Happy Birthday to Me.

My 25th birthday was on Thursday the 6th, but I had been celebrating since last Monday it seemed! Mr. P has a brother whose birthday is 3 days before mine! It was quite a busy week!

I'd like to share some pictures of my Sushi Birthday Night with the girls. We did some easy cupcake decorating and demolished sushi from Sakura.

I thought using the rice crisp cereal over the cupcake made it look like the puffed rice sushi variety. It also tasted awesome and gave the lemon cupcakes some crunch. We used "pull n' peel" twizzlers and gummy worms for the decorations on top.

I also put together a party favor bag. I planned this party at the very last minute and didn't get to diy a lot of the things I would have liked. I did keep up with the "kawaii" kind of theme and had frog shaped plates, a cupcake "cupcake" holder, paint-dipped chopsticks, and a cute notepad that opened into an apple shape. I knew that was all too much to fit into a take-out style box.

 I found out about "Furoshiki" which is a Japanese wrapping cloth. It's super environmentally friendly. I found an easy guide posted on "Keeping the Christmas Spirit Alive,365"  I have extra material lying around and cut some squares out. There are many different styles to try. I went with the one that looked like a shopping bag. I just twisted the "handles" together and secured with the chopsticks!

  

It's National Toasted Marshmallow Day!

I finally found a few sites online that list those off the wall holidays. Brownielocks and Holiday Insights. Some just make me laugh, like Wonderful Weirdos Day coming up on Sept. 9th!

In observance of toasty marshmallow day I thought it would be nice to share some yummy recipes I found.

Chocolate Marshmallow Cake

 

Toasted Marshmallow Milkshake

 

 

and the always classic S'mores Bar

 

 

 

I'm afraid to say that a lot of my baking resources have ran dangerously low. I live in the Florida panhandle and all this week we were expecting the storm. Wasn't a good time to go car shopping even after waiting all this time for the insurance payment from the accident! Needless to say, I do not like to keep asking people to take me to the store. So, instead of making one of these awesome goodies listed, I improvised.

 

 Microwave Milano S'mores

There are really two ways you could go about making these. I chose the route that contained more cookies and sweetness. Your other option includes zapping the Milano cookies for literally 5 seconds, or enough for you to slide the cookies apart. Then mush a marshmallow on one side (you already got the chocolate!) and microwave for about 15-20 seconds. Just keep an eye on it! Add the top...ta da! Instant s'mores. Or double the goods like I did.

 

 

I used some chocolate baking chips instead of a candy bar.

 

I split the marshmallows in half and placed on a cookie.
 Topped with a few chips.

 

Melty Goodness!

 

I gobbled these up!

 

 

A really quick and easy indulgent snack! It's been a long week everyone! To all my fellow gulf coast residents I'm glad FL missed the worst of it and hope all others are well! We had cancelled this month's HC Pinners meeting because it was scheduled the night the storm was hitting. We will re-schedule. You'll most likely see 2 meetings featured for September!

 

My birthday is also coming up next week. I'm throwing a sushi party at home for close friends. I have some nifty ideas and will gladly show off my kawaii party! Follow me on Pinterest, you can check out my board for it.

 

I'm getting out of my end of summer rut and ready for festivities and fall!

 



 





 

Halloween Mash Up

Here are a few Halloween ideas that I plan on trying. A great mash up of some cute diy projects I found on Pinterest and blogs. Enjoy!

 

Wreaths

 

Black Tulle Wreath from Something To Do

I also really like adding a background to it.

Lil' Luna added a background on their Trick or Treat wreath. I like using a silhouette in the center. Maybe actually cut it out like a jack-o-lantern? Either way, I must make a wreath in the beginning of October to start off the festivities!

Centerpiece

I've scoured the Internet for ideas. Mine is going to be some kind of mad scientist like mix of these great centerpieces.

The House of Smiths does a cute creepy candy display. I really want to incorporate Halloween candy to munch on!

These painted pumpkins from Happy Mundane are awesomely non traditional but festive. Carved pumpkins are a "tradition" Mr. P and I started last year and we'll definitely have some glowing outside. I'd like painted ones to put on the table. I'm afraid the kitties will destroy and/or eat any carved pumpkins in the house.



Wine Bottle Decor

I have a few wine bottles cluttering up my kitchen window. I think these are just adorable. The vampire and ghosts will look cute in the kitchen! This particular one was found on Woman's Day.

I also found another style of ghost bottle that was made with the frost spray paint. I like that idea to use as a base with these cute faces!

Candles

Halloween must include some kind of candle illumination. While searching for Halloween decor in general I have come across a few ideas involving tights and pantyhose being cut and used to wrap around pumpkins and jars alike. Stashed in my diy board on Pinterest is this idea of spray painting over lace to leave the design.

Look how pretty! From Roadkill Rescue

I think combining the pantyhose trick over a candle holder and spray painting it would be awesome. I got the inspiration from these votive holders from Shelterness.

 







I know I will be able to find some interesting patterned tights at the store!

 

Garland

 I love garland. I think it makes anything instantly festive. There's so many kinds you can buy. I always end up getting the cheap-o foil and wire variety for outdoors. I want to make my own for inside. These two scream cute and Halloween.

 

Let's be honest, any garland making is going to be time consuming. Tying or gluing tiny objects onto string doesn't sound as appealing as it ends up looking! Buying a bag of the cheap variety candy and still achieving the same results sounds like a plan to me! iVillage inspired this one. Simply staple them together!

 

 

The pom garland is adorable. This one requires more effort than stapling, but Paper Source gives you a wonderful PDF tutorial that is super easy to follow. I can't wait to try this one out! Also, save the idea for other holidays and events!

 

 

What are you planning for Halloween?