldwide. It is best advised to check with each individual hotel for restrictions.

Best Western Hotels  -  1800 of their US and Canadian locations welcome pets. 

Comfort Inns and Suites – 550 pet friendly locations nationwide.

Extended Stay Hotels – With 680 pet friendly locations, you are sure to find a location that suits your needs.

La Quinta – Over 700 pet friendly hotels from coast to coast.

Residence Inn by Marriot – A great pet friendly choice for you and your pet.   We stayed at a Residence Inn in Nashville on the way home from Florida.  Because of the full kitchen and separate ground floor access to the room,  it ended up being much more “convenient”  option than the upscale Loews Vanderbilt.   A good choice for anyone traveling with their pet.

Pet friendly travel websites:

PetsWelcome.com –  You can search by state through their database of pet friendly chain hotels.  

DogFriendly.com – Provides pet travel guides for dogs of all sizes and breeds.

Bring Fido – An excellent resource for pet friendly destinations, pet friendly hotels, pet friendly air travel and pet friendly restaurants in the US.   Nice website design as well.

PetTravel.com – When you are flying with your pet, the rules and restrictions can be confusing.  Check with PetTravel.com for information on pet friendly airlines, obtaining a pet passport and rules and guidelines for taking your pets into another country.