Monday, August 24, 2009

Orange Is The New Black...






...my friend Roxanne just had a birthday and her husband threw her a BBQ to celebrate. If he was left to his own devices, all that would have been served would have been tri-tip and beer. Not that these things are bad, but my friends and I thought the celebration needed a little woman's touch. We all agreed to bring something to the party. I said I'd cover the desserts.

Since my friend Roxanne's favorite color happens to be orange, I thought I'd make some yummy mini cupcakes. I made the same chocolate cakes that I made for the baby shower (they were SO yummy, and Roxanne loves chocolate cake, so I couldn't resist!) and frosted them with homemade orange buttercream. I found little polka-dotted mini cupcake liners and they were perfect to complete the orange extravaganza!

Here are some photos! Happy Birthday Roxanne!


Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Funny Anecdote about the Birthday Whoopie Pies...

... so apparently my niece loved the package of goodies I sent to her. Now, I have to say, I was pretty excited about that because I was in competition with the bouncy house that was rented for the kids to play in. If you read my last post, or if you know my niece, you know that i additio to sweets, she is REALLY REALLY into running, jumping, flipping, twirling, she's basically a thrill seeker. So, you can see that competition with the bouncy house was quite stiff.

Anyway, when I spoke with my sister about the package, and how it was recieved, I found out that although my niece loved the package and everything, she actually only had a bite or two of the gigantic whoopie pie I sent for her. Hmmm...ok, well they ARE pretty sweet, so maybe it was just a little too much. I can deal with that. But here's the kicker. Her older sister, who is completely opposite her in many ways (she is quieter, she plays more gently, she dosen't have that "thrill seeking" trait that her sister has, and most importantly, she isn't really into sweets and takes a really long time to finish them, if she finishes them at all), ate ALL of her whoopie pie right up, and loved it.

Hmmm....so I'm beginning to think the world is turning the wrong way. This must mean that my husband and I need to move back to New England to make sure everything is functioning properly!

Anyway, life is funny, and the stories from my young nieces are even funnier!

Sunday, August 16, 2009

My Niece Just Had A Birthday...





...so I decided to send her some birthday goodies for her party. Now, she can be a pretty rough and tumble little girl (loves climbing on jungle gyms, jumping off couches, etc.) but still, her favorite color is pink and she loves ballerinas.

Did I mention that she LOVES sweets?

Since I am her aunt and I can get away with spoiling her rotten, I had to send her something that would appeal to all her favorites! I made her some whoopie pies (sweets) with pink frosting (favorite color), and put them in cello bags decorated with ballerinas (again, a favorite) and tied with pink ribbons. I made a large one for the birthday girl, and several mini pies for her friends at her birthday party.

Sunday, August 9, 2009

"Monkeying" About Part II






Here are some pictures of the guest book and other party details

"Monkeying" About At a Baby Shower...






So my dear friend Jennie is pregnant and will welcome a little boy into the world at the beginning of September. Congrats, Jennie!

My friends and I decided to throw her a baby shower. However, we decided it would be more fun to do a co-ed cocktail style shower (with delicious non alcoholic "mocktails" for the mom to be, of course!) to celebrate the pending delivery from the stork. After all, her husband did have a SMALL part in all of this, right?

Anyway, Jennie is decorating the baby's room with a jungle theme but thinks monkeys are particularly cute. We used the monkey theme a little bit for her shower. Putting aside my personal feelings about monkeys, I happily created the favors (chocolate cupcakes with homemade blue buttercream frosting) for the shower and made a little keepsake book for guests to write their well wishes to the parents to be.

The cupcakes were a delicious new chocolate cake recipe that I got from the Barefoot Contessa (they have sour cream and buttermilk in them!) and I got the guest book idea from Elise Joy Blaha's blog, enJOY it. I also picked up some napkins, plates, and placemats in various shades of blue to create a festive atmosphere! I love combining shades and patterns, I think it creates a neat dynamic.

These favors will be featured on my website, www.woodsandco.com

So last week I was feeling down...






...and I discovered that getting in the kitchen and baking is my perfect therapy! I started by making some homemade buttercream for some goodies I'm making for some upcoming events. Then, I decided to try my hand at something all you New Englanders out there will recognize: Whoopie Pies! Whoopie Pies, for all of you who might not know, are yummy chocolate cake sandwiches with a creamy vanilla filling in the middle...let me just say: YUM. I figured out how to make these in a mini form, creating a perfect sweet confection for favors! I took some photos and set up a little sample to show how cute these could be for your event.

...luckily, I sent the batch to work with my husband so I wouldn't employ my other cure for sorrows: eating! lol!

...and this is what the dinner party looked like!




So, I wrote last week that my mother in law was having a dinner party and that my sister in law and I whipped up some quick place cards for her to use. Well, being the stellar photographer that she is, my mother in law took some photos of the place cards in action! Thanks, Concie, for documenting!


Monday, August 3, 2009

My Mother In Law Was Having A Dinner Party...



...so my sister in law and I helped her out by whipping up these place cards! They took about 10 minutes and we made them from some extra supplies I had around. We used business card sized card stock paper in blue and cream. Courtney cut them into the tag shape and I made the white square layer. We wrote the guests names on the tags, and Voila! Instant place cards.

They we going to be tied to the stems of a fresh pear that my mother in law placed on each plate. Hopefully we'll get some pictures of the set up!

Court and I had a great time making these and got caught up with all the gossip! lol!