Lucas's 1st Birthday

Wow has this much time passed!!! My little nephew is 1 and I just realized how much time flys by.  My SIL went with a Baby Sesame Street party, I love me some Cookie Monster.  True story, when I was around 3 years old, my Mom and Dad were doing things on opposite ends of the house.  Well they both had a problem at the same time, so my Mom said "Hurry and go get your Dad".  I went back to get Dad and he said "I have a problem go and get your Mom".  Well I went back and forth with them saying the same thing and wound up crying not knowing what to do.  They finally figured it out and found me crying and they bought me a Cookie Monster doll to make up for it, I still have it but he is missing an eye.

It was his 1st birthday so we kept it simple and sweet, after all you can give a kid sensory overload. LOL

Again, I am very bad about taking pictures because I am always running around the whole party, maybe when Brenda moves here I can put her in charge of that. :)  Love you little sister!

I at least got a few pictures of the cake and Angela and Sydney before the crazy started.

Here was the best one, the others are blurry because of the smoke coming off the grill.  Yummmm, honey did a great job grilling again. Love you babe!

This was one of the cakes.  I have been working 40 hours a week and I had a UTI so it is not the best cake I have ever done.  I had another idea in my head but I had to change it due to time restraints.

Anyways I still love it because of Cookie Monster.

Even though he gave me the most trouble I still love him.  His arms kept falling down, we live in Florida and it was so hot.  So I used a cookies to hold up his arm.

Elmo on the other hand was easy and worked really well, The only issue I had was I ran out of white icing and did not get to cover the rest of the cake board under his feet, as you can see here. :)

I used the stand up Teddy Bear pan from Wilton and cut off the ears and nose. For Cookie Monster I cut into the head a little to form a deeper mouth so it would look more 3-D with the cookie in it.  I was baking cookies for the ice cream bar and just took a little dough and made smaller cookies.  After they cooled a pit some around him and broke on up to look like he was eating them.  The eyes are rolled fondant with black icing for the eye balls.  Elmo's nose is fondant as well.  The arms and legs are butterfingers, leftover from the crushed ones we made for the ice cream bar.

All the letters and numbers on the cake are made from rolled fondant and I used Wilton's letters and numbers small cutters.

This was his smash cake and I got the little figures from Party City, they are actually candles but they worked as decorations.  The reason why I did not do a way over the top smash cake was one reason only, red dye is so hard to get out of clothes, carpet, hair...etc.  I decided to go with the cookie monster blue at the very bottom and we removed all the figurines, it worked out very well. 

Now, onto the ice cream bar.  I had everything out already because I did not want to try to set it up while kids were running through the house.  Very bad idea!!!  As soon as the kids saw it, granted the ice cream was still in the freezer, it was all over.  I felt so bad, one little girl was pouting because her Mom wanted her to eat first, then she could swim and then have ice cream.  Sounds fair to me but when you are little and the table is at your height you figure why not. 

Again this is not as decorated as I wanted it but being sick for a few days it still worked. 

This is it partially together.  I still had to put the cherries in the bowl and rearrange a few things.  It is hard to see but I found little Elmo candy heads for the kids to put on the very top of the sundae.

Cookies in case someone wanted an ice cream sandwich instead or cookies in their ice cream.  I love Oatmeal Raisin cookies!!!

At the beginning of the line we have all the good stuff.  Toffee bits, peanut butter chips, white chocolate chips, Baby Ruth, Nestle Crunch, Oreos and Butterfingers (all crushed).  Next to that fresh blueberries, strawberries and pineapple. 

Next to that (not pictured) Reese's Pieces and M&M's and walnuts.

My favorite new cute item, the ice cream topper carousel, from Sur La Table.  They no longer make them and you have to locate one by calling different store and having it shipped to you.  Anyways, we put different sprinkles and colored sugars in them.  You can put hot fudge in the cupcake part, but I figured little kids and dripping hot fudge in the sprinkles. Ummmm NO!

Now onto the real fun!!! Smash cake time!!!!

Here is Lexi and Lucas, she is the little cheerleader. Come on Lucas you can do it!!

Tammy, his Mom, put his hand in it after he looked at it for a long time, not knowing what to do. 

He still hasn't really tasted it, he just keeps opening and closing his little hands.  Testing out the consistency of it, looks like Elmer's paste glue.  You know the stuff we all use to eat, OK maybe it was just me.  I can still smell that stuff to this day and it still smells appetizing. LOL

Now Sydney is in on it. I love that kid he is so adorable!  Lucas is tasting it and wait for it, wait for it, I think he likes it.........

Yep there we go this is how I eat my cake. :)

Lexi don't get to close or he might make you wear it too.  She is a cutie!

Here is Sydney again, this kid just smiles at me and I want to buy him a car. :)  All of his sisters and brothers are like this!!

Ooops, where is the cake go, Tammy took it away, smart woman!  The rest of the party he was wired and laughing as he walked around about 100 mph.  I love this kid, his eyes, personality cheeks and toothy smile!!

July 4th (I know I am late on the post)

We had a lot of people over for the party, about 50 or more.  We kind of had an open house which works really well so the house doesn't get so crowded, everybody seems to congregate in the kitchen.  We will have to rearrange the floor plan for the next party.  It did not flow as well as Easter did.  I, as usual, forgot to take photos and the only one I have is from a dessert I made.  I saw this little goodie in Williams and Sonoma, my personal toy store, and it was only $9.99 and I had a little spending money for it. 

It is called an Apple Pie Mold and they have different ones, they do not seem to sell the others online, just the apple one.

This side does not have a leaf cut on it.

This side has a leaf cut out on it

So to make the pie(s) you need the following

You need parchment paper, 1 egg scrambled (not cooked), pastry brush and pie filling.  Tape the parchment paper down to the countertop if it curls up.  Then place the dough onto it and if you have homemade dough start rolling it out. 

Take your dough and if it is premade, pull it out a little- just not to much you do not want it to tear.

Press one side of the back of the mold into the dough.  Unless you are planning on frying it then you do not need the side that has the leaf cut out.  You will want to make two of the side that does not have a cut out

Then turn it over and make an impression of the other side.

When you get done you will have two leaf cut outs and two non leaf cut outs.  Again unless you are frying it and then you will have 4 of the non-leaf cutouts.

Carefully pull the leaf cut out off the parchment paper.  The lift one of the non-cut out pieces off of the paper.

Put it on the side that has no crimp marks on it.

(Ignore this picture and the fact I did it the wrong way)

The piece should be on the non crimp side this was the first one I made but the only picture I have of the filling and egg wash.

Put about 2-3 Tablespoons of filling in the pie holder, then go around the edges with a little egg wash-this is the glue.

Then place the one with the leaf cut out on top and fold the apple mold back in half.

Press down to seal and then open it back up.

Remove from the mold and then do the next one. 

It seems like a lot of work but I made 16 of them very quickly since I bought pre-made dough already rolled out.  Wal-mart has their own brand that is about $1.27 per box and there are 2 in the box.

Now after you make them you HAVE to freeze them before baking.  So I made these the weekend before July 4th.  All I had to do the day of was pop them in the oven frozen and bake 10-15 minutes.  It worked better because they were more fresh and the dessert table always had fresh hot apple, cherry and blueberry pie. 

The bad part was as I got them out of the oven they were devoured and I did not get to get a picture of them cooked.  Well there will be more parties and so many opportunites to use them other than pies.  If you have kids you can make PB&J sandwiches and seal them for kids who like Un-Crustables it is a cheaper version.  Plus this means you can make it with real whole grain bread and natural peanut butter with a less processed jam. 

Giveaway from Bentobloggy for CSN!!

I love CSN Stores, everything under one Internet "Roof" that you can possibly buy.  I also love Bentobloggy, because she always has such wonderful and cute ways to get kids to eat their veggies.  She is having a giveaway right now for a $40.00 gift card and all you have to do is become a follower.  It is really like getting two prizes, once you become a follower you will always see her recipe and food ideas.  So go on over to her blog Bentobloggy and enter now. :)

I am so stealing this idea!!!

I do not like clutter, see previous post below.  I feel that when you are organized you can stay on track time wise.  I am always trying to find new ways to store stuff but still make it look good.  When we bought this house I had intentions for every room and we are slowly working on one room at a time.  We have this one room in the house, we shall call it Renee's Room, that I love to be in.  The problem is that I HATE the color.  It is a tangerine pink orange, basically puke color.  When I am in the room I just want to paint it, I use this room to grow my herb garden in, it is a Florida Room and with its huge windows it gets a lot of light. 

My problem is that I can not settle on a color, I love the french cottage look with a mix of traditional and a little Americana country. LOL   So I was skipping through my google reader and happened upon an idea.  AJ and I love board games and we hope that with the nephews in and out of the house, this room will become a indoor (but feels like outdoor) playroom.  We love to be outside but please in Florida it is impossible to tolerate the humid heat from 10-4.  So I was thinking maybe a reading and board game room.  We have a large table in there and a couch I love to read in.  The board games though take up shelf space and the boxes they come in do not hold up well.  So Beckie from Infarrantly Creative has this cute idea that can also function as art. 

Makes perfect art!

Plus all the pieces to the games store on the back of the frame.

Perfect for my room, wall art and storage, check and check. Here are a few photos, for the how to and materials needed click here. Now I just need to find my power tools, pick a wall color and I am ready to go!

Renee

I WOOOONNNN!!!!!

I follow quite a few blogs, but one of my fave is from the Bird and Berry.  She has such wonderful ideas and prizes, being one that I have looked at for awhile now and I won one.  I am Mrs. Organization and I have that motto, A Place for Everything and Everything In It's Place.  I know I am a dreamer, because we don't have kids and I know that one day I will be ripping my hair out and loving it at the same time. LOL

Well Jill had a contest for a Cansolidator from Shelf Reliance and I have been WANTING one for years. 

So I came home one day to this:

Come to MAMA!!!!

So I opened the brown box and found this inside:

Then opened this box to find all the goodies inside:

So I looked over the instructions, very short and sweet, my kind of project:

You put together the railings first, which is basically the frame of it:

After the rails you put the sides on, you start with the first one on either end, you pick:

Then you add the other railing to the other side. You can't really see it close up, because my camera is

misbehaving, but there are numbers on the railings (this will come in handy on the next step:

Then you select any can in your pantry, I selected a larger can, yeah this can did not last long I love pineapple.  OK, back from pineapple land, you line up the can against the side to see what number the can lines up with:

You pop the next side into the number so the can fits kind of snug, but not so snug it won't roll.  Before I started the next side I tested it to make sure it ran through before moving onto the next.  The directions do not say to do this but I am a little retentive:

So you just continue on the path using large cans and small cans to measure spaces until you get to where you are out of side.  Trust me you will have enough if you use all small cans or all large cans:

I am still building my new pantry so I have not had a chance to put it in there yet.  I am using it though, it is just in my temporary pantry the armoire:

Please ignore the kitchen, we are getting ready to rip everything out and rebuild it.  I really dislike the cabinets from the 70's painted white and the drawers that no longer work.  I will keep everyone updated!!!

Love to all!!!

Renee

Seriously, why did no one tell me about this!?!?

AJ and I were driving last night to go set up one of his shows at the mall, on our way there we were listening to the radio and talking.  Well, the guys on the radio started talking about desserts, umm hello, my favorite subject.  The one guy said his girlfriend has to go to this place every time she is in Winter Park (we both got excited, we are driving right by there at the current time) and they have the best frozen yogurt ever.  By this time we are both reaching for the dial to turn it up and shushing each other.  They kept talking about all the different flavors (all non-fat, even better) and toppings, seriously give me the name radio guy!  He finally gives the name but can not reveal the address since they are not one of their clients.  He did however say it was close to an ABC liquor store in Winter Park, OK thanks now I can pull over and ask the local drunk where it is.  So we are driving down 17-92 close to the Winter Park Mall, in fact we already passed the Mall, but we are keeping our hungry eyes open.  No ABC in site, so we get to the venue and set up and then leave.  AJ drives down 17-92 on the way back and now we are really looking and we almost gave up but what do my eyes see an ABC, not being much of a drinker, I was never in my life happier to see one.  I see it and AJ literally passed it and said yep there it is, well now we know where it is. WHAT!?!? Are you out of your mind, I am PMSing and you had better turn around.  LOL 

So he teased me and went a few blocks down before turning around, he even mentioned that there was a Stone Cold Creamery not much farther.  (I love that place, but please non-fat yogurt any flavor, some I have yet to taste, turn around and get me to that yogurt place!)  So we arrive and not only is there a Starbucks and a Planet Smoothie there too, my other favs, but this new love of my life called Yogurt Land! 

So you walk in and they greet you, the environment is very clean and very IKEA feeling with a Japanese twist.  They ask you if you would like a sample cup, they give you these little cups, probably between the size of 1/16 and 1/8 of a cup.  Then they release you into the wild land of machines.  All of the yogurt machines are built into the wall, the machines are filled in the back where you can not see, I am dreaming of little Oompa Loompa's singing and filling these machines.

Oompa Loompa doo pa de do

I've gotta another flavor for you...

OK, maybe not but getting back on track.  So you can try as many as you like and find your favorite or favorites.  You get a cup from the back of the store and you find your favorite on the wall and put as much or as little as you want in the cup. Now let's talk about these cups or as I will call them pint, larger than a pint and "why are you even bothering with the non-fat".  I got the pint size, since it is the smallest, and hubbie got the "larger than a pint".  I found the coconut flavor and the pineapple flavor divine and AJ got the strawberry flavor and the dark chocolate flavor.  The cool this is they have three handles on each machine and the handle on the right is one flavor and the one on the left is the other flavor, the one in the middle mixes both the flavors together, if you want.  The best part is they seem to have a Oompa Loompa mixologist back there because ever flavor that was together in the machines went together really well.  So mine was more like a pina colada and AJ had chocolate covered strawberry.  Now comes the super cool fun part and dangerous, but we will get to that in a minute.  They had crushed candies of all sorts, fruits, chocolate syrups, caramel syrups, crushed graham crackers, nuts, cereals, you name it they had it.  (Their topping list is on their website under menu)

So I added to mine, walnuts, white chocolate chips, pineapple, coconut flakes, Ghiradelli White Chocolate Syrup, graham crackers and caramel sauce. Hey I see you judging, yeah you in the back row, I would just like to say that this will probably be a once in a huge blue moon thing so sit down and stop judging. :)  Now, hubbie I do not even want to know what he put in his, but if it is related to chocolate anything it went in there.

So now comes the dangerous part, you have to put your cup on a scale at the register to be weighed.  It is .30 cents an ounce, mine wasn't to bad since I did not fill the cup.  Mine was more like a sampling to see if it would be a new special place a total of $3.25.  AJ on the other hand, umm yeah, the total cost for both of us was $10.56, next time he will be getting the smaller cup.  He swore to me that he did not know there was a smaller one, I am on to you Mr.

The other thing to know is that they do not sell drinks there, they do however have a water fountain, like the ones you see with fruit punch in them, but with cold water and cups for free.  I should have probably used the water glass to get the yogurt in instead of the extra large posing as a small cup.  All in all I would go again in a heartbeat, but maybe after our waistlines and wallets recoup a little.  Their current locations are Arizona, California, Colorado,  Florida, Hawaii, Nevada, Texas, Utah and even International (Guam, Japan and Mexico). If you go on their website you can search location for one listed by you. 

Over the shampoo

I know it sounds like a weird title, but I really am done with the shampoo.  I have noticed that the more I wash my hair the greasier it looks.  Not only that but my hair will not do anything, oh the joys of living in Florida with humidity.  People that come from up North to visit the great state of Florida may think that we have no style but after a few days at Mickey Mouse land with humidity reaching its peak they realize why we stick with boring straight hair, nothing says fun like hair spray and gel leaking into the eye.  :)  Well that is unless you have curly hair and then it is just frizz.  Anyhoo, anyone who knows me, my hair is fine and straight and will not hold a curl.  My scalp has become an obsession, all day I want to sit on my hands to keep from itching it.  Arrggghhh!  The funny thing is I have no dandruff, just itchy scalp.  So I started to search and search for solutions until one day I was going through my google reader and low and behold on one of the blogs a solution.  Baking soda and Apple Cider Vinegar or has been titled No More 'Poo!  I love the back to basics website and I think she may have saved me, after finding this I did more research and started on my quest this morning.  I took a shower and washed my hair with baking soda and apple cider vinegar!  I even scrubbed my face with some of the baking soda as it fell on my face (keep your eyes closed while pouring on your scalp).  My hair felt a little lighter and bouncier, granted they all say the first three washes are basically cleaning out all the gunk from the other shampoos and after 2 weeks it will look fabulous.  I thought that the vinegar smell would be strong all day in my hair, but honestly I can not even smell it.  From what I have read on other sites some people boil the apple cider vinegar with mint leaves and put it in a squeeze bottle.  From what I have seen, after your hair has been without 'poo for awhile and you use this, your hair will become less and less greasy!  Shampoo basically strips all the healthy oils out of your hair and your hair over produces the oil to compensate.  I will blog in two weeks to see where I am at with the no 'poo thing.  I can honestly say that yesterday morning I used shampoo and everyday by 4:00 it looks all greasy (yeah it is that bad).  I will have to see how it goes over the next two weeks.  For those of you not will to go without the 'poo, some people combine baking soda with the 'poo or there is another product called WEN and I did use it for awhile and loved it, I did not love the cost though!

Also, totally off topic but I have a new obsession it is called the Farmer's Market.  I use to go to them about once a month but now I find myself going once every weekend!  I bring my little collapsible cart with me and start with the fresh herbs, basil, rosemary.  Last month I bought 4 HUGE basil plants at $1 each and 1 rosemary plant, this sucker was 3 feet tall for only $3.00.  Every time I go I get fresh tomatoes and garlic and on the way out there is a guy who sells the best bread evah!  I go home chop up the tomatoes, some garlic a little onion, basil, rosemary, salt, pepper and some olive oil. Walla instant Bruschetta, so easy, I think I will post this after Saturdays excursion to the market.  On a side note though I would LOVE to have a true Farmer's Cart a la France:

The only problem is these suckers are about $180.00, maybe one day I will get lucky and trip upon one in a thrift store.  A girl can dream!