cake decorating birthday

yesterday was my niece's 7th birthday

a cake decorating party

she was very specific

about the cake

white

one layer

vanilla frosting

with

rainbows

sprinkles

and

chef hats

 

 (i took a bit of artistic license and made clouds out of the fondant chef hats)

for the cakes to decorate

hot pink fondant

and

lots of candy

some of the candy made it onto the cakes

but mostly it was being "taste-tested"

it was unanimous

fun party

decidedly

not "christmasy"

which was all part of the plan

happy birthday

sweet isabella

how i celebrate

today is my birthday

kind of a big one

but not a milestone

if i live a nice long healthy life

today, 

is the day i hit

mid-life

not too long ago

i heard someone say

mid-life is not for a crisis

but for

readjustment

i like the idea

look back

see what worked well

what didn't

and  

maneuver the next half of my life

applying what i've learned

this year in celebration

hubster and i slipped away

we are spending a few days

on a sheep farm

lambing

is in full swing

today

the bleat of new babies

is the only song

i wish to hear

newly born

hubster with his new bff

a piece of cake

just a little respite

from my normal blogging

to show you

the cake i made

for my nephew's 3rd birthday

hubster helped with the car

being a nascar fan he had important insight

the birthday boy

the big sister

and various cousins

helped with the decorating

which means 

it isn't perfect

but it was

perfectly fun

and it turned

a simple piece of cake

into

a fabulous memory

my favorite being

the 

buttercream mustache competition

what a hoot

9 children

from age 3 to 18

can be

Happy Birthday Ben!

madeline cloak project

i am working on a few things for a school auction

it is that time of year!

in the past i have donated cooking classes and dinner parties

but frankly

i am so busy

and 

coordinating schedules

has become tedious

so this year i switched it up a bit

and i am donating the fixins

for a 

madeline birthday party

i'm not going to lie

i was inspired by a kate landers party

that has been flying around the blogosphere

essentially,

what i am doing 

is providing all the things a

very hip and classy parent

(wink, wink)

would want and need

for their small child's party

and one of those things

actually i made 8 of them

is a madeline cloak

(fully lined, mind you)

i am not a seamstress

so this has been a bit of a challenge

but i have to say

i am 

in love with them

so cute

can't you just imagine

eight little girls

in two straight lines

more to come, i am sure

hello cupcake

 happy 18th birthday

to my

niece

Meghan

welcome

to

the 

adults table!

weekend away

i am sure my mother won't be angry

when i tell you 

she turned 70 this weekend

or as my nephew described it

even par

(a golf term for those of you scratching your heads)

my mom is a very young 70

which means

she not only looks great

wrinkle free and fit

but 

she enjoys life

is positive and strong

her birthday wish

was a weekend away

so i went about

organizing for our party of 11

a trip to san francisco

we had a blast

while the weekend was filled with lots of little events...

a great lunch at the slanted door

wine tasting in napa 

the weekend was culminated with

a dinner party

 at an amazing restaurant called

Quince

i wanted to put a theme to the event

so my hubster created a logo

and i made things to put it on

and then silkscreened well into the night

and I would like to share with you

what we did

because i think we did a good job

and i am pretty proud

linen gift bags with old-time candy

linen napkins with silk-screened logo

cd with 1940s big band music

and how it all looked at the restaurant

where are pictures of the birthday girl you ask?

well

she is shy

and won't be making an appearance here 

you will have to take my word 

regarding all her attributes

sweet sixteen

It's been 27 years since my sweet 16 and I still remember it like it was yesterday.
I will never forget opening the front door to one of my older brother's friends and he said, "sweet 16 and never been kissed", leaned over and planted one on my cheek, and watched me turn about 15 shades of pink.

Well, it wasn't true. I was "married" at the age of 4 to my neighbor..and I know we must have kissed at least once.

My mother and I planned for months for my party. We ordered beautiful invitations with tissue confetti nestled in the envelope. When the recipient opened it, the little orbs floated out and it looked like a party was happening right at that very moment. I asked all my friends to bring another friend, and I wore a frilly white dress (it was the 80's).  It was fun.

Last night, one of my many nieces had her sweet sixteen birthday party

And I crashed it

sort of

I was hired help

sort of

Okay, Okay

I inserted myself in the middle

Come on...

I do food for a living

Remember my cousin-slash-friend from our Operation Christmas Child party? Well, she and I were at it again

and this is what we came up with

so cute, right?