Bachelorette Party

Back in July I went down to Florida to throw a bachelorette party as MOH for one of my best friends.

Of course, I ended up doing all sorts of fun stuff that came from pinterest, but I never got around to writing about it...

So, 8 months later, here it is:

First, I sent out invites. The party was 'wine and cheese' inspired, so I created wine-stained invites inspired by ConfettiDayDreams.Unfortunately, I can't find the hard copy or the digital copy of the invite at the time, so if I ever stumble upon it again, I'll upload a picture.

Next, the decor. It was all a whirlwind of crafting, since I got into Orlando on Friday night, and set up for the party on Saturday. I did some things before-hand in NYC and packed them, and other things I stayed up late crafting at my parents' house.

I made this hanging photo booth by cutting a piece of posterboard into strips, gluing it together, and adding on some letters that I had cut on the cricut in New York from pink cardstock.
This idea came from StyleMePretty.

Testing it out at my parents' house

We hung it in from the ceiling at the house we were staying (thank goodness for the bride's 7 foot brothers), and I made a black and gold paper fan background to hang behind it by folding scrapbook paper, like it did for my sister-in-law's Bridal Shower back in June of 2013. 

We took before-and-after mugshots in the frame to show how our night progressed.

Before and after the big night out.

It was such a great place to take silly pictures.

The bride in her frame.

I made this diamond ring garland with scraps of cardstock - probably the easiest decoration ever. It's inspired by Fiskars' version of the same.

I also made these moustache and pink lip straw holders out of black and pink glittery scrapbook paper, no cricut used here! (I just used a hole punch to make the hole for the straw). The bride's brothers were at the party too, so I made sure to include manly glitterly straw pieces!

 

We littered the house with gold cups, black and gold balloons, gold beads and bachelorette-themed napkins.

 And this great caution tape I found at a party store... Danger: Wild Women

I also made gift bags for all he guests...

Inside the gift bag were a gaggle of goodies, both homemade and purchased from Oriental Trading. 

My favorite (of course), were the shirts that I made with the cricut and iron-on vinyl. The ironic part is that it was the bride herself who taught me the magic of the cricut and vinyl, so it was fitting that we got to wear these shirts all weekend!

The bridesmaids (and bridesmen) had black shirts with gold glitter vinyl, that said 'Team Bride' on the front, 'Bridesmaid' (or Bride's Bro) on the back, and their name on the sleeve.

The bride's shirt was white with gold glitter, and said 'Bride!' on the front, 'Future Mrs. Sinclair' on the back, and her name on the sleeve.

All the shirts I got at Michael's, besides the bride's which I got at Old Navy.

The vinyl I ordered online.

 

Also in the bag, I included 'diamond ring' wine glass markers that I made by cutting out of silver shiny scrapbook paper and painting names on.
Unfortunately, I don't have a diamond ring image on the cricut (though at this point it would have probably been worth the money to buy a wedding/bridal cartridge), so I had to do everything by hand.
It wasn't too hard, since it was all straight lines and I copied the shape from the one I saw online, but I did have to use scissors and an exact-o knife to cut out the small triangles inside.
These were inspired by this listing on etsy.

 

Also in the bag was some red nail polish that had a tag that said 'Let's Paint the Town Red' (inspired by BuzzFeed), 'Bridesmaid' sunglasses, a noisemaker, whistle, diamond ring shotglass, crazy straw, gold beads, and moustache tattoo.

The bride also got a 'Bride' sash, and custom-made Bride wine glass that I made to look like a wedding dress by etching the glass in the shape of a bodice, adding stick-on crystals, and tulle to make the bottom (inspired by this listing on etsy).

The bride was also gifted with a silly gold tutu that I made inspired by this tutorial on McKennaBleu, a headband veil, and a 'Bride' hoodie that I got from Target. 

She was so cute and excited and wore them all weekend.

 

On one of our low-key nights, I planned a 'wine and cheese' night. Everyone was invited to bring their favorite wine and favorite cheese, and I bought everyone a wine or beer glass from the Dollar Tree, as well as paint to decorate them. I also set up a 'Wine glass painting' pinterest board for inspiration.

These were our finished products!

I ended up painting the Ron Swanson glass for her brother.

Finally, one of my favorite things for the whole weekend, was when we surprised the bride when she went to the bathroom by holding up masks of her fiance's face and sitting silently in the living room.

When she came out and saw us, she had the best full-body reaction I've ever seen. I unfortunately didn't get it on camera because my storage was full, but the memory will forever be burned in my mind.

After the original surprise, we had fun with the masks the rest of the weekend.

To make the mask, I simply printed out a picture of the groom's face on cardstock at Staples, then cut it out, cut out the eye balls with an exact-o knife, and glued on a tongue depressor to hold it.

Repeat to make one per person.

OH, One more thing that I almost forgot...

At the bachelorette party I handed out stationary to all of the bride's family and friends, to ask them to write a letter to the bride to open on her wedding day.

In the end, she had a beautiful album that she opened on the morning of her wedding, filled with words of love from those who love her most.

This was inspired by Fit For A Bride.

Of course, the other bridesmaids made adorable things and helped pull the whole party together with food, drinks, decorations, and CHAMPAGNE JELLO SHOTS, but I don't want to take any credit for their work!

On the Sunday of the weekend, the bride's mom threw a bridal shower, complete with an amazing wedding-dress cupcake cake, umbrella-favors, and beautiful decorations. But again, I don't want to share what was her hard work!

I had so much fun with this party, and I've been contemplating giving up everything and becoming a party planner.

Just kidding. I'll just blog instead.

300 Recipes In...

I followed my 300th recipe this week, and it was delicious.

And I only have 200 more recipes to tackle before I reach my goal of 500 pinterest recipes.

Did I think about quitting? Of course.
Did I think about revising my goal to conveniently be 300 recipes? Definitely.
Will I make it? Maybe. But I'm certainly trying.

This week,  I made 3 different recipes, on top of having a very NYC event-heavy week including babysitting, a Lincoln Center Play and party, a NYC Soccer game vs Orlando, and helping a friend with wedding favors. Yesterday, we went to the store and bought ingredients for at least 5 more recipes.

Here they are:

Recipe #300: Sausage & Cheese Bread from A Southern Soul -
I had been meaning to try this recipe for awhile, but never got around to it. I finally did, and it was worthy of the honor of being the 300th recipe. It was so moist and savory and filling and delicious. We ended up eating it as a side for dinner or an after-school snack (healthy, I know), but it would be good as a breakfast bread as well!
Please please please please please don't forget to heat up the leftovers before eating (we nuked each piece in the microwave for 30 seconds) for true deliciousness!

Recipe #301: Little Lemon Drops from Butter with a Side of Bread:

I chose this recipe because it seemed simple enough, and I was hoping to get to enjoy the drops all week without fighting over them with my husband (he claims to not like lemon), but [surprise surprise] he loved them too and they were gone in 2 days.

The little bites are sweet and light and perfect for summer (and made our cold spring days a little brighter).

Recipe #302: Bacon Jalapeno Deviled Eggs from Real House Moms:

I whipped these up last night, and they didn't take long at all. Deviled eggs are a popular treat in our house, and the bacon/jalapeno twist was a great addition. When I first made them, the bacon was quite crunchy and added a little too much texture to the yolk mixture, but after I let them sit over night the bacon softened up and they were a little easier to eat.

I wanted to top them with bacon bits and paprika, but after digging through the spice cabinet at 12:30am, I gave up and let them go naked.

In similar news, I've started a crafts/recipes only instagram to share my experiments with the world. Check it out here. (Username: TooManyCraftsTooLittleTime) 

Last Night's Dinner ( Recipes 298 & 299)

I've suddenly (and maybe temporarily) rediscovered my love for all things food: cooking, baking, and eating.

I knocked out a few more recipes last night, and we feasted on homemade dinner and dessert.

Recipe #298- Chicken Parmesan Sliders from The Slow Roasted Italian 

I thought these would be a wonderful hit, but they ended up being not as spectacular as I imagined. I can't quite put my finger on it... Maybe I cooked the buns or the chicken too long, didn't add enough butter, or didn't use the right sauce. Whatever it was, they were good enough to fill us for the night, but I won't be dreaming of them at work today. A huge plus was that they were super easy to make, and only took about 20 minutes.

Oh, and they were washed down with:

Recipe #299: Chocolate Lasagna from Center Cut Cook.

The husband was glancing over my shoulder as I was choosing the next dessert victim on Pinterest, and he graciously requested 'summin' puddingy'. This chocolate lasagna is a casserole of goodness, with a cream cheese layer, lots of light fluffy pudding and whipped cream, and a buttery Oreo crust. My only mistake is that I didn't let the cream cheese soften enough, resulting in chunks of cream cheese in the finished product. 

Recipes #290 - 297 - Peanut Butter Buckeye Cheesecake, Grilled Cheese Pull Aparts, and more

Recipe #290 - Peanut Butter Buckeye Cheesecake from Tastes of Lizzy T's -

This amazing Peanut Butter Cheesecake with oreo crust and chocolate ganashe was the perfect dessert for Valentine's Day dessert... or it would have done if I had read the recipe before 6pm the night of (it requires quite a few hours of sitting). As fancy cheesecakes usually do, this required many steps, many dishes, many layers, and just as much patience.



Recipe #291 - Grilled Cheese Pull Aparts from pinterest (broken link) -

I've made these grilled cheeses twice in the past week because they're so easy and delicious, and go perfectly with tomato soup on a cold night.
To make these, heat the oven to 350F. Slice 16 squares off a block of cheddar cheese. Open a can of biscuits and split each biscuit in half, for a total of 16 halves. Place a square of cheese in the middle of each biscuit dough, and seal at the top to form a ball.  When all 16 balls are made, brush melted butter to the top of each one, and sprinkle with garlic powder.  Cook for 13-17 minutes, or until browned at the top.
Serve with tomato soup - great for dipping!



Recipe #292 - Tuna Noodle Casserole from Cambell's Kitchen -

After digging through my pantry in search of tomato soup to go with my grilled cheese bombs (see above), I was flabbergasted to count the number of cans of cream of mushroom soup were taking up room on the shelves. Cream of mushroom soup isn't exactly a staple in our diets, so I had to look around to find a recipe that called for as many cans as possible. I found this tuna noodle casserole, which was a perfect recipe to use up the old cans littering the house. Everything in the recipe was something we had on hand, and it didn't take long to cook at all. A great solution for a last minute, filling meal.



Recipe #293 - Apple Slab Pie from King Arthur Flour -

Apple pie in a casserole

Recipe #294 - Individual Seven-Layer Cups from The Girl Who Ate Everything - 

I made these cups for our New Year's Eve party. They were perfect individual servings for each person, though if I were to do it again I would use much smaller cups, as the servings were much bigger than expected! They were easy to make, involved store-bought ingredients layered, and looked adorable on the party table!

Sorry we were having too much fun to take a picture.

Recipe #295 - Apple Cider Sangria from How Sweet Eats - 

I made this Apple Cider Sangria as a pre-dinner cocktail on Thanksgiving, and the whole family sucked them down while waiting for dinner to cook. They were the right mix of sour and sweet and put us in the turkey spirit.

Recipe #296 - Spinach Mac and Cheese from Martha Stewart 


Recipe #297 - Greek Tortellini Salad from Two Peas and their Pod -

Tomato and Cucumber salad is one of my favorite foods, and adding tortellini makes it a main course in a dinner meal, as well as a perfect addition to a pot luck or picnic.

French Toast Roll Ups

Breakfast... A whole world of possibilities I often leave untouched in order to spend that precious time in bed.

But today, time allowed me to sleep as log as I liked, then wake up to a craving for French toast and all the time in the world to make it.

Today I tackled recipe #289 - 

French Toast Roll Ups from The Baker Mama

They were absolutely devishly delicious, and I couldn't help but dream of creating a whole platter-full for family and friends.

Warning: this sickingly sweet start to your day will leave you on a sugar high for hours... It's best paired with something savory like bacon.

Remember Me?

Hey there.

It's been awhile.

You might be wondering what brought me back from the cyber-dead, and the answer would be these

Maple Bacon Cupcakes from Your Cup of Cake (we'll call this one recipe #287).

You see, we got this really cool grant at school for the kids to put on a really cool play, so we decided to have a really cool bake sale to raise money.

Hence, me actually baking something.

I thought I would go with something different and new and interesting.

Hence, maple and bacon in a cupcake.

If you're not sold on the flavor, I'm not offended... The bake sale table was outside my door and I heard the mixed reactions of "I love sweet and salty!" to "I'm not so sure about that combination".

As a qualified tongue-witness, I can tell you that the cupcakes weren't the overwhelming sweetness that cupcakes usually are, but instead the nutmeg in the cake gave them a spicy flavor, while the maple topping was just sweet enough, plus the pieces of real bacon on top for the crunch and the salt.

They were awesome. And interesting. And lucky for me, not popular enough to sell out so I could take the leftovers home. 

But, in case you're not epicurious enough to to be interested in breakfast for dessert, I also brought along a crowd pleaser...

Recipe #288 - Peanut Butter Chocolate Rice Krispy Treats , also from Your Cup of Cake.

But I wish I hadn't brought them in, because they disappeared by the first break in conferences, and I won't have a nice big peanut-buttery, chocolatey, crunchy sweet to greet me when I walk in the door tonight.

Seriously, I might just have to make these again. *Shock Horror*

Ps. The recipe on the website is wrong, the bottom layer requires half a bag of marshmallows, the top layer the other half.

So, that's all I have to say about that for now, but it's enough to break my blogging silence and let you know I'm still here, I'm still cookin' (and baking and crafting), and I have quite the updates to tackle... If I ever get around to it.

4th of July Style

We have now officially been New Yorkers for a year, and this is the second Fourth of July we've spent while living in the City.  This year, we were lucky enough to watch the Macy's Fireworks on the East River from an office building at South Street Seaport... great views and even better friends!

I decided to make my own America Tank this year, and I was inspired by this tank at LavishBoutique.

I found the white tank at Burlington for $10, and added the stripes with red paint, using freezer paper to create the separation.  The pocket is added on (created from scrap blue fabric painted with polka dogs) using HeatBond (since I have no room for a sewing machine in my little apartment). Finally, the bow on the back is a cheer bow bought from Michael's, added with Polka dots, and clipped on with a few stitches to hold it in.

I went with an adorable braided hairstyle inspired by this picture on loftissays. I started with a thin braid on each side of the face (center parted), and a loosened side fishtail with curled ends. I then connected the two thin braids to make a crown, and tucked the ends into the braid, securing it with a bobby pin.


Finally, I attempted to make these Red White and Blue Jello Shots from atthepicketfence, but (surprise, surprise), couldn't find blue jello OR small enough cups at the shop in the city (Publix, I miss you!). So, instead, I made red jello shots, topped them with whipped cream, and drew blue stars on the cups... voila! (We will still call this Recipe 286... attempts count.)

So, nothing crazy, but happy fourth to everyone!!