Pirate Ship Cake

What do you get when you combine 4 stay-at-home mom's, 9 kids, and a weekly play date?! The coolest 3-D pirate ship cake ever!

I'm not sure if there is an original source on the idea- I'm sure there is somewhere, but these are all over the web.  It was pure chaos but the cake turned out awesome! I feel invincible now.  Micah is going to get the coolest 3-D train cake this year!  I'm so glad we all came together and "practiced" it eased so many fears.  I can only imagine what excitement would have come from my BIL with this kind of cake. 

Not only did we "practice" making the pirate ship cake, but we practiced with some Fondant as well.  I'll share that one tomorrow! :)

Chocolate chip meets Oreo

Have we discussed the fact that I have a serious obsession with chocolate chip cookies? I love them. All kinds of them. Subway, Target, McDonalds, Quiznos, Otis Spunkmeyer, and for all you Utah peeps- Dough Girls (but not dough girls anymore- can't remember the name!) are some of my favorite.

From scratch at home... my favorite kind of chocolate chip cookie. Delicious.

Favorite store bought cookie.  Also delicious.

Put them together and what do you get? Triple the deliciousness.

Is your mouth watering yet?  Think it looks strange? One phrase for you... don't mock it 'til you try it.  I was a little hesitant when I got the email with the link from my partner in crime.  But I promise you, you will not be disappointed! You can find the original recipe here. 

It was so good, I frantically searched around my kitchen trying to figure out what else I could stuff inside a chocolate chip cookie! Then it clicked... I knew I could go wrong with Reese's Peanut Butter Cups.  So I threw some shoes on the kids and we walked ran to the neighborhood market where I purchased a King Size Reeses.  And please let me tell you.  It did not disappoint.  At all.

One last piece of advice for ya.  I tried it with the snack size Reese's and despite the fact that the Reese's had been cross-contaminated with some type of gum or fruit candy, they were not nearly as good as the whole regular size Reese's Peanut Butter Cup.  So don't cut corners, just suck it up and get a whole bag of regular Reese's.  Again... you won't be disappointed- I promise! ;)

Sweetheart 1st Birthday Party

My niece turned one recently and my sister put together a cute little sweetheart themed party for her, which if you ask me is so appropriate- she is a total sweetheart! 

My sister was kind enough to let me in on helping with some of the crafting goodness. :) And I'll apologize now, I was having serious issues with the settings on my camera that day! I did the best with what I had from the day. So here they are. 

See the great photo accordion?! It was a sweet little gift Charlene of C. Hardy Photograpy put together for both my sister and I for allowing her to use baby Rylee as a model.  Totally generous, the shots of Rylee were absolutely PRECIOUS.  See for yourself here.  

The cupcakes were made with a butter cream frosting piped through a fancy zip-loc :), pink sprinkles, and chocolate heart candies made with candy melts and a mold.

Some of the goods, including my favorite... the vase filled with foam beads, a picture of the birthday girl, and a cute decorative flower and butterfly.  Don't worry there's a better shot of it coming up. :)

See! Isn't the vase adorable!? So simple and cheap yet so cute!  The favors were a simple favor bag filled with small candies and closed with a simple pink heart. 

The table was sprinkled with hearts.  Ultra-cute heart garland made by simply sewing together a ton of cricut cut hearts, heart shaped cheese and fruits, and even the crackers were arranged in a heart. :)

Simple paper heart garland, which I learned the hard way- sew the hearts together closer to the top of the heart or they will hang upside down. :(

 



She stole my ikea frame purchase and put in one of Rylee's birthday pictures, but don't worry I stole it back and filled it with the sunshine print... I show ya soon!

And one more table shot for ya!

Simple and fun, that's what we do best. :)  Now I'm off to mend myself and children from this 3+ week bout of colds! Stay healthy out there, it's been brutal!

Happiest Place on Earth...

We went to Disneyland a few weeks ago and no trip to Disneyland for a little girl is complete without some fancy outfits! :)

The first day she sported the full on princess dress my mom made for her and my niece.

This was hilarious, they were comparing their dresses while waiting in line.  The conversation with hysterical!

And note to self- do not wait until the end of the day to take pictures of the princess diva's together. :)

The second day she wore her Minnie Mouse outfit which I made using Dana's Circle Skirt tutorial.  I changed things up a little bit and added a second layer using cotton and tulle on the bottom to make it more Disney-ish.  And seriously did she not get the memo?! It's supposed to be the happiest place on earth! ;)

Easter Party Invitation

Just spent a wonderful spring weekend in Eastern Washington with family.  I guess you know you live on the West side of WA when your son gets ultra excited that the sunshine was out! Several times we heard, "Mom! Dad! Look! The sunshine is out!"  I think we've adjusted pretty well to the weather of the Pacific Northwest, but boy do I see why my family eventually left Western Washington and moved to the sunny side! But no complaints here- I love trees! 

With all that said, I am now officially feeling spring! Yay!

Here's a little Spring project I put together for our church's Easter activity.  Spring colors are so fun to work with!

The first font I used is Sunshine Poppy found on Dafont and click here to see more from this generous and talented artist! She's got some very cute goodies!

The second font is Smiley Monster from Kevin & Amanda.  LOVE their site!








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