Thursday, April 30, 2009

Face off


Check out the style of some of the face masks in Mexico at Guanabee. Time to break out the Bedazzler.

Fresh Squeeze


With Cinco de Mayo next week, it might be fun to try out a few new recipes! Cheers!


Guava Margaritas from Martha Stewart
Ingredients
1 3/4 cups freshly squeezed lime juice, plus wedges for serving
2 3/4 cups Don Julio Anejo tequila
1 1/3 cups Grand Marnier
2 3/4 cups guava puree, preferably from SOS Chefs
Coarse salt, for rims
Directions
Stir together lime juice, tequila, Grand Marnier, and guava puree in a large pitcher; stir to combine. Refrigerate until chilled.
Just before serving, rub a cut lime around the rim of each glass. Fill a saucer with salt, and dip each glass, upside down, into the salt. Pour margaritas into glasses, garnish with lime wedges, and serve immediately.

Beer Margaritas from Rachel Ray
Four 12-ounce bottles cold light-flavored beer, such as Corona
1 cup (8 ounces) tequila
One 12-ounce can frozen limeade concentrate
Lime wedges
Kosher salt, for rimming glasses
In a large pitcher, combine the beer, tequila and limeade. Rub a lime wedge around the rim of each of glass and dip it in the salt. Pour the margaritas into the glasses and garnish with a lime wedge.


Chambord Raspberry Margarita via Hostess with the Mostess

1/2 oz. Chambord Black Raspberry Liqueur

1 oz. Tequila

1/2 oz. Tuaca Liqueur (or Orange Liqueur)

3 oz. sweet and sour mix
Shake ingredients and pour into salt-rimmed, ice-filled margarita glass.


Margarita Bites by Let's Entertain

2 cups boiling water

2 pkg. (3 oz. each) JELL-O Margarita Flavor Gelatin (or lime flavored)

1/2 cup tequila or cold water

Zest and juice from 1 lime

2 cups thawed COOL WHIP Whipped Topping

Directions:

ADD boiling water to gelatin mixes in large bowl; stir with whisk 2 min. until completely dissolved. Stir in tequila and 2 Tbsp. lime juice. Add COOL WHIP and 1 tsp. lime zest; stir until COOL WHIP is completely melted and mixture is well blended.POUR into 8-inch square pan.REFRIGERATE 3 hours or until firm. Cut into 36 pieces to serve.





Sangria from Let's Entertain
Prep: 10 min., Freeze: 24 hr. This makes about 24 servings without breaking the bank. Total cost is about $13.
Makes about 1 1/2 gal.
Ingredients
1 gal. sangría
1 (12-oz.) can frozen limeade, thawed
1 (2-liter) bottle lemon-lime soft drink
2 cups sliced oranges, lemons, and limes
1. Place 1 (2-gal.) zip-top plastic freezer bag inside another 2-gal. zip-top plastic freezer bag. Place bags in a large bowl. Combine sangría, limeade, and lemon-lime soft drink in the inside bag. Seal both bags, and freeze 24 hours. (Double bagging is a precaution to avoid spills.)
2. Remove mixture from freezer 1 hour before serving, squeezing occasionally until slushy. Transfer mixture to a 2-gal. container. Stir in fruit.
Kid-Friendly Frozen Sangría: Substitute cranberry juice for sangría. Proceed with recipe as directed (photo from southernliving.com)


Margarita Popsicles from Bon Appetit

1/2 cup tequila
6 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1/4 cup coarse kosher salt
6 frozen lime-flavored ice pops or fruit bars, unwrapped
Preparation
Mix tequila and lime juice in 1-cup measuring cup. Place coarse salt in small bowl. Place all ice pops, sticks up, in deep bowl, or place 1 pop in each of 6 glasses. Pour tequila mixture over ice pops. Lightly dip 1 edge of each ice pop into coarse salt and serve.

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

E-I-E-I-O

St. Louis Entertains showcased an adorable farm party
Invitations by FineStationery.com





St. Louis Entertains



Sweetopia created the perfect barn cookies

Party Perfect
I love the simplicity of life on the farm!

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Cowgirl Birthday Y'all

The Cisco Kid
Birthday Cowgirl
Corral for the Stick Pony Races


Cowboy gear
Shooting Gallery

Pony Rides for all

Cowboy Cookie favors
Recently, I helped my best friend Amber throw a COWGIRL party for her daughter's 3rd birthday! All the kids received bandannas, hats, and sheriffs badges upon their arrival. We set up a "shooting gallery"and had stick ponies for all the kids to gallop around. Amber rented the cutest pony for rides around their property. We had a cowboy cookout with hamburgers, hot dogs, beans, coleslaw, and all the fixing's' served on tin plates. The kids had sarsaparilla and we had Outlaw Punch for the grown ups, served in mason jars. We built a campfire and made yummy smores. There was horseshoes for the adults to play too. For decorations, we put up wanted posters of all the guests with names like the Lone Ranger, Cisco Kid, and Bonnie & Clyde. We had hay bales for guests to sit on, cow print tablecloths, bandanna napkins, and denim stitched plates. The table centerpieces were Christmas Cactus in galvanized buckets tied with bandanna ribbons and sheriff stars. The kids took home their cowboy gear, stick ponies, and cowboy cookies for their favors.

Monday, April 27, 2009

Step Right Up!

Creat your own photo board &
Make your own ticket booth from FamilyFun.com

Parents.com has some FUN ideas for a birthday carnival!

Martha Stewart has great ideas for a backyard carnival.


Henri's birthday circus from PartyPerfect.com

Polkadotsandpirates has the cutest Circus clothing which coordinates with their party collection! I LOVE the rainbow tutu!



Hostess with the Mostess featured this Amazing party by Michelle Thornton

And this kids party from armelle blog.....

How cute are these popcorn cupcakes from cakecentral.com?

It's an old-time Carnival theme party from the pros at Party Perfect Orlando.

Carnival and Circus themed parties are perfect for the summer months! All kids love face painting, carnival games, cotton candy, popcorn, balloon animals, fortune tellers, pie eating contests and of course prizes.

Friday, April 24, 2009

Petite Chateau







How FUN would it be to have one of these in your backyard? Posh Tots has the best playhouses for kids. My boys would love the pirate ship & I love them all!

Thursday, April 23, 2009

Sometimes the BEST things in life are FREE







Toni at Design Dazzle posted a fun website for kids this week! The Toymaker, website of artist Marilyn Scott-Waters, has FUN, foldable, paper toys and activities. To print and download the templates, visit The Toymaker.

Scottsdale Residential Project

I wanted to share a residential project I designed with some fabulous clients in Scottsdale. I am in love with their kitchen, especially the big chunky island where everyone hangs out at their parties


The dining nook is another favorite spot of the homeowners. The kids love sitting all together on the bench-I have seen five to six kids at one time!


The family room is comfy-cozy! We chose dark leather to hold up to the kids & hide any spills or messes.


The master bathroom is truly a retreat for our Mom of the house. She loves her fantastic bathtub! We added a small bench under the window so her children have a place to sit & keep her company while she is getting ready!


For more photos, you can visit my portfolio here.