Spring Has Sprung!

Spring in Texas is indescribable.
From the great sandstorms much like the 1930s 'Dust Bowl Days', to the beautiful Hill Country wildflowers, there is no place on earth like this bit of heaven!
This year has already been touted as one of the most beautiful bluebonnet years in history.  If you've never seen Texas' state flower in bloom, you don't know what you're missing.  People travel from all over the world to the Texas Hill Country in March and April (the area in Central Texas, surrounding Austin), just to see this phenomenon firsthand.
Here's a little glimpse of what I'm talking about:

Cheers to the Texas Bluebonnet!

'We're Blooming!'

When I discovered the fabrics that my client had chosen for her baby's new nursery, I just KNEW we had to use the pattern in her baby shower design. And boy, we did!  What better way to kick off the party than with a custom-designed invitation!  From there, the baby shower began to 'bloom'!

and it 'bloomed'....

...and it 'bloomed'...

...and it 'bloomed' some more...

The guests had a great time, as did the guest of honor!
Who wouldn't have a good time, sitting by the pool
with so many colors of 'flowers' and flavors around?

Serving colorful, cool drinks on a hot spring day - like lime, mango and strawberry margaritas - was just what the guests wanted...

...along with a variety of 'baby' bites!

 

...refreshing fruit on mini-forks and rich chocolate brownie cubes...

 

And even a punch bowl full of pink lemonade 

with baby rubber ducks! (girl ducks, of course!)

The dessert display continued the floral theme

...with a lattice backdrop...

...and when it was time to leave, 

the guests even took home a special party favor....

 ...a 'baby' seedling potted for planting... 

in my favorite color...

*PINK*!!

(Many thanks to madisoncary photography 

for providing me with such great photos to share!)

Cheers!

St. Patty Pretty!

"Been looking for that 'pot of gold'? Well you're in 'luck'- We found it!"...

...So began the invitation (from online party pros 'cocodot') to the St. Patrick's Day-themed dinner party that was held in an empty office space (did I say 'empty'?) on the top floor of a downtown office building.
Transforming the space into a dining room was a challenge, but we managed to create a dining room 'above the city',  much to the delight of the dinner guests!


 Greeting the guests with Irish bagpipe music and a champagne flute of our signature drink, 'Liquid Gold', when they exited the elevator, surprised them and started the party! So yummy!
 (You can get the drink recipe by just clicking on our Drink Page tab, above.)

 Keeping with the 'pot of gold' theme, the two-room office, high above the city, was carefully crafted into a 'solid gold' dining space using only gold linens, chargers, candles, accents, and even flatware...

Gold coins were used as a small detail on the table......

and even gold spotlights set the lighting-
Guests were served from the 'green' room...   

The dessert table held Irish mugs along with Bailey's Irish Cream, both just waiting for the hot coffee ...

...while rich buttercream cupcakes, topped with edible gold sugar crystals, were happy on top of a green mercury cake stand.

Other desserts included Key Lime bars, and small bowls of 'over-the-rainbow' sherbet, each topped with a stenciled shamrock cookie!  Delish!

I have to thank my assistant Lisa for all of her help in getting the party literally 'off the ground'!   

Also, the wonderful paper designs and photography by none other
than my sweet and talented design daughter, Madison Luikens, of madisoncaryphotography....

And finally.... What 'luck' to have such a great team, and how 'lucky' I am to celebrate my 'touch of Irish  heritage by sharing it with such FUN friends!

Cheers!

 (Yes, that is me on the right!)

The Luck of the Irish!

The 'wearin' of the green' is just around the corner, and being part Irish-Scotch, and a 'ginger' in the family, I can think of no better reason for throwin' a party!!
There are lots of 'St. Paddy' party ideas out in web world, but here are two that are based on inexpensive (free!) printables, and that are SO easy to do at home...just click, print, cut and assemble, and you're ready to go!
A great way to decorate your food and beverage areas, or just about anything you can think of that needs a little 'green'!

Start with the cute lime green cupcake toppers, designed by MadisonCary ,along with her little straw flags, and you've got a party in the making!  Her version above is just too cute...you might not even mind getting pinched! 
Also, be sure to check out Living Locurto where you will be 'seeing green' in no time, with her fun printable party collection!  Amy gives you enough chances to be 'lucky' with her shamrock banner, and bottle wrappers!
 With either one, you'll have the 'Luck of the Irish' with you for the party,....and that's no blarney!

Finally, you won't want to miss a special 'Penthouse' St. Patrick's Dinner Party I'll be sharing in two weeks, which will really showcase all the glitz and glamour of a 'top-notch' dinner party, hosted at a 'top-floor' location! So much gold, and so much fun!  And that's no blarney, either!  So, until then, I'm 'wishin' the top o' the mornin' to ya'...and then some!
Cheers,

Look Who's 100!!

Hard to believe, but America's favorite cookie is gettin' ready to celebrate the BIG one!  The BIG 100th, I mean!
So what do you do to celebrate the 100th birthday of the Oreo cookie?
Well, how about homemade Cookies 'n Cream Ice Cream for starters?  (Makes perfect sense to me...)

For the recipe go to Celebrations or check out our Recipe page on this blog.
Either way, 'a kid will eat the middle of an Oreo first, and save the chocolate
cookie outside for last!"
Happy 100th Birthday to the Oreo Cookie company, and
Cheers!