Friday, March 27, 2015

Polka Dot Party

I've been excited to share pictures from Claire's first birthday party but I needed to wait until the article was published in the Des Moines Register.

We used a polka dot theme and it was a lot of fun. Over a year ago I found brightly colored polka dot cups and napkins on sale and picked them up knowing I would use them at some point. A first birthday party was perfect.

I was inspired by lots of different ideas I saw on Pinterest. After narrowing it down I bought my supplies and got to work.

For all the crafting I went to my aunt Molly's house. She is really good at paper crafting of all types and I knew I would need both her knowledge and her tools. (Interested in making cards or scrapbooking? Follow her blog, Good Golly, Ms. Molly!)

The details are in this article but I wanted to share more pictures with you!

The invitations were made from card stock, scrapbook paper (cut into circles of different sizes) and a number 1 from a cricut.

The balloons hung from the ceiling and had pictures from the past year attached to the ribbons. We glued scrapbook paper to the  back of the pictures.


I had three jars that were actually left over from Aiden's first birthday party. They are filled with floral gel beads that I bought at at dollar store and used food coloring (they were clear) to make each jar a different color. I added a number one candle to each jar. For this party I put polka dot scrapbook paper from the invitations on the top. 


You can see most of the cake table in this picture. There were vases filled with pom poms (including a square vase that I put a clear plate on to use as a cake stand). I think the cake topper might be my favorite decoration from the party. It is made from paper straws, string, scrapbook paper and card stock that was cut into circles and stamped. 



The cake also had a polka dot pattern on top made from powdered sugar. I used an 8x11 piece of paper and a regular paper punch to use as a template when I sprinkled the sugar on top of the cake.

Happy birthday to Claire, we had a great time celebrating your first year!

Tuesday, March 24, 2015

Spinach & Artichoke Chicken

Don't ever feel guilty about eating spinach and artichoke dip for dinner again! Instead of a dip, this recipe turns it into a sauce for chicken or pasta.

It is really rich but delicious. Everyone in our house loved it and I made it for a play date (six kids under three and three adults) and it seemed to be a hit.

I like it because it goes together very quickly - you can have it on the table in 25 minutes.


Click here for the recipe!

Monday, March 9, 2015

Spaghetti with Peas and Lemon

Spaghetti with lemon and peas is a very fast, very simple dish to throw together. I like to add shrimp to the dish (chicken would also be good).  Don't be scared of the lemon flavor, it's very subtle.

Check out the recipe here.