Archive for July, 2011

July 29, 2011

Oh Baby! The Food

It’s Day 5 of Oh Baby! all about my sister’s Japanese themed baby shower.  And today is all about the food!  If you need to catch up on the previous posts, just scoot over to the home page and you can read all 5 posts.

I have catered many, many baby showers, birthday parties, Girl’s Nights, just about any gathering of people.  Not because I love to cater, in fact, I don’t.  But I do love to cook and everyone was expecting me to do all the cooking for this event but I said, “No, no, no!”  I wanted to be able to sit down and enjoy all the hard work we put into this big day, not slave away in the kitchen and miss all the fun.

So we chose one of our favorite local  eateries to host the event, The City Cafe’ in Yuba City, Ca.

I cannot say enough about how much work The City Cafe’, Stephanie and Chef Jeff specifically, put into our event.  From the very get-go they were excited to host the event and worked with us on every little detail.  They allowed us to come early to hang our 5,000 lanterns (it felt like 5,000!), they even let us borrow their ladder. Even though their normal fare is American Bistro style food, Chef Jeff developed a menu of all Japanese inspired items, some plated, some buffet.  Anything we asked they were willing to make it happen for us.  Thank you City Cafe’, you all were awesome!

So going back to the food, we started out with edamame waiting on the tables for the guests.  They were held in the cutest little bamboo boats I picked up at one of my favorite “packaging” sources, Garnish.  Someday I will write a little post on all the goodies you can pick up on their site.

Lest you think all my parties go off without a hitch, there were little hiccups along the way.  One of them being that our photographer was MIA and I didn’t really get many pictures of the food :(   But I’ll show you a few things:

Here is a pic of myself and Bree of Wedding Tulle , one of my best buds.  The salad you see on my plate was one of Chef Jeff’s original creations.  It was an Asian Pear Slaw Salad and people are still asking me what he did to those pears!  I believe they were marinated in some sort of vinaigrette and they were yummy!

I don’t have any pics of the rest of the entree’s but Chef Jeff also prepared a Miso Salmon, Yakisoba Noodles with Vegetables (they were my favorite, I think he should put them on the menu permanently!) and Teriyaki Pork Tenderloin.  It was all so thoughtfully prepared and really delicious.

I told you earlier that I was not interested in having one of those boring sheet cakes from the grocery store with that frosting that tastes more like silicone than real food.  That would not do.  Besides, that’s not very Japanese.  So we had 2 desserts that were chosen as much for their shape as their tastiness:

Mochi Ice Cream Balls!  My sister-in-law Chris and I were so excited to have these, it’s about all we talked about for 2 months.  Jill picked them up at Oto’s Marketplace (Asian Market) in Sacramento and they were THE BEST mochi I have every eaten.  There were about 7 or 8 flavors.  I ate several.  I would have eaten more.  I need to take a trip to Oto’s and get some more.

The other dessert is something so darling and so delicious I cannot wait to share it with you:

My friend Ashley, of Wooden Spoon Catering, made the cutest cake pops I have ever seen!  I asked her if she would make them then told her to do whatever she wanted with decorating them.  I had no doubt Ashley would make them cute but honestly, I was expecting  simple chocolate dipped, maybe some sprinkles.  I was floored when she walked in the door with multicolored, drizzled pops with tiny cherry blossoms!  Is she a genius?  I think maybe!

It was such a crowning moment when the wait staff started walking around serving these little dainty yet stunning bites of cake.  Not only were they gorgeous they were de-li-cious.  They were moist and tasty, I lost count of how many I ate.

Here’s Auntie Squeak with a cake pop and me with a mochi.

There are so many more details I could share but I think one whole week of baby shower is plenty!  It was a lot of work, but it was worth every minute.

Now I just have to wait for that baby to be born!  Come on little nephew!  Auntie wants to see you!

 

 

July 28, 2011

Oh Baby! DIY Favors

This is part 4 of a series on the Japanese themed baby shower we threw for my sister Natalie.  If you missed out on the previous posts you can catch up here:

The Very BeginningThe Invitations... The Decor...

I love to be able to give a favor to party guests, something to send them home with to remind them of the fun they had at the gathering.  When I was brainstorming for the shower, I wanted to be able to give away something… girly!  Then it came to me, I had seen so many DIY posts on making fabric flowers and I just knew I could figure out a way to get them onto a bracelet.  And then I realized that if I had a bunch of “flowers” I could use them as decor on the table, once again color as the main decorating component.

Then my step-sister Amy did something she would live to regret.  She volunteered to help out.  Actually, a lot of people volunteered to help out with the shower and in fact, there were many hands involved in throwing this shin-dig, but Amy was THE ONE I knew could take this DIY project and run with it.  Run with it she did.  I think she popped out these babies (about 60 of them) in 2 days!  Don’t worry, she’s still alive.

The finished bracelets were wrapped around a set of chopsticks, then placed on the dinner plate at each setting.  There were single flower bracelets in multiple colors.

There were “special” ones (front)  that were layered with different textures & colors and there were “small” ones (back) for the little girl guests.

Amy added even more frills and flowers to Natalie’s bracelet to set it apart from everyone else’s.

And because the flowers were attached to a hair clip, they could be easily detached and worn as a hair accessory, like Ella here.  After hot gluing the flower to the hair clip, they just “snapped” onto little elastic-bead bracelets I got from Oriental Trading Company.  Easy peasy.  Time consuming.  But easy.

I loved looking around the room and seeing the guests wearing their flowers, either in their hair or on their wrists.

If you want to know how to make your own fabric flowers, you can check out the link here from Skip To My Lou

I’m hoping to share all about the shower food tomorrow!

 

July 27, 2011

Oh Baby! Decor

If you have missed the posts from earlier this about my little sister’s Japanese themed baby shower, you can find them here: The Very Beginning; The Invitations

On to the decor!!  As I mentioned in The Very Beginning, inspiration boards play a large role in my event planning.  One of the inspiration boards from Natalie’s shower was this one:

When I began thinking about what decorating items would work for a Japanese theme, lanterns immediately came to mind and so the search for pretty yet affordable lanterns began.  I ended up using a company online called Luna Bazaar.  What I loved about their site… well, besides the fact that they have a wide selection of lanterns… they allow you to search by color.  If you are looking for blue lanterns, you just select “blue lanterns” from the sidebar and tadah!  Every blue paper lantern in every size they sell is right in front of you!  It made ordering so simple.  And as a side note, they shipped out really quick too.

So after playing with a bunch of color combos and figuring out what sizes to order, in the end I decided on the these lanterns:

23 lanterns to be exact.  Now, the space we were in was not huge.  It was cozy and intimate, but not large.  And although we had plenty of tables, I didn’t want to clog them up with a bunch of little deco items.  Also, the more you have to buy to fill the space, the more it’s going to cost.  So instead, we used big pops of color throughout the space and centralized in the middle of the room.

One of the perks of merging the family shower between our two families was that Micheal’s family had tons of authentic Japanese items like the banner you see above.  They generously allowed us to decorate with their family heirlooms and it made this whole event really feel like a family celebration.

Look at how gorgeous this… uhh… I don’t know what it’s called… it’s part of a kimono, the part that wraps around the torso… anyway, look how gorgeous it is!  I think this was my favorite thing brought over from Grandma Uno’s house.

This was Natalie’s seat at the head table.  Jill, Natalie’s mother-in-law, decorated Natalie’s place setting special from all the rest.  She used items from the Uno treasure trove:  special china, chopsticks, etc.  It was perfect.  The flowers you see on the plate are part of the DIY project, I will tell you more about that later this week.

This picture is also gives you a good look at the paper we used to decorate the tables.  One day, months before the shower, I wandered into World Market (Cost Plus) to see if anything caught my eye.  This turned out to be the best decision I made, no joke.  I found rolls and rolls of that paper you see on the table and I bought every single one they had!  There were about 4 different versions, some more pink, some more gold, but all very pretty and well within our theme.  Every time I drove anywhere near a World Market, within a 50 mile radius, I stopped in and bought up all of their paper.  We used almost every scrap of it on the tables in place of table cloths and once again it proved that you don’t need a lot of “stuff” to decorate a room.  As soon as the lanterns were up and the paper was down on the tables the room was transformed.

Here’s another view of some of the other papers (and Auntie Martha):

Auntie Martha also let us borrow these to decorate with:

Here’s another view of the head table:

I made another great discovery while at World Market:

This amazing piece is a shade screen!  And it was only $15!  It was a very fitting addition to the room.

Do you remember seeing that little Japanese girl somewhere before??  Maybe from the stamps??

I bought a bunch of those bags while at World Market, they were too cute to resist.  At the time, I wasn’t totally sure what we would do with them but they ended up being worth every penny because we not only used them for the flower arrangements at the head table,  we scanned the bag to make the stamps.

There were so many other wonderful decor items:

I wish I could show you more of the decor, but it’s nearing 11pm and I need to get some sleep!

Tomorrow, I will give you the story behind the flowers on the plates…. it should probably be entitled, “I Bet Amy Wishes She Hadn’t Volunteered.”  Till then, my friends!

July 26, 2011

Oh Baby! The Invitations

Today I’m continuing with the details of my sister’s Japanese themed baby shower.  If you missed the first post you can catch up here.

I’ve told you before that I know some amazing people.  I am proud to call them my friends.  One of those people is my buddy Bree (aka: Lucy).  Bree is the owner of Wedding Tulle (weddingtulle.com), an online wedding stationary and accessories site.  You may have heard of it, it has been featured in  Real Weddings, The Knot, The Today Show, Good Morning America, Brides Magazine and more.  She’s kind-of a big deal.  And she’s my party-planning-partner-in-crime.

One day Bree and I were discussing the shower and as soon as I mentioned “Japanese Theme” I could hear her little wheels turning in her brain.  About a week later she called me up and said,  “I have the perfect invitation template… it’s folds over like a kimono!”  to which I exclaimed, “That’s exactly what I was thinking of doing!”  We think so much alike it’s scary.

The next thing to do was to pick the paper that would become the “jacket” of our invitation.  The internet search began and soon we were reminded of this website: The Paper Studio.  I have drooled over their papers for years and this was the perfect excuse to order some samples.  They have a whole section of their site dedicated to authentic Japanese Chiyogami, Yuzen & Washi papers and for a small fee will send you samples of them.  I went a little crazy.  I ordered about 20 samples.  This turned out to be a problem because I fell in love with ALL of the sample pieces!  Here are a few of the samples I ordered:

It was so hard to choose!  I shuffled those samples around and around, I polled everyone for opinions, and in the end I did what any self-respecting designer would do…

I ordered 5 different papers and used all of them! I need to stop right here and let you know the customer service at The Paper Studio was out-of-this-world!  They are so friendly and helpful and I would definitely buy their products for future projects.

You’ll notice above that the envelopes we used were made of vellum so that the gorgeous papers were visible as soon as the guest picked up the mail. We made the mail pretty!

As I was mailing the invitations it donned on me you might like to see the stamps we used so I snapped this real quick with my phone, in the back of my car, in the rain.  I must really like y’all.

This was one of those details that I had planned on doing, then when it came down to the wire I was tired, I was cranky, I didn’t think we had time and Bree insisted we simply HAD to do it.  She was right.  It was the icing on the cake.  Here’s how it happened:  at the very last minute, I raced home and scanned the image (a bag that you will see later) and emailed it to Bree.  Bree did some fast editing and uploaded the graphic to stamps.com.  A couple days later we had darling little Japanese-girl stamps and people just raved over them.    And it gave the guests a little peak into what they might expect come shower-day.

The moral of the story is, always listen to Bree.  She knows her stuff!

Oh!  I almost forgot to show you the inside of the invitation!

Since the outside was the main attraction, we kept the inside of the invite pretty simple.  And that was also due to the fact that Japanese styling tends to be real minimalist.  I wanted to carry that feeling over to the invitation.  The one truly OCD moment Bree and I had was with the color of the wording.  You see, each of the papers were different colors.  We could have settled on black or brown for each invitation.  But we didn’t.  While Bree was slaving in the back of her shop cutting out all of the “jackets”, I was in the other room searching Adobe Kuler for just the right ink color…for each paper.  I must have printed out about 30 samples until we arrived at just the right shades of ink.  So five different papers, five different ink colors.  Don’t look at me like that, we wouldn’t have been able to sleep that night if we hadn’t done it our way!

Bree added the finishing touch with the coordinating belly-bands and medallions.  That girl is pretty clever.

I just loved how these invitations turned out and the guests seemed pretty excited about them too.

Next post I will try to delve into some of the decor, and a little DIY project that turned into the favors.

July 25, 2011

Oh Baby! The Very Beginning

There is a baby coming soon in our family!  My sister Natalie is expecting her first baby in just about 1 month and so it was time for the baby shower.  Truth be told, I started planning this baby shower…uhh… well, I think I started the day her and Michael got married.  I like to be prepared, sue me!

First let me say, I did not pull this off on my own.  This shower was a HUGE undertaking, from the planning to the execution, and it was a group effort:  myself, my sister Laura, my sister-in-law Chris, Natalie’s mother-in-law Jill and Natalie’s good friend Megan.  These gals helped every step along the way and to them I want to say a big THANK YOU.  There are others who played a large role in the details, more on them later on.  But you know who you are, so many thanks to you too!

There were a lot of pieces and parts to this shower so rather than flood this post with a kazillion pictures and links I will split it up into several different posts so keep your eyes peeled this week for the “rest of the story.”

So today, I’m going to give you a little peek into how I go about planning a party.

STORYBOARDS

One of the best tips I can give you when in the planning phase of an event is to put together a storyboard of your ideas.  I knew from the beginning I wanted the shower to be Japanese themed because my brother-in-law is half Japanese and therefore my little nephew would be Japanese too.  Additionally, this shower was a joint-effort between his family and ours so celebrating their ethnic roots was important to me.  Now, when I am in the brainstorming phase of  a party I allow my brain to go a little crazy.  Some of the ideas are good ones, some of them are just weird.  But even a weird idea can morph into something brilliant if you allow it “simmer” for a bit.  That’s where the storyboards come into play.

I started collecting little pictures of as many “Japanese” items I could find in stores, internet, you name it.  I also began noticing colors and color themes that were catching my eye.  Eventually,  I took the-best-of-the-best of these ideas and started organizing them into the storyboards you see here.  Not all of the ideas were realized at the shower, but they helped to keep me on track when I went shopping, was ordering things online, etc.  And since this party was actually given by 5 different women, I was easy to give each gal a copy of the storyboards and say, “OK, here’s what it needs to look like, now run with it!”  And they did!

Looking back over the storyboards, now that the party is over, I am so pleased that we were able to incorporate so many of the ideas.  Some of them were literal translations.  For instance, those mochi ice cream balls you see above, we were able to have those for dessert instead of a big ugly sheet cake from the local discount grocery store with that funky blue frosting that you are never quite sure if it’s made out of real food or not… yeah, you know what I’m talking about.  Other things were more of an “inspiration” for something we translated in our own way, like the main courses.  We had originally planned to serve teriyaki bowls and sushi but after meeting with the chef we were able to serve other Japanese inspired dishes that were more creative and entirely yummy.

So that’s where it all started:  a Japanese themed party full of color and good food.  Can’t wait to share more details with you!!

July 20, 2011

Get Your Tshirts White Again

Over on the According To Carey Facebook Page (where even more sharing is going on), my friend Ashley posted a tip for getting those yellow, deodorant stains out of your white tshirts and tank tops.   Ashley, like many of us, buys a new white tank every summer because regular washing just doesn’t keep that dingy-ness at bay.  Ashley gave the cleaning tip a try and it worked for her so I was excited to try it for myself.  And the verdict is…..

It worked!

You can find the article at eHow, but here’s the low-down:

(btw:  there are a few different versions in the article, we used the “dishwasher detergent” version.)

You take a big pot of boiling water, add a cup of dishwasher detergent (I used liquid, Ashley used granular) to dissolve, take it off the heat then add your tanks or tees.  Let it soak for 24 hours, then rinse and wash in the washer like normal.

I will show you a couple before/afters:

Yes, those are my armpit stained tanks.  I can admit it.  You know you have them too, don’t act like you don’t.  But look at what happened after a 24 hour bath in Cascade:

The worst-of-the-worst stains didn’t come out completely but enough that I wouldn’t be embarrassed to wear the shirt in public.  I also tried it on a white workout shirt that had a bad case of ring-around-the-collar.  That stain didn’t come out completely either, but it is much improved.  Overall, it did a good job of removing the stain and brightening the whole shirt.

All in all, it’s a great tip.  Thanks, Ashley!!

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July 20, 2011

Smile File: 7.20.11

This smile-inducing photo is brought to you by Bree:

Now don’t you feel better?

July 19, 2011

Sneak Peek: My Sister’s Baby Shower

So… I’ve been a little busy,  as I’m sure you noticed by the lack of attention here.  Sorry about that, but it was for a very good reason!  My sister’s baby shower was this weekend and it was a huge undertaking and it was tons of fun.  So to tease you just a bit, here are some sneak peek photos of the event:

All the details coming next week, I promise!!

July 15, 2011

Summer Fruit Recipes

Now that summer is in full swing we have the opportunity to enjoy some wonderfully sweet summer fruit.  Berries, watermelon, peaches and so much more!  Here are a few recipes to get you started this weekend:

Pineapples are available in grocery stores year round, but they are at their best March-July. One of my favorite ways to “summer-ize” a food is to throw it on the grill and this recipe from Skinny Taste does just that. And the honey-lime-cinnamon glaze adds just the right spice and sweetness to make it a satisfying dessert.

This photo makes me drool! Who can resist a frozen treat on a hot summer day? This easy recipe from Just Cook Already only has 3 ingredients! No excuses, make this frosty treat any busy summer night.

I’m betting most of you haven’t heard of a Rainier Cherry.  What is it?  Well, this cherry-farmer will tell you!  It is a cross between a big, juicy Bing Cherry and a white, flavorful Queen Anne Cherry.  When you squash them together (grafting) you get the plump, white, tasty Rainier cherry.  The Sprouted Kitchen uses Rainier’s for a cooling cocktail, but if you can’t find Ranier’s you could substitute for any cherry in season. And if you would rather leave out the alcohol, substitute a splash of ginger ale for a refreshing mock-tail.

There are lots of melons growing in the summer time and they are so refreshing on a sultry day.  There is no recipe to link you to, but I can tell you how I made them for LeiLani’s baby shower:   Using various sized melon-ballers, scoop out the flesh of watermelon, honeydew, cantaloupe, and any other melon that suites your fancy into a large bowl.  Put the bowl into the refrigerator to chill while you make the syrup.  In a saucepan over medium heat, combine 1 cup of water and one cup of sugar until the sugar is dissolved.  Add the juice of 2 limes and allow the mixture to simmer for a minute or two.  Remove from the heat and add a couple sprigs of slightly crushed mint.  Allow mint to steep for just another minute or two.  Too much mint is nauseating so go lightly with it.  When you are ready to serve, drizzle the syrup mixture over your chilled melon.  You can garnish with a spring of mint to fancy-it-up.

Nectarines are one of my favorite fruits and pairing them up with this gingersnap crust is perfection. The creamy, rich filling is the perfect foil for the spicy ginger and the whole thing can be made a day in advance.  The recipe is called Nectarine and Mascarpone Tart in Gingersnap Crust from Epicurious.com

Visit your local farm or farmer’s markets and get some sun ripened, fresh fruit to enjoy this summer!

July 14, 2011

DIY: Dip-Dyed Candles

Yet another “Duuhhh, why didn’t I think of that?” project.  Melt  some wax beads with crayon shavings, dip dollar store pillar candles into it for pretty and cheap decorative candles.   That Martha Stewart, she knows everything.  You can see the full instructions here.

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July 13, 2011

Smile File: 7.11.11

Something that makes me laugh and it isn’t even a squirrel! Nature fascinates me!

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July 12, 2011

Yumi’s Vegetable Cooking Cheat Sheet

Sometimes you stumble upon something so helpful, you just can’t help but pass it on! Print this baby out and stick it on the fridge!

July 11, 2011

How Does My Garden Grow: Growth Galore

The sun continues to shine and my garden continues to grow!  Here’s an update on what’s happening out in the backyard:  As you can see, the strawberries are getting bigger and more plentiful.  And they are DE-LI-CIOUS!

I have been anxiously watching my tomatoes, hoping they would ripen soon, but also hoping I would get to the first ripe tomato before any bird or gopher could get it’s grimy claws (or beak) on it.  For weeks I’ve had lots of green tomatoes on the vine, but no red.  And then while I was watering today, I pushed aside a big leaf and found this little guy:  my first ripe tomato! It’s a Sweet 100 and it was just that!

And speaking of green tomatoes, look how many Roma’s are on the vine!  It’s very exciting, tomatoes are one of the few foods I crave on a regular basis.

Everyday I water my eggplants and everyday I wonder, “When are those blossoms going to drop?”  So I reached down to feel the big flower you see in the front and I discovered a little baby eggplant growing inside!  I was so happy, I named him Bert.

And then I realized I had a 2nd  “blossom” that also had eggplant fruit growing.  I call him Ernie.

But there was one more!  A little one that was hidden behind the leaves.  I shall call him Kermit.  I spend way too much time out in the sun.

These are my little green eggplants, when they are ready to pick they will be just over 2 inches.  Just about there!  There are too many of them to name.

The Mystery Peppers continue to grow and I am so curious as to what they will taste like.  It’s kind of like getting the mystery box on Chopped.

There is no longer just one bell pepper, there are many!  I used to wonder why they had such weird shapes and now I can see the reason.  When they grow, they get lodged in between the stalks, causing them to have weird indentations and lumps.  It won’t affect the flavor, though!

I lopped off the basil last week and it’s already grown back.  I will have to do another Basil Harvest soon!

My succulent garden is still surprising me.  I found blossoms all over most of my plants last week and this week I found this… stalk… growing out of the Happy hens-n-chicks succulent.  I think it might bloom… or it is an alien coming to take over the planet?  If so, I hope it kills snails.

Lots of food growing out there, next week should bring a mini-harvest!!

July 8, 2011

Friday Recipe: Grilled Lemon Vinaigrette

Kitchn Therapy: Grilled Lemon Vinaigrette

The Kitchn: Grilled Lemon Vinaigrette

I don’t know about you, but love to eat salads in the summer.  They don’t require heating up the oven, they are fast and they are fresh.  Vinaigrettes are a perfect choice for summer salads because they are light and bright.  This Grilled Lemon Vinaigrette is so intriguing to me; they add a layer of flavor by putting a slight char on the lemon halves before they are juiced.  Join me and try this vinaigrette on salad greens or even drizzled over steamed veggies!

Happy weekend to you all!

 

July 7, 2011

Interesting Techie Products…

I have come across some interesting items on the internet lately.  Of course, I “pinned” them so I could share them with you later.  Tell me what you think:

Source: wired.com via Carey on Pinterest

I have heard a lot of great things about this product. It is an SD card that goes into camera like any other, but when it gets close to your

computer, via wi-fi, it automatically uploads your pictures, sans cords! Definitely on my shopping list.

Source: fastmac.com via Carey on Pinterest

Another charging solution that could be brilliant. I could power my Ipod, Iphone, camera… and any other thing that requires a USB port.

OK, this isn’t exactly a solution, but I think they are really cute. And cute makes me work better. Really, it does.

Source: katespade.com via Carey on Pinterest

Again, not a solution to a techie problem… unless your problem is a lack of style! Heellloooo… it’s Kate Spade!

Source: etsy.com via Louisa on Pinterest

A prettier solution to docking stations.

Source: wired.com via Celeste on Pinterest

All right, not so much a product as a solution. A cheap solution. I like cheap. Unless it’s wine.

Now THAT’S a great idea! Shove it all in a drawer where you don’t have to look at it, I like that.

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