Cookies & Cupcakes from the Weekend

This weekend we had a little get-together at our house to celebrate my friend Deb's birthday.  

And I did some baking for the occasion! 

I made my most favorite cookies: Salty Oatmeal Chocolate Chip. 

I shared the recipe here, but want to remind you again how amazing they are.  Every time they are around, people gobble them up.  You've got to make them for your next function! (or afternoon snack!) 

Since Deb's kids were with a sitter for the night, I decided to make adults-only cupcakes: Raspberry Vodka Chocolate Cupcakes.  They were based on these.   Just as Tori suggests, I used a box chocolate cake mix replaced 1/3 cup of the water with raspberry infused vodka.  I also added a splash to the frosting.  They were great: really moist with a hint of raspberry flavor.  Yum! I could easily make them again and leave the vodka out of the frosting for a kid-friendlier version. 

Happy Birthday Deb!

Oscar Party Cocktail Recipes

Are you hosting or attending an Oscar Viewing Party this weekend? 

If so, I've got some delicious drink recipes for you!

Red Carpet Cocktail

In a champagne flute add...

1 1/2 ounces Vodka

1 1/2 ounces pomegranate juice

1 tbsp lime juice

Fill the flute with sparkling wine and add a maraschino cherry for garnish

recipe via

Hollywood Martini

Place the following into a cocktail shaker filled with ice and shake well...

3 ounces vodka

1/2 ounce black raspberry liqueur

1 dash of pineapple juice

Strain into a chilled cocktail glass

recipe via

And for any kiddos, preggers, or non-drinkers...a star studded mocktail! 

Star Mocktail

Muddle 1 or 2 fresh strawberrries in the bottom of a sturdy glass

Add 5 ounces sparkling apple cider

Add a splash of lime juice

Garnish with a thin slice of star fruit

I am Loving: Paper Garlands

I am in full shower planning mode & I love it!   

I have a bridal and baby shower in the works for the spring. 

I am loving all the different paper garlands in blog land, and plan to incorporate one or more into these showers. 

Here's some of the inspiration I have gathered:

Image via Style Me Pretty
These simple paper chains are reminiscent of elementary school crafts.  The metallic paper steps the glam up a notch in this picture.  And could it be any simpler to put together?  Paper chains are definitely a front runner for my spring shower decor. 

Image via Project Wedding

Isn't this dainty doily garland sweet?  DIY instructions are here. 

On a related note, have you see the beautiful painted doily garland that Meg from Whatever (one of my favorite new crafty stops on the web) created with her kids.  Its beautiful! Check it out here.  It's definitely not dainty! Amazing what a little color can do! 

Image via Project Wedding

I love these velum mobiles.  Aren't the colors amazing?  DIY details are here.  

Image via Project Nursery

This simple circle garland from Kim at TomKat Studio is too cute.  It allows for fun papers to be mixed and matched.  I love this one so much that I've used it at a party before -- see here! Find Kim's DIY instructions here. 

image via Colour Lovers

This coffee filter garland is stunning.  It was inspired by this wedding featured on Martha Stewart Weddings.  Two great DIY instruction posts can be found here and here.  From what I've read, these are easier to create than the traditional party pom's. 

Hope you are inspired!

A Love Letter to my Followers on Valentine's Day

To all my Followers, old and new: 

You rock. 

via Smock Paper

And you rule.

via Snow & Graham

I am so lucky to have you! Happy Valentine's Day!

Love,

Sandi

Real Party: Chinese New Year 2nd Birthday

My friend Deb's son Lukas recently turned two.  She decided to throw a Chinese New Year - themed bash because the party was held 2 days after the holiday. 

Lots of friends contributed their best Asian food items, and it was all to-die-for-delicious.  I wish I knew how to make any of those dishes...or knew the names of them! I'll just say I was stuffed.  

My friend Lindsay and I did a few little decorative touches, of course.  Lukas is often called "Lu", so we used the saying "Lu is 2" in a few places. 

 Lindsay made cute wrappers to hold the chopsticks.

I made labels for the drinking cups.  

(I used these downloadable "round red gift tags" from Martha Stewart)

 Lindsay made the cutest vanilla cupcakes...topped with dipped fortune cookies! 

Lukas has been really into trains lately, so Deb wanted him to have a train cake.  We jokingly named it the Orient Express, so it would fit the Asian theme.  (I don't think the Orient Express ever ran through China though, so not sure how well it actually goes with the Chinese New Year theme....oops!)

Regardless of the silly name, I had so much fun making this train cake! And it was priceless to see the birthday boy's face light up as he said "Choo Choo" when he saw it.  Soooo precious! 

Here's a little diagram of how I made the train cake.  (Click to enlarge)

It was surprisingly easy to put together and really looked cute. 

Happy Birthday Lukas! 

Photos by Lindsay Kanetomi

Real Party: Chili Cook-off Superbowl

I had such a fun Superbowl Sunday! (And I didn't watch a single minute of the game!) 

I shared last week the the party was going to be a Chili Cook off and that I was going to help my friend Katie with some of the styling.  We brainstormed together and made some items a few days before the party, but I was blown away to see how it all came together.  

 The chili tasting station was set up on the dining room table.

 Each chafing dish held 2 kinds of chili, so we tasted 6 total.

How amazing is the centerpiece with chili pepper vase filler?

The tasting bar had all the chili toppings you could possibly want.

Appetizers were served outside.  My favorite were Katie's chili roasted mixed nuts in her cute cones.  (Remember the snack cones and "football" vases from Katie's Superbowl party last year?) 

And another table held yummy sides. 

This fun centerpiece was on the table with the side dishes. 

Everyone scored the chili on the scorecards I made. 

Katie and Casey announced the winners at Half Time.  Leslie won 1st place with her beef chili, and Chris won 2nd place with his lamb chili. 

Check out the trophy Casey made for the first place winner...too funny! 

My {tied for 3rd place} beef chili was pretty good and had a nice kick. I would definitely make it again.  I used this recipe.  I followed it pretty much exactly, except I used about 1/2 the amount of chili powder and added a little cayenne pepper (thanks to my spicy-food-loving-Dad for this tip!)

For dessert I made these.  They were a little too sweet for my taste, but they looked cute with the colorful m&m's.