Cake of the Day: CrystalCakes!

My friend, Mika, wanted me to help her plan her 25th Birthday Party so after choosing a venue (Lucky Strike Lanes bowling alley) and the main colors she wanted for the party, it was time to decide on food for the event. Well, what is a birthday without birthday cake..?! We decided it would make the most sense to have cupcakes since you don't need to worry about cutting them or wasting them; they are just the right size.

Knowing me, I don't just settle for anything ordinary; I wanted cupcakes that matched the bowling theme. It was then that I reached out to CrystalCakes located in Seattle, WA to bring my vision alive.

At CrystalCakes you choose the cupcake flavor and icing flavor. The cupcakes turn out so moist and flavorful; not too sweet and just enough sugar to make you go for a second and third bite. Before you know it, your grabbing for a second one! My favorite dessert featured at CrystalCakes are their Cupcakes in a Jar...YUM!

The cupcakes that CrystalCakes made for my party turned out great; they were a hit at the party.

CrystalCakes is ready to start baking for you so check them out the next time you're in the Seattle area!

If you like CrystalCakes , be sure to 'Like' their page on Facebook!!

XOXO,

Favorite Party Item: Cotton Candy Machine

Want to make your next party, especially kid or pink-themed party, a hit?! Bring on in the Cotton Candy Machine! I am so in love with this portable sugar machine. It's cute, pink, and fluffy and melts in your mouth (and is sticky in your hand)! If a Cotton Candy Machine is too expensive to buy, your nearest party rental store is likely to have one for you to rent or you can buy a cheap Cotton Candy Maker here.

Cake of the Day!

Today I was reading Woman's Day and I got really inspired by a story about a woman by the name of Kate Carrara. Kate Carrara was a successful attorney and though she was a successful attorney, it was not her true passion; she yearned for a different career path.

After months of self reflecting, she decided that her calling was in the cupcake industry and that is how today's Cake of the Day, Buttercream, was founded back in 2009.

Buttercream is located in Philadelphia and one of the unique things about Kara's cupcakes is that you can catch them on their route they take in the Cupcake Truck!

This truck, which was once a mail truck, makes 5 stops a week. To see when and where the next stop is click here!

Follow the adventures of Cupcake Truck on Twitter!
www.twitter.com/Buttercreamphl

It just goes to show that when you put your mind toward something, anything is possible!

Cake of the Day!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ALYSSA!!

Picture from: Cake Central

Party of the Month: Wedding by Mindy Weiss pt.2

In 'Party of the Month: Wedding by Mindy Weiss pt.1' I showed you the amazing wedding invites, welcome gifts, and wedding ceremony decor, but that was just half of the detail Mindy Weiss and her team did to make this a wedding to go down in history of FABULOUSNESS!.

Cocktail Hour

While the Bride & Groom soaked up officially being Mr. & Mrs., the upper area of the Grand Ballroom of the Beverly Wilshire hotel was opened to us guests as a cocktail reception area while they transformed the wedding ceremony room into the main celebration room.

The area was setup to look like a classy lounge with the lighting shining the main color of the wedding: lavender. Couture white couches, flower and candlelight center pieces, and the bar setup right in the middle of the room added to the decor.

The bar even had a featured martini: Cotton Candy! MMmmm!

Grand Ballroom: Main Event Celebration

As if everything else did not blow me away, the main event opens up to the guests which is back in the Grand Ballroom where the original wedding ceremony was held.

Mindy Weiss and her team made me feel as though I had stepped into what I would call "Fantasy...couture...princess land", aka Wonderlust! From the white trees engulfed with white flowers and crystals to the couture tableware, this wedding became more than fabulous!

Flowers are ALWAYS my favorite form of a table centerpiece! Can you count how many flowers are in this centerpiece?

Of course, what is a wedding without cake? How about 2?

Having a live band was a flavor of sound I loved because it activated one of the five senses I introduced as very important in my Basic Fundamentals of Planning a Party: hearing.

Parting Gifts

Parting is such sweet sorrow...no seriously, it was VERY SWEET! As guests decided to call it a night and leave the party, they were 'farewelled' with this candy bar!

and candles to take home that read "..a perfect match"...Gotta love it!

My favorite parting gift of all came the next day at the Brunch the Bride & Groom held. True to Mindy Weiss "attention-to-detail" fashion, a DVD of the wedding was already cut and mastered ready to give each guest...WOW!

All in all, I felt honored and privileged to be attending my friend's wedding. It really was one for the books and it is no wonder Mindy Weiss is so highly sought after. When thinking of planning your wedding, consider using her!


Now it's time to plan my wedding...for 2024 ;-)

Party of the Month: Wedding by Mindy Weiss pt.1

If you don't know who Mindy Weiss is you have been deprived. Shall I enlighten you? Mindy Weiss is a well known event planner and is one of the most sought after event planners and lifestyle experts in the United States. Taken straight from her website, Mindy Weiss's business is based in Beverly Hills, CA where she is the owner & principle planner/designer of Mindy Weiss Party Consultants. The company provides professional event planning services for any type and size of wedding, party, corporate event and bar/bat mitzvah.

With all this in mind, I could not wait to witness one of her dazzling events she puts on so needless to say when one of my very good friends told me she was using her for her wedding I was on the edge of my seat! Read on to view all the amazing ideas that Mindy Weiss and her team chose to make the Udrih wedding a success!!

*Pictured: Beno & Michelle, the Bride & Groom for the wedding put on by Mindy Weiss Party Consultants.

Invitations

There is nothing like personalized invitations. But how about a classy, embossed, and jeweled invitation too big to fit in a regular mailbox?

From the "Save the Dates", to the Wedding Invitation, to the cards describing the schedule of the wedding, all made by Lehr & Black, Mindy Weiss and her team knew how to make the guests' feel special and well informed throughout the several months leading up to the wedding.

Welcome Gift

It is a custom when you are having an out of state wedding to send gift baskets to your wedding guest's hotel rooms to essentially welcome them and also inform them of the schedule of the wedding weekend. For this wedding, they made it a 3 day celebration which was nicely outlined in the welcome letter!

Ceremony Decor

Mindy Weiss and her team made this wedding look like a Wedding Wonderland by the help of Revelry Event Designers. From the moment you walked through the double doors of the Beverly Wilshire Grand Ballroom you felt like an enchanted witness to the wedding of a prince and princess. Check out the slide show below to witness the amazing decor used for the ceremony.

As if the decor did not set the tone enough, there was also a live orchestra playing before and during the wedding.

You now got a glance at the pre wedding preparation and the ceremony of this wedding, NOW check back for Part 2 of the Wedding by Mindy Weiss!! equipped with the Wedding Cocktail hour and Main After Wedding Party festivities.

How to Make a Diaper Cake

Diaper cakes are honestly the cutest gifts because they allow you to truly personalize your gift to the Mommy-to-be!

My best friend, Betsy Woulard, is an expert at making diaper cakes so check out the steps she takes to make these wonderful pieces of baby gift art!

How to Make a Diaper Cake

Items Needed:
-75-100 newborn baby diapers( The bigger you want your cake to be the more diapers you need so use discretion. The diaper cake I am describing has three tiers and I used about 100 diapers.)
-An empty paper towel roll
- Large rubber bands
- Ribbon (blue for a boy diaper cake, and of course pink for a baby girl!)
- A baby bottle for topper
- Binkies or any small baby toys that can be easily attached to the cake for extra decorations (optional)

Steps

1. Place the empty paper towel roll standing straight up on the floor. TIGHTLY-place one circle of baby diapers around the bottom of the paper towel roll, overlapping the diapers. Continue to do this on top of each circle creating layers. Do this for about three layers then tightly place a rubber band over the layers holding the beginning of the bottom tier onto the paper towel roll securely. This will make it much easier for you to build upon the bottom tier.
Note: It is best to have a friend help you as it gets difficult adding more and more layers to the cake.

2. After your bottom tier is a decent size to your liking, tie a pretty ribbon all along the outside to hold the diapers together. (This bottom tier has to be fairly large as it is the biggest tier and is the base to the entire cake.)

3. Move onto building the next tier directly on top of the bottom tier(base) this is a lot easier as the diapers have something to rest on and this tier should not be quite as big. Just like making the first tier, put a rubber band around the first three layers of diapers to help brace the inside of the cake. After the tier is a good size about 2 inches away from the outside edge of the base tier, tightly tie another ribbon all around the tier to hold together.

4. The top and final tier- follow the same steps by wrapping the diapers around the empty paper towel roll. You can rubber band this tier at the end as it is the smallest tier. Cover the rubber band with another ribbon tying securely.

5. Place a baby bottle at the very top of the final tier, push the bottle slightly down as it should fit in the open hole at the top where the empty paper towel roll is exposed.

6.(Optional) take extra pieces of ribbon and tie binkies or any small baby toy or object around each tier of the cake for extra decor, use a small piece of ribbon to tie to the large pieces that are holding the cake together.

7. Have fun!!!

*If you don't have time to make a diaper cake you can always buy them pre-made! Click on the images below.