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Entertaining

DIY Tutorials, Parties

Safari Boy Baby Shower

It’s a Boy! We celebrated the soon to be addition to our family with a safari theme baby shower.  From safari centerpieces, decorations and a fully safari-scaped dessert table. I am a huge DIY person so most of the decorations and things done here were all DIY. I will share where I bought materials from and how they were made. The safari theme is pretty cool because it can be used for lots of other type of events from birthday parties to baby showers. Enjoy and happy planning!

Centerpieces

I made 3 different type of centerpieces. The first here is made using used formula containers and I bought fabric to cover them up. You can also buy pretty safari themed paper to do the trick. The animals glued on top were found at the Dollar Tree store. Score!! Here are some similar ones you can buy SAFARI ANIMALS

These centerpieces I made using Mason Jars that I have used for other parties in the past. You can find them at craft stores and even Target. I just keep changing out the ribbon and obviously whatever they are topped off with. I ordered the jumbo leaves from Ebay and the little animals were specially hand made… sorry! Can’t buy those

 

Dessert Table

 

Cupcake toppers were bought via Ebay or Amazon sells them too and you can get them faster .. super cheap and cute! You have to order them a good month in advance because they come from China, but hey, they are cute and super cheap.

 

I made the backdrop using dollar store crepe paper and the brown vines…. are made using painters paper… yup those roles of brown paper they layout to prior to painting. I just cut them into thin strips and rolled and crumbled them up to appear like branches. The hanging monkeys were another Dollar Tree $1 score!!  I had some jumbo leaves left over so added those as well.  I used old cardboard boxes to create the jumbo blocks and that wood crate that is an antique I am super lucky to have.

DIY Tutorials, Entertaining, Wedding

Sequin Letter Garland DIY

When it comes to throwing parties the more festive the better!In this post I teach you how to make your very own sequin letter garland one of many things I did as I was planning the biggest celebration so far… my own wedding! With that came a lot of planning, expenses and things that need to be pretty-fied! Since I had an ongoing complete home remodel my wedding needed some tender loving care full of a lot of DIY projects to keep cost low without loosing the festive and fun look I was going after. I am a Pinaholic and this DIY comes from a pin I saw originally on Beautiful Mess.

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If you are a bride to be or simply someone who loves to entertain at your home this pretty and easy to do sequin garland will make any room look more festive. You can opt to change the phrase to whatever you would like. I selected the word LOVE as my garland. I plan on using this at my wedding possibly decorating either the dessert table or maybe a table with our pictures. Who knows, but I am sure it will make any basic table look better.

So first of I hit up my favorite craft store. Jo-Ann Fabric and Craft Stores. Make sure to check online for their coupons and simply bring in your phone. I had a 50% all items so I scored and saved a lot! Here is a quick list of what you will need

 

Supplies:
stretch sequin gold trim (I bought 5 yards. You can use any color of your choice)
-scrap cardboard ( go to the back of a grocery store or any department store to find some ready to be rescued)
X-Acto knife
hot glue gun
– Metallic Gold Trim of your choice.

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First you’ll want to print each letter in your phrase so you can use it as a template. I used Photoshop to be easier than Microsoft Word. Photoshop allows you to easily set the font size. I chose to make my letters 10″ x 4″ in width. My sequin that I bought was 2″ thick so the trim would nicely fit in two layers. Tape each letter to your scrap cardboard and cut out the letters with an X-Acto knife. As your template.

 

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To make the ends of the trim look as neat as possible, you’ll want to fold and glue the ends under so the trim doesn’t unravel and drop sequins. I learned this by making a mistake on the first letter I made. So, at the end of the outside edge of your letter, use the hot glue gun to glue the trim end face down going away from your letter.

Fold the trim back the opposite way and continue to glue the trim all around the outside edge of the letter. When you reach the other end, cut the trim so it hangs a little past the end, fold the trim under and glue in place.

Very important: Make sure both lines of trim are going in the same direction so they will look more like one piece instead of two.

If you have a letter with intersections, don’t worry about doing the folds on places where you can cover those ends with another row. So on the “V” I just cut and glued the middle horizontal lines, then covered those cut ends with the vertical lines that had folded ends.

Once you have all your letters completed, you can line up your phrase (backwards of course!) and glue your hanging cord to the back of the letters. Once the glue sets, you’re ready to hang your garland!

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Did you try it and make one? Share with us what phrase you made! xoxo- Adriana

Entertaining, Health & Fitness, Side Dishes & Salsas, What's Cookin

How To Make Pico de Gallo

Pico de Gallo is one of my favorite Mexican salsas. How to make Pico de Gallo is even more fun and easy! Pico de Gallo is a called a “salsa fresca” in that the ingredients are left raw and it is a salsa that is not liquid based and is often used as the main ingredient in dishes such as tacos, chipotle bowls or simply place in a large bowl and serve with tortilla chips for dipping! Everyone is sure to love it.Here is my very own recipe passed on from generation to generation and I am sharing it with you hoping that you make it and enjoy it!

pico-de-gallo-chip

Ingredients
5-6 Tomatoes
1 Lime
Cilantro
1/4 of a Yellow Onion
2 Chile serranos (optional)
Salt & pepper to taste!

* You will need a mixing bowl to place ingredients
How To Make Pico de Gallo

Step One
Wash and dice tomatoes and place in a bowl
How To Make Pico de Gallo

Step Two
Dice onions into very small 1cm size cubes add to the bowl
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Step Three
Wash cilantro and take a handful of the springs and chop very finely
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Step Four
Add serrano chiles if you would like. Check out my article How To Properly Cut Chiles on how to do it and add it to your bowl!

Step Five
Mix all ingredients in bowl and add pepper (I like to add a lot) & sprinkle some salt (be gentle on the salt)

How To Make Pico de Gallo


Step Six
Squeeze some fresh lime juice and mix again! Place in your serving bowl or stuff your tacos with it & enjoy!!

How To Make Pico de Gallo

Entertaining, Fun Places & Things To Do, Travel

Girls Night Out NYC

Girls night out NYC. Yes we have all done it and if you haven’t then what are you waiting for?? Girls night out NYC can be one of the best places to hangout and have fun with your girlfriends. In this post I share one option for you that can take you for a swing from the norm wine bar (which I love).

I believe every woman should have a group of girlfriends that she can hang out with, act a fool with, and have some good’ol girl talk with! Ladies, if you don’t have that…lets chat. You may need my personal coaching to help you. It isn’t just about meeting more men, it is filling your life with meaningful relationships.

Recently a great friend of mine suggested we hit up Lucky Chengs in NYC. As always, I am always up for amusement and a good time. So no hesitation I went. If you do not know what it is, it is a restaurant that offers a drag queen show while you feast on food. Here is the lowdown.

The original location used to be in the village and they have now made the theater district their new home. The venue is huge and they have a nice size bar and dinning area. I heard they are opening up their 3rd floor to be an all out karaoke bar perfect for the next “American Idol”. For this night, we went to the drag queen show and dinner. The queens were awesome!! Extremely funny, hospitable, scanky and entertaining! The whole atmosphere of the place is a very positive “anything goes” type of vibe. The food low down is there are 3 menu options to choose from starting at $40 per person up to $50. All the food is served family style. The only disappointment of the entire night was the 1st and 2nd round of food. The food was served Luke warm and many of the dishes lacked flavor and presentation. For the entrée portion, things got a lot better and the food tasted much better. But then again, who goes to Lucky Chengs for good food anyway?? This is the kind of places where girlfriends can be silly and wild and no one will care of judge you. How awesome is that!?? So if you are visiting NYC or plan or live nearby Lucky Chengs is defiantly an experience. One not to miss!

DIY Tutorials, Entertaining

DIY Simple Dessert Table

Hi everyone! Ever notice how people no longer eat cake at birthday parties or weddings? Well I want to take a few minutes to share with you how to create a simple dessert table for your next party that is sure to please your guest. Cakes are out & dessert tables are in! I have always been one to eat wayyyyy to much desert! I usually choose ice cream over steak ANY day so having a selection of sweets is just so much more fun for your guest to enjoy. Here are some simple things to do for you next party if you want to have a dessert table.

 

Pick A Party Theme


The cupcakes above I made for my friends “Safari monkey” inspired baby shower! I am a big fan of themed parties. I think every party is just that much more fun & looks well put together when there is a theme and or color scheme. Whether is is simply your decoration colors or the actual theme your guest should expect thru the event, either way start with selecting this first.

Set the table.

Decorate the table and cover it with fabulous cloth and add flowers and ribbons as an accent to the theme. Create platforms or place fabric-covered Styrofoam raiser boxes with different heights and shapes on which you can set up your desserts.

Choose a collection of containers.

Pick bowls, jars, vases, trays, platters, canisters and footed stands in combination of shapes and sizes. Scoops and spoons make the perfect accessory to a jar of lollies. Clear glass containers are great for holding colourful hard candies.

 

 

 

Labels & Proper Utensils

Use matching stationary, handwritten signs, chalkboard signs, and calligraphy to describe and name your delicious desserts if you have many different varieties. Also make sure to have proper utensils available if something needs to be served.

 

 

 

Sweet Selection.

Balance an elaborate cake with mini cupcakes, chocolates, cookies, and hard candies on the table. Some great dessert ideas include cupcakes with couture cupcake wrappers, truffles, personalized chocolate bars, cookie garlands, whoopie pies, pillow mints, malted milk balls, sweet tarts, rock candy, taffy, almonds, macaroons, cotton candy cone sticks, popcorn boxes, panacotta, centerpiece cakes, jelly beans, mints, fondant covered petit fours and gelato.

 

You can also include customized drinks!