Fun Ideas for, parties,recipes,crafts to make everyday a celebrations

The perfect Spa Sleepover

2010-04-16T13:29:00.000-07:00

Heres a glimpse of the Spa Sleepover Party for my 10yr old daughter

Easter Crafts

2010-03-25T08:52:00.000-07:00

I am one of the party moms for my daughters Preschool class and for their Easter party, I have to come up with some crafts for the class. After much research and thought, I have come up with two crafts that are going to be fun and easy. The egg carton Easter basket, a pretty bonnet for the girls and bunny ear hats for the boys.

Supper easy vintage Bonnet

Fun and simple Bunny Ears Hat

PI day cupcakes

2010-03-15T10:11:00.000-07:00

Cupcakes for my daughters 4th grade class celebrating PI day, they had a class Pie potluck. Since it was her birthday my daughter asked for cupcakes that were
science related !!

They are studying the periodic table and each child was assigned a element to research. so I decided to make cupcakes picks with basic info about elements and a few facts about them.

The children read the facts out to the class before eating the cupcakes.
Now that's what I call smart eating !!

Vegetarian Tapas (with an Indian touch) part II

2010-03-03T01:21:00.000-08:00

So continuing my series of Vegetarian Tapas

Tortilla de Patatas

6 Eggs
1½ tsp Salt
1 cup Olive Oil
2 large Onions (finely chopped)
½ tsp Black Pepper (freshly ground)
900 gms Russet Potatoes (peeled & sliced)

Heat oil in a pan over medium flame. Add potatoes to it.
Stir occasionally until they turn golden and crisp.
Take out the potatoes with a slotted spoon.
Add salt and pepper to the potatoes, and toss them for a while.
Add onions in the remaining oil and sauté till they turn golden.
In the meanwhile, beat the eggs thoroughly in a large bowl. Add the potatoes, onions, remaining salt and pepper to it. Leave it for 5-10 minutes.
Take a smaller pan and put it over medium flame.
Smear the pan with a little bit of oil. Pour half of the potato/onion/eggs mix in the pan. Swish the pan so that the mixture gets evenly spread.
Allow the mixture to cook for a few minutes until the crispy thin egg edge starts to pull away from the pan.
Now, take a spoon and run it around the outside edges to make sure the egg layer has not stuck to the pan.
Slide in the spoon; lift the omelette to turn its upside down. By doing this, the uncooked side will get cooked.
• Cook for another minute or so, and then slide the omelette onto a plate.
• Tortilla de Patata is ready to eat. Serve with bread and sauce.

Garlic mushrooms

3 tbsp. olive oil
1/2 lb. mushrooms, stems trimmed, brushed clean, whole if very sm., or cut in 1/4 inch thick slices
4 cloves of garlic, peeled & thinly sliced
2 tsp. dry (fino) Spanish sherry
1/2 tsp. paprika, preferably Spanish style
1/2 dried red chili pepper, seeded & crumbled, or 1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper
Salt
Freshly ground pepper

I made this in my convection oven. pretty much threw everything into the baking dish
and baked it for 15 mins.

Vegetarian Tapas

2010-03-02T11:04:00.000-08:00

The word “tapas” is derived from the Spanish verb tapar, “to cover”.

According to legend the tapas tradition began when king Alfonso X of Castile or Alfonso the Wise, recovered from an illness by drinking wine mixed with small dishes between meals. After regaining his health, the king ordered that taverns were not allowed to serve wine to customers unless the beverage was accompanied by a small snack or tapa.

Serving of tapas is designed to encourage conversation because people are not so focused upon eating an entire meal that is set before them.

Now that I have given you some history on Tapas. I have to mention a special delimma
I face as a non-vegitarian. For us cooking for special occasions almost always involves a special Fish or Chicken dish.
Inviting Vegetarians for dinner poses a challenge for me. I have been stuck in a rut as far as vegetrian food is concerned.I have the same old dishes to prepare for
vegetarians. Its a shame because so many of my friends are vegetarians. So to shake things up a lil I tried (Indian Inspired) Vegetarian Tapas for a recent dinner party. It was soo much fun cooking and the dinner was pretty informal fun and
filling. I served some Sangria with the dishes

Peach Sangria

750ml bottle White Zinfandel
1/3 cup sugar
3/4 cup peach-flavored brandy
1/2 cup Sprite
8 oz sliced peaches
8 oz sliced pineapples
2 sticks of cinnamon
pinch of cinnamon powder

Mix together the wine, sugar, brandy and Sprite until well mixed. Add in the peaches,Pineapples,cinnamon sticks and pinch of cinnamon powder and refrigerate overnight

Vegetarian Kababs

medium sized boiled potato
1 tbsp Mint cutney
1 tsp ginger-green chilli paste
3-4 tsp gram flour (Besan)
1 tsp chaat masala
1 tsp chashew past

½ tsp red chilli powder
2 tsp coriander leaves
1 tsp lemon juice
Salt to taste

1. Mix potato, mint cutney,cashew paste in a mixing bowl.
2. Add ginger paste, chaat masala, salt, lemon juice, turmeric powder, chilli powder and salt.
3. Add gram flour(Besan) for binding and mix it properly.
4. Make small “Kebab” shapes.
5. Bake in 350 degrees for 15 -20 mins

Vegetable Cutlet

Mozzarella salad

Polenta Provencale

Trader Joes yummy gluten free polenta dish

Holi the festival of colors

2010-02-24T10:14:00.001-08:00

Its going to be Holi very soon and I love Holi my favourite Indian festival by far.
It is very difficult to recreate the MASTI (fun) of Holi here in the USA. Nevertheless we can try to bring back some of the carefree fun at home.
(of course Playing Holi at home will result in ruined carpets walls and other nightmares that will take days to clean sooo no playing holi at home !!! at least
not my home)The playing actual Holi needs to be done at all the public events( no mess no fuss).

A big part of any Indian Festival is the food !! Here are some recipes I found for all my beloved Holi foods

Gujia

an essential part of the Holi experience in North India

Kachoris

Malai Kofta

Veg Cutlets

Diwali Dessert Corner

2009-10-14T10:37:00.000-07:00

Happy Diwali everyone. Diwali is the biggest Indian festival and there is so much excitement in our home in preparation for it. Sweet treats are a big part of the festival with people sending boxes of Mithai (sweets to their friends and family.)
Heres a nice way to set up a dessert corner for your guests to enjoy.

Easy home made flower shaped Kalakand

The winter nip is already in the air, piping hot Gajar ka Halwa
(Carrot dessert)warms you up.

Gulab Jamuns is the most popular Indian dessert in the world, so of course it has to be served for any Diwali party. Served on candy sticks to make them less messy to eat.

For the decor I used two Satin curtain panels bought at a discount store the stands
are basically cardboard boxes tucked under the satin panels.Lots of Dia's with the battery candles on them (don't want to start a fire.)

Simple Diwali (festival of lights) craft Idea.

2009-10-08T10:55:00.001-07:00

Diwali is just a week away and I am trying to build
anticipation for my girls.Here is a easy craft idea
that can be fun for the kids to do.
A simple rangoli table runner made on brown paper.
I wanted to create,the simple mud hut rustic rangoli feel
for this project specially because of my limited drawing ability.

Diwali is certainly my favorite festival so stay tuned for more.

Indian Desserts for Diwali

2009-09-28T10:44:00.000-07:00

Diwali is oct 17 this year & of course its celebration time for Indians all over the world.This Post I have gathered some videos of Diwali Mithai (sweet treats)ideas

Kaju Katli

Diwali Special Gujias

Ras malai

Thai Food

2009-05-31T03:28:00.000-07:00

So To reduce our eating out costs I decided to do a Thai food night at home.

To begin the evening Lychee Martinis and Satay chicken

The Lychee Martini recipe is from About.com by Brian Nishii

Picked up packets of Pad Thai paste & Green curry Paste at Ranch 99 market along
with rice noodles,lemon grass stalks, bean sprouts, basil leaves & Canned Lychee
for the Martini.

Next stop the Dollor store, Its summer and they have a lot of Hawaii theme items
available I was able to pick up silk orchid flowers & leaves,stones in various
shapes and colors. By sheer luck those lil lotus shaped plates and on a previous
visit I had bought the big lotus flower with the hopes that I'd use it some day.

The lil Statuette is from a stopover at the Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok.

On the whole this did require a good amount of planning & a lot of time cooking but the food was really good and the girls loved it. Can't wait to invite a few friends over .

Pad thai

2009-05-30T18:20:00.000-07:00

Thai food is our family favorite. We love trying out new restaurants.
lately we have been trying to cut down on our restaurant visits. So I am trying to
come up with simple Thai inspired recipes for a Thai food night at home.

Mothers Day Home Spa

2009-05-07T09:50:00.000-07:00

A Victorian home spa for mothers day

Home Spa for mothers Day

2009-05-05T11:19:00.000-07:00

Home spa treatments for Mothers Day

2009-04-28T22:41:00.000-07:00

Mothers day is coming up and in the past I have received a pet rock,mens perfume,
old toys, for mothers day.No I am not complaining I have the two most precious gifts
anyone could ever want, but I do not mind a day of being pampered.Going to a spa in this economy! too expensive to think of.So why not set up a spa at home for the whole family to enjoy.
Starting a home spa series for mothers day. home spa treatments tips tricks etc stay tuned.

Celebrating Earth - one small step

2009-04-21T22:26:00.000-07:00

Its Earth Day tomorrow and our family is taking baby steps towards going green.
We turned off our second refrigerator.My husband took off most of the bulbs in the
bathroom vanity area (there are 8 bulbs in a row)

We turn off any extra lights around the house. The girls have started their own little kitchen garden with tomatoes,herbs,chilli peppers,cucumber etc and have been quite enthusiastic about it so far.

Last weekend after they worked on their garden all afternoon I rewarded them with a
special dinner in the backyard.

Picked these cute chocolate bugs at the after Easter sale at Walmart.

Easy and affordable way to perk up a spring dinner table

2009-04-20T20:27:00.001-07:00

2009-04-15T11:57:00.000-07:00

Heres one party I'd love to be invited to.But don't think I can ever host

A Spring Celebration.

2009-04-04T22:56:00.000-07:00

So spring is here, and the weather is just getting warmer and the sun in out in full
force,here is sunny California.We had a lil spring tea party for my four year old daughters play date and it was all floral with flower cupcakes,candy floss all
very girly.

The Favor Bag was full of goodies fit for a lil lady

The Menu was simple and easy

Strawberries,Lil Debbie Boston Creme Rolls,Nutella sandwiches,Fruit triffle

The cupcakes stole the show.The girls loved the fact they they could have the cake
and get a lolipop too! I baked some for the preschool Easter party too.

The Princess Party on a Budget

2009-03-17T11:25:00.000-07:00

So I finally got to post on The Princess party on a Budget.
Everything turned out perfect and now the complete breakdown.

I used plain white favor bags 12 for a buck and pasted these printouts on them.

Next table setting The Boa's we had brought from the $ store when they were available last year. Also the flowers and the vases.
The cute pink glasses I bought before valentine were 2 for a $ and they give the
setting a very nice touch.

I also did a seperate Knights table a we had about 4 boys

The Cake was a mini princess with pink frosted cupcakes. I decorated an old cake stand I had with a tiara on top a pink boa. I also got the Canopy from my daughters
room to give the cake cutting area that royal look.

The rest of the food was pretty simple

We also served Mini Pizza's from Trader Joes.
So mission accomplished for me and the kids had a wonderful time.

$100 Princess party 1 day to Go.........

2009-03-13T12:54:00.000-07:00

I am running around like a headless chicken so many things to do no time to post!!!!!

3 more days to go for the $100 Princess Birthday Party!!!

2009-03-11T12:12:00.000-07:00

Three more days to go and I have my favors all ready the party activities are all set.
For the party table I will be using things I already have so no additional costs there.
I do have a mini princess cake mold that I will use to make a cake and the rest will be cupcakes.

Here is our party menu.

Another idea that hit me a few days back was the the dress up idea. It has the potential to throw me off budget but I am not spending any money on this.
Why not involve parents in the Dress up? So I looked in the closets and garage and found Hats a crown,Tiara a wig all used in past Halloweens

So while our lil princess's and knights are all dressed up we get a chance to have the whole family pose for a Royal picture.

Picked up gold colored plates from party city on sale &1.49 for 20!! wow I am nearly all set.

The $ 100 Birthday party challenge- countdown begins........

2009-03-06T10:15:00.000-08:00

The Birthday party is next Saturday and I have 8 days to go. I am doing quite Ok as yet only spent about $35 that leaves me with $65 for food,activities,cake etc.
will that be enough !!! I have 8 confirmed guests and 3 maybes. Any suggestions
on Princess Party menu can feed about 12 kids under $25 ??

Cupcake Stand

2009-03-04T12:39:00.001-08:00

Found these videos will try to make them.

Home made Knights Costume for The $100 challenge Princess Party

2009-03-01T11:11:00.002-08:00

We have quite a few Boys invited for our party so of course we need some costumes for them too as I lil girls are all dressing up in princess costumes. Here are my Knights
costumes

The $ 100 Birthday Party Challenge - Favors

2009-02-26T09:38:00.000-08:00

The birthday parties are just 2 weeks away and I am in the middle of preparing for them. The first thing I did was to make spreadsheet of all the items I need for
activities,food,favors etc. Next step was shopping well (This is my favorite part)
for the three year old's Princess Party I decided to buy most of my favors the day after
Valentines Day,I got a lot of cute pink favors the were 50% off about 75-50 cents for a pack of 8 favors not bad!!

The Tiaras I picked up from the dollar store last year as I knew we'd be having a
princess party and I keep a look out year round for supplies. I also pick up these really nice Knights helmets and swords ,for the boys that will attend.

Lastly on my shopping trips I also picked up these adorable pink glass's just right
for a princess, 2 for a Dollar

The cost so far about $35

MY birthday challenge- The $ 100 birthday party

2009-02-19T08:58:00.000-08:00

So I have two birthday parties coming up next month. My daughters are turning 9 and 4
they are just one day apart 13th and 14th!!Throwing one birthday party can be stressful
but two is insane! Lot of people ask me why I don't have a combined party for the two?
The problem is that my nine year old has nothing in common with the 4 year old, they have very different likes & dislikes. The 4 year old is a lil princess and miss preteen has long outgrown all things princess,and thinks its totally uncool!!
I believe a birthday is a celebration of the individual.and the party should reflect the child's personality.
Challenge # 1
The Princess's Castle party was a no brainer
I am building a Castle out of cardboard boxes
Challenge #2
The preteen party was s challenge. We had all but decided on a hiking trip with a picnic but realized that its rainy season here in California and doing anything outdoors is risky.My daughter suggested they do a Broadway style play at home!
Now I thought that was a neat Idea. So we are doing the Lion King.
All the guests get to dress up as the animals characters.We will set up a stage and they get a chance to sing dance and perform a mini play.

The Real challenge is this year, well I don't want to do a over the top party like I usually do.
This year I am setting a budget of $100 for each party. So lets see if I can throw a
fancy birthday party for under $100!!!

Oscar Viewing Party-table

2009-02-18T13:17:00.000-08:00

Ray found this really cool

Oscar Viewing Party

2009-02-14T14:59:00.000-08:00

The Oscars are on next week and I am throwing an Oscar viewing party at home

Found this great link On the Official Oscar website
Great ideas for a Oscar Party.
They have the Printable Oscar Ballots for this year and other games like the Oscar Bingo
etc everything you'd need for a Oscar party.

Here our our themed recipes

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

here is a Video for Shrimp Creole - A New Orleans Classic

For the movie Milk Here is the Baileys Milk Shake Recipe

For Slumdog Millionaire I choose Pav Bhaji a quintessential Mumbai street food
Its delicious and Spicy

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
Large knob of butter
1 small onion, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon each ginger
1 heaped teaspoon garlic paste
1 green chilli, sliced
2 teaspoons pao bhaji masala/substitute with curry powder & Paprika
1 teaspoon coriander powder
Salt to taste
1 medium tomato, chopped
2 medium potatoes, boiled and roughly mashed
150g/5oz cauliflower florets,cut into very small pieces
1 large handful of frozen green peas, defrosted
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon garam masala
1 handful coriander, chopped
2-3 soft white bread rolls

Heat oil and a teaspoon of butter in a large non-stick frying pan. Fry onion until golden. Add ginger, garlic and chilli. Cook for 30 seconds. Stir in spices. Cook for 30 seconds. Add seasoning, tomatoes , cook for four minutes. Stir for five minutes, adding a splash of hot water. Add veg and 250ml (9fl oz) hot water, bring to boil and simmer for 10 minutes, mashing. Add peas and two tablespoons butter. Cook for two minutes. It should be thick and sloppy, so add water as required. Season, add remaining ingredients. Cook for another minute. Lightly toast the rolls and serve.

Gluhwien for The Reader
Ingredients

* 4 quarts dry red wine (zinfandel, merlot, burgundy, etc.)
* 1 pint brandy
* 1 cup sugar
* 6 cinnamon sticks
* 12 cloves, whole
* 1/8 tsp allspice
* 1/8 tsp mace
* 2 oranges, sliced
* 1 lemon, sliced

Directions

1. Pour the wine into a large pot and begin heating over low heat.
2. As it begins to warm, add sugar and spices. Stir until sugar is dissolved.
3. Add the brandy.
4. Heat thoroughly, but do not allow to boil!
5. Add the lemon and orange.
6. Steep for about 1 hour over low heat.
7. You may add more sugar during this time if desired, stirring well so it disolves.
8. Serve hot and garnish with orange slices. A stick cinnamon could also be used.

Valentine day table setting and treat ideas

2009-02-09T12:47:00.000-08:00

We have three,well two and a half, girly girls in the house ( My older one is part tomboy),
Valentines day is bound to be a big thing so here are my ideas for this year.This is
our 10th anniversary year, and my girls are blossoming lil flowers, so My theme is
LOVE BLOSSOMS.

My Cupcake bouquet(details in the last post) serves as the centerpiece and I used small pots with heart lolipops,marshmallows as individual bouquets.I will be serving chocolate fondue and the marshmallows are for dipping.

For treats I am serving jello baskets

These are actually going to serve as my daughters preschool class treats.
All kids love jello.

Another treat is the Strawberry cream cheese sandwich.

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY TO YOU

Easy Cupcake Bouquet for Valentines Day

2009-02-03T10:58:00.000-08:00

Valentines Day is nearly here,there is a lot of excitement in our house.Here is the first in a series of craft & recipe ideas for the day.I fell in love with the Cupcake
bouquet idea its so cute and economical,flowers look nice but are quite expensive so
why not try something that's not just pretty,its edible too!

I began with mini cupcakes with pink frosting with pink sprinkles

Here's a closeup of the rose petals I tried.

I used a low pot I had at home with green silk flowers as base.

Toothpick on the cupcakes as stems

Here is my final creation

Tomorrow a basket of love

International Day-Tricolor(tiranga) Pulao

2009-01-22T09:40:00.000-08:00

Its international day at my daughters school and I decided to make Tricolor Pulao (Triranga) to represent the colors of the Indian flag.The Indian republic day is right around the corner on the 26Th Jan so this may good and easy dish to try.

the three different kinds of rice are Saffron rice,Mint rice and plain rice
(curd rice would do too)

2009-01-21T11:56:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was an exciting day of new beginnings and hope.We celebrated with Obama cupcakes

Tea /chai

2009-01-11T13:56:00.000-08:00

Baking has always been a weakness for me.Stories of how I burn things in the oven are famous among friends and family.I baked the perfect scones yesterday!!!
All thanks to Youtube.

I am hooked to the all the recipe demonstrations on youtube.When you read a recipe
the one thing missing is technique.The videos show you exactly what to do and More
importantly what not to.

Here is the Cranberry scones recipe -

Another recipe I tried from youtube were these delicious chicken finger sandwhich recipe. They were really really good. i just added walnuts and that made it even better.

Tick Tock clock countdown new year table

2009-01-07T20:55:00.000-08:00

I was inspired by the table featured at the Hostess with the mostess website so i tried my version

MY COUNTDOWN CLOCK CAKE

I am no expert in decorating cakes but this came out quite well

The Disco ball ornaments made the whole house glow!!

Celebrating Diwali in the US

2009-01-07T12:32:00.000-08:00

I know this is terribly late for (or early) Diwali but here is some glimpses into my Diwali celebration decor last year.Living outside of India my daughters don't get as much exposure
to our beloved festivals as I would like them to have.So they don't really know what it is to pig out on mithai(besides these day we worry about the calories).To light patakha's (fire crackers)
its illegal were we live .But each year I try to make it as exciting for them as I can. I still remember
my daughter being five and saying she wasn't really very excited about diwali "Not like its Christmas"!! We were going to the usual potluck dinner.That statement saddened me a lot but
I realize she didn't know how exciting diwali was she didn't really see the fun part of it as I did
growing up of course she looks forward to Christmas because its so festive here all her friends
are excited and THE PRESENTS!!!
So I thought why not adapt it to suit her environment. So I decided to have a diwali gift exchange among all her Indian friends( a big Hit) then the next hurdle was the fireworks Its Illegal in my county and not available anytime except 4th of July So we combined a Dusherra tradition of
burning the Ravan ka putla with Diwali. Diwali usually falls around Halloween so my friend used a straw scarecrow as a base for a Ravan.

she certainly put a lot of effort into it and here what happened to it !!

The Kids loved listening to the Story of Ramayan and burning the evil ravan.

I am not too good at rangoli so I did a mini rangoli as my centerpiece with
battery candles over store bought.Why fake candles ? just thought it was safer with so many kids around.

Diya Cupcakes for Diwali

2008-09-29T12:57:00.000-07:00

Diwali the festival of lights is nearly here.As my daughters grow older, I feel the need to make it
a special celebration for them, so as they grow up they can value and cherish the festival as I do.
Its hard for them to feel the excitement, as most other children around them dont share the celebrations. I have made it a point to have a Diwali party every year were we do a gift exchange with other children(which they really enjoy).
We love baking cupcakes. Here are some Diya cupcakes we baked over the weekend.
I made the Flame with fondant and a leaf shaped cookie cutter & orange food coloring.
The gold cupcake liners give the cupcakes a diya look.

A Sleepover Spa party.

2008-08-27T09:35:00.000-07:00

If you have a Pre teen, or teenage daughter you are bound to have had a few sleepovers.

Here's a fun theme for a sleepover to make the lil ladies feel very special & have tons of fun.

A Spa theme Sleepover Party is easy to organize and girls of all ages love to be pampered.

First decide on the spa treatments to be offered manicures, face masks.

Look around the house for creams & facepacks to be used or go for homemade treatments.

Here is a helpful link http://www.epigee.org/beauty/spa_treatments.html

Easy Manicures

Bowl of warm water

Liquid soap

Hydrogen peroxide

Nail polish remover

Nail buffer

Hand cream

Cotton balls

Nail polish

Nail stickers

Face Treatments

Face Masks

Buy from a store

or use home made ones

Yougurt face Mask

ingredients:
1 tbsp natural yogurt, room temperature (not lowfat or non-fat)
1 tsp runny honey (microwave for a few minutes to soften hardened honey)
Preparation:Combine mixture, then apply to face. Let sit for 15 minutes. Wash face with steaming washcloth. For dry skin, use an extra tsp of honey. Oily skin? Add a few drops of fresh lime juice.

Papaya Mask

Ingredients:
Papaya
Instructions:
Peel and remove seeds. Chop into pieces and drop into food processor. Puree until papaya is the consistancy of baby food. Use 1/2 a tablespoon for each facial. Research shows that it is one of the best non-abrasive masks that you can use. It contains a strong enzyme called papain which dissolves oil and dead skin cells.

Face scrub

Brown Suger scrub

Take one cup of fine ground salt (Dead Sea salt would be the best but you can also use a regular sea salt), two table spoons of dry milk powder, 1/3 cup of virgin olive oil. Mix all the ingredients together and apply to moist skin with your finger tips, then wipe it off with a wet towel. Store the left over mixture in a tightly closed container in the fridge.

Oat meal face scrub

Take a bag of plain Oatmeal. Grind the Oatmeal in a coffee grinder or blender. You can store ground oatmeal in a jar. Once you are ready to scrub your skin mix some of the ground oatmeal with cold water until it reaches even consistency (not runny, you will need to use it as a scrub!). Now your scrub is ready, gently massage it into your skin. Oatmeal will absorber and clean away all of the toxins that your skin have collected during the day.
Second scrub can be used for both face and body skin. This scrub contains a lot of honey so do not use it if you are allergic to it!

Last but not the least dont forget cucumber slices for eyes

Keep refrigerated for 1/2 hrs

After all the relaxing treatments snacks & a girly movies should

be a perfect way to put them all to sleep.

favors ideas for the party.

King of the Castle theme party for the man of the house.

2008-08-10T22:21:00.000-07:00

Cupcakes with swords & a crown cupcake on top of the cupcake tree.

Home made Cup cake stand

2008-08-03T01:49:00.000-07:00

I love cupcakes, who dosen't ? So I made a easy cupcake stand for our "King Of the Castle"
Themed B'day party for my husband

Three Cake boards (one smaller than the other two)

Golden Doilies (2 Sizes to fit the cake boards)

ribbon

Glue

Two Cardboard ribbon spools

Heres how its going to look with the cupcakes

A Special Birthday Gift.

2008-08-01T00:12:00.000-07:00

My Sister-in-law's birthday is coming up. Its 15 Aug actually, but since my parents were heading over there. We decided to send her gift early.I usually stick to gift cards as it does away with having to recycle gifts & being fake polite.How many bath & body sets does a person need!!!

But earlier this year we had bought these beautiful pair of earrings from zihuatanejo.

The girls kinda felt left out, they wanted to send something too. So we baked a batch of our fav cupcakes

Rhea had fun icing it.

Rhea's gift was ready.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ISHITA

The Cupcake stand.

2008-07-28T00:08:00.000-07:00

So when my 8 yr old wanted to set up a lemonade stand in our neighborhood.A bulb flashed in my head!! Why not a cupcake stand? Every one loves cupcakes. So I suggested,she set up a cupcake stand at the Induz Open house & picnic & donate part of her earnings to charity,she was all for it.
The cupcakes were a big hit & my daughter had a blast selling them,
she made $ 50 in one afternoon. Half of the amount, she donated to Induz
www.induz.org

Tea with Daddy

2008-07-27T12:11:00.000-07:00

We moms work very hard, and ever so often we get appreciation from kids and others around us, there are magazines,TV shows, internet sites and so much more that reaffirm the importance of what we do.Dare I say that the dads on the other hand do not get as much acknowledgment for what they do for their family?? So My first post is about celebrating dad. My three old hosted a tea party for dad after he came home from work(He has a cup of tea, every evening & we just made it a special celebration).We started with a hand made card and flowers(from our backyard for dad.

The Tea menu consisted of simple snacks available in the pantry.Cookies,caramel popcorn,crackers,fruit trifle,egg sandwiches,cucumber & hummus sandwiches,tea & juice.

The Fruit trifle was very easy to put together.

Pound cake,Tapioca pudding or any other kind of pudding,Your choice of fruits( jello,& whipping cream can also be added).
We had two kinds of sandwiches- egg sandwiches,cucumber & hummus sandwiches.

Tea ofcourse!!!and juice

A nice table cloth, flowers and napkins with dads initials( I picked them up at Micheal's) and the table was set for a special celebration just for dad.