Hello Kitty birthday party

With any party it usually starts with invitations. The theme was a Hello Kitty tea party so I thought it would be fun to make the invitations like little teabags. I whipped the invite up in Photoshop and made the envelopes with vellum. The little tag on the end was the child’s name. Super simple yet fun.

Maribel has a friend that cannot eat anything with gluten so I baked everything gluten free so there wouldn't be any worries of crumbs getting on each other’s plate. The menu included Lays wavy chips which happen to be gluten free, flower shaped sandwiches in pb&j and ham and cheese on gluten free bread, fruit kabobs, and pink lemonade. The “tea” was sparkling pear apple juice served in teapots. 

On the tea table tempted with some melt in your mouth sugar cookies. Recipe found here using gluten free flour and royal icing. Yummm! 

All the girls got to dress up in teatime clothes and scarves. Everyone was fancy and fabulous!  I only wish I had snapped a photo of everyone but alas I could not be in two places at once. I'm still working on perfecting that ability... 

After a few games it was time for cake. I did a trial run of the cake because I had never worked with fondant before and I wanted to give it a try. My dear friend Hollee makes these amazing cakes and she posted a tutorial on making fondant and this is her recipe. After learning from my trial cake this second one came together much more smoothly and Maribel loved  it which was all that really mattered. 

After cake, cupcakes, and presents it was time to hand out the loot balls. There are all sorts of goodies disguised in these Hello Kitty surprise balls and I got to watch a couple of the girls unravel their loot, the look on their faces were priceless. 

Of course I made these really late at night several nights ago but I did manage to snap a photo of the content of one of the balls. Contents include stickers, hair clips, fruit erasers, Hello Kitty ring, Hello Kitty magnet, candy, and lemon sundae lip gloss.

Well I survived another party and yes, it was worth every minute when I saw just how happy and delighted Maribel was with her special day. I didn’t manage to snag many photos of the birthday girl since she was busy entertaining her guests and I was just as busy making sure everything went smoothly but I did manage to snag a few photos of her special day. Yay!

Happy Birthday my sweet girl! Here's to a great year of being 5!

I know I say this every year but next year I'm thinking pinata! 

this girl

I'm still in a little bit of denial that this little girl will be 5 tomorrow. But I won't have much time to think about it as I will be busy baking and decorating like a mad woman. Oh the torture I put myself through for a party...but yet it's worth every sleep deprived moment when I see how happy she is. Have I mentioned already that she's turning 5 tomorrow???

Current faves of this almost 5 year old...
Colour: Blue
TV Show: Phineas and Ferb
Song: Party Rock Anthem
Toy: Teddy
Food: cupcakes, especially the icing
Movie: The Secret World of Arrietty
Treat: gumballs
Quote said all excited yet trying to contain it in: "I just can't stop loving you!!!"

Don't worry about me...I'll just be rocking myself in the corner recalling the moment when I brought this little bundle of joy home for the first time. Where did my baby go??? *sniff*

Pinkalicous survival kit

This weekend is a girl s weekend out since Joe is working so M and I have big plans to see Pinkalicous the Musical ast our local theater. We love this book and read it almost every night and I thought it would be fun to put together a little survival kit. 

This kit includes a crown, a wand, a darling little Pinkalicous doll, a bubble wand, some butterfly clips, cupcake stickers, and a pink cupcake which it's actually lip gloss. For something green to help my little pinkerella turn back to normal I threw in some mint chocolate chip ice cream gum.Yumm!

But to start it off while I'm getting in some adult mommy time with some friends, Maribel and Joe get their daddy-daughter time in. I don't ask what they do...that's the deal. ;-)

character bentos

We’ve been hit with the Phineas and Ferb bug big time in our house. It’s such a cute little show that our whole family enjoys. I’ve lost count of how many times we’ve watched each.and.every.episode via Netflix. Oh and of course we can’t forget the movie…aye ya yi. 

So for a little bento surprise I made Maribel a little Phineas and Ferb sandwiches. I had an epiphany and used my kitchen shears to hand cut the character shapes from the bread and cheese. It worked out really well since I don’t have cookie cutters their shapes. Never mind the spider cup. I needed a cup and that was the first one I grabbed. Organizing the bento supplies are next on my list..... 

Mmmoving right along,

 And then there’s her Hello Kitty sandwich. I have to say that this one was a quick impulse and I was a tiny bit pleased with myself on how it turned out. *insert cheesy grin here* She did have more nutritious things in the top part of her bento like fruit and vitamin gummies and such, but I kind of just slapped those together so I didn't take a photo. This is prettier anyways.

That's all for today. I am in party planning mode for the big numero 5!!!!! I'm not going to go there right now because to be honest, I'm still in denial...* whimper*