My daughter's1st Birthday

This week has been pretty busy (thus my delays in blogging new posts).  I have been up and about planning and getting things ready for my daughter's first birthday.  At first it was going to be a fairy birthday party... then it changed to all things pink and girly... then it changed to flowers... and then... all the ideas got enmeshed.  So here's how everything turned out.

Idea:

from Catch My Party

Reality:

The picture collage was from Michaels.  It was actually a gift my sister gave me for my baby shower.  You can find others like this here:  
I wish the "G" was more fancy, but instead of finding a wooden letter, painting it and coating it with glitter... I found this letter at Michaels.  Time saver.  I also forgot to write out the months on pretty cardstock cut into circles.  So last minute, I took the left over party favor bags, wrote on them with permanent marker, and taped it onto the pictures on the wall.  Next time... I will have to plan ahead and remember.

Ideas:

Pink Strawberry Twinkies from Pink Preppy Lilly Lover

Cheekecake Stuffed Strawberries from The Girl Who Ate Everything

Rose Cake from I am Baker

Ombre Cake from Ucreate Parties

 Reality:

Cheesecake stuffed strawberries were a hit.  The recipe for the creamcheese filling was delicious.  Definitely making these again!

Instead of making my own twinkies, I went out and bought a box.  I should have bought 2 boxes so they kids wouldn't fight over them.  I decided not to take off the wrappers at the last minute.  Maybe next time I will so it would be more presentable.  I'll just have sandwich bags near by just in case there are left overs.

Then... there was my cake.  My poor cake.  A few things went wrong.  First, I tried making these babies from Glorious Treats but in pink:

But... when I used the cookie cutter to cut the cake, the cake crumbled and fell apart.  It was devastating. So since I had 3 layers left... I decided to make a cake.  I have never made a cake like this before.  I have never tried to frost a cake to achieve a beautiful look.  I went out and bought a cake frosting kit.  Frosted the cake with store bought white whipped vanilla cream cheese frosting.  Turned out okay.  Then I used the same frosting for my flowers.  First I tried on the sides.  The flowers were droopy.  They didn't even look like flowers anymore.  So I took the frosting off and tried it on the top.  But the frosting kept expanding.  My first thought was that it was too warm in the kitchen.  So I opened the window and stuck the cake in the fridge.  After 20 minutes, I tried again.  Same thing happened.  I put the cake back in the fridge for another 30 minutes.  Nope.  Frosting failure.  Maybe because it was whipped, the frosting wasn't hardening.  So I spread the whipped vanilla cream cheese frosting all over the cake.  Since I was short on time, I thought I could hold off and buy more frosting after a few more hours.  And then when I got to the party site (20 minutes away), I realized that I didn't bring my cake frosting kit.  So in desperation, I went out and bought one of these:

The icing didn't turn out the way I wanted it to... but it wasn't that horrible either.  I just did the top of the cake instead of the entire cake like I had anticipated on doing.  

Idea:

Popcorn Cupcakes from Barbara Beery Kids Cooking

Reality:

(My 5-year-old son helped me fill up the cupcake liners and write the names on the party favor bags.  Instead of using real popcorn, we used the cheddar puffs.  They were more infant/toddler friendly.  The favor bags were filled with pink gummy treats, toys, and candy necklaces.  Candy necklaces can be found at Michaels (candy section near registers) and Walmart (in party favor/decor section).  I looked all over Target, different grocery stores, and even gas stations!  The party favor bags were on clearance (97 cents) from Target.

For dinner, my husband and I wanted to create a menu that was kid friendly and yet easy for my daughter to eat since she only has 3 teeth and cannot chew really well.  We decided to go with comfort food to warm up the party room.

Menu:
Slow Cooker Pot Roast over buttered mashed potatoes, green beans wrapped in bacon, baked mac and cheese, and rice.

Awesome Slow Cooker Pot Toast Recipe from All Recipies

Slow cooking the Pot Roast gave me so much time.  My husband made me make pot roast in 2 slow cooker.  (Costco gave us the best deal on the roast.)  We ate about 10 lbs of roast.  I added mushrooms, onions, and carrots when I had 3 hours left before the party.

Green Bean Bacon Bundles from How Sweet Eats

These green bean bacon bundles were good.  I followed the recipe exact.  However... I think I would have rather had asparagus.  Too bad they aren't in season and are completely overpriced at the grocery stores!

Idea:


Reality:

 


















The pom pom tissue paper flowers were really beautiful when I made them.  And then when I brought them to the party... they were ruined.  I tried my best to make them beautiful again.  Next time... use smaller width ribbon... and ivory/cream tissue paper instead of white.

My daughter wore a cute simple tutu dress from Target.  It was a gift from one of my close friends.  The hairpiece was given to my daughter as a gift a few months back.  I believe it was from the Children's Place.  Stockings are from Target as well, I believe.  They were borrowed from my niece.

BTW... I scored this blue dress from Target recently on clearance for $7.  What a steal!  There's also the same dress in pink.