Camping Birthday Party - Cake

Birthday's are exciting - you get to see all your friends and family, watch the joy on the kids faces as they play and open presents, and most of all, eat cake!!!
When attending a birthday party, I would say that the birthday cake is what I look most forward too, and it's not just sinking my teeth into that yummy, sugary frosting that gets me excited, it's the presentation.  Below is the cake that was made for our toddler's camping birthday party.

Cake By Kristen

In my research, I've come across some other people's fun camping desserts.

Kitchen Bliss

Sarah McHenry @ cakecentral.com

Icing Adventures

Rate My Cake

Cakes By Kali

Cake Picture Gallery

Sandy's Creative Cakes

My Girlish Whims

Bump Smitten

Hope this inspires you to get creative for hosting your camping birthday party!

Vesna ♥ 

Father's Day Gifts

Only a couple of more shopping days left until Father's Day!!  If you're like me, you'll wait until the very last minute and rush out the door Sunday morning.  Below are a few of my favourite gift ideas:


Stake Barbecue Tool
Buy At:  quirky.com
Price:  $30




Roller Rock Glass
Buy At:  homewetbar.com
Price:  $21

eShave
Buy At:  shopmasc.com
Price:  $32 (Anthony Logistics Shave Kit)




The Original "WORLD'S" Professional Tour Poker Table Set 
Buy At:  amazon.com

Price:  $159

Nespresso CitiZ Automatic Espresso Maker and Milk Frother
Buy At:  amazon.com
Price:  $299

Canon 8 X 25 IS Binoculars
Buy At:  canon.ca
Price:  $360

Armani Exchange Black Ceramic Chronograph Watch 
Buy At:  armaniexchange.com
Price:  $350

   












Bedhead Mens Light Blue Plaid Cotton Sateen Pajamas
Buy At:  thepajamacompany.com
Price:  $138

Game of Thrones - Season 1
Buy At:  amazon.ca
Price:  $40

Have a great Father's day everyone!

♥ Vesna ♥

Camping Birthday Party - Food

The simpler the better is what I suggest for camping-inspired parties.  Go for the classic hotdogs and hamburgers, you can never go wrong.  But if you want a little twist to the traditional, try these recipe's:

BBQ Feta and Hot Banana Pepper Turkey Burgers
By: Jena-Rator

Prep Time: 10 mins
Cook Time: 15 mins
Ready In: 25 mins
Servings: 4

Ingredients:

1 pound ground turkey
1/4 cup seeded, chopped banana peppers
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
salt and pepper to taste


Directions:

1.  Preheat an outdoor grill for high heat.

2.  In a bowl, mix the turkey, peppers, and feta cheese.  Season with salt and pepper.  Form the mixture into four patties.

3.  Cook patties about 8 minutes per side on the prepared grill, to an internal temperature of 180°F (85°C).

Grilled Spicy Lamb Burgers
By:  Alan Hollister

Prep Time:  15 mins
Cook Time:  10 mins
Ready In:  25 mins
Servings:  4

Ingredients:

1 pound ground lamb
2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint leaves
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano
1 tablespoon garlic, chopped
1 teaspoon sherry
1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
1 teaspoon molasses
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 ground black pepper
2 pita bread rounds
4 ounces feta cheese, crumbled

Directions:

1.  Preheat grill for medium heat.

2.  Place the lamb in a large bowl, and mix with the mint, cilantro, oregano, garlic, sherry, vinegar, and molasses.  Season with cumin, allspice, red pepper flakes, salt, and black pepper - mix well.  Shape into 4 patties.

3.  Brush grill grate with oil.  Grill burgers 5 minutes on each side, or until well done.  Heat the pita pocket briefly on the grill.  Serve burgers wrapped in pitas with feta cheese.

Chicago-Style Hot Dog
By: bonmot

Prep Time:  10 mins
Cook Time:  5 mins
Ready In:  15 mins
Serving(s):  1


Ingredients:
1 all-beef hot dog
1 poppyseed hot dog bun
1 tablespoon yellow mustard
1 tablespoon sweet green pickle relish
1 tablespoon chopped onion
4 tomato wedges
1 dill pickle spear
2 sport peppers
1 dash celery salt

Directions:

1.  Bring a pot of water to a boil.  Reduce heat to low, place hot dog in water, and cook for 5 minutes or until done.  Remove hot dog and set aside.  Carefully place a steamer basket into the pot and steam the hot dog bun 2 minutes or until warm.
2.  Place hot dog in the steamed bun.  Pile on the toppings in this order: yellow mustard, sweet green pickle relish, onion, tomato wedges, pickle spear, sport peppers, and celery salt.  The tomatoes should be nestled between the hot dog and the top of the bun.  Place the pickle between the hot dog and the bottom of the bun.  Don't even think about ketchup!

Bon Appetit!

♥ Vesna ♥

Camping Birthday Party - More and More S'mores

A camping-themed party is not a party without those delicious treats that we've all come to know and love, S'mores!  They are so simple to make and such an important part of the whole camping experience.  All you need is:

1 large marshmallow 

1 graham cracker

2 to 4 pieces of a chocolate bar (try Cadbury's Dairy Milk, Neilson's Jersey Milk, or Hershey's Skor Bar).  

Before you start roasting your marshmallow, have your graham crackers and chocolate ready.  Place the pieces of chocolate on one graham cracker, set the other graham cracker aside.

Now, heat the marshmallow over an open flame until it starts to brown the edges and melt.  

Pick up your graham cracker with chocolate and place the marshmallow on top.  Quickly grab the other graham cracker and sandwich the marshmallow in on top of the chocolate.  

Allow the marshmallow to cool before eating.

Instead of making s'mores by the fire, you can opt for a simpler version, the s'more trail mix.  Here's the recipe by Betty Crocker:

2 cups of Golden Grahams Cereal
1/2 cup of small chocolate-covered pretzel twists
1/2 cup of miniature marshmallows
1/2 cup of cocoa roasted almonds
1/4 cup chocolate-covered raisins

S'mores for dessert anyone?  Try this s'mores-inspired cupcake recipe from Annie's Eats:

Crust:
1 1/2 cups graham crackers (approx. 1 pkg out of the Honeymaid box)
1/4 cup sugar
5 T unsalted butter, melted
2 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped into small pieces
Marshmallows (you'll need about 100 mini marshmallows)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line 24 muffin cups with paper liners. In food processor, pulse graham crackers until they are fine crumbs. Add sugar and melted butter and mix until well combined. Add approximately 1 tablespoon of crumbs to the bottom of each liner. Use a small circle object (I used a shot glass) to press the crumb mixture evenly into the bottom of each liner. Bake for 5 minutes and remove from the oven. Divide the chopped chocolate evenly among the cupcakes. Add approximately 4 marshmallows to each tin.

Cake:
2 cups plus 2 T sugar
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 large eggs
1 cup whole milk
1/2 cup canola oil
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup boiling water

Sift together flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking powder, soda and salt in your mixing bowl. In a small bowl, add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla and whisk together. Add to dry ingredients and beat on low speed until just incorporated. Increase speed to medium and beat 2 minutes. Add boiling water and beat on low until just combined.

Spoon batter evenly into cupcake liners, filling each about 3/4 of the way full. The marshmallows will float to the top but that's okay. Bake approximately 18 - 20 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center cupcake comes out clean. Cool for about 5 minutes in the pan and then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

Frosting:
8 egg whites, room temperature
2 cups sugar
1/2 tsp cream of tartar
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 large Hershey bar

In a clean stainless steel mixing bowl or double boiler, combine egg whites, sugar, and cream of tartar. Whisk frequently, heating the mixture over medium-high heat until the temperature reaches 160 degrees. Transfer egg mixture to stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Begin mixing at low speed, gradually increasing to medium-high speed as the mixture becomes thicker. Beat until stiff, glossy peaks form. Add in the vanilla and mix until just combined. Transfer frosting to a piping bag fitted with a large star tip and frost as desired.

Using a kitchen torch held about 6 inches away from the cupcakes on a non-flammable surface, brown the cupcakes lightly as desired. Keep the torch moving so you don't catch any spot on fire. Just like toasting marshmallows by a campfire, slow and steady is a better approach than sticking the marshmallow to close to the fire, you're going for lightly toasted frosting not black and bubbly marshmallow. Garnish with chocolate bar segments.

Enjoy all the s'mores recipes!  I know you will!

♥ Vesna ♥

Camping Birthday Party - Invitations and Decorating

Summer is fast approaching and when I think of summer, I think camping!  Our family likes to plan at least four camping trips each summer.  Since we can't go as often as we'd like (and we love it so much), we thought it would be fun to bring it to our own backyard.  We planned a camping-themed party for our little girl.  It was a complete success and all the kids absolutely loved it.  You can choose to have the kids stay overnight and sleep in their tents, but for our party, we decided not to make it a sleepover camp-out.

Invitations

• Invitations can include images of tents, campfires (roasting marshmallows), sleeping bags, lanterns, a compass, boats/canoes, sun, moon, and stars, bears and bugs!

Expressions Paperie

Decorating

• Gather as many tents as you can (in relation to the space you have available), and set them up in the yard.  
• Inside one of the tents (the biggest), place a kiddie pool with plastic balls for the kids to play and jump in.  Fill another tent with balloons.
• Pick a spot in front of the tents and pour some soil on the ground (in a circle).  Gather some large stones and place it around the soil circle.  To finish off, put a few logs in the middle and make it look like a campfire.  Stick large marshmallows on thin long branches and place them around the campfire (you can do this now or later, when it starts to get dark, as the kids might get tempted to eat them before dinner).  Purchase camping chairs for the kids attending the party, and arrange them in front of the campfire (little will the kids know, this chair is a gift each of them would be taking home later that evening, along with some other goodies).   Buy plastic kids harmonicas and place them on each of the children's chairs (they can take them home later too).  If you have one (and know how to play), place a guitar somewhere near the campfire and play some fun campfire songs, like Kumbaya or Alice the Camel, for the kids.  
• Hang lanterns around your yard, fence, and deck area.
• Use items in nature to decorate your table.  Pine cones, branches, small stones or pebbles, leaves, and flowers.  You can incorporate these items into your centerpiece as well.  Glue pine cones together, making a circular shape, then glue some leaves, and place a candle in the centre.  Do the same thing using tree branches.  You can also use a galvanized bucket and fill it with a bunch of mums, daisies, or gerberas.  
• Dress your table using bamboo or burlap placemats.  If you choose to go with a tablecloth, try gingham or a leaf pattern.
• Place gummy worms and spiders on tables, around the deck (if you have one), in tents, etc.
• Have a table set up with sun block, insect repellent, flashlights, extra hats, and sunglasses.

Birthday Express

Modern Country Designs

Stay tuned for my next blog, Camping-Inspired Birthday Party - Food and Games, I have plenty more camping party information to share with you!

Vesna ♥

Wedding Trends

A lot of my friends and family have just recently got married, or are getting married soon.  It's so exciting to see them picking out their dresses and tuxedos, arranging taste testing sessions with the banquet hall, choosing their flowers and cake, picking their DJ's, videographers, and photographers, sending out beautiful invitations, and wrapping the gifts for the guests.  My own wedding was 6 years ago and so much is changing in the way of style.  The brides, for example, have chosen to ditch the traditional white shoe, and add a splash of colour.  At a friends shower, her fiancé surprised her with a pair of Manolo Blahnik's (the pair that Sarah Jessica Parker wore in Sex & the City)!  She wore the famous blue shoes on her wedding day - so elegant!  A couple of my cousins decided to match the bridesmaids dresses and got their shoes in the same colour.  

Dresses have gotten a little funkier with ruffled skirts, illusion necklines, horsehair trim, blush-coloured wedding gowns, mermaid style gowns, lace sleeves,  two-tiered skirts, and ostrich feathers.  It's nice to see that there is a dress for every personality!

The wedding rings I have been seeing lately have really caught my eye - they're called halo engagement rings and they are gorgeous - take a look!

 Flowers bring colour and life to your wedding.  Here are my favourites:

Stargazer Lilies, Orchids, and Calla Lilies

Can't wait to attend my next wedding to see the latest styles!!

Vesna :)