Penis Cupcakes

One of my really good friends Heather had her Bachelorette party and I was in charge of the dessert. I had a penis cakepan for a cake but misplaced it and had to change my plans.....

Think... think... so I figured what could I do with cupcakes? They are easy to transport and each bachelorette diva can get one all to herself?! I went to the grocery store and looked for shapes to make a penis for my cupcake topping. I found the "100 calorie" (perfect for those dieting divas) in a pack of nutty peanut shaped cookies and the cinnamon swirl cookies. They were perfect to shape an outline for a penis! Then... I got the black chocolate sprinkles to finish off my masterpiece!

Tell me what you think of my new Penis Cupcake creation!

Cupcake Liners

I found these super fancy cupcake liners today from Paper Orchid.

These would be beautiful for a elegant bridal shower, wedding or birthday.

I have fallen in love with these!

Pretty in Pink Punch

This photo caught my eye for its pretty pink color. Then the recipe sounded just as good as it looked. This Pretty in Pink Punch would be great for a Girls night dinner, Baby Girl Shower, Bridal Shower, Bridal Luncheon, Child's Birthday, Mother's day and more! (I did a similar punch at a Bridal shower, themed colored pink and brown) The recipe includes instructions for both non-alcoholic and alcoholic versions so you can please everyone.

Pretty in Pink Punch


Makes about 9 cups

Ingredients
1 (12-oz.) can frozen pink lemonade concentrate, thawed (photo from southernliving.com)
4 cups white cranberry juice cocktail
1 qt. club soda, chilled
Garnish: fresh mint sprigs

Preparation
Stir together lemonade concentrate and cranberry juice cocktail in a large pitcher. Cover and chill at least 1 hour or up to 24 hours. Stir in club soda just before serving. Garnish, if desired.

Champagne Punch: Substitute 1 (750-milliliter) bottle extra-dry Champagne or sparkling wine and 1/4 cup orange liqueur for club soda; proceed with recipe as directed

Pom Poms

Thought this a really cute decor idea for a baby or bridal shower. They're lightweight so you don't have to worry about them coming crashing down and are easy and inexpensive to make.
Over at marthastewart.com, there's instructions on how to make these tissue paper pom-poms with your own materials. Or, you can buy the kit with all materials included (at your local crafts store like Michaels or Joann fabrics).

Save the pom poms for the nursery of the Mommy to be.

Book Shower Templates

Book Shower Templates

I love the idea of a children's book-themed shower where guests are asked to bring a favorite childhood book of theirs as their gift. (or you can theme your Bridal shower to your preference and still ask each guest to bring a book). Sure, you may not end up with the bottle warmer you actually need, but you're certain to receive gifts that hold a certain amount of sentimental signficance from your guests.
A downside of the book shower? The person who will receive most pleasure from the books isn't yet born and will probably have a difficult time recalling who gave which book and why when thinking back on his or her in utero memories.
I found these Gifted Bookplates to go along with the books you'll receive as gifts. The bookplate serves both as a space to note who gave the book as well as a place for the gift-giver to leave a special message for the baby.
These bookplates can be printed on adhesive-backed or regular paper (try using colored paper) that you adhere with a glue-stick or double-stick tape.
If you're planning a book shower, you can choose to send off a bookplate or two as part of the invitation. Let the guest know that you'd love them to bring a favorite childhood book and for them to write out their message for the baby on the bookplate. Or, in the tradition of most showers, make the message-writing an activity during the event itself.
Not throwing or having a baby shower anytime soon? You can use these bookplates on any book you plan to give -- even ones directly from you to your little one.

10 Ways to Green your Wedding

1. Choose a green location to have your wedding and/or reception. This could be a park, a museum, or a local charity venue. You could also look for hotels or restaurants that are green, either by serving organic menus or adopting a code of green business ethics such as recycling, buying local and donating part of their proceeds to charity. Check listings such as Green America’s (formerly Co-op America) National Green Pages.

2. Serve an organic and local menu. Supporting local farms and businesses is important and your food will be fresher. Try to find a caterer that uses local and organic ingredients to make dishes. Everything from your cake to your appetizers, even your drinks can be organic but even just a little bit counts.

3. Send out invitations printed on recycled or tree free paper. Companies like Twisted Limb offer beautiful wedding invitations made of recycled, handmade paper.

4. Wear a gorgeously green gown. Your eco-friendly wedding gown may be something borrowed, a family heirloom, a gently used dress, or a vintage beauty. It could also be made from sustainable eco-friendly fabrics like bamboo, hemp, organic cotton or peace silk. The options keep growing everyday as new eco-designers appear or traditional designers add eco-friendly selections to their lines of wedding gowns. Get your bride and groom wedding rings green also, Brilliant Earth.

5. Less is more. One option is to cut out all the unnecessary extras like favors, menus, place cards and things that are not needed. This saves resources and money. If you would like to get favors go to Beau Coup , Little Things Favors , Bella Figura , Nature's Gifts & More , The wedding favors bar , GetMarried , I do , Endangered Species Chocolate for eco-friendly favor ideas.

6. Get creative with your décor. Nature is full of beautiful items that can be sued to decorate then be returned to nature after the wedding; rocks, twigs, flowers, potted plants, trees, leaves…Use the bountiful options nature offers to create stunning decorations, centerpieces and more. Once the wedding is over these pieces of nature can be placed in your yard or garden.

7. Ditch the disposables. Forget about disposable plates, napkins, silverware and all that. Opt for rented items that can be washed and reused over and over again. If you are having a small intimate wedding you would even consider purchasing tablecloths, plates and tableware that you could reuse in your home after the wedding.

8. Candle light is extremely romantic; make it eco-friendly as well by using natural soy wax or beeswax candles. Regular candles are made with paraffin, a petroleum based product. Not a green choice.

9. Green your transportation. Arrive to your destinations in eco-style with hybrid or electric vehicles. You could even provide transportation for your guests with buses that run on biofuels.

10. Have a great green honeymoon. After your wedding plan to stay close to home or travel to an eco-resort or hotel to keep the green going after the big day.

Green Wedding

My husband and I went to dinner last night with two of our good friends, Heather and Daniel. They recently got engaged and are planning their wedding for Jan 2010. Heather and I were talking about her wedding ideas and she told me that they were going to be having an eco-friendly wedding. I thought that was such a great idea! I have read alot about this being the new wedding craze for this year and to come, but haven't done enough research on it!

Creating a wedding that isn't wasteful or polluting is appealing to more and more brides. The number of earth-friendly products and services is growing, giving the bride and groom a range of options. A lot of it is buying local fresh flowers from the Alachua farmers markets or nurseries. Or for instance, supporting a local artisan is much more earth friendly than having cheap trinkets shipped half way around the world! Eco-friendly brides and grooms are not only doing good for our envirnment but also helping the community.

Im excited about doing more research in helping Heather plan her Eco-friendly wedding in Gainesville :)