Pretty Real: Food Network

Baby's 1st Birthday: Party with the Princess

Recently my little princess turned 1 (obviously I am terrible at posting in real time. Please don't be mad)! I began thinking about her birthday party somewhere around 8 weeks after she was born. ;) I knew I wanted to do something fun, girly, and unique. Well despite my intentions, I couldn't get 'princess party' out of my head even though that theme for a 1st birthday party is hardly unique. And of course, pink just naturally goes with princess!! In thinking about how to give it a little twist of my own however I realized that damask print has been a recurring them throughout her first year- It was used at my baby shower, in her nursery, and at her dedication luncheon. So I ended up settling on a vintage damask princess theme. Here are a few of the details:

Decor:

I knew the centerpiece would be the dessert buffet--a la Amy Atlas. I love using food as part of the decorations for a party--so fun and serves two purposes! I already had apothecary jars I'd purchased for my sister-in-law's shower and I have to say, I've used them at every party I've hosted since then!! I made sure to use vintage type dishes whenever I could (i.e. apothecary jars, and damask/crown/princess mugs, and homemade tiered trays).

I used damask table runners that I made with no sewing machine (stitch witchery baby!), and Disney princess curtains for the backdrop of the dessert buffet.

I made tulle poms and tissue poms to hang around the house. When a party is indoors, there's a lot of space to fill (why couldn't she have been born in June?!), so this is an easy and cheap way to do that.

The banner was my FAVE. In damask, black, and hot pink, it added to the theme. In addition to the banner Megan made food labels, and signage ("How Sweet it is to be Genevieve" for the dessert table was the cutest thing ever!) which in my OCDness I adorned with little gems. I love printables and think they can totally make a party. If you're not as lucky as I am to have fabulous Megan Ayers as a BFF, then for a small price you can get party printables from a number of sellers on etsy.

Ornate frames also added to the vintage feel. And pearls strung with photos of Genevieve from about 3 months to 1 year did the same. I also bought a high chair off of craigslist and painted it pink both with her one year photos and this party in mind.

Food:

(sorry for the lack of photos...I promise it looked yummy :))

I wanted to feed a crowd...cheaply. I have to give myself a pat on the back for thinking of a mashed potato bar. My mother in law makes the best homemade mashed potatoes and I included cheese, sour cream, bacon bits, salt and pepper, jalapenos, and nacho cheese (ok, that's a lie. I was supposed to make nacho cheese but was running an hour behind and didn't get to it. I'm still getting this hostess gig down!). I also made spinach and pancetta grilled panini (mmmmmmmm), along with turkey avocado panini. My mom made the best Greek pasta salad ever and a tossed salad with candied walnuts and Gorgonzola cheese, as well.

I really didn't want to make all of the desserts from scratch but didn't want to use candy either (in my experience unless it's chocolate or there are a ton of kids no one eats the candy--it just sits there looking pretty which really isn't the point!). The dessert buffet included homemade peppermint patties, peanut butter and chocolate cupcakes, cherry cheesecake bars, cake pops, and a cake. Semi homemade included: dipped pretzels and chocolate covered strawberries. I used store bought yogurt dipped pretzels, powdered donuts, and strawberry wafers. I have to say the homemade peppermint patties were a pain but I got the most positive feedback from those! Figures right?! The cake pops were my FAVORITE to make and were so delicious. I liked [and ate] every single dessert on that table!!

Activities:

I'm not big on activities (can you tell I'm a first time mom?). So that, coupled with the fact that the sitters Megan used were unavailable, and most of the guests/kids were pretty young, I figured I could get away with not planning structured activities. Side note: I found these awesome paper castles kids can put together and decorate but el Cheapo (that's Joe) wouldn't let me buy them! BUT I did get knight's armor for the boys and princess tiaras and wands for the girls (and mini baby dolls and princess onesies for the baby girls), so I figured the kids could play with those toys. Besides, my mother in law has plenty of toys at her house to keep the kids occupied in a little hideaway refinished basement area, so I think the kids did ok. For future parties I definitely plan to follow Megan's lead and get sitters. I too think that was a genius idea!

All in all I think the party was a success! Of course I was a bit behind and there were certain details I missed but at the end of the day Genevieve was happy, full, and loved and that's what really matters.

Now, I only have 10 months until her 2nd birthday. I'd better start planning!!

PS: Check back later for some DIY guides for some of the homemade items mentioned...

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by Unknown

Food Network

Taste{full}: What's for Dinner?

I'm learning that I am not a good homemaker in so many ways...Take dinner for instance. I love to cook and try new recipes, but only in ideal circumstances that usually don't play out in real life. For instance, when I have enough money for the crazy expensive ingredients Giada uses...or when I don't have a 16 month old crying to be picked up or hanging on my ankles (true story--we have both ended up on the floor after my tripping over her on at least several occasions)...or when I don't have a job that necessitates I be out of the house for 10 1/2 hours a day. SO, I'm left with vain ambitions of finding something quick, somewhat cheap, easy, and not terribly bad for me. You can probably guess which of those factors goes out the window the fastest--yes ladies, you guessed it. Hence why I had such a hard time finding a hides-all-my-imperfections swimsuit last year! In any case, I was happy with my dinner last night and since I love you :), I decided to share it...

An American classic--grilled cheese and tomato soup... but hold on, this ain't your mamas grilled cheese (with the "cheap cheese" as Joe's mom once labeled the cheese in the fridge for a family party--we will never let her live that down!), white wonder bread, and the soup right outta the can. Read on sisters.

Grilled Cheese with Spinach and Pancetta

mmmmmm. I have made these on numerous occasions and they always turn out good (well except that one time Popeye took over and I overdid the spinach but at least that made them healthier!). I have to say I'm not always good at exactly following the recipe but you can play with the amounts in this one and it still works. I've used pancetta before which is really yummy but substituted plain ol' American bacon last night. I also used already shredded cheese and olive oil in addition to the canola. And since I had Joe do the prep for me (Mr. Mom gets out of work earlier so he picks Genevieve up, gets her settled, and starts dinner all before I arrive home), we ended up with much LESS spinach than the recipe called for and much MORE bacon. which I'm totally ok with. :)

Creamy Tomato Soup

wow. This soup was gooooood. Even Joe liked it and he doesn't really care for soup, much less tomato soup. After having Panera's tomato basil (or is it tomato bisque?) soup the other night I was dying for a re-do, sans the trip or the cash. I went to allrecipes.com--one of my main go-to sources for easy and yummy recipes and this is the first one that came up. Seriously it was REALLY good!! Now I hate it when people recommend a recipe but they changed like everything in it (who else gets overwhelmed reading reviews that go on and on about their substitutions?!) but I will tell you I did make a couple of my own. I used mostly milk but also heavy cream because I wanted it to be really creamy (totally making sense why swimsuit shopping is so difficult, huh?!). In hindsight that wasn't really necessary because of the cream cheese it calls for. I also used Rotel (i.e. diced tomatoes with green chiles) instead of plain diced tomatoes. This wasn't me being inventive; it was just what I had on hand. I am so glad I did- it gave it a spicy kick that was oh-so delicious and I think was a major factor in winning husband over. If you have kiddos eating it, I wouldn't recommend that move because it definitely made it spicy. Lastly I took advice from numerous reviewers and used a little less cream cheese than the recipe called for. To finish, I topped it with grated Parmesan cheese. Some reviewers also pureed the mixture to make a smooth soup. I didn't so it was kinda chunky but I might next time. I also wished I had fresh basil on hand because that would have been soooo good. Croutons woulda been a nice addition also. Ok, now preggers is just dreaming.

All in all I was really happy with both recipes. Easy, delicious, and definitely fits in the comfort food category (if, like me, you are exhausted from 'making' a baby- don't be dirty, that part's already done;) and need all the comfort you can get!

Try this recipe and tell me what you think! OR if you have other easy, delish recipes or creamy tomato soup alternatives, let me hear about 'em!