My children were completely creeped out by these rats. Once they realized they all hated them, it became a game to see who could be around it the longest. I think Pearl won. As candle holders, they are perfect for Halloween - and they literally could not be simpler. Make your own and share them with #weeknightpartygirl. I can't wait to see your Weeknight Halloween.
It's time for Halloween and time for another video! Halloween is a super fun time of the year for a little quirkiness and turning the ordinary fabulous! I made a jello shot cocktail, a creepy crawly candleholder and all of it in no time at all.
Click through to watch the video and stay tuned all week for step by steps and recipes!
Tune into Q13 FOX News this morning at 8:20am and we'll celebrate Dia de los Muertes together!
Dia de los Muertes is most identified by elaborate skull face painting and masks made to resemble the dead. What better way to celebrate than by creating your own mask? Also - turns out the are unbelievably simple to create. All you need is a little doodling with a black sharpie.
I searched online for inspiration then just started doodling on the masks. You can decorate the top with faux flowers, tissue paper flowers, or giant colorful puff balls. Ole!
You can have your own Dia de los Muertes adventure inspired by the new movie
!
Visit
www.worldmarketsweepstakes.com
to enter the sweepstakes through October 24th, 2014. The Grand Prize is 5 days {6 nights} in Mexico at Grand Velas Riviera Maya, free movies for a year, $1,000 World Market Gift Card, and awesome Book of Life Merchandise from Cost Plus World Market!
Over the weekend we pressed apples with the family to make fresh apple cider. We had planned this before I knew it was National Apple Month - but it worked out perfectly! Since so many of you asked about pressing apples on our vintage apple press, I thought I'd share a bunch of our photos here {below the jump}.
We used a mix of Jonagold apples and Granny Smith apples. Some times we gather apples from a friend's orchard that they couldn't sell at market - this time my parents picked them up from the local fruit stand.
The apples go into the top of the press where there is a grinder with sort of vicious metal teeth. Mr. Hedin used an old axe handle to move the apples around so they don't get stuck in the teeth.
The children get to throw the apples in, but we are nervous that their fingers will get in there somehow. Lars had probably just gotten in trouble for getting too close to the teeth as they were turning. Thus, the charming expression.
Once the apples are ground up they drop into a slatted barrel that we line with cheese cloth.
After the slatted barrel is full the cheese cloth gets folded over the top of the apples and a large piece of wood is placed on top so the press can squeeze down evenly.
Juice then pours out the spout on the bottom of the press.
You can drink it right away. And we do. Some people pasteurize it but I've found it takes the "fresh" flavor out of the juice. So we just drink it fast or freeze it. We tried to make hard cider one year and it was an epic fail. Epic. I'll stick to buying it.
No birthday is complete without a cake. And when you ask Amy Christie to make the cake - she brings it! Amy made a Champagne Cake with fancy frosting and edible gold leaf. It's even cooler because she started with a boxed cake mix! Easy! Fancy! Totally Weeknight Party Girl!
Click here for the recipe + Amy's coolness in general
.
Did you miss any part of my birthday!? {Shame on you, it's rude to be late to a party} But you can catch up here. And hopefully you brought a good gift to make up for it.
Smooches!
Dance on the tables with a HAWT playlist from Classic Play
::
Dine on Caramelized Pear and Brie Crostini from Lulu the Baker
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Sip a phenomenal Black Cherry Punch
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Set the table with MJ's sparkling place cards
Have a great weekend! See you Monday.
This week is my birthday! So we're celebrating all week long - both in real life and on the blog. I rallied a few of my favorite gals to help me celebrate my birthday. Melissa of Lulu the Baker has an amazing appetizer tomorrow, Amy of This Heart of Mine baked a cake, I made a cocktail {doy yoy}, but first, Jen of Classic Play curated a play list that literally has me dancing on the tables already!
I realized the invitations could easily be cut and used on the records - perfect decor by the DJ stand when a record isn't as useful {to anyone other than my sister} as an iPod. But it's the most fabby backdrop for a tiny bluetooth speaker and an iPod.
Party on!
The girls and I partnered with
to bring you an entire week of fabulous birthday party celebration all inspired by
on the
site.
Can you believe it's already tailgate season again!? The Huskies and Cougars both have games next week which means we all have to start planning how we're going to tailgate. Since the Huskies will be playing in Hawaii to kick off the season, Dawg fans will have to tailgate from afar...
While I was planning a little tailgate soiree, all I ran into was fall flavors and warm soups and cider. And I just couldn't do it. It has been amazingly beautiful summer in Seattle and I'm not ready for summer to end - even if it means more football.
So I put together a perfect SUMMER tailgate with all of the fruit that is still ripe and a refreshing cocktail that you may not have tried yet! Cheers to tailgate season
and GO DAWGS!
Also, if you aren't following me on
, I suggest you hightail it over there! There is going to be a huge HUMONGOUS giveaway this week that you'll want to be watching for! Especially if you are a Cougar fan.
Get the recipes here
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The Weeknight Party Girl got to throw the most amazing dinner party last week for a group of friends thanks to KitchenSurfing. The usual problem with a weeknight dinner party is cooking the actual dinner part. I've give you a few ideas
,
,
,
and
of things you can serve at a weeknight party that are simple and fabulous. But what if you could have a chef completely cater the dinner. And not in a "catering" way but in a truly special, unique, "there's a chef in my kitchen" way.
That's what Kitchen Surfing is - bringing the chef into your house. We chose Chef Ryan who's ideas around local, organic, and simple were so similar to my own. The menu she sent over was ridiculously awesome and we went from there.
To compliment the local and seasonally inspired menu I made a giant batch of my
and served it in my vintage ombre punch bowl. The hilarious part about collecting vintage bar ware is how dramatically the serving size has changed over the years. Five large fellas with tiny 1940's punch cups in their hands was awesome.
geranium ricotta on honey bruschetta
To go with the rest of the light summer dinner I had
bring over a case of his phenomenal wine. We chose the rose and the sauvignon blanc to pair with the fresh local flavors. That and they are my favorite. One of the perks of having good friends in the wine business!
I wanted to put something fun on each plate. Since I had billed this as a "fancy-pants dinner party" it seemed like putting something completely the opposite of fancy pants was in order - in come grocery store chocolates. Who doesn't love a Hershey's kiss?
my garden roses were in full bloom
Summer Gazpacho
Melon, Mint, Basil and Pancetta Laced with a touch of chili pepper and Feta Crostini, cool, sweet and salty and a gorgeous hue.
Crepe Pasta Ravioli
Spring Pea and Ricotta filled homemade pasta crepe, with Sausage, fried Sage and brown bacon butter with pea shoots and flowers
Blueberry Shortcake
Bow Hill Blueberries, Cream scone brown sugar short cake, honey whipped chantilly cream, balsamic syrup and honey thyme caramel.
I am so enamored with Kitchen Surfing. The chefs are throughly vetted to be interesting and quality chefs who not only cook an incredible meal, but bring all of the ingredients, plate all of the food, and clean up ALL.OF.THE.DISHES. I think this is a great way to celebrate a weeknight with friends. But I think it's an even better gift!
You can GIFT a chef! Think of the new parents who can't get out of the house for a date night! Think of the birthdays you could celebrate! Valentine's Day!
Check out KitchenSurfing.com and get a $50 credit
If you use Kitchen Surfing, tag it with #kitchensurfing because I can't wait to see your parties too!
Dinner ā Kitchensurfing.com
I can't tell you to do this project. It's crazy messy, not entirely kid-friendly, and it takes an eternity to dry. But I had the idea for this project and I became obsessed when it started not working the way I envisioned. Then it turned out cool. And maybe you are as crazy as I am?
I started with water based paint, water balloons, and a gang of willing kids to throw balloons at a tablecloth. But it didn't work.
So I tried a tennis ball dipped in paint.
And food coloring.
Finally, I broke down and bought oil paint. I did not want to use oil paint because I did not want my children anywhere near oil paint. And if I don't, I'm sure you don't either. After doing this project so many times with every other kind of paint, I knew it would get messy. And it did. My hands looked awful and it took forever to wash off.
But I finally got it to look the way I wanted and it's incredibly therapeutic to throw water balloons at a hard surface.
If you want to take the leap and create your own Firework Tablecloth for the Fourth of July, here's how to do it.
You'll need
1 white tablecloth
water balloons
water balloon filler
oil paint
plastic syringe {available at the drug store}
Step 1 :: Fill water balloons with Ā½ teaspoon paint and top off with water.
Step 2 :: Set tablecloth on a hard surface outside.
Step 3 :: Throw water balloons at the tablecloth until it looks the way you like.
Step 4 :: Let dry {takes about 72 hours}
This project is a part of
, a collaboration between Alexandra Hedin,
,
, and
to bring you fabulous summer projects for the whole family for the whole summer.
We took pictures of the first failed attempt, click through the jump to see them. It was really fun.
