{Real Party} - Homemade from Scratch!

Today I’m going to share not only a great birthday party but also some great recipes!


Dana, of Homemade from Scratch recently created this sweet birthday party for her daughter’s 2nd birthday, and I was thrilled she shared it with me.

Her inspiration came from the fabric of her daughter’s dress that her sister created.

She made almost everything herself: the cupcake toppers and wrappers, banner, and labels with the help of the Cricut Machine (I LOVE that too!).

Dana didn’t want the usual cake so she used a 8 inch glazed flower pot that was lined with Saran Wrap. Then she placed a glass bowl inside and made a strawberry trifle. How creative!

Since her biggest passion is cooking she was kind enough to share some recipes she made for the adults. Thank you Dana!

Spicy Ranch Chicken Dip

2 8oz cream cheese

2 pkg ranch dressing mix

1 rotisserie chicken (deboned and shredded)

4 cups shredded cheese

1 cup mayo

1 cup sour cream

1 cup Crystal hot sauce

3/4 cup cooked and crumbled bacon

green onions

Soften cream cheese in microwave, then add dressing, chicken, 2 cups cheese, mayo, sour cream, hot sauce, and 1/2 cup bacon. Mix together well. Place in oven safe dish and bake at 350 until bubbly. Remove and top with the rest of the cheese, bacon and green onions. Serve with tortilla chips.

Bacon Cheese Ball

2 8oz cream cheese

2 diced green onions

2 hand fulls of diced cooked bacon

Soften cream cheese in microwave and mix in the green onions and bacon. Line a small bowl with suran wrap and place mixture inside. Pull suran wrap over the top and pack down tightly into bowl. Store in refrigerator until firm. Turn out onto a plate and sprinkle with paprika. Serve with your favorite crackers.

You can use this as a sandwich spread, too. Just add some mayo or sour cream and spread on bread.

HOPE YOU ENJOY!

The Schultüte

My oldest daughter is starting school soon and she is going to First Grade! We are so excited! She is actually counting the days to go back to school.

I wanted to do something special for her first day and decided to try to make my own Schultüte.

If you never heard about a Schultüte now you too can make one!

When children in Germany set off for their first day in school upon entering first grade, their parents and/or grandparents present them with a big cardboard cone, prettily decorated and filled with toys, chocolate, candies, school supplies, and various other goodies. It is given to children to make this anxiously awaited first day of school a little bit sweeter.

My daughter is really into Dr. Seuss books so I decided to fill the cone with some Dr. Seuss school supplies.

You can find them here or follow the tutorial here and make your own!

The Bubble Beach Bag - {Giveaway}

A few weekends ago we went for a tree day vacation to Boca Raton at the Boca Beach Resort. The hotel is very nice, on the beach, great restaurants, and lots of fun things for kids to do.

While there I fell in love with this fun and unique beach bag... perfect for taveling, easy to blow up. Deflates easily for storage and if it gets sandy just hose it off, making it the greatest beach bag ever! So, of course I had to have one!

So, here is the deal - if you also fall in love with the Bubble Bag - we will have one for you too! Our goal is to have 50 followers in the blog and when this happens one lucky follower, randomly selected, will win a Bubble Beach Bag!

Stay tuned, I will keep you updated!

{Real Party} - Avalon’s Princess Party

This stunning dessert buffet by Sweets Indeed is almost too pretty to eat!

Sweets Indeed created/hosted the  “Princess Avalon’s Royal Sweet Shoppe” for her daughter’s 6th birthday. The sweet station had all of the birthday girl's favorites, including the fun and unique unicorn candy kabobs that can be purchased at her Etsy shop.

I absolutely adore the custom princess in the center of the backdrop that was specially hand crafted and illustrated for the special girl!

This fabulous party is full of great inspiration for every girl’s party! Don’t forget to check their website for even more great ideas!

Thank you Marie for sharing your party with us!

Custom Decorated Cookies & Hanging Princess: Sophie Hogarth

Photos by: The Pixel Studio

{Real Party} - Whimsey Flower Garden Soiree

Tonya Blackstone from Soiree Showers & Kidz Events sent me this perfectly executed party she put together for her Girl Scout Brownie Troop.

Her inspiration came from Amy Atlas and Hostess with the Mostess. Tonya chose one of my favorite color combinations: orange, pink, and lime green. The attention to detail is fantastic and she created everything herself, from custom t-shirts and place card pocket envelopes to a custom event logo. She also created several “stations” to entertain the troop.

Check out the beautiful details !

The main eating table for the girls was set up as a dramatic long table with an eye-catching centerpiece of 4 jumbo teacups stacked vertically. The other centerpieces completed the whimsey look. Tonya used plain glass cylinders filled with acrylic nuggets and lined the glasses with coordinated paper and topped off with pretty daisies that she "blinged out" by adding rhinestone centers to each flower. She bought most of her supplies at Michaels and Target.

She also had a "let's play" game zone, craft bar, beauty bar tent, and fruit bar with all the girl's favorite fresh fruits, fruit kabobs, and lollipops.

How lucky were these girl scouts!

To see more pictures of this beutiful party, visit her Facebook page!

Well done Tonya! Thank you so much for sharing your party!

BEACH Wedding Inspiration

A friend of a friend of mine is getting married next year. She wants to have her weeding somewhere here in south Florida... probably in the Keys. How nice! I wish I could get married again (with the same husband!).
She asked me to help with ideas… she wants something simple, relaxing, and fun! Here are a few inspiring and beautiful wedding pictures.

YELLOW & ORANGE

1. 2. 3. Pacific Weddings

4. Wedding Things

5. Creature Comforts

6. Candy Station - unknown

7. Daisy Candle Wedding Favors

8. Caipirinha

9. Lindeman Wedding

AQUA & BLUE

1. "Of all the fish in the sea" place card holders

2. Starfish candle holder dishes

3. Ocean breeze soaps

4. Personalized theme lip balm

5. "Set sail with me" metal boat personalized favor

6. 16" hand-iced sugar cookies

 
 

Pretty Pastels

I was searching for napking ring ideas for my upcoming pink party and end up getting a lot of inspiration for my ice cream buffet with those pretty pastel colors. LOVE IT!

1. sugar rush confection

2. the knot

3. rosanna inc.

4. martha stewart

5. martha stewart

6. martha stewart