Nephew's 1st Birthday !

My little nephew from my boyfriends side of the family finally turned "one" on December 26! 

Because of all the holiday madness, his birthday party was celebrated last weekend for a stress free environment.

 I was honored to be able to participate in such an important and memorable part of their family festivity. 

The birthday party worked around a jungle theme with an outdoorsy feel and little jungle animals on display. Since this is a special moment in a family's life, I wanted to help make it feel extra special. 

My birthday duty was to whip up the main sweet treat, the birthday cake! I also made some other sweets to accompany the cake. 

I researched some cute birthday cakes for a one year old. 

Most cakes now a days are made and decorated with fondant which is a thick, creamy sugar paste. I don't really have much experience using this paste so I wanted to do something creative within my own zone of knowledge, without too much trouble.

 The ending outcome was a sweet yet ferocious LION face. 

I made a vanilla cake with a dulce de leche filling inside. 

The outside was decorated with a vanilla frosting as well as other edible candies and pretzels.

 Mini monkeys, lions, tigers and zebra cupcakes accompanied the lion cake on the dessert table. 

Check out my sweet creations!  

Happy 1st Birthday to 
Zahir! 

  

 The BEFORE stage:

After: 

Animal Cupcakes

(Unfortunately, some of the cupcakes got squished on the ride over :/ ) 

I also made some lollipops made out of candy melts. 

Very Easy to make!

Directions:

1.In a microwavable bowl, melt a handful of candy melts in 30 second intervals until completely melted.

Note: You can get candy melts in different colors as well (adding food coloring didn't work for me). You can find all of these products at a craft store like Michaels. 

2. Once the candy is melted, cover the candy mold you will be using and stick a lollipop stick at the end.

Note: I actually used the plastic of the birthday candle I bought to use as a mold! You can get as creative as you want when making these! 

3. Store in the freezer immediately for 10-15 minutes or until hardened.

And your done! 

Party Time!

There are numerous times I am invited over to family get together's or Parties and never know what to take or prepare as a snack! Plain old chips get boring after a while. I found this great recipe for an Artichoke and Spinach dip you can make in a flash and give those boring chips a great flavor! Not only is it simple to make, it tastes GREAT too! You can substitute the items in the dip to Low fat or Non fat products if you want to keep it healthy as well. Throw all the ingredients together and pop it in the oven for a fast an Delicious snack. Guaranteed crowd pleaser! ;)

Ingredients:

• 1 (8 ounce) package of cream cheese, softened or whipped
• 1/4 cup mayonnaise
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 cup grated Romano cheese
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
• 1/4 tsp. garlic salt
• 1 (8 ounce) can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
• 1/2 cup frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
• 1/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• Salt and pepper to taste 

Directions: 

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. In a medium bowl, mix together cream cheese, mayonnaise, Parmesan cheese, Romano cheese, mozzarella cheese, minced garlic, garlic salt, salt and pepper. 

3. Carefully mix in the artichoke hearts and spinach. 

4. Transfer the mixture into a lightly greased pan.

5. Bake in the oven for about 15-20 minutes or until it is golden and bubbly! 

Ps: When the last few minutes in the oven come up, I like to spread some more shredded Mozzarella cheese on top to melt!