celebration: home depot birthday party

my oldest just turned 6 last week. for his birthday party, he decided he wanted it at our local home depot store. slight problem: home depot doesn't do birthday parties. 

i wanted to make this birthday a happy one for my first born, so i set out to make it happen. after lots of begging and pleading and general niceness, i was able to make it happen! (rock star mom moment).

have you ever been to one of the kids workshops that home depot has? (if not, check out your local store---they are so much fun!) our home depot hosts one every saturday and the boys and i have so much fun building an awesome project together (last week was a bug catcher). as a single mama on a budget, the bonus is that they are also *free*. the amazing woman that runs the kids workshops at our local store went above and beyond to make my son's dreams of having a "kids workshop" home depot birthday party a reality.

we took over the training room, every child built and painted a tool box with their parent (all of the instructions, materials and paint was supplied). after the building was complete, the candles were blown out on the tray of homemade cupcakes, bellies were filled with birthday, sugary goodness, and each child went home with their finished project as well as some quality time with one of their parents.

the cherry on top of the proverbial sundae was that the party was *free*. home depot didn't charge us a dime. 

the only things i spent money on were:
plates, napkins, cupcake supplies, plastic construction hats and little favor bags that were filled with a few goodies.

it was a birthday party that he will never forget....and a happy mommy moment too. happy birthday, little man. your mama sure loves you.

70 years of memories

last month my dad turned 70 years old. he is already one of those people that is a challenge to find a gift for so i was *freaking out* trying to come up with a fantastic, memorable, creative and FUN idea. while browsing other blogs, i found a *brilliant* idea from nothing but bonfires that she had come up with to celebrate her dads 6oth. i quickly borrowed this fabulous idea, made a few changes of my own, enlisted the help of my little sister and we ran with it.


the hardest part was tracking down all of the emails we could (it may or may not have involved hacking into my dad's computer address book). once we had emails the next step was coming up what to say and then getting it out to as many people as possible. here is what we ended up with:


Hello everyone!


If you're receiving this email, you probably know that our dad, xxxxxxxx, is turning 70 next month. To celebrate his birthday on June 20th, we'd like to put together a little surprise to let him know that his nearest and dearest are thinking of him. We're going to try and create "70 Years of Memories" by filling 70 envelopes with a memory his friends and family have of him.
And this is where you come in! 


If you have a spare moment in the next few days, we would be so grateful if you'd jot down a favorite memory you have of our dad and email it or put it in the mail. It doesn't have to be anything fancy -- you can just write it down on a piece of paper and sign your name or send a quick email (we will take care of the formatting and print it out). You can mention anything you like -- although the more nostalgic the better! Please absolutely feel free to send more than one memory (in fact, we welcome it -- we've got 70 envelopes to fill)!


Please email your memories to: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
If you would like to mail memories please send them to: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx


Thank you so, so, so much for participating -- we know everyone is busy with their own lives, and we do appreciate you taking a few minutes to do this; it will be so worth it when he reads all the memories people have of him! (Please don't forget to keep it a SURPRISE until then, though!) 


Thank you so much again. 


P.S. PLEASE help us by forwarding this e-mail to anyone that you think might have a memory to share of our dad. We have tried to gather as many emails as we could, but know that we have missed some. We would appreciate your help in spreading the word. :-) 


we sent it out and then we waited. a few started coming in right away....but we started *panicking* (70 envelopes was truly a LOT to fill). the emails kept tricking in, some amazing people forwarded the e-mail onto others and we also sent out a couple follow-up reminders that really helped. i must note that it wouldn't have been the same without the help of one AMAZING cousin of my dad's that personally took on the challenge to call each of his elderly aunt and uncles to transcribe their memories of him and get them to us-- (thank you, holly!!)


we gathered all of the memories, stuffed 70 numbered envelopes with them and then tied them together in a neat, tidy stack and made a cute little label.

we took my dad out to a fancy steakhouse to give him the stack of envelopes. he was floored. we laughed, we cried and after a few hours (yes. hours. it may have been the worlds longest birthday dinner). side note: thank you to the amazing people at the steakhouse at azul la jolla for being so generous with letting us occupy a beautiful ocean view table and never making us feel like we were taking too long. if you have never been to azul, you must. not only is the atmosphere beautiful, but the food is among the best that san diego has to offer.

there were lots of laughs and even some tears. the memories that people shared were thoughtful, loving, kind and some were downright hysterical. they came from aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces, nephews, friends and friends that are like family. each envelope that was opened took us on a journey and led to more stories to be told and memories to unearth from the depths of our minds.  my dad loved reliving all of the memories and said that (in a good way) it was like being able to attend his own memorial service and hear what people would say. 

look at that *giant* stack of letters!

a little boo-hoo-hoo-ing

he may kill me for posting this crying one. :-)

we took turns reading at some point. are my mom and dad not the cutest?!

a special thank you from the bottom of my heart to everyone that participated to make this such a special birthday for my dad....he will never forget it and neither will our family. what a very special celebration! 


so, if you are looking for a unique, one-of-a-kind gift i would suggest trying this. not only does it make a fabulous birthday gift, but i think it would be a great anniversary gift too. let us know if you end up trying it yourself! enjoy!

xoxo

one year and counting....our blog anniversary

holy guacamole! it is hard to believe that a year has gone by since our first post. thank you to all of you who faithfully read, leave sweet comments and follow this blog in one way or another. we are honored that you take time out of your busy day to stop by. also, thank you to all of our friends and family that have supported us and shared our little blog with everyone that they know---we adore you! each of your encouragement, patience and motivation means so much to us.

we started this blog on a whim and had no idea that anyone would really read what we had to say. who knew that we would grow this much in only a year!? (you like us! you really like us!). we are truly humbled by your generous support.

in the past year we attended our first blogging conference, struggled, celebrated, provided advice, complained, crafted, ate a *lot* to find the perfect recipes to share with you and added another child into nellie's family. 


we're having so much fun and have no plans to go anywhere....so stick around to see what else happens in our lives throughout the next year.

xoxo-

chach & nellie

diy: fabric pennant flag banners

supplies needed:

cotton fabric: i used 1 yard of each color

extra wide double fold bias tape (each is 3 yards long)

thread

sewing machine

sissors or pinking sheers

directions:

i made a quick pattern by folding an 8.5 x 11 paper. making the pennant pattern 8.5" x 9.5"

use the pattern to cut as many triangles that you need. you can use regular sissors or pinking sheers if you want to add a more decorative effect. 8 triangle pennants fit comfortably onto each 3 ft. piece of bias tape.

simply slip each triangle into the fold in the bias tape and sew (one at a time) being sure to secure the triangle securely into the tape. be sure to leave enough bias at each end to use to hang.

ta-da!! the finished product. super cute and machine washable so you can have for many celebrations to come.

puffle cupcakes--guest post by bonnie @ inspiring pretty

i have been so excited about my oldest son’s birthday this year. birthdays are always fun, but this year he changed schools. why does that matter, you ask? only because his old school forbade any homemade goodies of any kind. and for a mama who sometimes bakes just to pass the time, this was almost sacrilege. so when we began school shopping, imagine my delight when I found out that our school of choice not only allotted time for classroom birthday parties; but they also allowed you to bring in any kind of treat you desired.

i wanted to make something special, but i didn’t want to go overboard for a bunch of second graders who don’t know the difference between marshmallow and meringue. aiden (the birthday boy) and I decided to do hostess throwbacks in chocolate and orange. his class is really into club penguin, so we went with a puffle theme.

i settled on a few batters from the sky high cakes cookbook. i chose vanilla buttermilk (and added orange extract) for the orange cake, and chocolate butter cake for the chocolate. the chocolate batter called for brewed coffee, which i was pretty sure the other parents wouldn’t appreciate, so I subbed it with hot cocoa. then i chose smitten kitchen’s seven-minute (aka, marshmallow) frosting as a filling and a swiss meringue buttercream frosting to go on top for its pipe-ability.

they were a LOT of work (if i never beat another egg white to stiff peaks again, it will be too soon), but they were spectacular. and the look on my sweet 8 year old’s face when he got to hand them out coupled with one of his classmates exclaiming, “i wish we lived next door to you!” made it all worth it. 

p.s. i halved the batter recipes, so they each yielded about 15 cupcakes.

orange buttermilk batter

ingredients:

2 whole large eggs
1 egg yolk
2 teaspoon orange extract
2/3 cup buttermilk
1 1/2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
2 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature

directions:
preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a cupcake pan with liners.

place the eggs and the yolks in a medium bowl. add the orange extract and 1/4 cup of buttermilk. whisk well and set aside.

combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in the bowl of a mixer; whisk to blend. add the remaining 1 cup of buttermilk and the butter to the dry ingredients and blend together on low. raise the mixer to medium speed and beat until light fluffy, about 2 minutes.

add the egg mixture in three additions, scrapping down the sides of the bowl after each addition. Don’t over mix.

fill the cupcake liners about 2/3 full. bake for about 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. allow the cupcakes to cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then pop them out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

chocolate butter cake batter

ingredients:
1 cup flour
1 cups sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 egg
1 cup hot cocoa, cooled to room temperature

directions:
preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a cupcake pan with liners.

in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, mix the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, ground cinnamon, and salt on low speed until combined. add the butter and buttermilk and mix on low until moistened. raise the speed to medium and beat until light and fluffy, about 2 to 3 minutes.

whisk the eggs and hot cocoa together in a bowl, and add to the mixer in 3 additions, scraping down the bowl and beating only until blended after each addition.

fill the cupcake liners about 2/3 full. bake for about 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. allow the cupcakes to cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then pop them out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

seven-minute frosting

ingredients:
5 tablespoons water
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 1/3 cups sugar
2 large eggs whites at room temperature
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla

directions:
whisk first five ingredients together in a double boiler. To do a make-shift one, place a metal or heat-proof glass bowl over a pan of simmering water. make sure the water level is at least as high as the depth of the egg whites in the bowl. beat the whites on low speed until the mixture reaches 140 degrees on an instant-read thermometer. do not stop beating while the bowl is in the skillet, or the egg whites will be overcooked.

beat on high speed for exactly five minutes. remove the bowl from the skillet and add vanilla, beating on high speed for two to three more minutes to cool.

swiss meringue frosting

ingredients:
1 cup sugar
4 large egg whites
20 tablespoons butter, softened (2 sticks plus 4 tablespoons)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

directions:

beat butter in a stand mixer until light an fluffy.

whisk egg whites and sugar together in a double boiler. whisk occasionally until you can’t feel the sugar granules when you rub the mixture between your fingers, a minute or two.

remove from heat and whip until it turns white and about doubles in size. be sure to mix long enough for it to cool completely.

add the vanilla.

finally, add the egg mixture to the butter and whip, whip, whip.
do not worry when this takes a while to come together. it can take up to 15 minutes, but it will come together. beating the butter ahead of time should reduce this problem, but you still have to whip it good. qlso, if you add the eggs while they are still warm, they will melt the butter and you will basically be out of luck, and $4 worth of butter.

to assemble:

tools:

several pastry bags with tips (in my experience ziplock bags will not suffice. the seams always seem split when any pressure is applied.)

miniature marshmallows, two per cupcake

black writing gel

directions:
fill a pastry bag fitted with a small, pointy tip (the design doesn’t really matter) with seven-minute frosting. push the point into the center of the cupcake and gently squeeze filling into the middle. you will see the cupcake start to expand, so stop short of it actually exploding.

separate the swiss meringue frosting into several bowls, one for each different color you want to do (we used four). mix desired amount of food coloring into each one. spoon about 1/3 on each color into its own pastry bag fitted with a star tip, or any tip that you think would make good looking hair.

frost the cupcakes with a knife or offset spatula in your different shades. flatten marshmallows into between clean fingers and place two in the center of each cupcake.

use black writing gel to draw a pupil on each marshmallow and a mouth below the marshmallows.

pipe hair onto each cupcake with the matching color in pastry bag.

keep cupcakes refrigerated until serving.

bonnie blogs at inspiring pretty along with lindsey and claire. it's a home for everything women care about. from recipes to weddings and spirituality to raising a family, we are here to share our lives with you and make yours prettier. our motto is 'a pretty home, a pretty faith, a pretty life'. born just outside chicago, illinois and raised in the mountains of colorado, bonnie found her home in southern california alongside her husband and three little boys. when she’s not cleaning up after all four of them, helping with school projects or making fabulously healthy dinners and scrumptious desserts, she enjoys being outdoors, a good cup of tea, writing and giving design advice to anyone who’ll listen. you can also find them on facebook, twitter and pinterest.

mmmmm, mondays: green eggs and ham in honor of dr. seuss's birthday

the great theodore geisel's birthday (aka dr. seuss) was march 2nd. this friday, consider making his birthday a fun celebration with your kiddos. one thing i plan on in my household is a breakfast of green eggs and ham and perhaps some cozy story time with our favorite seuss books. what about you? do you have anything planned to celebrate the day?

green eggs and ham a la sam-i-am


ingredients
1-2 tablespoons of butter
4 slices of ham
8 eggs
2 tablespoons of milk
1-2 drops of green food coloring
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1/4 teaspoon of pepper


what you’ll need
knife, medium-size mixing bowl, wire whisk or eggbeater, large frying pan, spatula, aluminum foil, serving plates


directions
1. melt a teaspoon of butter in a large frying pan over medium heat. add sliced ham and brown until edges are slightly crisp. remove the ham from the pan, cover with aluminum foil, and set aside.


2. in a medium-size mixing bowl, combine the eggs, milk, salt, and pepper. beat with a whisk until frothy. then add 1-2 drops of green food coloring until you reach the desired shade of green.


3. heat a tablespoon of butter in a large frying pan over medium heat until the butter begins to sizzle. then add the egg mixture to the pan.


4. stir the egg mixture with a spatula until the eggs are firm and not too runny.


5. transfer the eggs to individual plates. garnish with a sprig of parsley. add the ham prepared earlier. serve with toast or warm rolls.


feeds 4 hungry green-egg lovers
recipe courtesy suessville website

birthday blessings...

today i turn another year older. chach has a december birthday as well. i am officially eleven days older but we have a remarkable thing in common. each december we get to celebrate not only another calendar year ending and a new one beginning, but another year of our own lives that has come and gone as well. after spending a day reflecting on the year that has come to an end, i feel the need to share a few things i'm thankful for. perhaps it can spur on a moment of thankfulness of your own.

i'm thankful for health. this last year, one of my good girlfriends passed away from cancer. another friend lost his life in a tragic car accident. other amazing girlfriends are battling hard against cancer. friends have faced sick children beyond what i can even comprehend. the young parents of my friends have passed away from various illnesses. i will never take the health of my family for granted. each day that i wake up and find that my biggest health complaint is another child with an ear infection is a day worthy of rejoicing. sometimes i have to stop myself from thinking that my life is difficult because i have two kids with colds at once. may i always have eyes to see things from a proper perspective and remember to be thankful for the huge blessing of a healthy family.

i'm thankful for this new baby and the kids and husband i already have. sure, i joke about my "never-had-a-baby-body." i have shared frustrations with people who have said things perhaps they shouldn't about this fifth pregnancy. there are days when my own children push me to limits i didn't think i could handle. here's, however, what i thought about today. my friends who have suffered miscarriage after miscarriage have been the biggest supporters of my fifth baby. one friend who had a complete hysterectomy in her 20's wonders what it would be like to lose her "never-had-a-baby-body." having a handful of children to care for at home is a dream for some women who would give anything to be mother at all. no matter what sacrifices are made, what difficulties are faced, or how much work is involved, these kids are my greatest blessings. having an amazing husband to share this experience with is an fantastic bonus.

i'm thankful for an amazing place to live. i love my house. i love my neighborhood and my current hometown. this, however is not what i'm referring to when i say i live in an amazing place. i lived overseas for over five years. my first three children were born while living in a foreign country. i know what it is like to live in the murder capital of the world. i know what it is like to look behind my back as i walk with my children in the evenings to make sure we're not being followed. i've fought in the grocery store over a bag of sugar and a carton of milk. i've been medically evacuated out of a country due to poor medical care. we've ridden in armored cars and traveled from one town to another only with large assault weapons accompanying us. i've been on email lists that tell me when a butcher has meat to sell, which grocery stores have been stocked with basic food products, and when the u.s. embassy will be able to provide food that we can't purchase elsewhere. i've lived in places where freedoms we daily take for granted are beyond what is currently possible. we live in an amazing place and we're amazingly spoiled. we find so much to complain about, from leadership to politics to economics, to a grocery store being out of a specialty item we are looking for. we need to learn to be thankful. the line to get into this country is still long. we are blessed enough to call it home. that's something to be grateful for.

i'm thankful for the freedom to be me. i get to blog whatever i want and, not only am i allowed to, but there is a select group of people who actually want to hear what i have to say. i am grateful. i get to go to church and worship without persecution. martyrs are being made the world over and yet i am able to attend services completely unharmed. i am thankful. i have girlfriends who are selfless and kind and who encourage me on a daily basis. i don't have to be someone that i am not when i am around them. they love me for me and i love each and every one of them. they are some of my greatest blessings.

along with the big things, i'm pretty content in the small things of the day too. i'm thankful that i was able to shower, wash and dry my hair, and shave both legs, all on the same day. i'm thankful for a starbucks chai tea latte, something that brightens any day. i'm thankful for love and hugs and kisses from my family. i'm thankful for facebook and a litany of happy birthday wishes from people who span my entire lifetime. i'm thankful for the haagen dazs ice cream bar that is waiting for me in the freezer once i finish writing. most of all, i'm thankful that today begins another year of this amazing life i have been given. while my journey may be different than i ever imagined it would be, i am blessed beyond belief...and indescribably grateful.