Packing Packing

Hi all, Things may be quiet over then next little while as I prepare my family to move in a few weeks and am away on business travel. I'll try to keep you posted but please be patient with me and I will do my best to manage my time to post a few things here and there. Gratefully, Dish

Jungle Birthday Party Cake

This was the first birthday Jungle party cake for a wee little man that my family loves.  It was made for him apparently by a nurse (Karen Nardini) who like so many women that I know have these incredible talents that are completely unrelated to their day profession.  I just love the detail of the little animals right down to the hair, spots, stripes etc.  Love the creative design and the approach to the different layers.

Congrats Karen on having the courage to pursue something you love.  This is far far beyond anything I could pull off even if I had the patience, well done and good luck!  www.sprinklez.ca

Doesn't it make you think about your passion?  Are you doing what you love?
xox
Dish

Taking A Night Off

Sorry all but I am taking a night off, super exhausted after a long long day. Xox Dish

Hello "Essence Du Papier", So Happy To Meet You

I stumbled upon this gem while trying to relocate my hotel in the underground paths whilst on a business trip last week in Toronto.  Fortunately I did make it back although sadly all I had on me at the time was my phone camera so I did my best below. 

What I loved:

1.  Walls (literally walls) of paper.  Beautiful.

 2.  New unique items.  Check out these fantastic gift bags perfect for a gal pal's birthday!

 3.  Fun full lines of matching everything.  In the picture below business products, in other areas party products etc etc.

Have a look if you are interested.  Essence Du Papier

xox
Dish

I ADORE Meri Meri Party Products...You Must Have A Look See!

So clearly I am a die hard DIY'er.  I can pull off some really amazing parties when I put my mind to it but I have to tell you since last week (when I was officially introduced) I fell in love with Meri Meri.  



Sure I've see a few of her products here and there but they were always "cute", "a great idea", "why didn't I think of that" moments, nothing too earth shattering.  That was until I found an awesome store (you'll hear about that later) that really carried a full line of the Meri Meri products and I was done for.  

Every theme has a FULL line of accessories, right down to the 3D centrepieces that are beautifully created and would be a "true centrepiece", the most elegant version of the word.  One of my fav's (it was hard to choose) was the Peter Rabbit Carousel below (its packaged).  Please look for that on the Meri Meri website. 



My only fear now is that I'll suffer an identity crisis if I'm not staying up all night before the next party trying to pull all the details together...  I may actually break down and let Meri Meri do all the work for me.

 Although I am sure I could think of a million things to compliment her fab products...

Check it out.
xox
Dish

Happy Mother's Day

Just a quick note to wish all of you mothers a wonderful day tomorrow. I for one am looking forward to spending it with those I love and I wish you the same. Enjoy and hope to see you Monday. Xox Dish

My First School Mother's Day Tea: I'm A Proud Momma!

Today was a milestone, a day that I will never forget.  Don't expect a big bang story, today was an hour of mother/son sharing in an environment that he loves; his school (daycare).  Today I was treated to an hour of tea and treats and playing with my wee man while he showed me proudly the puzzles, books and toys that make up his mornings 5 days a week. 

I looked around at all the other proud mom's, us sharing a few giggles but really each focused on absorbing the experience with our special little partner.  I met the little girl that apparently kisses my son daily and her mother who tells me she hears a lot about my little man when her daughter is at home.  I took a few pictures of her in case I might need them for a distant wedding decades from now (this shouldn't surprise you about me thinking that far in advance to be prepared for such a party). 

A sincere thanks to Kathleen and Nelvie for making today so memorable for us mom`s.  You really are stars.

I know Mother`s Day is Sunday but for me today was the most perfect day to celebrate the love between mother and son.  Perhaps it`s not being treated like a Queen or a bit of time to relax that is important on May 13th this year.  Perhaps it`s as simple as being allowed a quality uninterrupted hour with each of your children to share, bond and love.

xox
Dish

The Personal Apple Pie; Crazy Easy Way To Wow Them Yet Again!

 Can you believe how adorable these are?!  I made them in about 30 minutes and everyone loved them.  Okay so I'm not completely the super mom...I did use the Tenderflake small pie shells but really I think I'd have been crazy not too..  Well, that and the fact that I absolutely despise making pastry. 

Check it out.

Totally doable right?!

Give it a shot.

xox
Dish

Chicken Olive Anglehair Pasta; Perfect for a Summers Eve

Chicken Olive Angelhair Pasta
Light pasta with lots of flavor perfect for a summer evening.

Apologies for the vagueness of the ingredient amounts but please note the more the better so don't worry about overdoing it.

Generous handful of Italian Parsley.
2 cloves garlic
Delicate Olive Oil
2 chicken breasts diced
2 cups of green olives with pimento
1/2 small onion
1/2 package angel hair pasta
>1/2 cup grated Parmesan or Romano cheese

1. Add 1/4 cup olive oil to pan (no heat yet).
2. Chop/dice garlic, onion and Italian parsley (remove thicker stems before chopping) and add to oil. Let sit while preparing other items.
3. Chop olives and set aside.
4. Boil pasta, when done add 1tbsp oil to stop it from sticking. Set aside.
5. Turn on heat to pan, add chicken and cook. 5 minutes before chicken is done add olives.
6. Add cooked pasta to mixture and if needed add more oil to adequately cover all ingredients.
7. Add 1/2 cup grated cheese and stir.



Serve with extra grated cheese on the table. Enjoy.


I leave on a business trip tomorrow morning so sadly I will not have another post until Thursday.  My apologies but I do promise Thursday will be worth checking in!!

Sleep well all,
xox
Dish

Sweet Shoppe Birthay Banner Printable

I went all out for this banner and it was a serious headache but it was really beautiful.  I just love the hanging Donuts so much so that when you make your own banner and if you want to use them you may download them here.

Okay so enough of the Sweet Shoppe Party.  I truly hope that if you use some of the ideas you found here that you try to add your own flare to the event and share with us all.  So boring it is to only chat about what I do!! 

On to more fabulous things Monday!  I can't wait.

Have a wonderful weekend all!

xox
Dish

Sweet Shoppe Birthday Party Cupcake Toppers

For the Sweet Shoppe party I created these personalised cupcake toppers but if I had the opportunity to do this theme again I think I would try to be a little more creative.  Yes, they looked great and matched the theme but I wish I would have pursued real candy toppers.  Perhaps creative candy figurines made out of various candies and stuck together with icing or fancy retro candy straight from Charlie's Chocolate Factory.  How exciting would cupcakes be with the twirly multi coloured suckers sticking out of them?!  Please share with us if you come up with other wonderful ideas!

One more night of the Candy Shoppe and then we will move on to other fun things and ideas.  Don't forget Mother's Day is quickly approaching so you may want to give that some thought when planning activities/crafts with the kids this weekend.

Night all, its been a long week and I need to veg!

xox
Dish

Sweet Shoppe First Birthday Month Banner Printable Tags

You probably know I have a special place in my heart for the first birthday month banners.  I take every opportunity to suggest to friends that they make the effort to take monthly photos for this very reason.  There is never a first birthday party where at some point in time all the guests don't go to stop and look at each photo of the wee one, smiling and remembering as they walk along.  Don't even get me started on the fact that the banner is a huge keepsake...would it be bad to pull them out at my sons' weddings?  Would that make me the crazy "mother-in-law"?

Anyway, here is the Monthly Banner a girlfriend (thanks JS) put together for her daughters first birthday.  I provided the monthly tags (which you can download here) and she did all the creative work to put this beauty together. The tags aren't specific to the Sweet Shoppe theme so if your party colours are shades of pink you'd do fine to use them.

I truly hope they inspire you to formally show off your little one at their first affair.

Happy crafting.

xox
Dish

PS  Shout out KS!  Thanks for always checking in.  

The Sweet Shoppe Birthday Party Sweet Box Printable

What would a Sweet Shoppe Party be without a matching bag or box to take candy or baked goods home in?  It would stink in my opinion and be just plain unfair....so here you go.

Designed to fit a cupcake but certainly limited only by your imagination.  You may download it here but please note it needs to be printed on an 11x17 to make the 3 inch cube.  Please also note....not a ton of fun to cut out and put together but I will leave that most certainly in your capable hands.

Back to working on my day job.

Night all.
xox
Dish

Sweet Shoppe Birthday Child Party Hat

Well this was a first for me.  Creating birthday hats really added to the party but it also meant there was much added labour for me.  Sure printing them up was easy but then I had to cut and assemble which was consuming (especially if you need a lot of them).

You can download the "Sweets" hat here for your own use. 

I say, try to delegate this one out if you can or simply plan enough ahead and do a few every day.  It can't be all fun and games right...or can it?!

Enjoy and night all,
Dish