Everyone’s a little bit Irish on March 17th, right? Not one to pass up an excuse to throw a party, we had ourselves a bit of a get together.
I’ve been dying for an occasion to make this rainbow cake and what better time than St. Patty’s? I love, love, love how it turned out, both visually and….tastibly? What is the word I’m looking for? I can’t think. But it tasted amazing too. I might be addicted to Swiss Meringue Buttercream frosting.
On the outside, just your normal, white-with-shamrock-sprinkles, unassuming layer cake.
But on the inside…..A PARTY FOR YOUR EYES!!! AND YOUR TASTEBUDS!!!
This was a really fun cake to make. A little labor intensive, but totally worth the reaction and results. Can’t wait to make it again. Just imagine all the color possibilities. And a side note….Ever since I was a little girl I have always loved rainbows. I was always drawing them, always arranging my crayons and markers in rainbow order. I loved Rainbow Brite and had sheets and pillows and dolls of her. Fast forward 15 or so years, and now my beloved color scheme has somehow been adopted by “alternative lifestyles”. Ugh. I hate that it’s been tainted, and honestly it’s the only reason I haven’t decorated my kids’ rooms in a totally rainbow theme. Coincidentally, my favorite color used to be purple. They stole that too! Sheesh!
Back to the party.
I got an idea for a rainbow fruit tray here and decided to make that, too. Love how it turned out. I made the classic cream cheese/marshmallow fluff fruit dip.
I made green glass block holiday jello from Our Best Bites. Summer loved this. I love the way it looked. Very festive.
I found a rainbow craft to do on this blog. My orange didn’t turn out as vibrant as I was hoping, but they still turned out cute, and I think the kids had fun making them. I’m already thinking of other uses for dyed pasta. (Very easy to do…soak pasta in rubbing alcohol and food coloring in plastic baggies for a couple hours, flip occasionally. Dry overnight. Mine were kind of splotchy…I think next time I won’t skimp on the alcohol and completely submerge the pasta in colored alcohol.) Once they dry, you hang them in your window…like little sun catchers! Cute, right?
My friend Brandy recently started a blog called Holiday Snobs and I saw a cute idea for little favors. Super cute, and under a buck (with a coupon!) All of the “Who’s your Paddy?” sanitizers were passed out, so I only have a shot of this generic green one. That subway art in the corner is from the same site, here. I just had it printed at Wal-Mart. It’s all sized and ready for an 8x10. It came out a little grainy, but from far away you can’t really tell.
And then just a shot of my mantle, which is always so festively decorated (I hope). I saw the idea for the garland on Etsy. Just felt circles sewn together. And yes, I know I need to buy 3 green candles. Just haven’t made it up to Hobby Lobby in awhile! Gasp!
It really was such a fun little party. As you can see, I am a master copycat. I’m not the one to come up with cute original ideas, but I can copy the good ones with the best of ‘em. And I’m so lucky to have such great friends who not only put up with my crazy theme parties but always bring such delicious and theme-y treats! We were definitely treated to lots of good eats today!
I feel like I have been so cranky lately and today was just what I needed to pick me back up. Why have I been cranky? Honestly, I think it was because potty training was stressing me out so much. So thank you, ALL of you, for all of your comments and advice about what to do. As of Monday we quit potty training. I asked her if she wanted to wear diapers or panties and she said, “Diapers. No panties. Mommy change me.” That was all I needed to hear. We’ve both been much happier since then. But I do have to clarify that I started so early with her because she would tell me every time she peed or pooped, and asked to sit on the potty. So, what else what I supposed to do? At least I know she can do it for a few days, so hopefully next time we try it should go relatively smoothly.
And now it’s time for…..EASTER!!!
9 comments:
Wow it all looks amazing! You sure know how to go all out! Great job. By the way, I hear you can make the dyed pasta with vinegar instead of rubbing alcohol. I made it the same way as you once and I was worried about kids chomping on them. Yuck. But the vinegar might have less vibrant colors so maybe it wouldn't be better. :)
That cake is awesome. And the whole party. I'm glad you're feeling happier!
WOW, you make me feel lazy. I wish I lived by you and could come to your party! You went all out. It looks so fun. My kids barely even knew it was St. Patrick's Day. Oh well, always next year.
Don't worry about potty training. I tried when the twins were 2 1/2, back in October for the same reason, they told me when they were going, people in nursery kept asking me if they were training b/c they told other people when they needed to go etc, etc. So I decided to try and after a couple days I gave up. I was so frustrated cleaning up and them not caring if they went or not. I think it is just up to them deciding. The only thing different I did this time (yes they are potty trained now!) was prepare them by talking about potty training. We started telling them over a month in advance when they were going to start, that they got to wear underwear, told them about stickers, m&m's and then when the day came it was just another day talking about it but we just did it too. They 'threw away' all diapers (and I gave them to someone in the ward) and then put on underwear. Soren actually was easier than Alicia. I always heard boys were harder, but Alicia put up a fight. She took about 4 or 5 days and then finally gave in when she was watching Soren get all the stickers and m&m's. I am still working on #2 (a month later) but it is getting there.
Have a good day. Miss you guys!
Karen, Everything looks amazing!!! I am green with envy (ha- no pun intended). Anyway, that CAKE! Where can I find the recipe/directions on how to make it? And the frosting sounded delish! Anyway, great job!
That cake was definitely the coolest thing I've ever seen. AND it was soooo tasty! Thanks for throwing a Patty day party. So fun!
Looks like a great party!
I will be starting potty training again for the second time with Davis. With both my boys they showed interest and then decided they hated sitting on the potty and went back to dipers. This time I am trying the naked approach. I have the carpet cleaner out and ready but they say the kids are more aware when they don't have underwear or pants on. . . maybe it is just for boys I don't know. We will see how many accidents it takes for me to start reading potty training books. Davis will be 3 in July!
Amazing! So many cute things! That rainbow cake is awesome! And yes it is too bad rainbows have been stolen.
Hey if you need some cool Easter ideas I loved these Pottery Barn ideas on this blog post: http://projectnursery.com/2011/03/pottery-barn-kids-easter-event-recap-hop-to-it/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+ProjectNursery+%28Project+Nursery%29&utm_content=Google+Reader
Dang you're holiday-y! Every holiday with decor!
And, YOU'RE KILLING ME with rainbow ideas! I was thinking for the kids' bday party this year to make it a rainbow theme and I don't know how I can pass up that cake! That's so pretty! Any tips?
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