Today I turn 29 again. I remember when the boys were real little, I used to feel old because I was a parent. Now the boys actually make me feel younger. They are at the age now where we can laugh together and joke around; its so fun. I am looking forward to lots more! Here are pictures from the birthday brunch this past weekend.
-K
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As you my know, my sister has a thing for robots. So when it came time to plan her son's first birthday, she naturally selected a robot theme. The inspiration for the colors (orange and blue) and theme was an incredible robot quilt she sewed for O's birthday present (see below). The centerpiece for the party was a dessert table with a 'robot' cake. She commissioned her friend and expert pastry chef, Heather Roth from Love and Butter Bakeshop, to create the cake and gave her full design control.
On the day of the party, A and I busily set up dessert table leaving a space for the cake. We followed Amy Atlas' lead and used M&M's on our trays to bring in a punch of color--simple and impactful. We bought donut holes and shortbread cookies to replace the macarons which weren't in stock (always order ahead) and the decorated sugar cookies which didn't come out right. We were able to 'customize' the shortbread cookies by dunking them in blue and orange royal icing, they turned out quite nice and tasted delicious (very easy to do). Then the cake arrived. Neither A nor I were prepared for Heather's masterpiece. We both had anticipated a layered cake with a little robot figure on the top, but Heather's creation was a lifesize duplication of the robot from the invitation. It was stunning! The final detail of orange and blue bunting (sewn by A) finished off the *Robot Dessert Table*.
Other details from the party included more orange and blue bunting hung around the house, 'Sweet Bytes' take-home favors (originally we planned to have 'O' and '1' sugar cookies, but replaced with the favorite chocolate chip cookies), a beautiful bib (again, made by A), robot napkins, and orange and blue balloons.
Here is a picture of the robot quilt made by A and inspiration for the party. The robot quilt is from Boo Davis's Dare to Be Sqaure Quilting book. A said that she really enjoyed making the quilting and that the pattern was well written and very easy to follow. The quilt is very impressive in person and is the size of a twin bedspread.
A picture of Heather's drawings for the robot cake...
And finally, my favorite picture from the party...Oliver in awe of the robot cake!
-K
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For the past 6 weekends, I have either been hosting a brunch or been out of town. This weekend we had an intimate brunch to celebrate a friend's pregnancy. Our friend was firmly set against a baby shower, so we came up with a brunch alternative with a very selective guest list. The table was set with a baby blue, white and pink color palette. She's having a boy, but since the brunch was for her I wanted to keep a feminine vibe. I would have totally used peonies and ranunculus again for the center piece, but there were no more ranunculus to be found. So instead I went with fuchsia peonies, green and white hydrangeas and pink lisianthus. I loved how it turned out. The colors were perfect, both soft and cheery.
A day after the brunch, I swapped out the table cloth for a few of the Calypso St. Barth for Target votives in pink (love them!).
-K
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This is the first year my mom, sister and I are all mothers, so we decided it was fitting to have a pot luck brunch. This way no one had to over extend themselves on their special day and we didn't have to fight the crowds for a table at any of the local restaurants. We all brought a little something and ended up having a nice, relaxing meal together. The table centerpiece had peonies and ranunculus (two of my favorites) and I placed a little gift on the plates of each of the moms: succulents for my mom, a craft book and fabric for A and a little vase of ranunculus for me.
The centerpiece was easy to create and only cost $30 in flowers ($15 for 5 peonies and two bunches of $7 ranunculus). I also added in some willow branches I had from Easter to give a little more interest. The urn shaped vase is a classic from Crate & Barrel and makes any larger arrangement look great. Also, sometimes you when you unpack your ranunculus, you may find a few of the stems bent or broken. Don't throw those away, just float them in shallow dishes and add them to your table.
I hope you had a wonderful Mother's Day!
-K
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Usually for Easter I let the flowers dictate the color scheme for the table. This year the flower arrangements had pink, bright yellows and soft green. Lemon custard starters (no reason you can't start and end with dessert) with little spring chick cookies picked up the bright yellow color. Colorful Easter eggs, sea blue glasses and our traditional plate of Easter sugar cookies completed the table.
-K
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Instead of going with plastic Easter grass, try using 100% biodegradable fine wood shred (also known as wood excelsior or wood wool). This shred can easily be dyed using gel icing coloring found in your craft store's cake decorating section. Just mix up some of the gel, water and a little bit of vinegar (I used a tsp or so) to the color you desire. With all the different gel colors available you can mix up your own custom color! Then soak the wood shred until it reaches the color saturation you want. Finally let air dry on some paper towels. Once you get going, it will be hard to stop yourself as you will be tempted to make many a rainbow of colors. You can also add glitter to the grass to give it some sparkle.
Here is the'before' shot of the Easter grass still in its natural shade (which is still lovely, but for Easter it is fun to have some color).
-K
P.S. I found the vintage Italian pressed glass dessert cups at a Thrift Store ($1 each!).
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This past weekend we celebrated our mom's 28th birthday. The boys thought this was funny and according to the them, A & I would not exist if that were the case. All I can say is they better not laugh in August when it comes to celebrate my 28th birthday!
To celebrate the occasion, we did what we normally do...brunched and ate cake (I wish I could do this every day! I would even settle for once a week). The cake was kept simple with a single flower in the middle and a beaded border. The table was also kept simple with 3 orchid stems in a vase surrounded by a few floating orchids in mis-matched dessert cups. Orchids are so beautiful on their own, they don't need any other flower or require any fullness to make the arrangement look great. This simple setting would also be perfect for Easter.
-K
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While out at Target yesterday I spied some lovely plates from their new Blue + White collection. Since they are malamine and thus kid friendly, I decided the salad plates would be the perfect replacement for our mis-matched collection of kiddie plates. Now instead of dining on Bob the Builder and ABC's the boys get to chow down on something a little more grown-up and stylish.
-K
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Last weekend we celebrated A's birthday with a nice family brunch. I busted out some bright and cheery cloth napkins to give us a break from the drear of winter. The cake didn't quite turn out as I had envisioned, but still tasted yummy. A loves robots and I wanted to work in more of a robot theme, but I didn't finish the cake topper till the last hour so I ran out of time for the other details. My pictures (and french toast) also didn't turn out so well either...
-K
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It is hard to believe that Christmas was only a week ago. I feel like so much time has passed and have lots to catch-up on. Please forgive me as a ramble on, this is a very piecemeal post. Our family enjoyed a really nice Christmas together. Chef M prepared a wonderful Christmas Eve dinner and Christmas day was spent mostly in pajamas. The Christmas table was low-key this year and I didn't even bother to iron the table cloth (as per usual).
Baby O turned 6 months last week and is too cute for words. This is a shot from his Christmas Card photo shoot. We used the tissue paper pom-poms from the baby shower to create a fun, last-minute backdrop. The other shot of him below is from his 6 Month photo shoot. A. keeps me busy snapping away...'Paybacks', she says. Paybacks for what? *hee hee*
For New Year's Eve we almost had to postpone our traditional New Year's Eve Olympics due to illness, but there is almost nothing three back-to-back naps won't cure and the games went on as planned. For our First Breakfast of the Year we had delicious 'Mommy' cakes. I used the Daddy Cakes pancake mix for the first time (purchased at World Market, but also available via Amazon) and was much impressed. I can't remember the last time I had pancakes so good. They were light and tender and especially good with blueberries.
Finally, my paperwhites bloomed. Just in time for the New Year. We are still enjoying them...
I hope you had a good one too!
-K
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