Hubby’s 50th Birthday

We celebrated my hubby’s birthday a week after we got home from our annual spring break beach vacation. FYI it is crazy to plan and execute on a party for 45 people a week after you get home from vacation. It is madness!

In any case, as always I had both moms and my cousin to help. We have thrown many parties together if the years. They are awesome support.

Hubby had a fabulous 50th celebration. It started Mid-week with a Bo Saam dinner. Then Friday, his actual birthday we had an impromptu brunch at Trois Familia with his sisters, the moms and us. It was a fun way to start his actual bday. Then we had dinner for 17 at a favorite Mexican restaurant.  But really this was a lead up to his party. Saturday afternoon pool party which lead to a very late and celebratory night.

Over the next week I will share pictures of his cake, party favors, decorations, wall art, and menu. It was a great time. Happy Birthday (again) honey!

Nacho Average Leftovers

…it’s ghastly… the pun…but I just love being able to say, “it’s nacho average…” every time nachos are served. 

By the way theses were super yummy. I made them with leftovers from the night before.  Nacho average leftovers! 

April Fool’s Spaghetti and Meatballs

Yup!  Here is a great April Fool’s.  When my oldest was playing spring baseball during his kindergarten year it was my turn to bring the post game snack.  It is supposed to be a healthy snack but since I am me and it was April Fool’s Day I decided to bring a snack that looked healthy but was actually not.

That plate of spaghetti covered in meatballs is really cupcakes smothered in piped frosting, strawberry jam, Ferraror Roche chocolates and white chocolate shavings.  The idea (and in this case I darn near followed the instructions verbatim) was from Hello! Cupcake.  Great idea!  I am glad I was lucky enough to have the perfect excuse to have a little fun!  Copy my copy of Hello Cupcake or check out the book for the exact recipe and directions.

Now get cracking April Fool’s is only a few days away.

Cheers,

Trish

Throwback Thursday: Meet Mr. & Mrs. Bunny

Easter eggs are a big tradition in our household.  They were a big deal when I was a kid and they are a big deal now that I have kiddos.  In fact, every Easter we have gotten together with family and neighbors and spent the evening decorating Easter eggs.  It is a big ta-doo.  We have decorated dozens and dozens of eggs.  Each year we seem to decorate more and more.  Some years the eggs are traditional Easter eggs with Paas dye, vinegar and some really muddy looking eggs.  There always seems to be one or two that are left for the whole evening in the vinegar bath.  Sometimes this effect is saturated and stunning and sometimes its just plain bright.

Some years we go a little crazy decorating and the eggs are little works of art (always a good thing).  One year after the boys went to bed my girlfriend and I spent the rest of the night (and it turned into a late one) blowing eggs and creating little hats and ears for our blown eggs.  Some of our creations were pretty incredible if I don’t say so myself.  Below is a picture of Mr. & Mrs. Bunny.  They were inspired by a crafty Easter book we were looking through.  The Easter eggs were o’ so delicate but just plain darling.  We loved them immediately.  They took a lot of (pleasant) effort, some frustrated groans, some laughing… as you can see, the end product was well worth our time and the death of many broken eggs.

I hope Mr. & Mrs. Bunny bring a little Easter joy to your day.

Cheers, Trish

 

 

Throwback Thursday: Spring/Easter Tea

Hi.  Hello.  Happy almost spring! Some of you know that I am a big fan of afternoon tea.  While I am not inherently a fussy or even a sweet girl, I do love the pomp, tradition and prettiness of afternoon tea.  To that end, a few years back I put together an afternoon spring tea perfect for any of the upcoming spring holidays like Easter, May Day or Mother’s Day or just because spring is a pretty time to sip from a dainty cup and nibble a scrumptious sandwich.

It’s sweet alright but wouldn’t it look so pretty on a table in the garden? Maybe we can wear hats, celebrate and giggle softly while our champagne bubbles and our tea cools.

Enjoy!

Trish

Trish’s Tuesday Tag: St Patrick’s Day Ginormous Tag

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!  Hope your wearing your green!

When I think of tags I most often think of small pieces of art. I know that often I use tags to learn or teach a new technique or when I want to create a piece of art that, in theory, will be less time consuming than if I were creating a journal page, a canvas or a banner.

However in this case, I created a ginormous tag–okay maybe not ginormous, but the tag is 71/2 inches tall without the pretty green ribbon.

A while back, as in a few years ago, I purchased some ephemera in a packet that was backed with a cool tag with a scalloped top. I put the tag in my tag bin (yes I have a bin o’tags). For this project since it was St. Patrick’s Day and all about good fun I decided to alter the ginormous tag.

Tag to be altered

I was inspired by the lush, ubiquitous green fields of Ireland.

But then I decided I liked the back side of the tag better. It was more cohesive and the green glittered “IRISH” letters stood out better.  I also transferred a magazine image of three “pints” of beer.  I thought that was very appropriate.

If you haven’t transferred an image yet–fear not!  It’s as easy as 1,2,3.  First you locate and image and trim it up (or not); then you smear some gel medium ( I use Golden’s Gel Medium) onto the image.  Then, you place the image, image side down onto the paper or in this case tag that you want to transfer the image to.  Then you do something else for about an hour while you are waiting for the gel medium to dry and the transfer to take place.  In this case I glittered letters.

Then as a final step you squirt water onto the gel medium and rub the paper away.  I will do a time lapse video of such so that you can see it.  Super easy.  Super fun.  You just need a little courage because even though it seems highly implausible, it will work.

After the beers transferred, I decided that the tag needed something different than I was planning.  I liked the door knocker(which I acquired while shopping at the Rose Bowl Flea a few weeks back) at the top of the tag–Super cool–super tarnished brass piece fit perfectly under the scalloped edges of the top of the tag.  I wanted to tie the brass into the tag more.  So I added gold embossing.  I had been working on Tim Holtz’s March 12 Tags of 2015 “enameled” tag and still had the embossing powder on my desk.  So I stamped script over the entire tag and embossed it gold.  I like the tie into the brass knocker and the idea of Leprechaun’s pots of gold.

Now what?  I didn’t like the lettering laid out as planned.  So I bunched it up and added a quick “posy” of stick pins.  Covered the gluey part with a lovely brass shield and a bit of ribbon that matched the tie top ribbon.  Glued down a green striped grosgrain ribbon and called it a focal point.  I love the whole embellishment.  Rich, stylish, silly and pretty (just how I like my men-j).

Now, that the letters were bunched up I had to decide how to finish the tag.  I let the tag hang on my wall for a few days (sometimes quick art aint so quick). I was putting up my shamrock garland when I came across the perfect sized little shamrock.  I attached it to the tag and called it done and done.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

Slainte,

Trish

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Creme de Menthe Brownies

From a Blog Post March 2009.  This is a Kriksciun family classic recipe.  I have made it many many times in the last 20 or so years.  They are great whenever you make and eat them. Of course the green makes for excellent St. Patrick’s Day and Christmas holiday treats (use clear crème de menthe and the green isn’t a factor).

Here Goes:

Here at Royal Tart we are beginning to wind down on the St. Patrick’s Day holiday and gear up for the next round of holiday parties, not to mention the birthday celebration of a cranky 12-year old cat on April 3. That being said, I am including one last St. Pat’s Recipe.

 

Creme de Menthe Brownies

If you aren’t familiar with this fun chocolate mint brownie recipe you are in for a real treat. This dessert works really well for everyday or on St. Patrick’s Day, Christmas, Easter–any holiday that green or white is part of the color scheme.

Brownies:
Bake your favorite from scratch or box brownies using a sheet pan instead of your standard brownie pan OR if you are like me and resist serving bar treats at parties bake brownie bites or purchase them already made. I think mini round bites look so pretty on a serving tray.

Mint Icing:
You can use either green or white Creme de Menthe. For this holiday we suggest using green as March 17 is all about the green.
2 cups confectioners’ sugar
1/2 cup butter (melted or creamed depending on whether you are serving brownie bars or bites)
4 tablespoons Creme de Menthe

Mix the above Icing ingredients together and spread on your cooled brownies. If you are using brownie bites you will want the Icing to be a bit thicker so instead of melting the butter, cream it with the sugar and Creme de Menthe. Add a little more sugar in small increments until a loose spreadable icing is made. When I ice my brownie bites I like the green icing to drip down the sides a little so that the green looks a little like the icing on a bundt cake.

Once the Creme de Menthe has set you will want to layer on the chocolate ganache.

Chocolate Ganache:
Melt 6 ounces premium dark chocolate or semi sweet chocolate chips with 6 Tablespoons of butter. Carefully poor warm ganache over brownies and chill for a few minutes until firm. Or if you are making brownie bites cool the ganache for a bit so that it gets a little thick. Poor a teaspoon or so over the top of a brownie bite allowing the ganache to drip down the sides ever so slightly. Enjoy!

Here at Royal Tart we are all about yummy, fabulous food and stylish and fun parties…and we always give credit where credit is due. This recipe was provided by Jessica about 16 years ago. Royal Tart has altered only the presentation by adding the brownie bite concept. Either way you serve ’em you are bound to get a “SMILE” as the original recipe card suggests.

Slainte,

Trish

Celebrate Pi Day on 3/14

What the heck is Pi Day?

Pi Day is an annual celebration commemorating the mathematical constant π (pi). Pi Day is observed on March 14 (or 3/14 in the month/day date format), since 3, 1, and 4 are the first three significant digits of π in decimal form. In 2009, the United States House of Representatives supported the designation of Pi Day.^[2]

Pi Day has been observed in many ways, including eating pie, throwing pies and discussing the significance of the number π.^[1] In our home, we celebrate Pi Day by eating pie (really, it’s a perfect reason to eat pie if you need justification), both savory and sweet.  Since, there really are no “rules” or traditions in my home except to eat pie I thought this year I would make a throwback to my childhood, homemade tamale pie in a cast iron skillet and individual skillet cherry pies–we will talk about pi in our geeky family banter during dinner and since 3/14 is also Einstein’s birthday anniversary we will toast him as well (we love us some geeky).  Nothing fancy just a fun opportunity to add a dash of celebration into your everyday life.

Throwback Thursday Lucky Charms Rice Krispie Treats

This is a post from St. Patrick’s celebration time in 2010.

The boys are so into St. Patrick’s Day this year. Everyday this month they have come home with new stories of Leprechauns, rainbows, and four leaf clovers and green, green, green.  A leprechaun even visited their classrooms. Apparently he was a very mischievous little guy–he trashed the place; threw all the erasers on the ground; broke the chalk; turned the pictures upside down; changed the desks around.  Pretty crazy sounding stuff.

So to honor all the fun this weekend for the boys (and me too), I am making Rice Krispy Treats with both Rice Krispies and Lucky Charms…because they are magically delicious and it is a St. Patrick’s Day holiday weekend.

St. Patrick’s Day Rice Krispy & Lucky Charm Treat Recipe

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons butter or margarine
1 package (10 oz., about 40) regular marshmallows
– OR –
4 cups miniature marshmallows
3 cups Rice Krispies
3 cups Lucky Charms

Directions:

In large saucepan melt butter over low heat. Add marshmallows and stir until completely melted. Remove from heat. Add both cereals. Stir until well coated. Using buttered spatula or wax paper evenly press mixture into 13 x 9 x 2-inch pan coated with cooking spray. Cool. Cut into 2-inch squares.

Tips:

For best results, use fresh marshmallows.
1 jar (7 oz.) marshmallow crème can be substituted for marshmallows.
Diet, reduced calorie or tub margarine is not recommended.
Store no more than two days at room temperature in airtight container. To freeze, place in layers separated by wax paper in airtight container. Freeze for up to 6 weeks. Let stand at room temperature for 15 minutes before serving.

Next time you plan to celebrate or host a party please feel free to use this recipe or change it up with Trix or Froot loops, Sugar Corn Pops–any cereal that might match the celebration or party theme. I can’t wait to serve the boys their dessert on one of RoyalTart’s pretty green plates as seen in last Thursdays Throwback post.

Maybe for Easter I will make the treats egg-shaped or use Trix or Froot Loops…so many holidays to celebrate, party favors to make and parties to host…so little time.

Cheers,
Trish

Throwback Thursday-St. Patrick’s Day Celebration

Thanks to Facebook we are well aware that we have some pretty great stuff in our old files and archives.  Here is a celebration I created during my days running Royal Tart. It’s heavy on green as any St. Patrick’s Day can be, but I added a wee bit o’ the sophistication and zany with the green zebra place mats. This is one of those tablescapes that can be adult in feel or family fun in feel depending on what you want to serve in those long tall beer glasses–lucky charms or beer–of course.

It may feel like I am sharing this a bit early (or if you are an organized sort, not so much) but I wanted to give you time to get your creative juices flowing and your table setting style put together; you have about three weeks. Go! Slante!

Trish