Butterfly Birthday Party ~ Plus Pinterest Reviews!

Do you guys remember back in August when I was talking about my daughter's 2nd birthday party that was coming up?

Yeah, me either.

(I can barely remember yesterday!)

But I did talk about it, and at the time it seemed like her birthday was still soooo far away. But now it is over and done with, and I have some really cute stuff to show you guys!

So anyone who knows me well knows that I turn to Pinterest for everything. If I need a new recipe, if I'm planning a party, if I don't know what to get someone for their birthday, etc. My daughter's birthday was no exception. Here's the board I used for all the cute ideas:

Follow Eva's 2nd Birthday by Gela Smith on Pinterest

So let's start the pin comparisons! Here's the first one:

And here's mine:

The idea is relatively simple - you wrap up your various plastic utensils in a cute folded napkin and secure it  on there with candy bracelets. I had a couple initial problems with this one. The first one was that I could not find regular candy bracelets anywhere at first! I tried my regular local party store and all they had were candy watched and candy necklaces. But I FINALLY found what I was looking for at Oriental Trading - here is the link if you're interested. Now this listing is actually for candy bracelets with little "pool party" charms on them, and I just broke them off before I used them. I wanted those ones in particular because they were a more pastel color which is what I was going for, but if you don't mind the more vibrant colors than Oriental Trading also has regular candy bracelets without the charms here. Although I can't vouch for how the more vibrant colored bracelets taste, I can tell you that the "pool party" ones I got were really delicious - best tasting candy jewelry I've ever tried.

The second problem I had was folding the napkins all cute like that. I managed to do it ok, but once I put on the candy bracelets it didn't look so cute anymore. I had to wrap my bracelets around twice in order to secure them, otherwise they would just fall right off. That being said, when I wrapped them a second time it just scrunched up the cute folded design. So I decided to fold the napkins in half diagonally and roll them around the spoon instead and they still turned out really cute - I got lots of compliments on them, and even the adults had a fun time sporting their candy bracelets and munching on them throughout the party.

So it worked really well! I definitely recommend trying this.

Here's the next one:



And here was my version:

So I did a couple of things differently here. First of all, getting one specific color of candy is hard. You usually have to special order it from a place like the Candy Warehouse which I really didn't want to have to do. So I went to my local party store and bought a package of two colors of sixlets. I would have gotten more colors if they weren't soooo expensive! But I think they were worth it in the end. I also used much smaller vases that I just picked up from the dollar store. Then instead of leaving them as is, I added a little butterfly fan decoration in the top of each one (which I also got from Oriental Trading). They turned out adorable! At least, I think so - and apparently so did everyone else at the party because I got lots of compliments on this too. But the problem was that the fans didn't go in very deep and the candies didn't weigh enough to really keep them in place very well, so every little bump on the table made them fall over - not that my guests minded, though. They took them out and got into the candies inside before too long anyway. ;) Overall, a cute idea! It worked out well.

Ok, moving on:



And here's mine:

I absolutely love the way these turned out! I made much more than this of course, but I forgot to take a picture until a lot of them had already been scarfed down! Dang. But you get the idea. I used a star tip to ice the cupcakes in a spiral pattern to make it look like the butterflies were sitting on a flower, then I used my leftover sixlets to make their bodies and some yogurt covered pretzels for the wings! (I got my pretzels at Lin's near the bakery goods, but you could use Flipz or something similar as well, or even regular pretzels if you'd prefer!) These were pretty easy and self-explanatory, the only tip I really have about them is to make sure you put them in the fridge after you decorate them - the pretzels don't like to stay up at that angle when the frosting has warmed up some. I got plenty of compliments on this one as well - definitely worth doing!

And one more about the cupcakes...



I made them rainbow on the inside. Here's a pic:

So cute, right? I can't say I got a lot of compliments on it because no one really said anything! I was surprised!  (Maybe they were sick of handing out compliments by now, hehe!) But I thought they were absolutely adorable and the rainbow inside made them even more fun to eat! The only thing I really did differently was that instead of using all 6 colors in it, I only used orange through purple and iced the top with pink for the last of it. And let me tell you, I'm glad I did it that way. I don't know if you noticed in the original pin, but the tops of those cupcakes are kind of flat and protrude out a bit past the cupcake liner - that's from over-filling. By cutting out the top color it made them look so much better in my opinion. Just remember to only use a tablespoon or so if each color of batter if you want them to fit in the pan right! Then you can spread it around to the edges with a spoon - don't fill until it spreads to the sides on its own!

I think that's pretty much wraps it up, other than to show you a picture of the cute little star of the party!

Happy birthday my sweet 2 year old girl!!

Pinterest Review - Rainbow Butterfly Footprint

You guys. My little girl is growing up way too fast.

I'm sure my fellow Mommies understand.

One minute they are a tiny little bundle of blanket in your arms, and then you blink and they are running around and speaking to you.

Believe it or not (I sure as heck don't!), my baby is turning 2 in just a couple of months. I know! Crazy!

So like the crazy party-planning-person I am, I have already started preparations for her 2nd Birthday Bash. Her birthday parties are especially fun because they are also my birthday party! (Our birthdays are only 8 days apart.) So this year our birthday theme is:

Rainbow Butterflies!

You can follow all my fun party prep here:

But today I am here to show you one pin in particular - 

Rainbow Butterfly Footprints

This pin originally comes from Sawdust & Embryos and it is such a fun, easy, not to mention ADORABLE project to do with your little girl of any age!

Notice how my pin says "but with pastel colors" - that is the beauty of this project. It can be done in ANY color(s). Here is how mine turned out:

Sooo cute!! It is totally fool-proof, too. Ok.... Maybe not totally. I will admit that we had 1 or 2 (or 4) "oopsie" pages first, but as long as you don't make any of the same mistakes we did you should be fine.

First - put the cardstock you are going to be using on a FLAT, HARD surface - we tried it on the bed first and the footprints didn't come out well at all. That resulted in having to re-ink Eva's feet which she wasn't terribly thrilled about. Second - (and this really isn't much of a tip, just more of an FYI) your child's feet will by dyed for a little bit afterward even after you wash the excess ink off... Just be aware of that before you start inking away! And third - just in case you are wondering, the ink pad that I used for this project can be found here. 

Hope you all have fun trying this one out with your wee ones, please let me know if you try it! I would love to hear what you thought, and I'd also love to know if there are any other tips or tricks that helped you make this project different, easier, or more fun!

Thanks for joining me! See you next time!

Pinterest Review - Sweet & Sour Chicken

Hey everyone! As usual, I have been absent as of late. Busy with life and all that - the usual excuses.

But you all know I gotta come back and share when I come across an amazing pin from Pinterest! That's right -  time for another Pinterest review!

So, this pin comes from Made It. Ate It. Loved It. I am normally a little leery about Sweet & Sour Chicken recipes because somehow they always seem to be WAY WAY off of what I think it should taste like. I used to work at a Chinese food restaurant, so I'm used to the good stuff, people! But after looking over the ingredients list I decided to give it a try. It sounded the closest to what I remembered from working at that restaurant.

Now, in my previous Pinterest reviews I listed the ingredients and directions next. I have since been informed that it's impolite to do so, as it takes away from the web traffic of the original blog. Whoopsie! I didn't mean any harm by it, but just as a general rule from now on I will be simply providing the link to the original recipe and then listing what I changed (if anything). So here we go!

Sweet & Sour Chicken

Original recipe can be found here.

Sorry about the absolutely horrid photo quality. I wasn't originally planning on blogging about this recipe, so I didn't think to take any nice photos. This one is brought to you courtesy of my cell phone haha. But after eating it, I just had to share!! This stuff is absolutely great!

This recipe is pretty easy as it is, and as the pin said - you really do most likely have everything you need already in your pantry. The only thing I needed to buy was garlic salt. That's it. But this recipe also calls for uncooked chicken breasts that you slice up into cubes. That's all fine and dandy - if you want to do that, go ahead!! More power to you. However, I'm the epitome of a lazy cook, so I used frozen diced chicken. The only thing I did differently to accommodate for that is microwaving the frozen chicken first (ice crystals + hot oil = NO NO!) and then cutting the cook time in half. I don't think it made too much of a difference - the sauce might have been not quite as thick for mine, but it still thickened up pretty freakin' nicely after it had cooled a bit. Other than that, follow the recipe to the letter and you are good to go! Super easy. Super delicious. Your family and your taste buds will thank you! This one is getting officially added to my monthly dinner calendar!

Thanks so much to Made it. Ate it. Loved It. for this amazing recipe, I will definitely be coming back your blog for my future recipe needs!

See you all next time!

Pinterest Review - Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies & Coffee Creamer French Toast

Oh, man!

Hopefully I'm not the only one who has been enjoying this beautiful Spring weather lately!

Our days have been filled with walks in the park and family fun since my son got out of pre-school earlier this month. It has been great! We live in Southern Utah on the border of Arizona so it's unusually warm here year-round, but I think it has been especially warm and nice lately. Goodbye, Winter! Don't come back too soon!

So today I have a couple of cool recipes for you all that I discovered on Pinterest recently. The first one is:

Coffee Creamer French Toast

The original recipe can be found here from Today's Creative Blog. I cannot even tell you how happy I was to find this recipe! I have been craving french toast lately even though I have never found or created a recipe that really satisfies me. So today I searched Pinterest looking for any french toast recipe to just get me through dinner tonight. I could not have been happier! 3 ingredients people! Three! Well, actually more if you count the optional cinnamon and use my modifications. But you get the drift.

Ingredients

4 eggs

1/2 cup coffee creamer of your choice

1 loaf french bread

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (optional)

butter (optional)

Directions

1. Crack eggs into medium bowl and whisk until well blended.

2. Pour in coffee creamer and cinnamon. Mix well.

3. On hot griddle or skillet, melt a small amount of butter. Dip french bread slice into egg mixture covering both sides, then quickly place in buttered area.

4. Let sit on medium to medium-high heat for approx. 1 minute, flip over.

5. Allow to cook for approximately 2 minutes or until golden brown, flip again.

6. Allow first side to finish cooking about 1 minute more or until golden brown.
7. Repeat process with all french bread slices.

8. Serve with syrup, whip cream, fruit toppings, or whatever you enjoy!

Now, the original recipe calls for International Delight's Cinnabon creamer, but any of your favorite creamer flavors will do. That's another thing that makes this recipe so fantastic - you can change the flavor any time with no extra hassle! I can only imagine how this stuff tastes with Pumpkin Spice creamer. Mmm!

The reason I added such detailed instructions about flipping the french toast is because I know for some people making french toast is like rocket science. I know this because I used to be one of those people. My french toast would always turn out soggy in the middle or burnt on one side etc etc. But this is the method I have created for perfect french toast. You see, when you place it on its first side, all that extra mixture is falling down toward the griddle and making it impossible for it to cook evenly. So you have to flip it over relatively quickly to prevent that from happening. By the time the other side is done, there isn't too much mixture left that isn't already cooked, so browning evenly isn't a problem when it's flipped over the second time. It's a science!

My own review of this recipe? I am never parting with it. Ever. It's so easy. 3-5 ingredients. The eggs blend easier with the thick creamer than it does with milk. Not to mention the fact that the french toast turns out sweet, delicious, and lactose free! That's a big one for me since I am lactose intolerant.

So here's our next one:

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

I found this pin a while ago and have been dying to try it since I found it on Pinterest a week or so ago and read the list of ingredients. Yes, even the ingredients make these sound like a mouthful of heaven. This recipe is originally from Six Sister's Stuff blog and can be found here. I love the Six Sister's site! They are the masters of creative cooking and I bow down to them. Plus, they are based right here in Utah! Hooray!

Ingredients

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

1/2 cup peanut butter

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 egg

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup oats (quick or old fashioned)

2 cups milk chocolate chips

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350.

2. In large mixing bowl, combine butter and sugars until creamy. 

3. Stir in peanut butter, vanilla, and egg until well combined. 

4. Add flour, baking soda, and salt.

5. Fold in oats and chocolate chips and mix until combined.

6. Roll into 1" balls and place on a lightly greased baking sheet.

7. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown.

So I didn't change a thing to this recipe. It already sounded so good, I just baked as directed. The only notes that I have for you are to never ever use spreadable margarine for baking cookies. Ever. I truly and honestly believe that the only way your cookies will come out looking and tasting perfect is if you get real unsalted butter. I make a lot of cookies. In my family they call me "The Cookie Queen", and it's because mine always come out looking beautiful and staying soft without crumbling in your hand. And this is my secret. My personal favorite is Tillamook unsalted butter.. Use the real butter people. It's the only way. 

Then soften it the perfect amount. It takes between 30-45 minutes for it to be softened to perfect consistency. If you forget about it and it gets too soft, do not use it anyway. Put it in the fridge until it's right. If you don't have time to soften, do not put it in the microwave. You could jeopardize your whole batch of cookies. Just save yourself the hassle and grate it with a cheese grater instead.. Comes out perfect every time.

The only other note I have about this recipe is that the original says it makes about 2 dozen, but mine made almost 3 dozen. Not that I'm complaining. =)

And these cookies are good! Ridiculously good! They look just like regular chocolate chip cookies, but your friends/family/party guests will be in for a pleasant surprise! Peanut butter-chocolatey goodness and with a yummy oatmeal texture that gives it a little extra something. Loved it, loved it. Another point for the Six Sisters - this one's a keeper!

That's all I've got for you this time, but let me know if you try these out. Tell me what you thought! Give me some suggestions on them, or even suggest a pin for me to review if you've ever wondered if it really works.

Thanks for spending some time with me today!

Churro Cookies Review & Glad to Be Back!

Oh my goodness, the last few weeks have been insane! We have been running around like crazy in this house, but finally things are starting to settle down and I can hopefully update a little bit more often. Summer vacation is starting and we can finally take a little breather.

Like I said, I have been very busy with family responsibilities lately, so I haven't been doing a whole lot for my shop and the sales have really trickled down to almost nothing. I don't really mind, I have needed all the time I can get lately haha! But now that I have some free time I am hoping to make a few more cute, Summery bows. So keep an eye out for that!

As for today, I have a review for you all! As you all know, Cinco de Mayo was just a couple of days ago. Normally our annual tradition is heading over to Taco Bell for dinner, but this time my hubby was working and so I decided to make something instead. But I am a super lazy cook. I don't hate cooking necessarily, but I do hate being stuck in the kitchen for a long time when I could be spending time with my family. Because of this I am a huge fan of Betty Crocker's Helpers. They are so easy and great for when you don't have a ton of time. So I used one I've never tried before on Cinco de Mayo - Crunchy Taco Hamburger Helper. It was one of the best I've had so far! It tastes like tacos, spanish rice, and nachos all mixed into one delicious bowl. Try it out if you are ever in the mood for some easy, delicious Mexican food.

But my review today is not about the dinner, it's about what I made for dessert! I 'like' Pillsbury's page on Facebook because I use their refrigerated doughs and such all the time for dinners (like I said, lazy cook here!) and they periodically post recipes that you can use their products in. The other day they posted one for Churro Cookies from Oh, Bite it! I love churros, and I thought this recipe looked promising so I tried it out. Here is the recipe I used, but you can find the original here.

Churro Cookies

Ingredients:

2 pie crusts (made from scratch or packaged)

4 oz cream cheese

1/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 Tablespoons melted butter

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/2 cup sugar

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350.

2. In medium bowl, mix together cream cheese, 1/4 cup of sugar, and vanilla until well blended. Spread over one pie crust, then layer the other pie crust on top.

3. With a cookie cutter, cut out as many cookies as you can manage, place on parchment-lined baking sheet.

4. Gently press together all cookie edges with a fork to seal them.

5. Bake in oven for 12 minutes, allow to cool.

6. Mix together 1/2 cup sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl.

7. Brush top of cookies generously with melted butter and immediately dip into cinnamon sugar mixture. Enjoy!

Now, mine is a little bit modified from the original. For starters, I have to admit right here and now that I completely forgot to add the vanilla to the cream cheese mixture. I am super sad that I did because I'm sure it would have been delicious, but in the end I don't think it made too big of a difference. Also, the original calls for 2 Tablespoons of cinnamon. I looked at that and immediately thought that was a ridiculous amount. Even the 2 teaspoons of cinnamon that I used made the sugar a little darker than what I normally use. Another difference is that the original said to butter and coat both sides of the cookie with cinnamon sugar. I thought that was kind of overkill, and so I only did the tops and they were fine. You can do whatever you prefer, though. Oh, and one more thing - be sure to brush one with butter then dip it right into the sugar. Don't try to butter them all before you start dipping them - they won't retain as much sugar and the cinnamon sugar looks prettier that way.

The jury is still out on this one and whether I will be making them again. I personally don't care for pie crust. Never have. I like my pies with a cookie or graham cracker crust. Because of that, I didn't care too much for these cookies but I sort of predicted that from the beginning. My husband, however, could not get enough of them! The batch I made yielded 12 cookies, and I'm pretty sure my husband ate six. But he also loves pie crust, so I guess that's understandable. My 5 year old son loved them as well, but my 1 year old daughter licked the cinnamon sugar off and wouldn't touch the rest haha!

That being said, I think I am interested in making them again using sugar cookie dough. I am sort of worried that they would be way too sweet or even taste more snickerdoodle-y than churro-y, but I might still try it out and let you guys know what happens with that.

Feel free to leave any suggestions or tips in the comments below, and if you tried it then give me your own review! I'd love to know what you thought.

Thanks for stopping by!

Pinterest Review - Easter Edition

Happy Easter!

Whenever a holiday rolls around, our family always has fun traditions. However, that doesn't ever stop me from trying to find new activities and recipes to keep things interesting. Besides, if you come across a really good one and your family loves it... That's how new traditions are born!

So this year I turned to Pinterest. I don't know about you guys, but I am pretty picky with pins. I always like to look at the source first and make sure the pin leads to a good, valid, helpful source before it goes on my board. Sometimes I even Google the pin to see if others have already tried it and to see what their thoughts were on its ease, taste, etc. That made me think that maybe I should also be trying pins out and reviewing them so others can see what worked for me and what didn't!

Welcome to my very 1st Pinterest Review!

Bird Nest Treats

So this first pin I tried can be found here. It originated (as far as I know) from the Curvy Carrot. I made these yesterday and gave them to family and friends as an Easter gift. I have to admit, I didn't actually look at the recipe beforehand because I didn't really plan on making these, it just sort of happened. As a result, I ended up using slightly crushed pretzel sticks instead of chow mein noodles and also I didn't have any butterscotch chips to use so I stuck with milk chocolate and peanut butter. But this was the end result!

They ended up really cute! They held together really well, too. As far as the pin goes, they are not kidding when they talk about greasing the muffin pan beforehand. These things want to stick in there. But I used a generous amount of cooking spray instead of butter and they came out relatively easily that way. I also put the mini Cadbury eggs in the nests before they set up in the fridge. That just made them stick in there instead of roll around, which made more sense to me and it worked well. Overall, I am pretty happy with it! Taste-wise they taste like.... Well, pretzels in chocolate and peanut butter. Haha. Nothing too special about the taste, but still yummy.

Hard Boiled Eggs in the Oven

The second pin I tried was the claim that you can make better hard boiled eggs in the oven. That can be found here. This blog originally got this idea from the food science guru himself - Alton Brown. I love that guy, and that's what really pushed me into the decision to try it this year. Before that, I used this method for years and trusted it with every fiber of my being. Now I have to say... My heart may have been stolen by Mr. Brown's method.

So basically the pin says that you put raw eggs in your oven for 30 mins at 325 for perfect hard boiled eggs that are creamier, cooked more evenly, and easier to peel. It also mentions that putting the eggs on their sides will keep the yolk in the center and positioning them in a mini-muffin pan will keep them from rolling around. Then after they are done baking, you plunge them in an ice bath to stop the cooking and supposedly they are done to perfection.

After mine were cool, I sacrificed one to check that it had been cooked thoroughly. I cracked open the bottom of it and some watery liquid came out. I almost freaked out! I thought that they were sooo under-cooked that they were practically raw. But I was mistaken. I don't know what the deal is with the little bit of liquid that came out, but as I peeled more shell away (relatively easily I might add!) it revealed a perfect egg. The only difference I could tell between actual hard-boiled eggs and this baking method was this:

I know these pictures aren't very good, but you can kind of see a golden-brown discoloration on the bottom of the egg there. There wasn't anything wrong with it, it just looked like when you bake something in the oven and it gets a golden-brown color. It only got it on the bottom and in the two spots where it was touching the muffing tin. It doesn't bother me at all, but if you are making deviled eggs or something and it matters to you, I just thought it would be good to mention. However, these eggs are definitely the easiest to peel I have ever encountered (the peel doesn't slide right off like some pins say about it, but it's definitely easier), so if you are making deviled eggs and don't mind the discolored spots - I would still say this method is best because your egg whites won't end up with chunks missing. As for the yolks...

Ahhh... Beautiful! There is no weird raw-looking spot in the middle and absolutely no yucky green discoloration. They really were perfect. Amazing! They are so velvety and creamy too. So happy with them. I'm really not a yolk person, I will take scrambled egg whites over regular eggs any day, but these were really good.

So be brave! Try it out! This pin is Gela approved! ;)

Marbled Egg Dye

The last pin review I have for you today (I know! This post is already sooo long as it is! But hang in there, we're almost done!) is the marbled egg dyeing method that can be found here. The basic idea behind this one is that if you add some vegetable oil to your egg dye, you can swirl your egg around in it for a few seconds and get these gorgeous marbled, shiny eggs. Now, this pin was confusing because the information is messed up. On the actual pin it said to use one teaspoon of oil, then on the actual website it said to use one tablespoon. I decided to experiment and see what worked best.

First I tried the Tablespoon because that's what the actual website said. This is how it turned out.

Umm... Kinda weird and splotchy. I didn't really like it at all. So I tried it with a teaspoon instead.

Better! Now we are getting somewhere. I achieved this with the one teaspoon of oil, 10 drop of food coloring, 1 Tablespoon of vinegar, and 1/2 cup of water. Then I let it sit for about 10 minutes on the cookie rack before wiping it off. And when I did wipe it off, I didn't just pat it like the pin suggests. I rubbed it all around. This still doesn't match the amazing photos that the pin claims to have accomplished, but it also said to try swirling it around in multiple colors. So I did try that as well. This was the end result.

Now, I'm not gonna lie. This egg is pretty cool. And it did retain a little bit of shine even after wiping off the excess oil! But.... I still don't think it looks marbled, and it definitely doesn't match the picture from the pin at all. It's still a fun way to decorate eggs, but if you're expecting the amazing results shown in the photo.... Sorry kids.

You guys should definitely feel free to try out any of these methods and let me know how they worked out for you! In fact, if you got them to work better some how, please share with us! If you have any questions, I would love to help you out so feel free to ask in the comment section below.

Thanks for stopping by - hope you all have a fabulous Easter Sunday!