Picnic

A Backyard S'More Party!

We have had an amazing experience at Eero and Wilder's preschool and are getting a bit sad to be leaving at the end of the month.  I'm afraid E + W will be in for a real culture shock moving from a nurturing play-based school here at home and moving to what might be a more rigid format at their country school in France.  The French are known for many wonderful things, but being warm-fuzzy parents is not one of them.  Eek!

We decided to host a party with our preschool family to solidify the friendships we have made before departing for the year.  A s'more party seemed fitting with this warm weather and a backyard fire pit that has seen little use since last summer.  The party was the first time the boys had had a s'more and they were a hit!  More, more pweeze, mama...MORE!!!

To Make:  

supplies- paper straws, construction paper, glue(I used Elmer's), stapler, brown paper lunch bags

Cut triangles out of construction paper.  Cut feathers out of an alternating color of construction paper, making them a bit smaller than the triangles.  Glue the feather on top of the triangle and allow to dry.  Glue the straw on top of the feather leaving a 1/2" of straw hanging over the end.  

Fill the paper bags with chocolate bars, graham crackers, and marshmallows.  Fold over the top of the bag one time and staple closed.  Slide the straw arrow through the opening.

I had a moment of panic when the RSVP's started rolling in and the reality of having 16 2-year-olds set in.  To keep the littles entertained, I booked a musician at the last minute and was fortunate that Tamsen of Orange Sherbet was available.  She is one of my local faves, and played at Bijou's second and third birthdays.

The menu:

Mini Fried Chicken Biscuit Sandwiches

Orecchiette with Prosciutto & Asparagus

Mango-Beet Summer Rolls

I enjoy cooking, so in the past I typically prepare the food for my parties.  To be honest, it usually stresses me out. I become all bitchy and bark orders at Doug so I have now learned that for large parties, it is best for me to arrange for it to be catered.  My favorite is Ann's Catering in Berkeley.

The party flower is a favorite of mine... the peony.  Currently, you can buy a bunch at Trader Joe's for $6.99. Score!

Blackberry-Mint Gin & Tonic

(serves 1)

4 blackberries

5 mint leaves

1 oz. fresh squeezed lemon juice

2 oz. gin

1 oz. tonic water

Muddle the blackberries, mint leaves and lemon juice in the bottom of a glass.  Top with gin and tonic water.  Stir and top with ice.

Grapefruit Cocktail

(serves 1)

1/2 c. fresh grapefruit juice

1/2 c. club soda

1 oz. lime juice

1 tsp. sugar

2 oz. tequila

Mix the grapefruit juice, lime juice and sugar together until the sugar dissolves.  Stir in the tequila and top with ice and club soda.

Top Shelf Margaritas

(serves 1)

1 oz. Patron Tequila

1/2 oz. Cointreau

2. oz. fresh squeezed lime juice

1/2 oz. agave nectar

Mix all of the ingredients together and top with a lot of ice.

All and all, it was a great party!  The kids had fun dancing and eating s'mores.  The parent's enjoyed the food and cocktails.  And the best part was spending time with friends.  Something I always cherish.

 

The Rebel

In true rooster fashion (Bijou's Chinese Zodiac sign), my eldest is turning out to be quite the brave little child.  She's usually game to try anything new which I hope will remain a strong quality of hers for life.  I too like to try new things but feel much more comfortable with someone there by my side, even if my comrade is only 7.

So with a week off of school, we planned out our Bay Area adventures...

Top on our list... iFly in Union City.  As a mother of three, I could never sign the release forms to jump out a real plane (something I wish I had tried before having so many dependants) so this indoor skydiving facility, open to all ages over three, seemed like a perfect alternative.  (After having tried this, I would NOT recommend it for a 3 year old.)

First you watch a short instructional video and suit up.

Next you enter the wind chamber and take a seat on the bench and wait your turn to be pulled in.  The experience was intense and extremely realistic and had our adrenalin pumping in a good way.

We had a blast!

Next on the list... The Rebel wanted to get her ears pierced.  

Our last adventure for her winter break was a trip to San Francisco to watch the Chinese New Year's parade with her cousins.  As always, the parade was colorful and lively and a nice reminder of all the wonderful multicultural events the Bay Area continues to offer.

 

I have fun hanging out with this kid :)

Made with Love by Dad

I saw this DIY cutting board project on Design Sponge a while back and sent it to my Dad who has both the skills and equipment to handle a project like this.  I was pleasantly surprised to find not one but 3 of these lovely cutting boards made from a beautiful piece of walnut when I opened my secret Santa gift during our family's gift exchange.  I plan to keep one at my studio for use during craft night, which I have promised myself to host in the near future, one for daily chopping use, and the last one all nice and pretty for parties and such.  

Thanks Dad!  I love them.

A Holiday Pajama Party

It's become a tradition for Bijou to host her own holiday party every year.  I thought this might slip by the wayside this year, but after she expressed her enthusiasm to do it again, I found it hard to say, "no."  So with just a few days to prepare, I limited to her to just a handful of friends from her class at school and quickly sent out an Evite.

She settled on a pajama party with a viewing of a holiday themed movie.  Pizza and popcorn, of course, along with some snowy cupcakes.  The silver trees and deer toppers can be purchased here.

The reindeer bags of popcorn and water bottles idea came from Pinterest and I think won me "Best-Mom-of-the-year-award" from Eero & Wilder.

Blueberry Vodka Lemonade

Perhaps this post is better suited for a Friday, or maybe it's the perfect solution to beat those Monday blues.

I'm not much of a cocktail person and had a moment of panic when I decided to throw a cocktail party  and had no idea how to make a cocktail.  As usual, I took to Pinterest for inspiration and discovered this simple and tasty recipe that my party-goers claimed, "it's as smooth as Kool-Aid."

Blueberry-Vodka Lemonade

1 part blueberry vodka

2 parts lemonade

Add one king size ice cube and a couple of fresh blueberries.

I added a wedge of lemon and striped straws for good looks.

 

To see more party inspiration, visit my "I Heart Parties" board on Pinterest.

A Holiday Tea

As you can see, I'm playing catch-up this week here on Picnic.  My excuse... one of my little guys broke out in hives and a double ear infection Christmas Day making my relaxing holiday... well, not so relaxing.  So although my blogging intentions were good, I have not found a good time to sit down and share some of my holiday highlights until now.

A mother-daughter tea was decided on among myself and 3 of my close girlfriends to celebrate the upcoming holidays.  Bijou was delighted that I had come up with a good alternative to taking her to the San Francisco Nutcracker.  I had taken her last year and she desparately wanted to go again but I told her that I needed a year off to recuperate from last year's experience which involved a few threats and a lot of whining.

The girls enjoyed their tea sandwiches and scones and we indulged in champagne and some traditional English fare.

Bijou had good manners (for the most part) and has earned the opportunity to see the Nutcracker in 2012. 

Yummies from Crown & Crumpet.

Bijou's Cookie Party

This post is a bit belated, but as I like to say, "better late than never!"

I'm couldn't be happier that my little 6-year-old has caught my entertaining bug.  When she asked if she could have a holiday party with her friends this year, I knew I couldn't say "no" even though our calendar was filling up quickly and I wasn't exactly in a good position to take on any more.

We decided on a cookie decorating party and found the perfect Evite invitation with the details scrolled out onto a recipe card.

My Mom was kind enough to mix, roll and bake the cookies for me during her weekly visit.

The kids got to work, frosting and sprinkling the cookies and licking their fingers, of course.

Photo Booth

I had the pleasure of going to Bijou's school and photographing her and her classmates for a project they were working on for their Grandparents.  I bought a set of props from this shop, and used the leftover tablecloth from my boys carnival-themed first birthday party for the backdrop. The kids had a great time and the photos made a cute addition to the books they would be giving to their Grandparents.

I plan to reuse it all at my niece's first birthday this weekend.  The photos make for a cute party favor too.

One Pan Wonder- Chicken Puttanesca

Hallelujah...  I've found a recipe my ENTIRE family will eat!  And it truly can be made in 30 minutes like the recipe suggests. It's super easy and is the perfect weeknight dinner.  Just don't forget to wear a pot holder when grabbing the pan handle after it's been in the 450 degree oven.  I need to remember this next time.  Burns on your palm are no fun, trust me.  It was challenging trying to change diapers the next day with one hand.  Especially since my guys are little wiggle worms on the changing table.

Chicken Puttanesca from Sunset Magazine

Apple Picking Adventure

We headed up north to Petaluma a couple of weeks ago to go apple picking.  We picked this beautiful ranch that offered organic apples, farm animals and natural beef.  It was a wonderful Indian summer kind of day and the farm was perfect.  The apples were not the best I've seen but the volunteer farm-hand that took us around and let the kids into the pen to pet the goats and pigs made up for it.

{sweet b}

{me & eero}

We decided to make these Baked Apples with our pickings and they were delicious.