Category Archives: Food

Best Day of My Life

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Almost exactly a year ago my brothers and I threw my parents a surprise 25th wedding anniversary party (with the amazing help of many family members). I had been mentally planning this day since before I could remember. My parents are honestly two of the most incredible people I will ever know. I know that everyone is biased in thinking their parents are the greatest… but as just humans in general, they surpass most. I was thrilled to be able to give them a party so that they would have a day to be appreciated.

Since it has been almost a year, I wanted to share some of the pictures with you guys and also some of the party details! The party colors were purple and gray. I wanted to use their wedding colors, but unfortunately their 80′s shades of yellow and peach were just awful. Instead I settled on purple (my mothers favorite color) and gray (or silver since that is the color of 25th anniversaries!).

Here are some of the party details… enjoy :)

For the utensils… I decided to make a napkin ring. I used custom printables from The TomKat Studio. Once I punched the circle out, I used a straight-edged razor and cut two slits in the top and strung some ribbon through. Really easy and it looks great! Oh and PS… my parents are Tim and Mary…hence the T&M

I also used the same TomKat Studio printables on my Pastry Pedestal. I mentioned how much I love the Pastry Pedestal here and here.  I just cut some coordinating paper to size and then additionally added one of my custom TomKat circles. These held the cupcakes!

While we are talking about cupcakes… I got some really fun treats to add to the cupcakes I made for the party. I ordered some custom fondant cupcake toppers and some edible pearls from Two Sweet Cakes on Etsy. I was thrilled with how they came out.

Everything together for the cupcakes came out perfectly…

I also got some gray striped straws for the party which I just loved. I bought them from IsaKay Boutique on Etsy. They even made me some personalized flags to adhere to the straws. They were a great personalized touch!

I also had some custom water bottle labels made from Seaside Paper Company. Unfortunately the shop is now closed on Etsy so I don’t have a link for you. They were actually one of my most favorite details from the party.

I don’t remember why.. but I bought some paper parasols last year for the party from Luna Bazaar. I didn’t quite know what I wanted to do with them but then I ultimately decided to hand-paint some words on them with metallic paint pens. They came out amazing… I loved them.

For the centerpieces I did a few different things. Each table had some purple orchids I ordered online from Sam’s Club. They were really beautiful. Then I made a cupcake liner flower pom. I ordered purple cupcake liners from Country Kitchen SweetArt and found the tutorial from Kara’s Party Ideas. They actually came out so cute that one of them is in the guest bathroom on display as we speak you read.

There are a million other things I didn’t mention like the paper lanterns I bought from Oriental Trading etc etc, but you get the idea! Overall it was an incredible day filled with love, laughs and dancing. Yes.. we even had a DJ and a dance floor. Best choice I made!

Here is the fam…

And a great picture of Brett and I…

And the last picture of course had to be a picture of the family in front of the big 25. I scanned tons of pictures into my computer of various moments throughout their marriage… pictures of their wedding, proud parental moments such as the first day of school, family vacations etc etc… and edited them to be black and white and then made a huge 25 backdrop. It was really fun for everyone to take a look back at some of my parents favorite moments.

And because I’m sappy…

And well there you have it! Hope you have all had a day like this in your lives :)

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Graduation Party!

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Last week was my little brother Greg’s graduation party! I had been working for weeks, months even, to make this party special for him. Greg is the youngest of the siblings and to me he is still six years old. I literally can’t believe he is going to college. Well I was thrilled to be able to help plan the party with my parents. I was also really excited to document it properly for us all to look back on. However, my heart completely sunk when we drove the 2.5 hours to my parents house and realized we left both cameras in Connecticut at our place. I think I was just so scatterbrained trying to pack the car with graduation stuff that it totally slipped my mind. I was devastated. Therefore sadly all the pictures are from my iPhone and there aren’t that many… but hopefully you will get the idea :)

For the centerpieces I got some simple vases from the dollar store and filled them with yellow mini jawbreakers and blue gum balls from the Bulk Candy Store.

I made some twine covered sticks to go inside of the vases. I used candy sticks, twine and printables from The TomKat Studio. They looked like this…

The printables said different things like “Grad” and “Greg” and “2012″ etc etc. I mentioned them here as well.

Then I needed to figure out some sort of display for my Pastry Pedestal  which I wrote about in length here. I had bought some blue and yellow fabric to cover a bulletin board to use for pictures of Greg and had some leftover (the DIY bulletin board tutorial can be found here). With the leftover fabric, I decided to cover some pieces of styrofoam to make displays for my Pastry Pedestal. They actually worked out really well. I just used a staple gun but you could easily use a hot glue gun. I folded the fabric over the styrofoam just like a present.

Then using a straight razor I made little slits in the fabric and stuck the rods right in! They stayed perfectly.

Awesome, right? Then I decided to use some of the straws I bought from Shop Sweet Lulu to create a “slip” over the rods. This came as a suggestion from the brilliant mind of the owner of the Pastry Pedestal.

I made a few other things that night including some felted billy balls. I wanted some “flowers” for the party but since it is for an 18-year-old boy… it couldn’t be overly feminine. I’ll share the tutorial for how to make these soon because they are really easy to make from roving wool. Here is what they look like at my house right now..

The graduation party was absolutely fantastic. It is always great to see my whole family. We had a tent and some tables for shade…

We also got Greg a bouncy house (I think it’s actually called a moonwalk…). This was the king of all, though. It had an obstacle course, a climbing wall and a slide. It was an absolute blast for the kids (and the adults who still act like kids, such as me).

The biggest hit of the party was the Popcorn machine we rented. I had bought these adorable polka dot popcorn bags from Shop Sweet Lulu. This prompted my father to rent a machine which made me just giddy. I also bought an acrylic ice cream cone holder to hold some of the bags as a display… it was just adorable.

Cute, huh? I also had purchased some West Virginia University fabric from Fabric.com to use as a backdrop for the treat table. I didn’t snap a picture once it was completed but I did get a “during” picture. Also, take a look at the candy cups I got from Shop Sweet Lulu. They were perfect for little treats.

Overall the party was fantastic. There were many other things I should have snapped more pictures of with my phone but I was too busy enjoying myself with my family. Which really, is more important :) Now I am just looking forward to the next party I can help plan. Any takers??

Here are some of the vendors I used:

Invitations – Michele Purner Designs

Washi Tape and Kraft Bags – PrettyTape

Utensils – Party City

Envelopes for invites – Invitation Outlet

Straws, Candy cups, Popcorn bags – Shop Sweet Lulu

WVU streamers, balloons, napkins and mints – Shindigz

Polka Dot balloons – Polka Dot Market

Candy – Bulk Candy Store

Custom Printables – The Tomkat Studio

There were many, many other vendors and stores I used but these were some of my favorites from this party. If you are planning a party, start by checking out supplies from some of your favorite vendors… it is great inspiration. For instance if I hadn’t come across those simple popcorn bags, we wouldn’t have had such a great addition to the party!

How is party planning going for everyone? Any vendors I should check out for next time? Let me know!

Pastry Pedestal™… a party planner’s best friend

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Okay party planners… here is a tool that will forever change the way you style food tables. The Pastry Pedestal™ is this genius system that will make beautiful displays so easy. I came across the Pastry Pedestal about a year ago and I near jumped through my computer to get some of them. Here is why…

{via HMTM}

See how beautiful it made this display? Here is what comes in a Starter Kit…

{Pastry Pedestal}

It comes with the rods, round disks and rubber stabilizers to keep the disks from slipping down. You can put the disks at whatever level on the rod you need. But here is why I love these. They are 100% customizable. Since they are clear, you can use a craft punch to cut out a piece of paper to match your party and place it in between the disk and the rubber stabilizer for an instant pop of color. For instance…

{Pastry Pedestal}

See how great that is? There are really so many different things you could do with these. I have used them for parties in the past and will be using them for the upcoming grad party (just have to figure out how). Honestly… one of the best party purchases I have ever made because I can use them over and over. Oh! And they will soon be coming out with a tray that your rods can fit right into (shown in the first picture). I am SO looking forward to this. You have no idea…

They are so simple. For instance here is a scenario… you need to display cupcakes. Just poke a little hole in the bottom of the cupcake/cupcake liner with a toothpick. Then you can rest it on the top of the rod for a secure hold.

Here are some other great pictures of the Pastry Pedestal in action. You can really use it to display anything!

{all via Pastry Pedestal}

So everyone there is my favorite table display tool! Seriously… if you love making food look beautiful, you need this. Let me know if you have ever used this or if you have been dying to try it!

Sweet Chicken Nugget Recipe

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Are you ready for me to change your life? Really. That is how amazing this recipe is. A few months ago, I found this recipe on Pinterest and if you know me, you know that chicken nuggets are part of my main food group…so I knew I had to try it. If you don’t know me… well now you know how near and dear chicken nuggets are to my heart.

This recipe claimed (and delivered) that they taste just like Chick-fil-a, which is just a great walk down memory lane for me. I originally went to school down in Florida and that was my first experience with Chick-fil-a… and I was forever changed. It is sweet and salty and so juicy. So without further ado…

Chicken Nugget Recipe (I mostly stick with the original… but made a few changes)

2 skinless and boneless chicken breasts (we cut them into little nugget sizes)
1 cup milk
1 egg
1 1/4 cups flour
3 TBSP powdered sugar (the original says to use 2…but I like it a bit more sweet)
2 tsp salt (with the salt and the pepper… we really never measure… )
1 tsp pepper

I bought Brett a little mini deep fryer for Christmas which works just great for the two of us. If we had a family… well we would certainly need a bigger deep fryer. We use vegetable oil in our fryer because Brett is allergic to peanuts and it wouldn’t be pretty if we used peanut oil. I am sure that canola oil would work just as great!

In a bowl whisk the egg and stir in the milk. Trim any fat away from chicken (I over-trim, or Brett does because I hate touching raw chicken) and then cut chicken into bite size pieces. Place chicken in milk mixture, and cover with some saran wrap. You are supposed to let it marinate in the milk for 2-4 hours… but if I did that when I got home from work, well we wouldn’t eat until 10pm. I usually just let it sit in the milk for 30 minutes or so and have never had an issue. This will make the chicken very nice and tender.

Then, in a gallon size ziplock bag combine flour, powdered sugar, salt and pepper. Seal and shake to combine. This is the perfect time to get your deep fryer heated up! We set it to 375. If you don’t have a deep fryer… I am sure you could pan fry it in a deep pot the same exact way. Remove cut chicken from milk mixture and place in the flour mixture. Seal and shake until nuggets are completely coated (my favorite step — I shake it like I have maracas). Place a few into hot oil and let them cook until golden brown. It is usually just a few minutes total for our deep fryer… but everyone’s is different. Always double-check to see if any chicken you make is cooked through. I always just make a tiny cut to see if it’s pink. Remove and drain on a paper towel. Repeat until all nuggets are cooked.

They are seriously delicious. I gave this recipe to my father to use for my brother’s sports banquet and apparently people were asking who catered the event. Yes. That good. You need to try this.

Try it and let me know what you think!

{original recipe from My Name is Snickerdoodle}