Sunday, August 20, 2017

I love peaches!



Peaches have been my favorite fruit since I was a little girl. There is something cute and just pretty about them. I love their color and of course their juicy taste. August is National Peach Month and what better way to celebrate than with delicious peach cobblers, done of course, in my very own way. Recently my group of co-workers attended a cooking class and we made delicious berry biscuit cobblers. I loved the idea of having individual mini cobblers. So I decided to make them but with my favorite fruit, peaches :) this recipe is a lot more simple than the cooking school one and with less ingredients, but just as delicious and gorgeous looking. 


For these recipe I used very few ingredients. 
- 2 cans of peaches
-1 tb spoon of ground cinnamon
-pinch of salt
-buttermilk to taste


Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees. Cut the slices of peaches into small cubes.


Add one table spoon of cinnamon. This is the amount of cinnamon that I used. But you can try it with less or more, depending on your preference. Add a pinch of salt to bring out all those flavors together.


Divide them into little oven resistible bowls. I have these mini bowls that are just adorable. I divided the the peaches into the 6 little bowls. 


One can of biscuits was just the right amount for my six bowls. Place one on each, brush them with buttermilk to taste.

 

And just like that, they are ready to go in the oven. Bake them at 350 degrees for about 15-17 minutes or until they are golden brown.

                         

I added these super cute "just peachy" toppers that I made with my beloved Cricut Machine. Don't they look gorgeous?
 

I was very inspired by this season's fruit and I put together this super cute peach theme set up to enjoy  these perfect desserts even more! I made a delicious peach tea that was the perfect partner for this Southern favorite. 


I also made these really cute berry boxes, yes with my Cricut Machine too! and put some yummy peach rings in them, they are perfect for the theme! and aren't they the absolute cutest?



One of the many things I have learned from my mom is to make Piñatas. So I made this adorable and just perfect mini peach piñata and I am in obsessed with it! 


Everything looked so pretty. The colors, the shape and the smell were the perfect combination. I look forward to trying this recipe with other delicious fruits. But peaches will remain my favorite forever :)















Saturday, August 19, 2017

Super Easy Cupcakes :)


Cupcakes are one of the main protagonists of every party. They come in all kinds of flavors, colors, shapes. They are festive, fun and delicious. At times, cupcakes can also be intimidating. Especially if we want to be brave enough to try frosting with some of those fancy piping techniques. I am not going to lie, I wish I knew how to do it! One day I will learn! But that doesn't mean I don't love nice looking cupcakes, I love the way the compliment any birthday or party setup. Besides not really being great and piping and frosting, I have to admit I am not the most patient person and just like every other mommy out there, I just want more time to do other things, especially when we are in the middle of planning the perfect party. I have learned little tricks in every party I've put together and this is still a process. But so far, I have a couple of tips and tricks for making colorful and super easy cupcakes that seem to have worked the best for this I-want-it-fast-but-pretty mommy! 

I usually use a cake box to make cupcakes. There are tons of different options and for the most part, they are super yummy, and of course, really easy to make. I also use store bought frosting, unless I really I am trying to impress my friends and family. But can frosting is also delicious. My favorite is 
Pillsbury's cream cheese frosting. Mmmmm, it is really good!! 


One of the things I really dislike about making cupcakes at home is buying the most bright and colorful liners only for them to fade away during the baking process. Cupcakes should be vibrant and full of color! One of my tricks is to use party cups and cut them the size of a cupcake, that way I don't have to worry about opaque and sad looking colors. I also used decorative scissors to make my cups even cuter. You can find these type of scissors in any craft store. Here is an example of a set they have at Michaels only for $10. And believe me, they will come in handing for all kinds of crafts and decorations. 

I found these cups at my local Dollar Tree Store. They have tons of colors and prints. I really liked these blue ones. They usually come in packs of 6. I cut each cup to measure about 5 cm long. 


I cut around the entire cup with regular scissors and then went around it with the decorative ones. This is just easier for me. But feel free to cut directly with the decorative scissors if you are comfortable with that. 



Look at them! they look perfect. By the way, don't throw away the remains, we will use them later ;)


I also like to use the part of the cup that we cut to have matching cupcake toppers. I just cut fun shapes, but you could also use any craft punchers you may have. 



For my easy frosting I use an ice cream scoop. yes, that is what I use, and it is super easy!
Take one scoop of frosting (needless to say, I am thinking about ice-cream as I type scoop) and put it on the cupcake



Press the first scoop and add another scoop. This technique will give the "effect" of actual piping.
  


And there you have it! Easy as 1,2,3!


Add a little topper! 




Super easy, simple, and inexpensive. Three of my favorite things when it comes to parties. I hope you enjoyed reading and hopefully learned one or two tricks that will make your cupcake adventures easier next time you make them :)








Saturday, August 12, 2017

You are going to ROCK this year!!!



Yes, it is almost time to go back to school, sigh! I have to say I love summer and I am truly going to miss it. My son? well, he is exited and perfectly ready to go back to school! Could you sense the sarcasm in my last sentence? LOL!! of course he is not. He says he blinked and it was almost time to go back to school. From the first day of the school year until the very last day, I try my best to motivate him every day, especially on Sunday nights. I know school is not my son's favorite subject but I still wanted to make a little "celebration" for him and his cousins. (although Gabriel just can't put celebration and school together in the same sentence) I do my best to remind him that he is great and that he will have an incredible year no matter what. I am a firm believer that what we tell our children becomes their inner voice. And the way we make them feel about a situation is most likely how they will handle it. So let's make going back to school a little party!


My son is a Rock Star! thats what he is to me and I tell him every day! And this was the perfect theme for this going back to school party. 


I put together simple color coded going back to school kits with a easy but yummy snacks while we spend the afternoon arranging his back to school supplies. He loves his cousins Tony and Aline and of course they had to be part of this celebration. They got a little back to school kit too.


My oldest niece will be a senior this coming year and we couldn't be more exited for her. It is crazy how fast time flies by. Good luck on your last year of High School my beautiful baby!!


My nephew Anthony a.k.a Tony is also now an official 5th grader. He is my son's age and they have been best friends since they were born. Pretty much! He is such a bright little boy and I have no doubt that he is going to rock 5th grade!


I love my Cricut machine! It comes super handy when I put little projects together. It is one of the protagonists of most of my set ups for any kind of party. In this occasion I used it to create the names for each of the kits and also cute little music shape and label that make even a simple bottle of water look colorful and festive.

I think this Rock theme is just so colorful and full of joy. It gets you in the party mood instantly! 



It doesn't matter if the plans we have are not our favorite what is important is that we find a way to enjoy each moment of our lives. One day we will look back and think of these days as special memories. 

Wednesday, August 2, 2017

Movie Night for under $25.00


Movies! More like entertainment, they are a reason to gather with family and friends, put life on pause, and transport our minds to magical lands, travel back in time or to many different cities, or just to reflect on a very good story. Just like many families, mine is a huge fan of movies. Most of them, we still can't get our ten year old to watch scary ones (my favorite). But when we agree on a movie we all want to watch, we have the best time, especially when we go to the theater. We love the feeling of choosing the movie, getting our pop corn and snacks and I personally love watching the previous and deciding what movies I will look forward to during the next seasons. Yes, everything is great, but... why must snacks be so expensive at the theater??? I have to admit I am not a fan of this and I know I'm not alone! As much as we love going to the movie theater, we also love the comfort of our home. We love taking advantage of our last Sunday hours before getting back to the routine and watch a good movie with our favorite snacks or sometimes even dinner. This past Sunday Night I put together a little "concessions" cart for our movie night with pretty much anything you could get at the movies for less that half the price. And we loved it!

Pop Corn!! Of course, everyone's favorite treat, and a snack that turns out to be crazy expensive at the theater. You can most likely get a box with three packs of pop corn for about three dollars. That's how much I paid for mine. I bought these cute little containers at my local Dollar Tree Store. They were only two for one dollar and I think they are super cute and they give you that movie theater feeling. The size is perfect for little ones' grip. Really cute hu?

              

My favorite treat at the movies is nachos. Cheese... give me all the cheese and I am one happy gal!
Chips are very cheap at the grocery store. I buy a bag with enough chips for 3 people for one dollar or a dollar and fifty cents. I love how versatile they can be, you can dip them in anything, but in this occasion, cheese is the protagonist. A can of nacho cheese at the store is about three dollars. You heat it up with a little milk to get a smoother consistency and you are good to go. I also bough they little trays at the Dollar Store and they were two for one dollar as well. I also bought the snack wrap paper at the Dollar Store and I cut it in small squares to fit the little tray. I used little paper cups that I had at home for the cheese. I have to admit those cups were two small for cheese. It is cheese! can someone actually have enough cheese? I don't think I can!
 

Don't they look super cute and easy to put together?
 

Candy, cheap - expensive candy. Let's be honest, I can't be the only one who hates to pay triple the price for a box of candy? And unfortunately, is one of those things that everyone wants. We just have to have a salty snack on one hand and a sweet one on the other. That's just the way it its. So to continue with the movie theater vibe, I grabbed a few boxes of our favorite candy. Sweets that we usually choose when we go to the theater. I bought 9 of them to have a good selection and I probably still paid less that what I would have paid at the movie theater.  


And for refreshments I just put together some mini coca-cola cans, just because I think they are so cute and because that way my son will be allowed to only drink one and it won't be that much. You know, "sugar police" here trying to do her best. 


We enjoyed our Sunday evening with yummy treats and the best of the best, what no amount could ever buy, each others company. Because I could be anywhere in the world, and it would' t matter what we eat, or what we watch as long as we are together. 

   






WIKED, BEWARE, SPOOKY!!

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