Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Inspirational Wednesday {Summer Recipes} 4th of July Ideas

When I think of summer I think of playing outside, having BBQ's, ice cream, and pool parties. Why is it that when summer comes we become a little more relaxed? The urge to cook and eat outside  becomes a big deal, but keeping timely schedule doesn't, staying up later than normal seems to happen more often. At least for me. Since we have the 4th of July  around the corner I decided to share these wonderful ideas and freebies  from some inspirational ladies to assist you in your celebration .



I love to cook and when I cook. I have a lot of favorite chefs, Paula Deen is one of them.
Her Southern Cooking is just delicious. Here are a few recipes from her. Hope you enjoy.

 

Chicken on the GrillRecipe courtesy Paula Deen

 

    Total Time: 30 min
    Prep: 10 min
    Cook: 20 min
    Yield: 4 to 6 servings
    Ingredients
    • 1 chicken, cut in half
    • Salt and pepper
    • Grilling sauce, recipe follows

    Directions

    Season cut up chicken with salt and pepper. When coals are white, spread them out for even heat distribution. Place chicken pieces on the grill with larger, fattier pieces (such as the thigh) near the center and smaller pieces to the outside. Brush grilling sauce on chicken through the cooking process and turn chicken as needed. Move chicken toward the outside as the leaner pieces (such as the breast) get done. Brush with grilling sauce just prior to removing from grill. Serve warm.


Found via Food Network: Paula Deen

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Red Potato Salad








Total Time: 15 min




Prep: 5 min

Cook: 10 min

Yield: 8 servings

Ingredients

  • 12 cups cubed red potatoes
  • 1 cup chopped green bell pepper (about 1 medium)
  • 1/2 cup minced red onion
  • 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1/3 cup red wine vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
  • 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

Directions

Cook potatoes, covered in boiling water, 10 minutes, or until tender; drain well and cool.


In a large bowl, combine potatoes, bell pepper and onion.


In a small bowl, whisk together remaining ingredients. Pour over potato mixture, tossing gently to coat. Cover and refrigerate.

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Now for the yummy part. DESSERT!



 Doesn't this look fabulous?

Ingredients

  • 4 (6-ounce) packages fresh raspberries
  • 1 cup plus 3 tablespoons sugar
  • 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • 1 tablespoon framboise liqueur
  • 1 1/2 cups cold heavy cream
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 3 3-inch bakery meringue shells, broken into pieces

Directions

Pour 2 packages of the raspberries, 1 cup of the sugar and the lemon juice into a 10-inch saute pan. Crush the berries lightly with a fork and bring the mixture to a full boil over medium-high heat. Lower the heat and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is syrupy. Fold the remaining 2 packages of raspberries and the framboise into the hot mixture and refrigerate until very cold.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the cream, the remaining 3 tablespoons of sugar and the vanilla together on medium-high speed until it forms firm peaks.

In decorative glasses, layer a spoonful of the whipped cream, a spoonful of the raspberry mixture and then a few meringue pieces. Repeat once or twice, depending on the size of the glasses, until the glasses are full, ending with berries and a dollop of cream. Serve immediately or chill for an hour, until ready to serve.



If you need ideas for a Patriotic Table or a Nautical table here some ideas for you. Bird's party has some wonderful printables for all of your occasions. Here is a 4th of July party that Bird did using her printables. Isn't it just lovely how she styled it? Makes me wanna have a PARTY! For more decorating ideas for 4th of July Checkout Bird's Party Blog





















Those tarts look delish! I'm so craving it.

I've been following Kori from Paper & Pigtails for quite sometime and I'm just smitten with her printables. There's one that I've been looking at for my daughter's birthday. So when I saw yesterday's post on Savvy Sassy Moms about her printables being used by A to Zebra Celebrations. I thought why not share with everyone.
Check out A to Zebra Celebrations on  savvysassymoms planning on a budget using printables from Paper & Pigtails. These printables are FREE! That's the best part of the budget.

Do you see what a wonderful presentation? Good job ladies!





Hope you all have a wonderful inspiring Wednesday.

xo,
Maylene

Monday, June 27, 2011

French Poodle Madison's (6th Birthday)

Finally I'm able to post about Madi's Birthday. Yay!!! This picture was the night before where mommy, Tia Michi, daddy, abuela and I were getting the party ready. I had to post this picture. Isn't it adorable? Madi is like a 2nd daughter to me. I was super excited when I found out 6 years ago that I was going to be a Tia. I love my Madi.





The party had many different designers. The invitation was made by one of our friends Michelle. Isn't it a cute invitation? Michelle also has an Etsy store with pretty printables called Mod Pod Designs. Check her out.



Each girl as they walked in received a flower for their hair. Everyone had a different type and color of flower . We came up with this idea from my Parisian party. We thought how pretty would it be if everyone would wear a flower like I did in my Parisian party. If you haven't seen the party or the flower headband here is the link to see it. "Night In Paris". All the girls looked adorable.





There were alot of details as you walked in, the poodle illustration on the door sign was designed by one of my favorite party girls. Michele from Crazy for Design. This is my favorite poodle design. We wraped the sign in marabou and glued the poodle design on to a scrapbook paper. The ribbon read Ooh La La and the sign said "Welcome to Madison's Party" in French.


Mommy and I liked the idea of the lights but since it was a day time party the lights would be hard to see, so we came up with flowers instead of lights. Between the flowers above and the balloons on the side of the fence. It felt so Ooh la la as you were walking.




The back of each chair had a hanging cone. Each cone had a pink ribbon, a poodle design topped off with a piece of marabou inside they were filled with popcorn.
The cones were so hard to keep still because the day was sooo windy down here, but it looked beautiful.
I LOVED how it  all came out.




We had all the tables and decorations underneath a tent. All around there was tulle and a few lights. The topiaries were the centerpieces of the food and dessert tables. Both were made with marabou, ribbon, clay pots, and puff balls. The chandelier that you see is actually a crown hung upside down. We found this at Home Goods another favorite store of ours. I love how it came out. Do you see the small cart on the left side of your screen? It's holding the utensils. When it comes to the time for plates and utensils it's hard to display at times. So Ceci came up with idea of making a small cart for them.














Her banner had glitter letters and of course marabou. Can you tell I love it. You see it every where. Do you see the pinata on the right of the screen. Ceci designed it. It's just fabulous. I love how all of her pinatas can be used for decoration till they are put to use. We had a few sweets for the guests to have. Marshmallow pops, guava pastries, chocolate lollipops, starburst, chocolate kisses, and ambrosia salad. The salad was made by Madi's  grandmother. 






Candy Jar Labels Designed by Malu Boutiques.


This is the ambrosia salad. It was delish. All of these beautiful food tent labels were designed by once again Michele Crazy for Design. Have you seen her store yet? 
 


























This lady needs no introduction. Genevieve from Celebration today The superchick way is another party fave. Have you seen all of her fabulous designs? Her ideas are just wonderful. I love how she added the little pom poms to the kones.


Each goodie bag had a poodle necklace, a small note pad, a trinket, and  luggage tag.




Aren't these girls just adorable?







 All cakes were designed by Ceci. She made 5 small different cakes. They all had different flavors and just looked beautiful.








 All the girls were busy designing their own bracelets. Ceci's aunt had a ton of different beads, jewels, and rhinestones for the girls to use. The girls had such a wonderful time. It kept them busy for at least 2 hours. Between designing and making. It was a lot of fun.
















 Madi's bracelet finished. My little doll face.




All the girls saying cheese.



This is Jojo Madi's dog wearing a tutu. Adorable right?




Hope you all have a wonderful day Monday.

xo,
Maylene

Thank you to
Styled and Designed by : Malu Boutiques and Ceci
Cakes by Ceci: Ceci
Invitation: Mod Pod Designs
Poodle Illustration: Crazy for Designs
Pom Pom Kones: Celebration TODAY

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Inspirational Wednesday (Pink and Yellow Wedding Ideas)



I've been looking for different ideas for weddings. My 10 year wedding anniversary is coming up and we would like to renew our wedding vowels. We were married on February 22, 2003. It was a wonderful and full day. I loved my wedding back then and can't wait to renewal our vowels. What I loved the most of all  it was my FLOWERS!!! I told my mom when we were starting to plan it that I had wanted different flowers.  Back then I really didn't see a lot of people having different flowers on their bouquet. I didn't want a regular bouquet, nothing against regular bouquets, but at the time I wanted to be different.

Our colors were burgundy with a sheer gold. We had a array of different color flowers. We had yellow and burnt orange tulips, white hydrangea, snapdragon, gardenia, calla lilies, and pink lilies.

Here is a picture of my wedding day.





I think for our 10 year anniversary we are going for a small wedding. I'm think of  having the wedding and reception on a beach, with the color scheme of pink and yellow. Not sure if a bright pink or different shades of pink and sunny yellow. Hhhhmmm love it, I started to google and found some beautiful weddings. Here are some inspirational pictures.


This looks so tropical and love the umbrellas. The plumeria flowers is beautiful. I have a tree in my backyard and just  love it. I originally wanted the run way to have flowers, but most churches don't like the idea of the flowers on the run way.


So after seeing these images it so makes me want to have them this time around.





Images found via: Aloha Island Weddings

This set alone would be beautiful on the beach around sunset. Can you picture it now? Wow just love the image.



Image found via: Martha Stewart Weddings



I saw this and started to think of the reception if to have a tent or no tent. Oh a trellise on the beach. I would have to win the lotto first. I do like the idea of the hanging flower balls at different levels and the different pom poms and pomettes. I also like the color scheme of the different shades of pink and sunny yellow. Making it look like a garden wedding and or fairy party. It's a pretty party no?



Image found via: Wedding Wire



Can't find the original person for this image, but I love it and it makes me smile. (wink) I have found this image on so many blogs it's not even funny. I can see why the idea is wonderful and the color combo is fantastic. It's so summer and tropical looking.


Hope you have a great day!

xo,
Maylene