It has been forever since I blogged, but that comes with being a new mom. I can only hope that Scarlett is better than I was during Remy's first year. It went by quickly, and without much sleep. And now that we seem to be in a decent place (may only last a day), I am trying to catch up on some of my projects over the past year (starting with the most recent). 

When we started planning Remy's first birthday, we didn't know which direction to go for a theme. I knew I wanted one, but not too commercialized, or one that he would want down the road, and started asking for help to come up with a theme. One day, I was talking to a co-worker, and she said I just needed to come up with something that Remy really liked. My first thought was "boobs" and briefly considered a "Last Hurrah at Hooters"  theme for his first birthday, but passed. Wings aren't for babies. The next best thing was Cheerios. He loves them (them being the Hy-Vee version)! And down that road we went. 

After browsing Etsy and Pinterest, we mashed some ideas together and created these invitations that were printed locally. 

Even though the first birthday is a big deal, we didn't want to spend a lot of money. Who does? But of course, we wanted it to be nice. So some of my cost cutting measures: 
- Skip offering a meal, and offer snacks (we were really lucky and our family all offered to provide dishes
- Make the cupcakes and smash cake with a doctored up cake mix (I made a practice batch to perfect them)
- Make my own Cheerio banner ( I bought a cheap plastic banner and used cutouts from a Cheerios box to replace every other pennant)
- Hang pictures of my son on twine to make a banner display of his 12 months
- Hacked the basic yellow birthday hat with ribbon and a #1

It was a great success and we have great memories from it! 

Thanks for reading!
Jessica

Need a fun baby shower game that keeps everyone's attention on the new Mom as she opens gifts? Let's play O Baby! When guests arrive, give each a card to fill in, along with a pen or pencil. They'll take a few minutes to fill in the boxes with items they think will be given to the new Mom. If one of these items is opened, they get to cross it off their card. Get five in a row horizontally, vertically, or diagonally, and yell "O Baby!". Prizes can either be for the guest or can be something the guest can gift the new Mom. Will be uploading other colors soon!

The print out is located below. When printing, print to fit and trim any unprinted margins. Then cut down the middle. Any printing service should be able to do these trims for you if you don't want to do it at home.

The fourth of july is a time to celebrate our great country. Most people do this by watching fireworks with their friends and family and eating and drinking the night away. My family is no exception.

I always thought that I left my 'jello shot' days behind me in undergraduate and, let's face it, graduate school. However, when I figured out that I could make jello shots look and TASTE good. I was all over it. Here are two recipes for watermelon jello shots and lemon jello shots. Trust me, these really do taste as good as they look. 

The general process for making these two recipes is exactly the same. However, the ingredients and the housing (lemon versus lime) vary. I'll walk you through the watermelon jello shots and then provide the recipe for the lemon at the bottom. OK, let's get started (can I drink them already?!)

Ingredients for Watermelon Jello Shots:
3 oz strawberry jello
10 limes
1 cup water
1 cup COLD Vodka
mini chocolate chips (for seeds - optional - I didn't do this)

Step 1: Scoop out the limes (the container)

The first step in making any fruit filled jello shots is to create your container! To do this, cut each lime in half and then use a paring knife to gently remove the 'insides' of the lime. Note I kind of flipped mine inside out at this point and peeled it away after loosening it with the knife. It helps if you have really ripe limes. 

Step 2: Make the Jello!

Once you've officially scooped out you limes, you can make your jello! To do this, follow the instructions on the box but ONLY USE ONE CUP OF WATER! You will be adding the vodka in after the jello is finished. Why you may ask. 

Vodka + Boiling Water = No Alcohol = No Bueno! 

When the jello is finished boiling, add in the cold vodka and mix well. 

Step 3: Line up the cups and pour!

When the Jello is all mixed up, put the lime halves in a cupcake pan to hold them in place and keep them from spilling. Next, carefully pour the jello mixture into the pans and move into the refrigerator for at least 2 hours!

Step 4: Cut and enjoy!

Once the jello is set, cut the lime halves in half again using a VERY SHARP KNIFE! This is when you can add in the mini chocolate chips (I didn't do this). 

Finally, CHEERS and enjoy! Muahahahaa

If you're looking for something equally as good, follow the same procedures but use the following ingredients for Lemon Jello Shots. Or you could get crazy and mix up some of these casings/ recipes

Lemon Jello Shots
10 lemons
1 small lemon jello package (3 oz)
1 cup water

Happy Fourth of July all and GOD BLESS AMERICA!

-knowgirl Scarlett

The front of the invitation has all of the essentials. Who's hosting the shower, where it's at, when it is, and where to RSVP

The parents-to-be didn't know the gender of the baby (we did a reveal at the shower) so we picked a gender neutral color scheme. We loved the ideas of circles, which I later integrated into our decorations during the party. What you do NOT see on the front of this modern baby shower invitation is where the couple is registered. I'm pretty sure Emily Post is very against putting registry information on announcements but let's face it; It's a necessity! Just maybe not for the front of the invitation!

The back of invitations are often neglected and I wanted to make sure that that didn't happen with this beauty! I continued the circle them on the back and then shared their baby list registry on the back as well. That way the invitation doesn't read like "BRING A GIFT". I see this as more of a subtle hint for those who are into registry shopping. 

I tried a new printing service called Zazzle for these and I was SO impressed with the quality of the final invitation. The paper quality was outstanding and the shipping was super fast. I highly recommend these folks! They have some pre-made invitations as well, but I like the persona touch of creating your own! 

The final invitations are 4.25" by 5.5" and I had them printed on Recycled White paper. 

For your party planning convenience, I have uploaded pdf files of these that you can edit using Adobe Acrobat Pro (free 30 day trial here). Once you open the file go to the 'content' and then 'edit document text' option. 

happy designing and party planning!

- *knowgirl Scarlett

As you may recall from my Baby Shower reveal cake I threw a baby shower about a month ago for my good friend Katie! I did a lot of time searching for "modern baby shower" ideas and I finally figured out that, well, there aren't many. This meant that I got to use the full extent of my creative juices to come up with some of my own, to share with you of course! 


First, I started planning for the party by pinning ideas (Check out our Pinterest board here) - which I really think is the way to start any project! Katie wanted her shower to be a modern couple shower and 'not too baby'. AKA There was drinking involved for all non- pregnant people - the responsible type of drinking of course ;).One of the most difficult parts of throwing a modern couple shower was finding 'entertainment' that did not involve 'Smell this diaper with gross baby food and tell me what it is". Also, finding drinks that were appropriate and people wouldn't get trashed. Here were the ideas I came up with. Katie and I were pretty darn pleased with how it turned out. Let me know how your own modern showers go!

Wining and dining your guests!

The first thing that 'entertained' guests as they walked in the house was our mimosa bar. No party, and I mean NO PART is complete without a Mimosa bar. All you need is a couple carafes, some fresh fruit, champagne, glasses and some cute signage and you've got yourself an awesome time. You may notice the cute circles hanging in the back. Yep, I made those. Tutorial here (coming soon). 

We also had a bucket of nice beer. 

Guess the Due Date!

The next thing guests were confronted with, as they dropped off their gifts with a mimosa in hand, was a way to WIN A BOTTLE OF WINE. I mean what do you want when you go to a baby shower. Duh, booze and a chance to win more booze :). But the classy kind. 


In this 'game' each individual (note that if a couple came each of them could pick a date), stamped and signed the date they thought the baby would be born. The future mother gets the due date and then the guest that gets closest (without going over) wins the bottle of wine. Here's a hint, no one wants to win a cheap bottle of wine and baby presents are expensive so get a decent bottle ;). 

To make this 'game' I found some foam that was lying around the house and some cute wrapping paper. I stapled the wrapping paper to the foam and used double sided tape to put two calendars (she was due at the end of may) on it. The sign says "Pick the correct date of birth and WIN THIS WINE"

Feeding the Guests!

So now your guests are happy because not only do they have a mimosa but they have had the opportunity to potential win some more wine! I mean what could be better?! Food! FOOD is always better than booze. 
So now your guests are happy because not only do they have a mimosa but they have had the opportunity to potential win some more wine! I mean what could be better?! Food! FOOD is always better than booze. 
Once the guests came in, dropped off the gift, and said hello to the guests of honor, they were allowed to stuff their mouths with delicious foods (menu here -coming soon!). 

As the guests get some grub, they get happ(ier). "But what do I see there on said food table. Is that another game. it can't be - this party has been too fantastic as it is. Holy crap, and the game is a way to win more money, for ME? I love this party. I'm pretty sure that's what all the guests were saying during this next 'game' "

Guess the Gender!

The last game was a big one. Katie hadn't told anyone the gender yet so we did a 'guess the gender' game where for $5 guests could bet (by placing their name inside a mason jar) what the gender would be. When Katie cut into the Gender Reveal Cake, and the gender was announced,  a winning name was selected from the appropriate jar. As you probably know from reading our Cake Post, the gender was actually wrong, but hey, someone still made out with like $50!

To make this game you need three jars (I used a carafe for the money), some paper and string for the signs (the money goes in the middle jar and the names in the respective gender jars), and a sign with instructions. Our instructions read, "Pay $5 and put your name in whatever gender jar you think the baby will be. Winning name selected from correct gender jar"

Overall the party was a huge success. The guests were happy and most importantly the expecting parents were happy. 

Happy party throwing! 

-knowgirl Scarlett

This began as one of hundreds of recipes I pinned on Pinterest and never made. I know you know exactly what I am talking about. And no, I have no plans on making any of the "cupcake art creations" I have pinned either. 

I was in the mood to try something new and that looked easy. This recipe from Budget Bytes fit the bill! So I went to the store, got the ingredients, started to make it, and realized that with my AWESOME preggo brain, I didn't spinach, for a dish that has Spinach in the title. I continued on, and it was awesome. My husband called it Super Mac 'N Cheese or something to that effect. But I wanted to try it with the spinach, so I  made it again last night. It was good, but maybe I am an idiot, but how to do you measure spinach? Three cups fluffly or three cups smashed down? I don't know, so I went with in the middle. And it was another great meal, but a tad bit more nutricious. I did switch up the pasta as well, and I must say that Bow Tie Pasta was way better than shell! Especially when using a fork. So my suggestions:

• Double the meat! You buy it in 14oz packages, so just use it all
• Bow Tie Pasta! It's cute, and easy to stab (wow, that sounds really bad)
• Feel free to put as little or as much spinach in as you want, it doesn't change the taste

Overall, I would totally suggest this recipe to anyone. I don't agree with the price tag from Budget Bytes. I may not be a super bargain hunter, but $5.91? My sausage cost $3.49 on sale. It was still a pretty cheap dinner. I would estimate $10 for last night's meal and we had leftovers.  

* Jessica

We started our kitchen remodel at the beginning of November, and were given a 2 week timeline from our contractor. It was completely finished by the end of March. And was at least $1000 over budget. 

That's my fair warning to those who want to undertake a kitchen renovation. And that goes for if you are doing it yourself, or are hiring it out. We did a combination of both, because my husband is very capable of doing most of the work, but he works full time, and I didn't think it would be healthy for our relationship if he did all of the work. Looking back, he would have been faster, and it could have saved us a good chunk of change. But hey, it's done, and I love it! 

It's hard to really blog about a kitchen reno because it's such a crazy process, and most of the decisions in tile, granite, etc, are made at local vendors, but I think there are some decisions that can be universal. 

1) Layout- The rule of thumb is that you want to have your sink, refrigerator, and oven create a triangle, with nothing in the way. This is is key for the transportation of items from the fridge to the oven/stove, from the oven/stove to the fridge, and from the oven to the sink. I stand by this rule, and suggest really thinking about that when you are working on your layout. Also- think about dividing your kitchen into areas for baking, prep work, and serving, if you have the space. And in the middle- goes your trash. If I were to redo it, I might have 2 trashes in the kitchen, just because I hate hauling garbage around. 

2) Storage- There is a perfect balance of drawers to cabinets for each family. Besides silverware, spatulas, knives, etc, drawers are best used for towels, storage bags/foil, and my biggest favorite- pots and pans. I love having my pots in one big drawer, and my pans in another. Beyond that, drawers are expensive, and can be harder to use all of the space in a smart way. Cabinets are great for the obvious items, but it's also nice to create a floor to ceiling pantry, if you have the space. 

3) Socialness- For some odd reason, kitchens are always the go to hang out space in a house when guests are over. So seating, openness, and connectivity to the rest of the house is a must. The connectivity might be an issue, but try to may the kitchen feel like a part of the rest of the house. We decided to knock down the wall between our dining room to help with this, but understand that we just lost a formal dining room by doing so. I didn't care. Others might. No matter what, when planning your kitchen, ask yourself, "Where will people stand, where will they sit, and what could be a bottle neck"

Design choices: 
We opted for a contemporary look with the dark cabinets and lots of greys. We really like having the granite counter, because it doesn't show messes easily. The floors are the same way. They have a lot of texture, so you don't see dirty paw prints or spills. The only downside is that you don't see much of a difference after you clean. 

I love my island/peninsula. It's probably my favorite part of the kitchen. This used to be a wall to the dining room, and now it is open and creates a 2nd place to sit or to use as a buffet. 

Purchases:
Faucet- Danz Parma Single Handle Pre Rinse in Stainless Steel 
Frigidaire appliances in Stainless Steel
Pendant lighting- Kichler 42878 with Edison Style bulbs
Hardware- Cosmas Euro Style Bar Handle Pulls (we did 10in on uppers and 5 on lowers)
Tile, Granite, and Cabinets- all purchased locally 


Have a great day!
*knowgirl Jessica

My friend Crystal is getting married next month, and I have the honor of getting to stand up with her! She's has picked out the cutest bridesmaid dresses for us to wear (below, left). She picked out the rosepetal for the dress, and her other color is a beautiful clover green similar to the cactus. Our goal? make clover green satin sashes. 

An excursion to our local JoAnn Fabric Store scored us the perfect color of satin fabric for only $5 a yard. It happened to have rainbow glitter on the right side of the fabric, but the wrong side? Jackpot! The sashes that came with the dresses are 1 3/8" x 90". After folding 2.5 yards of fabric several times to fit on my cutting mat, I cut 4" wide strips with a rotary cutter. My final sashes ended up being 1 5/8" x 90". I had enough strips to make over a dozen sashes... so count before you cut, in case you need to make something else. I got a little carried away with my rotary cutter...

Before I say anything else - you will use a LOT of pins... 90" is a lot of fabric! First, I pinned the non-glittery sides together, every couple inches or so, and then sewed a 1/4" seam along the whole length, making a long tube. 

After sewing the length of the fabric, put on a television show, grab some wine, or put on some music, because the next step takes a little bit of time. Starting on one end, we need to turn the whole thing right side out. It works best to pull from the center of the inside of the tube, and then every few inches, work the outside down along the tube. 

After turning it right side out, we need to get a good crisp fold when we press it. To do this, we're going to use all of our pins again to pin along the seam, trying to get the seam as close to the edge as possible. It will seem like your sash is curving...this is just the pins, don't freak out!

After pinning along the whole thing, get your iron going and press one pin at a time, keeping the sash taut and pressing slowly. 

Next we're going to tuck the end into a little triangle, and then pin. Sew as close to the edge as possible, starting from the non-seam edge (trust me, it makes this a lot easier!) And you're done!

As a side note, I also made sashes for junior bridesmaids and flower girls. These need to be shorter, and I settled on about 78" after research and estimation. This includes enough for a little bow in the back. 

Rather than spending $10 a piece for these, minimum, we made 5 for under $15. Really I could have made 10 more, so if you have an even bigger bridal party, definitely go for this method. Easy, cheap, and in my opinion, they look even better than the ones that came with the dress! 

In about a month I'll update the post with how they look on the dresses on the big day. Stay tuned!

*knowgirl Carolyn

My husband and I LOVE mexican food and therefore ADORE Cinco De Mayo! This year we decided to do something more authentic and do some "new school" tacos. We found a great blog that adapted one of Rick Bayless's (heart) recipes so we decided to give it a go. I'll give you some of my hints of what to do (and not do) below and then the delicious recipe follows. I will say that this is by far the best Mexican recipe I have to offer and anyone I have made this for always raves about how delicious they are. They're worth the work. 

Happy CInco De Mayo All - and don't forget the margarita! (read on for the recipe!)

Chili Braised Pork Tacos
(adapted from Rick Bayless's Mexican Kitchen and thefoodpeoplewant.com)
INGREDIENTS:

• 2 medium dried ancho chiles, stemmed and seeded
• 5 (5 came in our package so we used 5) medium dried guajillo chiles, stemmed and seeded
• 1 dried chipotle chile, stemmed and seeded
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 tablespoons cider vinegar
• 1/2 small white onion, roughly chopped (plus a few thinly sliced rings for garnish)
• 2 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped
• 1 teaspoon dried Mexican oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
• Pinch of ground cloves
• 1 1/2 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1/2 teaspoon table salt (plus more to taste)
• 3 pounds, boneless pork shoulder (we used Pork Loin - we thought it would be dry but it was DELICIOUS)
• Warm corn tortillas
• Sour cream, hot sauce, thinly sliced radishes and cilantro, onion, and lime for garnish

METHOD:

1. Place the chiles in a small bowl, cover with very warm water and let stand for 30 minutes.  Drain, reserving 2/3 cup of the soaking liquid, then transfer the rehydrated chiles and the reserved liquid to a blender.
2. Pulverize the bay leaves in a spice grinder or mortar and pestle and add them to the blender along with the vinegar, onion, garlic, oregano, allspice and cloves.  Process to a smooth puree, adding water if needed to keep the mixture moving through the blades.  Press through a medium mesh strainer into a bowl.
3. Set a large, 6-quart pot with a lid over medium-high heat and add the oil.  When very hot and almost smoking, pour in the puree and stir constantly until it sears, concentrates and darkens into a spicy-smelling paste, about 5 minutes.  Remove the pot from heat and season the sauce with salt.
4. Preheat the oven to 325°.  Cut the pork shoulder into slabs about 3-inches thick.  Lay the meat into the pot with the chile paste, then flip it over to cover evenly, spooning on more sauce over the top to coat the pork well.  Pour 1/2 cup water around the meat, cover tightly and place in the oven.  Roast for 2 1/2 hours, basting the meat every 30 minutes with the liquid and rendered fat that accumulates.  If all of the moisture evaporates, feel free to add more water to the plan to allow you to continue basting. Let the pork rest for 20-30 minutes before serving.
5. Shred or pull the meat apart into-bite size pieces using two forks (Ours fell apart with just tongs!).  Toss the meat to incorporate any of the leftover chile braising liquid, check for seasoning and add more salt to taste.
6. Place the chile pork in a warm bowl and serve alongside the warm corn tortillas.  Have your guests assemble their own tacos, adding their own garnishes to taste.

Makes about 20 tacos


enjoy! and let me know what you think!

*Knowgirl Scarlett

My friends are all having babies!! I guess it's that time in my life where my Facebook feed has changed from drunken slurs to pictures of my friends kids and, let's face it, a little TMI about their kids bathroom (or diaper) behaviors. But hey, if you can't beat em', I guess join em'??

My friend Katie is the first of my friends who is due (in May!!). You may remember KK (aka Katie) from her Red beans and rice recipe she let me share.... hmm I know what I'm having for dinner tonight! Well, last weekend I hosted her baby shower. She wanted it to be more of a party and less of a traditional 'shower'. AKA there was no 'guess what baby food is in this diaper' game. More on her shower can be found here (coming soon). But the highlight of the shower was the gender reveal cake... and you guessed it... IT'S A BOY! Read on for a cake tutorial and the recipe!

The first part of any cake is finding an awesome recipe and man oh man do I have an awesome recipe for you! This recipe is from America's Test Kitchen which means it is tried and true! I've made quite a few cakes in my day (I took a cake decorating class at the community college in Graduate school) and this is by far one of the best cakes I've ever made. One of the guests even said, "I don't even like cake but I love this one - it is the best cake I've ever had!"

America's Test Kitchen 
Classic White Cake-Serves 12

Nonstick cooking spray
2 1/4 cups cake flour, plus more for dusting the pans
1 cup whole milk, at room temperature
6 large egg whites (3/4 cup), at room temperature
2 teaspoons almond extract
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon table salt
1 1/2 sticks tablespoons unsalted butter, softened but still cool

1. Set oven rack in middle position. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray two 9-inch round cake pans with nonstick cooking spray; line the bottoms with parchment or waxed paper rounds. Spray the paper rounds, dust the pans with flour, and invert pans and rap sharply to remove excess flour.
   
2. Pour milk, egg whites, and extracts into 2-cup glass measure, and mix with fork until blended.
   
3. Mix cake flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in bowl of electric mixer at slow speed. Add butter; continue beating at slow speed until mixture resembles moist crumbs.
   
4. Add all but 1/2 cup of milk mixture to crumbs and beat at medium speed for 1 1/2 minutes. Add remaining 1/2 cup of milk mixture and beat 30 seconds more. Stop mixer and scrape sides. Mix at medium speed 20 seconds longer.
   
5. Mix in the first (lightest) amount of food coloring. This was the 'teal' cake in my creation. Pour approximately half of this batter into one of the prepared cake pans
6. Pour in more food coloring to desired coloring. Pour remaining batter into second prepared cake pan. Using rubber spatula, spread batter to pan walls and smooth tops. Arrange pans at least 3 inches from the oven walls and 3 inches apart. Bake until thin skewer or toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 23 to 25 minutes.
7. Let cakes rest in pans for 3 minutes. Loosen from sides of pans with a knife, if necessary, and invert onto wire racks. Reinvert onto additional wire racks. Let cool completely, about 1 1/2 hours.
   
8. Once cool, cut each cake in half long ways with a sharp serrated knife. 

Butter Frosting (for between the layers)
2 sticks unsalted butter, softened but still cool
4 cups confectioners' sugar (1 pound)
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon whole milk
Pinch table salt

1. Beat butter, confectioners’ sugar, vanilla, milk, and salt in bowl of electric mixer at slow speed until sugar is moistened. Increase speed to medium-high; beat, stopping twice to scrape down bowl, until creamy and fluffy, about 1 1/2 minutes. Avoid overbeating. 
   
2. Frost between the layers of the cake and stack.
3. Put cake in the fridge and let cool completely - the colder the better.  

Finally, we needed that extra dark exterior layer so that you couldn't see what color the cake was! Calling Fudgy Chocolate Frosting!! There was one big alteration I made when I made this frosting. I subbed in heavy whipping cream (because we had it) for the milk. HOLY FREAKING CRAP - this stuff is insanely delicious, and not overly sweet!

Fudgy Chocolate Icing (1 exterior cake's worth)
Prep:10min  ›  Cook:20min  ›  Ready in: 30min 
Ingredients 

• 101g cooking chocolate
• 220g butter
• 12 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
• 900g icing sugar
• 2 pinches salt
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons cocoa powder (this made it more chocolatey!)

1. In a large saucepan over medium heat, combine chocolate, butter and milk. Bring to the boil, stirring frequently. Remove from heat and beat in icing sugar, salt and vanilla. Beat until smooth, adjusting consistency with more milk or sugar, if necessary. Let cool slightly (but not too much because then it becomes hard to spread) 
2. Frost outside of cake using offset spatula. Start with the top of cake and 'push' the frosting to the sides. Once the cake is level, get a warm cup of water and dip offset spatula into the water to 'smooth out' the cake. (it should look something like the photo below. It looks 'wet' because, well it is. It dries out when you put it back in the fridge.

Once the frosting is complete it's time to start the decorating. I used an inspirational image that Katie had sent me and had it open on my computer. I used PRE_MADE pink and blue icing - you know the stuff in the tubes in the baking aisle. I held the tip down and squeezed to make the circles. Let me warn you - THEY WILL BE UGLY. That's ok, we can fix that. Just randomly place pink and blue dots everywhere.

Once the dots are on the cake, take your cup of warm water again (OK you'll probably need some fresh water at this point) and wet your index finger and lightly "smash" the dots into circles. That's it. Repeat. 

Tada - you have a wonderful gender reveal cake that will make your future mommy (and daddy) very happy. See some fun pics below. 

Enjoy!

*knowgirl Scarlett