Zesty Italian Pasta Salad Recipe

I didn't mention the food that Sommer served at the Shabby Chic Birthday Party.  Her late afternoon Tea Party menu included:

♥ Bacon and Swiss quiche ♥ Pasta Salad ♥ Tea Sandwiches in the shape of hearts ♥ a Veggie Tray ♥

The pasta salad was one of my recipes. I’ve been using it for years and have no idea where it came from, sorry! I love making it for summer time BBQ’s and picnics. Basic ingredients and easy steps, I promise. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1 (16 ounce) package uncooked spiral pasta

1/2 cup thinly sliced carrots

2 stalks celery, chopped

1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper

1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper

1/2 cup chopped yellow bell pepper

1 pint grape tomatoes, halved

1/2 cup chopped green onion

1 (16-ounce) bottle Italian-style salad dressing

1/2 cup grated Parmesan

Instructions:

Cook pasta in large pot of boiling water until al dente and drain.

Mix carrots, celery, peppers, tomatoes, and green onion together in large bowl. Add the cooled pasta and mix together. Pour the dressing over mixture, add the Parmesan and mix well.

Chill before serving.

Shabby Chic 1st Birthday Tea Party: Decorations

Like I mentioned in my sneak peek awhile ago, Sommer joked about me helping with her daughter’s first birthday party all the way in Texas. Even though I wasn’t there, I jumped at the opportunity to put together a party plan! I also posted party planning tips featuring this party over at the CSI Project.

After seeing Paper Candee’s Shabby Chic Tea Party, Sommer knew that she wanted a sweet girly party for her Mia. Even though she started planning just one month in advance, I was able to organize Sommer’s vision to make the party easy to execute.  Sommer even said that I saw her vision more clearly than she did, and my party plan helped to connect the dots and get all her ideas straight. J I loved when Sommer told me she carried around her iPad to every store so she could refer to my party plan at all times! lol On to the eye candy courtesy of Photography by Brie...

To showcase pictures of Mia, Sommer set them on foam board backing and placed them everywhere!

Cherry blossoms from Pier 1

Cookies and Cookie Pops from etsy shop – The Art of Cookies

Sommer made all these tea party sweets herself!

♥       Chocolate dipped Milano Cookies served in 100 calorie pack containers adorned with ribbon

♥       Chocolate Covered Strawberries

♥       Chocolate Covered Pretzels as giveaways

♥       Chocolate Dipped Marshmallows in a sweet vintage looking Hobby Lobby tray found in the 66% off aisle! Styrofoam, pink tissue paper and M&M's line the bottom so the marshmallows can stand.

Cupcakes from Lolly Cakes with Wilton's Eyelet Flower Baking Cups

Strawberry Swirl Tea Pot Cake from Edible Designs by Mary

Girl guests were given the same chocolate covered pretzels and a little tea cup hair clip from etsy shop – Chic Baby Rose.

Sommer made cake pops with a cake pop maker.

Tissue paper poms made with Martha's tutorial.

Counter is covered with pink fabric left over from Mia’s crib bedding set.

All printables designed and printed by Paper Candee

  Pink champagne for the adults J There was also Pink Punch for the kiddies (7up + strawberry sherbet)

Tissue Paper Number Tutorial by Prudent Baby via Hostess with the Mostess

Floral Backdrop from etsy shop – The Lemon Drop Shop

Happy Birthday Banner from Paper Candee

  

I think Sommer did a fabulous job and certainly created a Shabby Chic Tea Party for her baby girl’s first birthday. Thank you for letting me be a part of it without even being there!  Check out even more sweet photos of the party at Photography by Brie. Email me at mindysukan{at}gmail{dot}com for more info on party plans!

Family Schedule Board

While at Christine’s house photographing Noah, I noticed this big dry erase board schedule in the kitchen. I thought it was easy, clever and visual so even Elijah (2 years old) could understand what’s in store for the upcoming week. She's here to tell you how the big picture calendar helps everyone keep the week straight…

Shortly after we brought Noah home from the hospital, my husband and I realized that we needed to do something to help Elijah process what was going on during the day.  With Mommy spending so much time pumping and taking care of baby Noah, we hoped that creating a picture schedule board would help Elijah understand that we still had time for him.  After a quick trip to Hobby Lobby, we bolted the white board to our kitchen wall and I started creating.

Supplies/Cost

·        35”X23” Magnetic Dry Erase Board with Tray & Magnets ($23.99 at Hobby Lobby)

·        ¾” Black Electrical Tape (around $2 at Home Depot)

·        Magnetic tape ($5.99 at Hobby Lobby)

·        Days of the week magnets ($4.99 at Hobby Lobby)

·        Dry Erase Marker Set with Magnet Holder ($4.49 at Hobby Lobby)

·        Picture Tiles – more on this later (about $2 per 8.5”X11” page at Office Depot)

·        Coupon Caddy to store picture tiles (found in my basement J)

Total Cost = $45 (Christine – you should’ve used 40% off coupons!!)

Create picture tiles.

1. Find a picture or a graphic from the web and print.  My picture tiles are 1” square.  I have multiple tiles for Mom, Dad, Elijah, Noah, Grandma/Grandpa, Sesame Street, Costco, etc.  I used Photoshop to create tiles in 8.5”X11” psd files.  Make sure that your document is set up in CMYK color mode to be compatible with most home or office printers.  You will also need to save finished files as pdf files if you want to print at an office supply store. 
2. Laminate pictures – optional.
3. Cut each tile and attach magnetic tape to the back.

Set up the board.

1. Divide white board into 8 vertical sections with electrical tape.  The first section from the left is 9” wide.  Each subsequent section is approximately 3½” wide.
2. Create daily header with day of the week magnet at the top and a piece of horizontal electrical tape below.  Below each day, write in the date.
3. Fill each day with picture tiles that correspond to either what is going on (in order that it will occur) or special events (birthday, anniversary, etc).  I use the larger left section to write notes to myself (yes I am benefiting from this board too!).

Use the board.

I use a big picture approach and don’t detail everything that is going on in our day - just enough to give Elijah a picture of the highlights.  These are the general categories I use:

·        Immediate Family – I created a tile for each of us for every day of the week.

·        Extended Family – aunts, uncles, grandparents, cousins, etc. 

·        Friends – regular playdates, our doctor, etc

·        Special Events – birthday, anniversary, church, any other recurring event

·        Locations – stores we frequent, the library or the pool

When I really feel like detailing what we are doing on a given day, I use tiles representing parts of Elijah’s daily schedule in the left section:

·        Napping

·        Clothing (i.e. it’s time to get dressed)

·        Toothbrush and toothpaste

·        Chores (vacuum cleaner, laundry, etc)

·        Activities (stroller, bike, crayons, puzzle piece, Sesame Street, Curious George etc.)

To be honest, to keep up with the super detailed portion of the schedule board on a daily basis is time consuming, and a little overkill at 2½ years old.  I do this on occasion because it is valuable for Elijah to understand the aspects of schedule and time.  I will also do this if we are nearing melt-down mode and Elijah needs a visual of what would be acceptable to do next (i.e. right now you can color or you can watch Curious George).

I feel like the really detailed aspect of this schedule board will prove useful as Elijah gets older and maybe help teach him skills in planning his own time.  I have aspirations to include tiles for time as well and would love to somehow get the weather tied into this.  The schedule board is a very useful tool to teach Elijah (and eventually Noah) a lot about what happens in the span of a day.

So very helpful Christine, thanks for sharing! J

linked up here:

Shredded Pork Tacos with Spicy Slaw Recipe

I don’t know what got into me, but I made two slow cooker meals within a few days of each other. Which equals A LOT of meat. And deliciousness. I’ll save the BBQ Beef Sandwich recipe for another day, like football season.  If there is one. Here’s how I made my Shredded Pork Tacos with Spicy Slaw, adapted from PW’s recipe. 

Notes

• Makes approximately 4 large servings (16 tacos).
• I use a slow cooker.

Meat Ingredients:

• 1 pork roast (1-3 lbs…mmk that’s a wide range, but I forgot how big mine was)
• Onion slices (used however much I had on hand, about  ¼ of an onion)
• 1 can Chioptle Peppers in Adobo Sauce
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• Cayenne Pepper
• S&P

Slaw Ingredients:

• ½ heads Cabbage, Sliced Thin
• ½ heads Purple Cabbage, Sliced Thin
• 1 whole Jalapeno, Halved Lengthwise And Thinly Sliced
• ½ cups Whole Milk
• ½ cups Mayonnaise
• 1 teaspoon White Vinegar
• 1 Tablespoon Sugar
• ¼ teaspoons Salt
• ¼ teaspoons Cayenne Pepper
• 2 cups Cilantro Leaves, Barely Chopped
• 1 lime

Taco Ingredients

• Corn tortillas
• Queso Fresco Cheese

Cook meat.

1. Season pork with S&P and cayenne.
2. Pour ½ can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce and ½ can of diced tomatoes and onions in slow cooker. Place pork on top. Pour remaining chipotle peppers in adobo sauce and tomatoes on top of pork.
3. Cover and cook on low heat for 8 hours. (I set it in the morning to be ready for dinner.)
4. Pork is ready when it easily shreds with a fork.

Make slaw.

1. Combine shredded cabbage and sliced jalapenos in a bowl.
2. In a separate bowl mix milk, mayonnaise, vinegar, sugar, salt, and cayenne. Pour over cabbage. Toss to combine.
3. Add lime juice to taste.
4. Cover and refrigerate two hours. (I ate it right away and it was still tasty.)
5. Before serving, toss in cilantro leaves.

Assemble tacos.

1. Heat small skillet on low heat. Warm tortillas (one at a time) for about 10 seconds on each side. Or in the microwave if you're lazy.
2. Top tortilla with shredded meat, crumbled queso fresco and slaw.
3. Get your hands dirty and lick your plate and fingers clean mmMMmm J

The slaw was delicious on my BBQ Beef Sandwiches and would probably be even better on fish tacos. Yum!

CSO at Ravinia Festival

I’ve never been to Ravinia (a summer music venue in the north suburbs). But thanks to free {lawn} tickets from Doug’s firm, we went for the first time last weekend. It only took us 30 minutes to get there on a Friday night from the city and we claimed a good spot in the lawn an hour and a half before show time.

We picnicked on my mom’s our blanket in the grass with a bottle of Riesling and some pasta salad. I wish I brought more cheese and crackers though! It was a beautiful warm summer night to take in the soothing sounds of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.

I love kicking off my sandals to lay on a blankie on a sunny day.

I also love that it’s BYOB J I creepily took pictures of other people’s stuff as they enjoyed the atmosphere as well. The regular concert goers don’t mess around and come with chairs, coolers and even tables!

Mia was quiet when she was supposed to be, clapped and said YAY! when everyone else did and asked for more more more music J I think it was $10 well spent (parking) for a relaxing summer evening with my little family.

Oh, we also went to a festival by our house and had to include another same-time-last-year comparison J

linked up here:

As Seen On {The CSI Project} - Shabby Chic Tea Party

Hi there! Today I’m guest posting (for the first time, hooray!) at The CSI Project (Create Something Inspiring) to share tips and tricks for planning a party. I showed you a sneak peek of the Shabby Chic 1^st Birthday Tea Party weeks ago and have yet to do a full reveal. You've been anxiously waiting, right?! Check out my post for Parties & Picnics week for more details!

If you’re a new visitor, thanks for stopping by! I hope you stay awhile J

DIY Wedding Gift - Monogram Pillowcases

Yesterday I told you about my friends’ wedding. And as you should know by now, I like to include unique/personal handmade gifts with a “real” gift. Since their invite included a monogram, I made them pillowcases to match J It'd be a great bridal shower gift too (along with a sheet set), but I was in Riviera Maya and missed it!

Since I’ve had Ashlee’s Tupperware for nearly a year now, I thought it was time to give it back haha.

I ♥ when things fit in the perfect sized box J  

Chris told me that Ashlee damn near cried when she opened my gift. Haha. And that is why I like to make gifts J I whipped up the two appliqued pillowcases and two other gifts (for my godson and his brother), while catching up with a friend over a bottle of wine. Now how is that for an exciting Friday night and multitasking!? Get my DIY appliqué tutorial here.

I’d love to show you the two boy gifts as well, but I can’t post a gift before I give it! Even though their birthdays were in April. *gasp* I’m such a  bad ninang L You'll see it eventually!

linked up here and here: