Hayden's 2nd Birthday- A Radio Flyer Tricycle Party

My sweet little mischievous boy turned two years old in September. We celebrated with a Radio Flyer red tricycle themed cake and party. I like themed parties but I'm not one to purchase character cups, plates, banners and tablecloths- that's just not my style. So I made a fondant covered tricycle cake, and chose solid red and turquoise accents to bring it all together.  Read on for more details.

I wanted to incorporate some of Hayden's favorite things at his party, which just happened to include cake, cookies, lemonade, milk, hot dogs with ketchup, pretzels and cheese. I made a bunting banner to hang over the table using patterned scrapbook that read "Happy Birthday Hayden". I also set up a lemonade stand and made a bunting for that that said "Lemonade 5 cents" I used this bunting template and Baker's twine to hang it. I loved how they turned out. So much so that I still haven't taken them down :-)

For the buffet I served: 

1. Hot dogs with mustard and ketchup (served out of a Radio Flyer wagon)
2. Tortilla chips and pretzels
3. Veggies with ranch dip
4. Cheese cubes
5. Birthday cake (chocolate cake with vanilla buttercream covered in Marshmallow Fondant)
6. Brown butter and spice rice krispies treats
7. Fresh fruit cups
8. Decorated sugar cookies and red and aqua Sixlets
9. Whole and 2% milk served in glass Frappuccino bottles
10. Raspberry and regular lemonade

My wonderfully talented friend, Kathia from Pink Little Cake, made the tricycle, cat and star Hayden decorated sugar cookies for me. If you haven't been to her blog, go check her out. She does amazing work. She also made the cute little scalloped tags that I used on Hayden's party favors which included Cheez-its, fruit snacks, raisins, and a drink mix.  My friend Becky from Goods by Gert custom made the letter H for me. I ordered Hayden's "two" shirt from Best Birthday Ever shop on Etsy. Thank you Kathia and Becky!

This was my first time covering a cake in fondant, though I have worked with fondant before. I was a little worried, but in the end it turned out great and the fondant I used was really forgiving. Any mistakes I made, I was able to cover up with a cloud or the green grass. This was really fun to make and this colors were so bright and vibrant. The actual fondant was quite tasty too. 

It was a great day shared with close family and I'm so grateful to have had my Dad and step mom there to celebrate with us along with. Hayden is a truly blessed boy. 

My First Catered Party and A Spooktacular Halloween Cake

Last week I catered my first party for 40 people. My friend Holly asked if I would make a cake and heavy hors d'oeuvres for her 40th birthday extravaganza. I immediately said "yes!" then began brainstorming recipes and  ideas. Holly said she wanted a Halloween themed chocolate cake and sliders. I pretty much had carte blanche with the menu and decorating and I had so much fun. Here's what I made. 

I made 1). Ham wrapped Asparagus Spears with Boursin Cheese 2). Cream Cheese with Red Pepper Jelly and Spicy Saltine Crackers 3). Sausage, Garlic and Mushroom Pizza Puffs with Herb Red Sauce 4). Pork Tenderloin Medallions on Hawaiian Rolls served with Pesto Mayo.

I also made 7 Layer Dip with a Sour Cream Spiderweb served with corn chips and Sweet and Spicy Smoky Meatballs (that I forgot to take a picture of). And birthday cake!

My friend Holly doesn't actually turn 40 until December but she wanted to celebrate early with a "Happy Hollyween" party. I wanted to play up the "over the hill" theme so I did a graveyard scene and dug an early grave for her. I used Pepperidge Farm Milano cookies and a black edible marker for the tombstones. I used Peeps Marshmallow ghosts, Brach's pumpkins and edible chocolate rocks for decorating. I used melted dark chocolate and Wilton leaf sprinkles to make the tree. I used this Chocolate Cake Recipe, this Vanilla Buttercream Recipe and Chocolate Ganache to make the 2 layer 12-inch cake. It was a success! 

Spicy Saltine Crackers
(recipe given to me by my aunt Melinda)

Printer Friendly Version

• 1 1/4 cup canola oil
• 1 Tablespoon caraway seeds
• 1 Tablespoon cayenne pepper
• 1 Tablespoon dill weed
• 3 Tablespoons dry ranch dressing mix
• 1 box (4 sleeves) Unsalted tops Saltine crackers

In a measuring cup, combine the oil and seasonings. Mix well.

Place the crackers into a 2 gallon Ziploc bag. Pour the seasoned oil over the crackers and shake vigorously until well coated. Let crackers soak up the seasonings for at least one hour or overnight. Leave them in the sealed bag until ready to serve.

Hope you all have a Happy Halloween!

Hayden's 1st Birthday Party!

As I mentioned in the last post, we celebrated Hayden's birthday last Saturday with a party at our home. We had friends and family over for food, cake and fun. I'm not big into character themed birthday parties and cakes and since Hayden doesn't have much of an opinion yet regarding these kinds of things, I did what I wanted- and that was simple and classic party food, made pretty. 

As part of the decoration, Mr. H and I made a photo banner of Hayden, starting with a photo from when he was just hours old all the way up until 12 months. I love it!

I went for a buffet style setup so everyone could take and eat what they wanted, and used the cake as the centerpiece of the table. Here's what I made: 

• Brown Sugar Chocolate Cake with Vanilla Bean Cream Cheese Frosting
• Browned Butter and Cinnamon Spice Rice Krispie Treats
• Veggie Tray with Ranch Dressing
• Deviled Eggs
• Pork Tenderloin Mini Sandwiches
• Cheese Tray
• White Cheddar Cheese Puffs (Hayden's favorite snack!)
• Slow Cooker Lil Smokies

Last November I made a chocolate layer cake for a family friend (Hi Marnie!) and loved that cake so much. It really was one of the best chocolate cakes I've ever had and what sets it apart from others is that it's made with copious amounts of brown sugar. I knew I wanted that cake for Hayden's birthday so, I increased the recipe 1.5x and baked it in two 12-inch pans. I used a double recipe of my favorite cream cheese buttercream for the frosting because I wanted to be able to tint it a soft robin's egg blue. 

One of my favorite photos from Hayden's party- I love the grin on his face as he feeds Autumn a rice krispie treat!

I fell in love with the Bunting Banner that Christa from Mini Baker made for a wedding shower cake a few weeks ago. I contacted her and we emailed back and forth and she made a custom birthday banner that read "Happy 1st Hayden" complete with hand painted blue stars. It turned out better than I expected and complimented the cake and decor. If you want one of your own, head on over to Mini Baker's Etsy Shop, browse around at her handmade items and place your order! She's got some cute stuff over there. Thanks Christa for working with me on such short notice- it turned out perfectly!

Hayden dug into his cake like a pro. At first it was just fingers in the frosting, then before you knew it he was shoving handfuls of the stuff into his mouth. Then he got to the cake part and started sharing with his Daddy and Autumn and was starting to make a mess on the floor. I don't really know why he started crying, but it was funny. A naked baby covered in cake with teary eyes is enough to make a sucker out of anyone. Silly boy. 

And lastly here's a picture of the three of us, just after singing Happy Birthday. It was a great day and we're so blessed that we made it through Hayden's first year in tact and without any major injuries, growing better with each passing day. Happy Birthday Hayden, We love you!

And thank you to all of you who supported us, cheered  us on and offered words of encouragement  throughout the past year. We appreciate each and every one of you!