Domesticated

New theme! Yay!

June 13th, 2011 § Leave a Comment

I finally took some time off from work and changed the theme- I really got distracted by all the crazy bright colors going on. Not to mention the fact I’d run into at least three other blogs with my theme. Just like showing up at the prom with the same dress as another girl. Not cool.

The new header is a fluke- I accidentally erased the old one- whoops. Freudian slip because the site was ready for a new one. Enjoy!

Fiesta Invites for Cindo de Mayo

April 16th, 2011 § 1 Comment

Hola! As completely not inappropriate as Easter Happy Hour invites would be…. I did some research and here are my favorite invites for those of you looking to host a Cindo de Mayo/Fiesta/Senoritas and Margaritas party this year. Something for everyone…

The Intellectual… $4.85 on Etsy

The Traditionalist…$10 for the digital file (email the seller to customize)

The Romantic…$50 for 10

…and the Hipster… $34 for 20

Love them all. Good thing summer lasts a whole two months up here.

Macaroni and Cheese + Toppings Bar

April 11th, 2011 § 1 Comment

I recently came across this post on Hostess with the Mostess and loved the idea of a Mac and Cheese bar- what a cute idea for a party!

After doing some research, come to find out in New York there’s a restaurant entirely dedicated for macaroni and cheese. Crazy

But seriously. To make your own, start with creamy, cheesy, noodles.

I love this recipe from Allrecipes- I don’t know what the reviewers were thinking but it deserves five stars. Help your guests with combo ideas by posting in a cute frame at the head of the table. Here are som ideas for toppings

Southwest ingredients:

roasted corn
roasted red peppers
jalapenos
onions
cilantro
tomatoes
olives
black beans

Italian ingredients:

fresh basil
tomatoes
italian sausage
sundried tomatoes
artichokes
parmesan
pancetta

Meat

steak
roasted chicken
crab
bacon

Others:

sauteed mushrooms
avocado
truffle salt
green onions
cheese curds
gorgonzola

A Pixie Party

April 11th, 2011 § Leave a Comment

As promised- here are pictures from the pixie party I threw for a friend’s daughter and Tinkerbell’s biggest fan. The whole party theme was inspired by the cupcake tower topper- this made a cute alternative to a cake with Tinkerbell’s face frosted all over it.

The colors were mossy green, chocolate brown, with hints of pink and sparkly silver (like pixie dust!) I wanted to throw in some 50′s retro touches to make the decor more whimsical to reference the original Peter Pan (as much as I love the new Pixie Hollow movement, I’m a purist.)

I found this pixie punch which was well-used. I loved the idea of having the pixie silhouette.

The dessert table. I came up with a great technique for making the birthday sign from something I learned in high school art class. We used to take pictures from magazines, place on a light box, and trace the images. I was able to do the same thing using my laptop- copy and pasting the images into Powerpoint and resizing. I then placed a sheet of white printer paper and traced the outline of the image to make a template. The font for the sign is from this amazing site filled with Disney-inspired fonts. Download away!

Cupcake tower! A simple $15 Wilton Cake stand with a facelift.

Chocolate cupcakes with fudge frosting, rolled in crushed Oreos to give them a woodsy dirt look. I designed the cupcake wrappers with vintage 50s looking stars. You can download the template here.

After a couple of tries I have become a cake pop pro. So glad I had silver disco dust on hand. According to the birthday mom- these were a huge hit. I guess the cake pop phenomenon has yet to hit Seattle! Recipe here.

We also had Pixie Punch served in cute brown cups and pink and white striped straws, a green candy bar in apothecary jars complete with green pixie sticks, and tiny white pails filled with chocolate covered almonds. Special thanks to my friend Monica for handing me the reins and letting me use her fancy-schmancy camera to capture the details.

Brunches

March 31st, 2011 § Leave a Comment

These are both quick and delicious. The blueberry sauce is a recipe passed down from my mother that’s so incredibly simple- just put a desired amount of frozen blueberries into a saucepan and heat on medium. Once they begin to sweat, add granulated sugar and squish a few of the berries in the pan. After a few minutes it will develop this gorgeous silky texture and it’s time to serve over pancakes, waffles, ice cream, whatever.

The other recipe is an omlette made with Provençal ingredients- caramelized onion, fresh asparagus, brie, and tarragon. Fresh tarragon would have been amazing but all my mom had on hand was dried- therefore I had to cook it in with the onion- dried herbs do NOT taste good raw!

I made this for my parents and when I left the room and returned with my camera- they were busy arranging the onion and brie package to set up the photo. My parents are so cute!

Double-Rainbow Cake Pops

March 23rd, 2011 § Leave a Comment

I’ll admit it- I’m kind of obsessed with this You Tube hit of a man’s passionate appreciation of natural beauty. I’m helping out at a bake sale to raise funds for Japan and what better way to spread a message of hope than double-rainbow cake pops?

Rainbow sprinkles on the outside, rainbow funfetti cake on the inside. Basic cake pop tutorial here.

All packed up and ready to go! So intense.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

March 17th, 2011 § Leave a Comment

One of my favorite holidays. Growing up I would wake up to find a leprechaun had turned over our entire house- I’d follow his footprints (green glitter) around the devastation of overturned chairs and spilled sugar to discover a mountain of candy in gold wrappers. I have the best mom ever.

Couldn’t find a green that matched my skin tone so I made due. I am so in love with prize ribbons for decorations and adornments but have yet to see it worn as anything but on top of a birthday hat. I wove some green grosgrain ribbon through a chain necklace I had onhand- then ripped up a second ribbon and braided it. The rosette is made from ivory satin ribbon, paper, and glitter- inspired by this Valentine’s Day rosette from Etsy.

Before I added the glue pen followed by glitter- that rosette said “I *heart* St. Patty’s Day”. Oh well- it’s the thought that counts. Maybe it will look more clear to my friends once they’ve had a couple of green beers.

HAPPY ST. PATRICK’S DAY!

Pot-o-Gold Cake Pops

March 14th, 2011 § 1 Comment

First off I want to dedicate this posting to one of my favorite bloggers out there- Angie Dudley of Bakerella- an amazing writer, baker and a huge source of inspiration. She’s having some health complications and can definitely use some Irish luck right now- so this one’s for her.

After my failed attempt to find a good pot-o-gold treat for my St. Patty’s Day posting, I thought I’d take matters into my own hands and make some pot-o-gold cake pops. To make- you’ll need everything from the basic recipe, plus white candy melts, black oil-based food coloring (water-based will turn the candy melts into paste,) and gold dragées.

The key is to shape the balls into little pots before chilling. I just flattened one end by forming a little divot on one end and pulling outwards. I then indented along the edge to make it look like the lip of the pot.

The trick to adding the gold was to dip the pops, then wait just a few seconds for the melts to become tacky before adding the dragées with a tiny spoon- otherwise they sunk into the melts. A little bit went a long way.

Voila!

… but something still isn’t right. Is it me or do those cake pops look suspiciously… I don’t know…. not black? On one hand I am a little annoyed that the black dye I bought turned out to actually be mislabeled purple dye. I figured this out after dumping half the bottle into my candy melts- therefore ruining the cake pops because dye tastes pretty heinous.

On the other hand the Washington Huskies, which happens to be my alma mater, won the PAC-10 championship in basketball the next day. Their colors are purple and gold. Coincidence? I think not. Maybe these cake pops are good luck!

St. Patty’s Day Cupcakes

March 8th, 2011 § 3 Comments

I love St. Patrick’s Day- every year my mom hosts a party for the family to celebrate the half of my dad’s side that is Irish with corned beef, cabbage, potatoes, and lots of Green River and O’Maley’s Irish Cream (never Bailey’s.) At some point as the night goes along she coerces me into doing what little Irish dancing I learned when I was 10.

Since this year for Lent I am (gasp) giving up alcohol (Yes. It’s true ) I thought I’d post some amazing St. Patty’s Day treats I’ve seen that I want to try and make this year.

Lucky Vanilla Cupcakes by Sprinkle Bakes. The green dusting is actually pistachios and how freakin’ cute are those chocolate horseshoes?

You can’t have St. Patrick’s Day without these two staples. Guinness and Bailey’s Irish Cream Cupcakes from Annie’s Eats.

Leprechaun-sized “Green” velvet cake balls from Bakerella

…speaking of leprechaun’s I found these adorable rainbow cupcakes here.

And what goes at the end of the rainbow? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. I looked all over the web to find the perfect gold or pot-o-gold cupcakes and found nada. Guess I have my work cut out for me!

Hunting for bunting

February 19th, 2011 § Leave a Comment

BUNTING! Whenever I see it I know it’s going to be a good time. It’s like the moustache of party decorations. I love how it’s popping up in all different forms lately.