Potstickers

Hi all! We made it safe & sound to our new apartment on Friday night & our stuff followed Saturday, but we won’t have Internet until Wednesday. Thankfully, my awesome sister-in-law Lisa is back posting another delicious recipe in my absence! Take it away, Lisa!

I am from the throw-it-in-the-pot-and-hope-for-the-best school of cooking. I look at most recipes as guidelines, and don’t particularly worry about the end result being perfect.

Potstickers are perfect for experimenting. There are only a few steps to actually make them. First, make a filling. Second, spoon the filling onto the wrappers. Third, fold and seal the wrappers. Fourth, cook and eat! This process is time consuming, so that is why I usually make a large batch and work with a friend.

So, for the filling, your options are endless. I prefer pork, while you could use chicken, tofu, or whatever you prefer. If you use meat, be sure to get it ground so it is easier to mix with the other ingredients. We added shredded cabbage, carrot, and green onions. You will also need a binder to help it all stick together. In this recipe, we used about a teaspoon of sugar and about 2 tablespoons each of soy sauce and warm water mixed together. I have also used sesame oil with a dash of chili oil in the past.

Filling ready to go.

Make sure not to put too much filling in the wonton wrappers. They won’t seal and when you cook them, the filling will come out into the pan. Generally, less than 1 teaspoon of filling is a good guideline.

Don't use too much filling!

To seal the wrappers, dip your finger into a cup of warm water and wet around the edges. You will need to make a pleat in one side of the wrapper as you seal it to the other half to keep excess air out of the potsticker.

Ready to cook or freeze.

At this point, you have a couple of options. You can cook them all first and then freeze, or you can freeze first and cook later. If you want to cook first, put enough vegetable oil into a pan to just cover the bottom. Heat on medium heat until water dropped in makes the oil spit. Place the potstickers in the oil and brown on three sides. Then add about one-quarter cup of water and put the lid on. Steam for about four to five minutes.

If you would like to freeze the uncooked potstickers, line them up on a cookie sheet or jelly roll pan that has been lined with waxed paper and floured. You can add another layer on top, just be sure to generously dust the first layer with flour before adding an additional piece of waxed paper. Freeze for 1-2 hours and then you can transfer them to a gallon size freezer bag.

Cooking frozen, uncooked potstickers is a little different. You can still cook them in the pan, but don’t steam them or they will just fall apart. I usually finish them in the microwave to be sure the filling is cooked. A deep fryer also works. It takes about 5-7 minutes.

You can use plain soy sauce for dipping, or add a dash of lemon juice for a little kick.

Our recipe used:

1 lb ground pork        1 green cabbage
2-3 carrots                   several green onions
soy sauce                      sugar
water                              2 pkg. wonton wrappers.

This made about 100 potstickers.

I don’t have any pictures of the finished product because we ate them too quickly.

Have fun experimenting!

Top 10 things I’m going to miss about NYC.

I’m late posting today. I also happen to be in Maryland at the moment, on what is quite possibly the slowest Internet connection ever. The movers asked to come a day early (yesterday), & decided at 1pm today that they’d be delivering our stuff in Florida on Saturday, so we left at 4:40pm, just as rush hour traffic was starting to pick up. Fortunately, we made good time, & The Munchkin only got to bed… 2 hours late. Yikes.

Everything happened so fast I honestly haven’t had much time yet to wax sentimental about my favorite city in the world. But I thought I’d post a few of the many things I’ll miss about New York, in no particular order, & that you shouldn’t miss if you come visit.

1.) This view:

2.) The food. Great Italian everywhere, great bakeries everywhere. We’ve been told that “the water’s not right” in Florida for either of those things. Hearing that made me die a little inside. Here are just a few of our favorites: burgers, chocolate, pasta, & pancakes.

3.) Magnolia. Belongs in a class of its own.

4.) Snow! Not limited to NYC, obviously, but I love it in spite of the fact that it often makes walking in the city pretty gross. It’s still fun, & so magical to watch it start falling amid all the lights of the city.

5.) Holidays. Especially Christmas at Macy’s.  From fireworks on the 4th of July to the Macy’s Parade on Thanksgiving, to Easter Egg hunts in the park, the city just knows how to celebrate everything with style & gusto.

6.) There is always free stuff to do! We used the events calendars at Mommy Poppins & Parents Connect (I’m going to be using that second one after our move too; they have dozens of cities on there) to find fun new things to do for free just about every single week! We also love ALL the playgrounds EVERYWHERE! No matter where we went or what we did, there was almost always a great park nearby! (No picture, thanks to Slowest Internet Ever…)

7.) Public transit. Yes, taking the car is often more convenient, especially with more than 1 Munchkin, but it just isn’t as FUN! Trains, subways, ferries (we avoid the buses because we hate traffic) — what’s not to love if you’re a kid? (Also no picture, thanks to Slowest Internet Ever.)

8.) Broadway. We got to go on dates to Mamma Mia! & How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying with Daniel Radcliffe & John Larroquette. We also saw Phantom & Wicked when we were here on our honeymoon 5 years ago. I’ve been in (well, under — I was in the pit orchestra) lots of musicals, & there is nothing like Broadway!

9.) The “dinosaur bones museum.” This is one of The Munchkin’s favorite places in the world. We got to visit one last time with one of her playgroup friends while the movers were here yesterday. (Slowest Internet Ever won’t let me upload the photo though, so here’s an old one.) We hope she likes the aquarium in Tampa almost as much!

10.) Obviously we’re going to miss the people the absolute most. We’ve made a lot of friends here. This is the first time The Munchkin has been old enough to make any real friendships; she says all her friends’ names almost every day, & she looks forward to church every week so she can see them all at Nursery. We also love how personal the city (& its surrounding environs) can be. Even though it seems big, loud, & scary at first glance, once you really get in there, it’s just such a personable place! We loved walking into the diner or bodega (small market) near our apartment & having the waitresses & checkstand girls greet The Munchkin by name. We loved being greeted by the security guard at the front desk every time we enter or leave the building, & The Munchkin loved getting a cookie at the Italian bakery when we went to get our weekly pizza dough. What a friendly place!

New York really is my favorite city. I love Hoboken too. If you are planning a visit, email me! (See my “About” page for the address.) I’ll send you my guide to “doing” NYC on the cheap with kids & then live vicariously through you as you enjoy the city!

Oven-baked BBQ chicken with corn on the cob.

This is the oven-baked BBQ chicken that will make you say goodbye to your grill forever.

No, not really. But it will have you salivating & saying “mmm” every 3 seconds. &, for my fellow apartment dwellers, it’ll make you feel just the slightest bit less sad about your lack of a grill during the summer.

This recipe gives you the grill marks & smoky taste of the grill with the temperature control of an oven, resulting in a juicier piece of chicken that you actually know is done. What a novel concept! It originally came from here, & the simplicity instantly sold me on it. What didn’t was seasoning it with just salt & pepper. We can do much better than that!

The secret ingredient is this:

Buy it. Use it. Love it.

Oven-baked BBQ Chicken

•  a little olive oil or PAM spray
• 2 lbs. bone-in chicken thighs &/or other pieces
• Smokehouse Rub
• 1 cup of your favorite barbecue sauce

1. Preheat the oven to 375. Heat a grill pan on medium-high.
2. Trim extra fat from chicken & sprinkle both sides with Smokehouse Rub. Spray pan with PAM & sear chicken until browned on both sides, with nice grill marks. Work in batches, if necessary, re-spraying between batches.
3. When chicken pieces are browned, remove to an ovenproof baking dish.
4. Pour barbecue sauce over the top, spreading evenly.
5. Cover with foil & bake 30 minutes or until cooked through. The chicken will be moist, juicy, & swimming in delicious barbecue-y goodness. Serve alongside some yummy corn on the cob (see foolproof method below) for a real summer meal!

 Foolproof Corn on the Cob

First, it helps to buy Indiana corn. It just does. Sweetest, juiciest corn for like 24 cents an ear (or less, if you go to the Farmer’s Market). Anyone else out there know what I’m talking about?

Even if you’re using anemic Jersey corn instead, it can still be delicious. Just boil enough water to cover in a large stockpot & add a generous pinch of sugar. That’s the secret ingredient. Add your corn, then cover & return to a boil for 4-5 minutes. Perfection! Oh, & make sure to use unsalted butter on your sweet corn. You can thank me later.

Get Your Craft On Tuesdays

Strawberry ice cream. 3 ways.

Before we had to put the ice cream maker away for the move, I wanted to make ice cream one last time. Strawberry ice cream, to be exact. The day after I made this decision, Bridget over at Bake at 350 posted a strawberry ice cream recipe! It was meant to be!

I like to eat ice cream in three ways: 1) with a spoon, 2) with a fork, & 3) with my fingers.

But first, we have to start with the ice cream. Which, in this case, apparently comes from the Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream & Dessert Book. After tasting this, I think I may need to go out & buy it.

• 2 cups hulled & sliced strawberries
• 1/3 cup sugar
• juice of 1/2 a lemon
• 2 eggs, pasteurized**
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 cups heavy whipping cream
• 1 cup whole milk

** If you can’t or don’t want to buy pasteurized eggs — or don’t realize until you’re already halfway into the recipe that it calls for eggs that don’t get cooked, ahem — pasteurize them at home! The eHow.com link I used is now broken, but the gist is to bring the eggs you’ll be using to room temp, then heat a pot of water (enough to cover the eggs) to between 145 & 160 degrees F (use a candy thermometer; I don’t have one, so I used my meat thermometer, which was much less precise & my whites got just the tiniest bit cooked, but still whisked up just fine). Add the eggs to the water, remove from the heat, & let sit for exactly 3 minutes. Then remove the eggs, rinse with cool water, & use them!

1. In a small bowl, combine the strawberries, 1/3 cup sugar, & lemon juice. Stir just enough to coat, then cover & refrigerate at least an hour.
2. Mash the strawberries with a potato masher, pastry blender, or even 2 forks; set aside.
3. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs for 1 to 2 minutes, or until frothy & light. Bemoan the fact that your arm is screaming in protest. Vow to start lifting weights again.
4. Gradually add the 3/4 cup sugar while still whisking (& arm still protesting); whisk (with your left hand now) for one more minute after it’s all been added.
5. Stir in the cream & milk. Add the strawberries & stir well.
6. Add the mixture to the chilled canister of your ice cream maker & follow the manufacturer directions to process it.
7. Remove from the canister to a freezer-safe container & freeze for a few hours to allow it to harden. But not too much. Unless that’s how you like it. In our family… well, to give you an idea, The Munchkin calls it “ice kweam soup.”

Now. How to serve it?

With a spoon: Scoop some into a dessert dish. Add some blueberries for some fruity, patriotic flair.

With a fork: Serve a scoop alongside a slice of my most favorite lemon-blueberry pound cake. So many delicious summer fruits together on one plate? You can’t say no to that.

With your fingers: Press a small, hard scoop between two soft chocolate-chip cookies. When I was in high school, I used to frequent a shop near UCLA called Diddy Riese, where they made amazing ice cream sandwiches using soft, fresh-baked cookies & enormous scoops of Dreyer’s (Edy’s, for you Easterners) ice cream, for only $1! The price has since gone up to $1.50, but the lines are still around the block, the sandwiches are still scrumptious, & this ice-cream/cookie combo still brings back tasty memories.

What’s your favorite way to eat ice cream? Are you an “ice kweam soup” person too?

Preparing your child for a move. (Part 1 of 2: Before you leave.)

We’re moving. In a week & a half. Yikes!

Since that’s what’s on my mind right now, & since lots of people move during the summer, I thought I’d offer a few tips for helping your kids adjust to moving to a new place. Today I’m posting on how to prepare for the move itself; later I’ll post on how to settle in.

• Show your kids photos of your new home & new town. Help them find reasons to be excited about the new place. The Munchkin is especially excited to be near the beach.
• If you are packing yourself, START EARLY. Last year, with a husband taking law school finals, I started packing two months in advance while The Munchkin napped. There’s only so much you can pack that far ahead of time (you’re using everything else too frequently), but it really helps as you get down to the wire. It also helps your 10-month-old skip crawling in favor of cruising, because there are handholds everywhere!
• Also if you are packing yourself, don’t pay for boxes! I had hoarded diapers.com boxes for months. Any time you get a package, collapse the box right away & stash it in a closet. Another great resource for free packing boxes is liquor stores; just go in & ask for some of their beer boxes. They’re the perfect size & durability for books & other heavy things. The people helping you move in might look at you a little funny though…
• If your firm is paying for movers, PRAISE HEAVEN. The end.
• Try to keep pictures up on the walls as long as possible. Even if there are boxes everywhere, having these familiar touches will help keep home feeling like home right up until you move.
• Moving is a time-consuming process. Even if you’re not having to pack everything yourself, there are still things like getting a place to live, arranging for utilities on both ends, forwarding mail, etc. Kids can feel neglected; take a few minutes every day to just listen to them & give them your undivided attention. Even better, let them choose something special to do to take some time away from moving. This brings me to…
• Have a “bucket list” of one thing each family member wants to do in your old town before you leave. This will help everyone feel valued (see above) & let all of you “say goodbye.” The Munchkin really wanted to go on the “mewwy-woun.” We’re also planning final visits to Magnolia & Shake Shack.
• If you have time, throw a goodbye party with friends! Or let a friend throw one for you! That way everyone can say goodbye at once.
• Speaking of friends, explain to your kids that they won’t get to see their friends all the time anymore. Let them know it’s okay to be sad & miss them, but encourage them by saying that they’ll be able to make new friends in your new town.
• Explain the moving process to young kids: “A man will pack up your toys & clothes & put them in a big truck (bonus points for showing them the truck if they love trucks) & drive it to our new house! We’re going to drive separately in the car, & our things will meet us there!” {We just had a Family Home Evening about moving, where we talked about Nephi’s family in the Book of Mormon & how they moved to a new place too, & they packed up all of their things as well (see 1 Nephi 18:5-6). After we explained the process, we did the activity below.}
• Parents magazine just had an article about helping kids adjust to moving, & one thing I thought was a great idea was to let your child decorate her own “treasure box” with stickers to put her favorite things inside. Then take it with you in the car so she isn’t separated from it. Here’s The Munchkin’s treasure box; the first thing she did was put in the 3-inch plastic Woody & Jessie dolls that go with her everywhere lately.
• MAKE SURE THE LOVEY DOESN’T GET PACKED. IT GOES IN THE CAR. THE END.
• Lastly, take a minute to say goodbye to your old house. (This was another Parents idea.) During your last meal there, likely on paper plates in your empty house, let each family member say his or her favorite memory of living there. Get your kids excited about making new memories!

Any other tips for moving with kids?

J-Dawgs.

Happy Independence Day! Hopefully you’re enjoying your long weekend celebrating the birth of our amazing nation! We could see two fireworks shows from our balcony Friday night; it made me feel so patriotic! I love the upswelling of pride & emotion I feel when singing “The Star Spangled Banner” (especially the third verse!). America’s awesome!

This year the term “Independence Day” has taken on new meaning for us Cougar fans as well; as of July 1st, BYU Football has gone Independent! That means that we East-Coasters will actually get to watch a few games for once. That’s definitely something to celebrate too!

So in honor of the grilling holiday that is the 4th of July, & in honor of BYU’s declaration of independence, here is one hot dog that will change your life. Well, two. (We’re in start-cleaning-out-the-pantry-not-buying-more-jars-of-things mode now, so you need to use your imagination when it comes to the delicious condiments.)

Back in Provo there is a legendary little establishment known as J-Dawgs. They make the best hot dogs. Best. & this is coming from someone who appreciates a good New York cart dog, so you know it must be true. Because we live so far away, the last time we were there was when The Munchkin was only 6 months old & barely eating rice cereal & sweet potatoes, so until now she had not experienced the rite of passage for every BYU fan that is…

The Special Sauce.

My friend Barbara somehow got the recipe — lives may or may not have been lost in the procurement of this secret — & gave it to me. It changed my life. It’ll change yours too.

(Half of this recipe is plenty for 4-6 dogs)

• 3/4 cup ketchup
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1 tsp. cider vinegar
• 1 tsp. soy sauce
• 1/2 tsp. onion powder

1. Combine ingredients in a saucepan & heat just to boiling on medium heat.
2. Drizzle over your favorite grilled (George Foreman works just fine) Polish or beef hot dog (we went with the NYC cart-style Kosher dogs, to add a little East Coast twist to this Mountain West institution) in the best hot dog roll you can find. If your grocery store under-prioritizes hot dog rolls as much as ours does, you may end up with the lame white Wonder buns. That’s okay too. Just this once.
3. Top with your favorite hot dog condiments (I like banana peppers alone; My Husband The More Adventurous & Less Prone To Caring What His Breath Smells Like Because I’ll Still Kiss Him Afterwards Anyway likes banana peppers, diced onions, & a dill pickle spear). Just please, go without the ketchup this one time.
4. Savor.

Now, this will not replace the experience of biting into a foil-wrapped, crisscross-scored, nestled-in-a-fresh-baked-bakery-bun J-Dawg right there, but for those of us a couple thousand miles away, it definitely helps hold us over until next time.

Are hot dogs on the grill at your 4th of July party? How do you like to top them?

Get Your Craft On Tuesdays

Toodles cake tutorial.

As promised, here is the tutorial for the Toodles cake I made for The Munchkin’s “Mickey Mouse Clubhouse” party last weekend. Check out the rest of the party here.

Disclaimer: I am NOT a professional cake decorator — as I’ve mentioned before, I haven’t even taken a Wilton class — so I’m not pretending to be an expert, but I can give you a few of the tips & tricks I use. If you ARE a professional cake decorator, just skip straight to the part about flattening the Starbursts for the dots.

First, I baked a cake. (Duh.) I really like the Easy Yellow Cake recipe in the KitchenAid manual/cookbook. It’s easy, not too sweet, & holds up well while still staying moist. I’ve included the recipe at the end. A few days in advance of the party, I baked two 9-inch round pans & then carved them to my desired shape by finding some things in my kitchen that were the right size & shape & then using a sharp serrated knife to cut around them. In this case, I used a cereal bowl & the bottom of my meringue powder container. Then I double-wrapped each piece in two layers of Saran Wrap & put them in the freezer until I needed them. Freezing the cakes is important for 3 reasons: 1) It keeps the cake from going stale, 2) It allows you to break up the process so you don’t have to do it all at once, & 3) It reduces crumbs on the cut edges while frosting.

Then I made frosting. Lots of frosting. In this case, I used the extra left over from these Cars cakelets. In case you’re as dissatisfied as I am with my “add some powdered sugar &/or cream until it looks right but will probably end up being too thick anyway” method for frosting, try this: 2 sticks of butter, 6 cups powdered sugar, 2 tsp. CLEAR vanilla (best for dyeing), & milk or cream to desired thickness. Remember thinner is better for spreading. If you’re paranoid like me about running out, you may want to add half again as much of everything. I filled the cake with the delicious chocolate frosting I used for Mater, because I believe yellow cake just goes with chocolate frosting, but you can do what you want. If you’re not crazy like me & making a zillion cakes in 1 week, it’s probably not worth it to make up a whole other batch of frosting just to fill your cake.

Don’t forget to add a couple tablespoons of meringue powder to your frosting to help it set up & stay upt while & after your frost. Then use gel food coloring to dye it to your desired colors. (Tip: “Golden Yellow” is a lot more orange than it looks on the bottle. I think just plain old “Yellow” would’ve looked better.)

Now for the fun part!

First, take a cake board or some cardboard & wrap it in some pretty paper. This sounds silly, but it really does make a HUGE difference in the presentation. Pull your cake pieces out of the freezer & unwrap them, then slap a dab or two of frosting under the cake (all 3 pieces parts if they’re disconnected like they are here) to keep it from sliding off your pretty board. Fill your cake, if needed.

Put several pieces of wax paper around the edges of your cake to protect your cake board. When we’re done frosting, we’ll slide these out & cover any gaps with a pretty frosting border.

Now we crumb coat. Take some frosting (plain un-dyed white is fine, but we used the already-dyed stuff) & thin it with a tiny bit of milk. Use an offset spatula like this one to make a thin layer to trap the crumbs. Have a paper towel handy to wipe any crummy frosting off of your spatula so you don’t contaminate your frosting. It doesn’t have to look pretty. Then stick your cake back in the freezer for a few minutes. (P.S. Shout-out to My Husband The Closet Ace of Cakes, who almost always does all of my frosting spreading so I just have to do the pretty stuff.)

Then pull the cake back out of the freezer. Grab your frosting, offset spatula, a dish towel, & a bowl or pie plate full of hot water. Sound weird? Just trust me. Spread your frosting, then smooth it by submerging your spatula in the hot water & then drying it completely with the dish towel. The warm spatula kind of re-melts the frosting to smooth out any bumps for you.

Now for the Starbursts. When I was trying to think of what to make the dots out of, my first thought was fondant. But you already know about My Husband The Opinionated’s feelings on the subject; plus, I didn’t want to either buy 3 colors of fondant or go to all the effort of learning how to dye it myself. Then I remembered a cake that my friend Laura had made for my baby shower 2 years ago: she made flowers out of flattened Starbursts! Perfect! So I called her up & she shared with me how to do it.

Unwrap a few Starbursts & stick them between the layers of a folded sheet of wax paper. Microwave it all for about 7 seconds, just enough to soften them. Use a rolling pin to flatten them to your desired width & thickness, stopping often to pull them off of the wax paper so they don’t stick. For a larger shape, you can even melt two candies together, side by side. That’s what I did for the largest red circle.

Now here’s the funny part. To cut them to the desired shape, use… scissors! You can use a stencil if you want to get them perfectly round, but I found it easiest to just eyeball it. I wound up making way more than I needed, so we just ate the extras.

Position them where you want them on your cake, & trim edges to fit if they’re on the edge. You should be able to just press them into your frosting, but if they’re overlapping one another, just pipe a tiny bit of frosting on the bottom of your top one to secure it.

Now put your frosting into piping bags (I use disposable ones because I don’t decorate often enough for the nice ones to be a savings, & I just prefer the ease of tossing them) with a coupler in the bottom of each to make it easier to switch tips. The tips I used were a 5 writing, 18 star, & 16 star.

I Nnever trust my freehand artistry skills, so I always try to find things to trace. Sometimes it’s a little odd, but it works. For the “poles” on Toodles’ face, I used part of a Zicam bottle cap. For the circles inside his ears, I used my half-tablespoon. I make small depressions in the hardening frosting to trace.

Then I actually did freehand the gear detail on his ears, consulting a picture I printed off the Internet every single step of the way. I filled in all the red details with my writing tip, & chose to smooth the “poles” the same way we did the frosting base, just with a smaller spatula. But I think they ended up looking too much like the Starbursts, so if I did it over, I’d leave it textured like I did the gear details.

Finally, I used the smaller star tip to do a shell border around the top in red (I think yellow would have been more accurate to the show, but I was worried about running out) & then carefully slid the wax paper out (I used my small spatula to keep the frosting in place) & used the larger star tip to do a shell border around the bottom in blue. This cleaned up all the edges & just gave it a more polished look. I also wrote The Munchkin’s name on the front side of the cake using my writing tip, but I’m not going to show that to you because I’m not ready to reveal her identity.

So there you go! I hope that this tutorial is helpful; if you wind up using it for your Munchkins, I would seriously love to see pictures! Comment with links, or email me (on the “About” page)!

Last, but not least, here’s the cake recipe. Happy thoughts go to my good friend Mandy, who saved me by emailing it to me when I couldn’t (still can’t — hopefully it’ll show up after we move?) find my manual.

KitchenAid Easy Yellow Cake

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/3 cups sugar
• 3 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 cup shortening
• 1 cup lowfat milk
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 2 eggs

1. Preheat oven to 350. Grease & flour (I prefer Baker’s Joy or PAM for Baking — 1 step!) two 8- or 9-inch cake pans
2. Add dry ingredients to mixer bowl. Add shortening, milk, & vanilla; use flat beater to mix about 1 minute at speed 2. Scrape bowl.
3. Add eggs; mix about 30 seconds on speed 2. Scrape bowl.
4. Beat at speed 6 for 1 minute.
5. Pour batter into prepared pans & bake 30-35 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
6. Cool in pans for 10 minutes, then drop pans gently on the counter to free the cake from the sides of the pans & invert onto a wire rack to remove. Cool completely.
7. Carve, freeze, & frost as above.

We’re moving!

After 4 years of law & professional school & lots & lots of waiting, My Husband The Lawyer can finally be called a lawyer! He just got his dream job, so we’re moving! See if you can guess where.

They have lots of these:

& these:

& we’ll be an hour & a half west of this guy:

We’re very excited about this new opportunity, but I’ll be sad to leave NYC & all the amazing stuff here.

Anyone from the area who can give me some tips?

How to make a licensed character party look homemade.

Have you ever noticed that the parties featured on all those professional party planner blogs all have generic themes, like bubbles, cars, or even just colors? But your kids aren’t going to request a “pink damask” party theme; they’re going to request Hello Kitty, Superman, Elmo, or, say, Mickey. So how can you give them what they want while still adding a personal, homemade touch like the professionals do? Do it yourself!

The Munchkin and SIX — yes, six — of her playgroup friends all have birthdays within a few weeks, if you can believe it. So the moms all got together & decided that, rather than spend the whole month of June going to each other’s birthday parties, why not do a joint party? We just had to figure out the one thing all seven could agree on: “Mickey Mouse Clubhouse”!

I quickly volunteered to be in charge of the decorations, & I did everything with a personal, homemade touch with just over $30! You can too!

Here’s what I used:

• a few feet of grosgrain ribbon (you can see it in the banner in the photo above)
• 3 sheets of posterboard (34 cents each at Target)
• 3 rolls of streamers: red, yellow, Caribbean blue
• 3 cheap vinyl tablecloths in the same colors
• The Munchkin’s coloring books
• a few minutes at Kinko’s
• The Munchkin’s crayons
• my friend’s Cricut & her Mickey cartridge
• free Disney fonts I downloaded from online

That’s it!

I started by going to my friend Maile’s house, where she very graciously helped me cut out dozens of Mickey shapes. That shape is forever seared in my brain. It reminded me of when we learned about children’s book author Bill Peet, who got his start as an inbetweener in Disney’s animation department, but quit when he had a nervous breakdown while animating a Donald Duck cartoon & ran out of the building screaming, “No more ducks! No more ducks!” As I was gluing (& gluing. & gluing.) I thought several times, “No more Mickeys! No more Mickeys!”

But seeing it all put together was totally worth it. The Mickeys ended up all over the place, like on these treat bags. It was a great way to reinforce the theme in a less cartoony way. (I attached a Sharpie on a ribbon to the sign to let the parents write their kids’ names on their bags.)

I used more Mickeys & some brightly-colored cardstock I already had to make placecards for the dessert table. Please forgive the really horrible rubbing out of names… I haven’t spent the $24.95 for the good version of Picnik to do name-blurring the right way. But under the horribleness is each name in free Mickey font. The other 6 kids got Wal-Mart cakes in the Disney character of his or her choice, but we’re cake snobs in this house, & besides, I’d been envisioning this Toodles cake for months. So that’s what The Munchkin got. I’ll post the tutorial Friday!

The signs were photocopies I enlarged from The Munchkin’s coloring books at Kinko’s (for a whole $2.06 total) & glued onto pieces of posterboard. Then My Husband The Artiste & I spent an evening coloring them in while watching Newsies. (Could our family get any more Disney? Maybe I should look into sponsorship or something for all this product placement…) Here are some of them; the “Birthday Clubhouse” logo was designed by the aunt of one of the birthday boys, who’s a professional photographer & graphic designer. She used it for the awesome invitation she made, which I for some reason can’t edit my ghetto way & still save. I’ll try to get it from her so you can see all its awesomeness.

We put each of the characters on a pillar of the Clubhouse, which was the gazebo outside our apartment complex. Perfect, right?

Even more perfect was the fact that Mickey Park was right next door! The kids entertained themselves by playing on the adjacent playground, drawing with sidewalk chalk like Daisy, & fishing for more treats for their treat bags with a “handy fishing rod” my friend Wendy made from a paint stirrer, some yarn, & 2 felt hands glued on either side of a clothespin. Total cost: $2.

Finally, here’s the food table. We had two kinds of chips & homemade salsa from my friend Halley (one was a fruit salsa I am definitely making & hopefully posting in the near future), Mickey-shaped cheese (find them at Wal-Mart) & crackers, chocolate covered raisins, Swedish fish (I mean, “Gooey Fish”), fresh fruit, & Hot Diggity Dogs (find them at Costco).

I made the banner & table tents from more of that scrapbook paper & free Mickey font.

So there you have it! All you need is some paper, coloring books, & creativity, & you can have a beautiful birthday party & a very happy birthday Munchkin…

…or seven!

Don’t forget to come back Friday to see the Toodles Cake tutorial! Here’s a sneak peek:

Blog Lovin’ Award!

This weekend I got a great surprise in my email inbox!

Thanks, Mariajose of A Bit of Everything! I feel very grateful & humbled.

I’m still quite new to the world of blogging, so I didn’t even know what the Blog Lovin’ Award was, but thankfully she posted the directions right on her post!

Here’s what I get to do:

1. Thank & link to the person who nominated you.

Thanks again, Mariajose!

2. Share 7 random facts about yourself.

1. The food on my plate can’t touch. I have a difficult time at buffets.
2. I got so burned out as a music major in college that for awhile afterwards I didn’t listen to ANY music at all.
3. I broke my back 4 years ago. Ouch.
4. I’m pretty terrified of horses. (See #3)
5. I’m allergic to olives. But not olive oil. Random, right?
6. I have like the most sensitive gag reflex ever. (That was SUPER helpful during morningsickness…)
7. I used to hate the word “blog” because I thought it was an ugly word.

3. Pass the award along to 10 deserving blog buddies.

1. Smitten with my Kitchen – my friend Tanya’s cooking exploits, including great recipes for food storage items
2. What Mandy Cooks – Mandy & I grew up together, & many of my recipes are from her!
3. kalanicut – I knew Kalani when I was a teenager; now she has great ideas for living well, healthily, & happily
4. A Christian Man’s Hope – Christian inspiration from my cousin-in-law
5. Circus Tales – my friend Karen’s blog about her incredible experiences as an American-born Chinese mom living in as an expat in China
6. Recipes to Run On – running inspiration, delicious recipes (many with WW points!), & how she’s making healthy choices in her & her family’s life
7. Star Hughes Living – yummy recipes, fun crafts, great photos, & hilarious “MBA thoughts”
8. Leah’s Thoughts – life as a working mom in Southern CA
9. Chef in Training – delicious recipes!
10. The Frugal Flambe – ditto!

Click over to some of these other blogs too! I’m sure you’ll find something interesting! Thanks again to Mariajose!