Banana Drop Cookies

So I've been on a health kick lately. I'm trying really hard to train for some 5ks this summer in addition to losing baby weight. We have been doing juicing, blending and increasing our physical activity as a family. The hardest part when I'm trying to eat right is avoiding sweets. I completely and thoroughly enjoy a well-made dessert. I've been on a quest for healthful cookies. It seems like they either aren't truly healthful or they taste healthful (and not in a good way). It's hard finding both. Because we enjoy juicing frequently we always have fruit pulp leftover. We felt guilty throwing this nutritional bi-product away, so I tried thinking of ways to use it. We use it as organic compost for our garden, but I wanted to benefit from the fiber. I decided to try adding some of the pulp to these cookies as a source of fiber and it turned out great. You couldn't even tell that it was in there. If you don't juice, don't worry about adding the pulp to the cookies. It's completely optional.

So as far as the cookies I couldn't believe how yummy they turned out and they are packed with so many good-for-you ingredients. I also love that they are dairy and fat-free (if not using chocolate chips) and packed full of fiber. They are the perfect balance of sweet and chewy and I loved the texture of the chia and flax seeds with the oats. And they are SO moist! If you haven't tried adding chia and flax seeds into your diet, you are missing out on some great benefits. You can buy either at health food stores, but I have found mine at my local Winco and Kitchen Kneads stores for a fraction of the price. Maybe I'll do a post on the nutritional benefits of these lovely seeds for those of you that don't know much about them.

I  really loved the addition of the dark chocolate chips to this recipe. These can be optional if you want these to be more healthful, but I thought a few added a great flavor and made me feel like I was eating regular cookies. If you freeze your ripe bananas and you use them for these cookies, you may need a little more agave for sweetness. I've made these cookies with fresh and frozen bananas and I've noticed that I don't need any extra sweetener when I use fresh bananas.

I hope you enjoy these. I love that I can still have a little something sweet without completely breaking my weight-loss goals. I love storing the leftovers in the fridge--they taste SO good cold!

Here's what you need: Makes 25-30 cookies

3 ripe bananas, mashed with some chunks
1/3 C unsweetened applesauce
1/4 C almond milk
1 T chia seeds
1 T flax seeds
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1 T agave (or stevia)
2/3 C dried fruit, cranberries and raisins mixed together
1/3 C dark chocolate chips or carob chips
2 C oatmeal
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 c fruit pulp, opt

1. Preheat oven  to 350 degrees. Combine mashed bananas, applesauce, almond milk, cinnamon salt, agave and vanilla in a medium mixing bowl. Add baking soda and stir until incorporated

2. Add chia and flax seeds, dried fruit, chocolate chips, oatmeal and fruit pulp if desired. Stir until well incorporated.

3. Spoon on to parchment-lined baking sheet and bake at 350° for 15-16 min until top begins to brown.

4. Remove from oven and allow to rest on baking sheet 2-3 minutes. Transfer to cooling rack and enjoy a cookie while they are still warm. :)

Enjoy and Happy Baking! (And Healthful Eating!)

Here is the printable recipe.

Warm Fuzzy Jar

So here's another non-recipe post, but parenting has been on my radar especially as of late. I love my 3-yr-old, but some days it's all I can do to be patient. I am far from being a "perfect" mother, but I try my hardest to be a really great mother. I am really close with my Mom and she is so great with kids. My 3-yr-old is also very close with her and there are things that my Mom can get her to do that I can't. I was talking with my Mom about some of our parenting issues and any of you that have/had a 3-yr-old know exactly what I'm talking about. It's a hard age. They think they are bigger than they are, they want to be independent and they are constantly pushing boundaries. I try SO hard to be patient, but some days are insanely difficult. I wake up in the morning with the best of intentions, but there are days that it doesn't last long. I'm not gonna lie, some times I just want to run and hide in my closet with some cupcakes. It's amazing how demanding little children can be at time.

I believe in positive reinforcement, but some times it seems like my 3-yr-old only responds to loud voices and negative reinforcement. I was talking to my Mom about it and asking her advice for a positive way to help my daughter engage in cleaning up, assisting with age-appropriate chores, not stealing toys from Little Sis--all without screaming, throwing tantrums and sassing. Impossible? It felt pretty dang close. What? Have a 3-yr-old corporate AND do it cheerfully? Shaaaaa, whatev. It felt like an oxymoron.

Then the advice from an experienced Mom, whom of which I thought knew absolutely nothing about parenting when I was a teenager, saved the day. Side note: Isn't it so funny how your parents become so wise when you finally have kids of your own? 'Tis the circle of life.

I came one afternoon to pick up my girls after work and my Mom had made this cute jar with my daughter. My Mom is very frugal and she created a little miracle for less than $3. Please meet the Warm Fuzzy jar:

This jar has been so awesome. You can use it for your kids, nephews/nieces, younger siblings or any children that you care for. You could try using it with your teenager(s) or your significant other, but, well, good luck with that. :) How it works is anytime you catch the child doing something without being asked, being a nice friend, sharing with a sibling, or doing other responsibilities with a good attitude then they earn "warm fuzzies". They get to choose the color and put them in the jar. Then when they fill the jar they can earn prizes, special privleges, TV time, field trips or whatever reward works for them. This concept is all about focusing on positive behaviors and attitudes and positive reinforcement. I also love that it's a great way to discuss emotions with children. It is working beautifully for us so far. Our daughter loves finding things to do to help us and she gets so excited to see her jar fill with the fuzzies. We had a discussion about things that help us feel happy or that give us "warm fuzzies." It was neat to hear my daughter's ideas. It's amazing how aware children are.

Here's what you need: (all found at the dollar store)
-an old jar (could be a spaghetti sauce jar, mason jar, baby food jar, etc.)
-construction paper
-googlie eyes
-glue
-craft pom poms
-assortment of stickers

1. Assembly is super simple. All you need to do is cut out a circle to fit over the lid. Glue it on to the lid and then glue on some googlie eyes. Let the child decorate it with stickers. You could even let them name their jar. Put it in a special place that the child can see and then start letting them earn the warm fuzzies.

I love seeing my daughter find positive ways to help in our family and her behavior has improved so much. I love that my Mom teaches me simple ways to help engage children. I think I try to make things too complicated. This has been the best reward system yet.

If any of you have some great ideas that you use as positive reinforcement with your children or children that you care for, please leave me a comment. I'd love to hear more ideas! "It takes a village to raise a child."

Brownie Turtle Cake

I have to be honest. I am not usually a brownie lover. I love chocolate, but there is just something about brownies that doesn't float my boat. I actually have willpower when it comes to brownies. Well, this has all changed. This brownie turtle cake is divine and it's given me a new love for brownies. It's quick, easy and the ingredients are simple. This is one of my favorites to make for when company comes over or to take to a potluck. You can make this in advance and it comes together quickly. I think the combination of the brownie paired with pudding and the cheesecakey flavor is so divine. And I love that this is served cold.

The fun thing about this cake is that you can customize it and make variations that fit your tastes and preferences. This cake also tastes great with fresh berries on top. You can also switch up the chocolate pudding for banana pudding and top with fresh bananas. The possibilities are endless. Have fun discovering what flavor combinations you love best. This would also be fun to do for a birthday in lieu of traditional birthday cake. 

Here's what you need: This generously serves 7-9 people

-(1) Duncan Hines Turtle brownie mix

-2 eggs

-1/3 C oil (can use veggie, canola or coconut)

-3 TBS water

-(1) 8oz. cream cheese, softened to room temp (I used light)

-1/4 C agave (or you can use honey or powdered sugar)

-(1) small container Cool Whip, thawed

-2 tsp. vanilla

-(1) 3 oz chocolate pudding mix

-1 1/4 C milk 

Garnish:

-Caramel sauce (included in brownie mix)

-chopped pecans

-mini chocolate chips

1.Take brownie mix, eggs, water and oil and mix together in a medium mixing bowl. Place in a greased 11x7 baking pan. You can use a 9x13, but the brownie layer will be thinner.  Bake according to box instructions. **High altitude bakers need to add 1/4 C flour to mix. Allow to cool completely.

2. While brownies are baking, put cream cheese, agave (or whatever sweetener you are using) and vanilla into a medium mixing bowl and beat until smooth. I like using an electric mixer, but you can do it by hand. Fold in the container of Cool Whip. Set aside.

3. In a separate bowl, mix the pudding mix and milk together and beat with an electric mixer for 1-2 minutes. Put in refrigerator until ready to assemble. 

4. Once brownies are cooled, take half of your cream cheese mixture and spread on top of brownies. Next, put all of the pudding on top of cream cheese layer and spread. Then place the rest of the cream cheese mixture on top of pudding and spread. 

5. Allow cake to set up in fridge for at least 1 hr. before serving. You can make this a day or two in advance, just make sure to cover top with plastic wrap and keep cake refrigerated until ready to serve. Right before serving, drizzle the top with the caramel sauce that was from the brownie mix. Sprinkle with chopped pecans and mini chocolate chips. Cut into pieces and serve cold.

Here's the printable recipe.

Enjoy and Happy Baking!

I'm still here!

Hey friends!

I promise I'm still here. I got a new job and it's taking me a little time to adjust to the changes and I haven't baked for awhile (sad, I know!). I'm working on some new posts and getting ready to do some giveaways! I can't wait! My youngest Little is going to be 1 soon, so I've started gathering ideas for her birthday. I can't wait to share with you!

What have you guys been up to? Have you baked or cooked anything fun? I'd love to hear about it!

Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting with Strawberry Compote

Frosting is one of my weaknesses. I love a good frosting! You can transform a good or even a mediocre cake into something delicious with the right frosting. I have to thank my Aunt Karen and my cousin, Cheri, for the recipe. They made chocolate cupcakes with a version of this frosting and I fell in love. The recipe was originally made with raspberry extract, but I modified it a little and used strawberry extract. The beauty of this recipe is that you can use any extract you want and it will taste great.

I made chocolate cupcakes for my birthday and I thought a strawberry frosting would be awesome because I was craving chocolate dipped strawberries when deciding what to make. I love using extracts in baking and I wanted an even more potent strawberry flavor so I opted to add a compote to the frosting. What is a compote you ask? It's basically a fancy French word for fruit that has been boiled down and reduced in water and sugar with or without spices. When you made a compote, it basically concentrates the flavor of whatever fruit you are using. You cook it down until it's a jam-like consistency, so it's perfect for adding flavor to frostings or cakes because most of the moisture is evaporated and you are left with an intense fruit flavor. I also loved how fresh it made this frosting taste. I prefer using a compote rather than a fruit puree because the flavor isn't as strong with a puree and you also have to worry about excess moisture. If you don't want to take the time to make a compote, you could use a couple tablespoons of fruit puree, just know that it won't be as strong of a fruit flavor. Or you could even use a tablespoon or two of a seedless jam preserve. You can use almost any fresh or frozen berries for a compote. I opted for frozen because this is not the peak season for strawberries and frozen would be a better choice for getting more full-flavored berries. This frosting is also very sweet, so I'd make sure to use it with a cake flavor that will balance that out.

Now about extracts. Finding a good extract that doesn't taste artificial is hard to find. I love baking with extracts, but sometimes it takes some work to find good ones. I used strawberry extract from Beanilla. The quality for price can't be beat and the flavor is amazing! It tastes like fresh strawberries and it enhanced the strawberry compote perfectly.

Here's what you need to make the compote:
-1 pint of fresh or frozen strawberries *If using fresh strawberries, you will need to add some water to bottom of pan to prevent burning
-Juice from one medium lemon
-2-3 TBS vanilla sugar (or you can use agave, honey, or regular table sugar)

Combine all ingredients in a medium sauce pan. Cook over medium heat for about 25-30 minutes, stirring occasionally. This may take more or less time. Just make sure you pay attention to the liquid. You want the mixture to look thick like jam. Remove from heat and cool slightly before adding to cake batter. You want it to be cooled entirely before adding to frosting so that it doesn't melt the fat in your frosting. When I made this compote the strawberries were broken down enough that I didn't need to put it into a blender or food processor. If you want a smoother consistency, blend it until smooth before adding to your frosting.

*Note: You will not use all the compote for your frosting. You can also put the rest into whatever cake batter you are using if you want a more intense strawberry flavor.

Here's what you need for the frosting: This will bake enough to frost 24 cupcakes or frost and fill (1) 9-in. round cake.

-1/2 C butter, room temp
-8 oz. cream cheese, room temp
-4 oz. white chocolate chips, melted
-1 tsp. vanilla
-2-4 tsp. strawberry extract (may need more depending on the quality of your berries used for the compote)
-1/2 C strawberry compote, room temp
-4-5 C powdered sugar
-2-3 drops of food coloring, optional

1. Using a standing or hand mixer, whip cream cheese until light and fluffy, about 1-2 minutes. Turn off mixer and add melted chocolate. To melt chocolate, melt over a double-boiler, use a chocolate melter or microwave in 30 second intervals on 30% power. Immediately whip to incorporate. It's important to add the chocolate all at once because if you try incorporating it slowly, it will solidify and make lumps in the frosting.

2. After chocolate is incorporated, add butter and whip for another minute. Add vanilla, strawberry extract, compote and food coloring if desired. Stir until incorporated. Add powdered sugar and mix until incorporated and then whip an additional minute so that frosting is light and fluffy.

Use to fill or frost cakes or cupcakes. This frosting will store for about a week in the fridge in an airtight container. If you use frosting after refrigeration, allow to come to room temp and whip until frosting is fluffy.

Here is the printable recipe.


Enjoy and Happy Baking!

Chocolate Cake/Cupcakes

I LOVE a good chocolate cake. This is one of my favorite go-to recipes. It's so easy to make, it turns out perfect every time and I always have the ingredients in my pantry. It's just as easy to make as using a cake mix and tastes SO much better.

One of my favorite memories from growing up was making this cake on Sunday evenings with my family. Sundays were church and family day and after Sunday dinner it was kind of tradition to make some type of treat (or Mollicks as we like to call them in my family). My brother, Andy, always seems to be the unofficial person that made this cake. It was kinda his thing. We would take a piece of warm cake right out of the oven and pour cold milk over it and devour it. We also affectionately referred to this cake as "snacking cake" because it is so delicious by itself that you don't need any frosting. Not that a good frosting would hurt this cake, but it really is so yummy plain. I made these cupcakes for my birthday with a fresh strawberry frosting that was so yummy. Honestly, this is my favorite chocolate cupcake recipe.

This recipe is versatile because it makes a great cake, double-layer cake or cupcakes. The cupcakes are slightly dense and very moist. They also hold up really well when doing filled cupcakes.

Here's what you need:
-1/2 C butter (one stick), room temperature
-1 1/2 C sugar
-2 eggs
-2 tsp. vanilla
-1/4 C cocoa powder (double this if you want a more intense chocolate flavor)
-2 C all-purpose flour
-1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
-1 tsp. salt
-1 1/4 C water

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine butter and sugar in a medium mixing bowl. Cream together until fluffy, about a minute. Add eggs and vanilla and mix to combine evenly.

2. In a separate bowl combine all dry ingredients and whisk together to incorporate them. If you want to sift them together you can, but I just give it a quick stir with a whisk to make sure all dry ingredients are incorporated.

3. Pour half of the water into first wet mixture  Mix just until combine. Pour in half of dry mixture and mix just until combine. Pour the remaining half of water into bowl and mix until combine. Mix in the remaining dry ingredients.

4. Grease and flour baking pan or use cupcake liners. If using (2) round pans, I always line the bottom of pan with a circle of parchment paper to ensure that cakes can be easily removed from the pan.

Cupcakes: Fill liners 2/3 full and bake at 350 degrees for 18-20 minutes.
Cake 9x13: Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes
(2) 9-in round cakes: Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes

**Cakes are done with you touch the center of the cake and it springs back without leaving an indent of your finger. Or when you insert a toothpick and it comes out clean. I always bake the minimum time and then recheck it every minute or two until done. 

5. For round cakes and cupcakes: Remove pan(s) from oven and allow to rest for about 5 minutes. Remove cake or cupcakes and transfer to a cooling rack. You can frost once cake is completely cooled.
    For 9x13 cake: Remove from oven and eat cake while warm or allow to cool completely in pan before frosting.

Chocolate Cupcakes with Fresh Strawberry Frosting
{www.somethingquitedomestic.blogspot.com}

Here is the printable recipe.


Enjoy and Happy Baking!

The Birthday Fairy

Ok, so this has nothing to do with a recipe, but this is a fun tradition that I grew up with. When I was a child birthdays were HUGE in my family. Not expensive huge, but tradition huge. We got to pick our very own birthday breakfast. I usually picked donuts or Marshmallow Mateys since those were considered something for special occasions.

We also got to pick our birthday dinner. Like we are talking the whole menu. I loved to pick chicken roll-ups and fruit pizza. My parents made the day feel so special and birthdays were something we were so excited about. I remember getting just as excited for birthdays as I did for Christmas. I loved being together with family.

My favorite birthday tradition was the Birthday Fairy. The night before our birthday we would leave out our favorite pair of shoes. We would go to bed and the Birthday Fairy would magically come and leave quarters for every year plus one to grow on. Even though it wasn't a secret of how many quarters would end up in our shoe, I loved to sit and count them. I would put them in my Piggy Bank and save them for something special.

Kynli, Braxton (my awesome BIL) and I all have birthdays in March.
It is so fun!

March is a big month for birthdays in our family. My daughter turned three and this is the first year she has really understood the concept of the birthday fairy. She was so proud to pick out her shoes and was tickled with delight to see the quarters in the morning. She asked me if the Birthday could leave dimes next year instead. :) I love the sweet innocence of children and how the simplest things are so fun. I love carrying on this tradition in my own family.

The thing I'm realizing now that I'm older is that traditions don't have to be extravagant. It's just about doing the little things that make big memories for your family. I came from a family of simple means, we never went on big vacations and holidays were monetarily simple. I have so many wonderful memories from my childhood and all of them revolve around family, celebrating and tradition.

I hope I can give and create memories like these for my family. And there is just something so special about carrying these traditions with my kids. And you are never too old for a visit from the Birthday Fairy. :)

Brave Birthday Food, Part 1

Doing themed birthdays can take some work and require planning and preparation. I did a Brave birthday for my daughter and I found a lot of cute ideas of how to incorporate the theme into the food we served. Just like I've said before, you don't have to take tons of time to be creative and festive. I got most of my ideas from Pinterest and then I tried to think of different ways to serve cute food without having to spend a lot of time doing it. I decided to make my daughter a themed cake from scratch and knowing that would take the majority of my time, I tried to find ways to cut corners elsewhere without compromising the theme.

At the party we served Arrow cupcakes, Bullseye cakes, Bear claws and Target practice pizza. This post will focus on those and then I'll make a separate post about the birthday cake. I also used some cute Brave themed printable food tags from Printabelle. There is a whole Brave themed printable party pack on that website that you can print for free. There were SO many cute party ideas.

The Witches Green Potion: I had planned to make this cucumber lime drink and then completely spaced it during last-minute party preparations. This is one of my all-time favorite drinks to serve at a party. It's easy to make and it is SO refreshing. I get a lot of compliments when I make it. I got this recipe from one of my favorite sites for all things festive: So Festive!. All you need to do is add a few drops of green food coloring (I know it's not the most healthful, but birthdays are but once a year!) and it would make a yummy green potion that fits perfectly in the theme! If you are against food coloring, you could drop some scoops of green sherbet after the ice melts to make more of a slushy drink.

Target Practice pizza: My daughter loves Pizza and this was a cute way to incorporate it into the party. If you couldn't tell from the picture, these were pizzas from Papa Murphy's. I called a few days before the party to preorder the pizzas and also asked if they could arrange the pepperoni in the shape of a target. I could have easily done this myself, but I figured they had to put the pepperoni on anyways and it would save me a lot of time the day of the party. My local Papa Murphy's store was happy to help and I think the pizza turned out cute. This saved SO much time.

The Bullseye cakes: These were the easiest things to make! I used the Little Debbie cream-filled snack cakes that I had leftover from when I made the birthday cake. I used some leftover buttercream frosting to draw on the target with a writing tip and piping bag, dyed a little frosting red and used a Red Hot in the center. I got those little cocktail toothpicks that have the wispy stuff at the end and voila! You now have a cute Bullseye cake. I prepped these about an hour or so before the party. You could prep these the day before, but just keep them in an airtight container.

The Arrow cupcakes: I made vanilla bean cookie dough cupcakes (I will post the recipe once it's perfected) with buttercream frosting. This is my absolute favorite recipe for whipped buttercream. It's from Our Best Bites and I love making it and substituting the white sugar with brown sugar. To save extra time you could easily make cupcakes from a cake mix and it would still taste good because the frosting is to die for. I made the arrow toppers from this site, Cue the Confetti, and they were SO easy to make and it really tied in the theme. K loves cupcakes!

I actually made these about 5 days before the party and froze them. I took them out the day of and frosted them. I kept them refrigerated because my frosting required refrigeration,but these could be left out if using a different frosting. This is one of my secrets for cupcakes and cakes--they freeze well so when you make a batch just make extra and toss them in the freezer. They'll keep for a month or two in an airtight container.

Bear Claw cookies: I saw this idea on Spoonful via Pinterest and I had to make them. These took a little bit of time, but they fit perfectly with the theme that I couldn't leave them out. I was in a pinch for time so I didn't follow the recipe on the original website, but rather used a quick recipe for Cake Mix Cookies (that I also use when I'm making homemade Oreos). I got about 25 claws out of this batch. I also made these the day before the party and stored them in an airtight container. You could also make these and freeze them and then thaw out the day of your party.

I'm going to show you how I made these. They look a little more complicated, but they are easy to do.

Here's what you need:
-Any dry cake mix (I used Devil's Food)
-1/2 C shortening
-2 eggs
-2-3 TBS water
*1/2 C of slivered almonds

Just mix all the ingredients (except for almonds) together in a large mixing bowl. Normally you would spoon drops on to a baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes, but I had to get them into the claw shape first.

Here's how to make the claw:

1. Take a TBS measuring spoon (or cookie scoop if you have it) and a 1/2 TBS measuring spoon to make 2 balls. I did this directly on a parchment-lined baking sheet so that I wouldn't have to transfer them before baking.

2. Push down on both of the cookie dough balls and lightly shape them into the form of a foot.

3. Take 5 slivered almonds and place them into the cookie dough to look like the claws.

4. Bake at 350 degrees for about 10-12 minutes. Remove from oven when done and allow the cookie to rest 5 minutes or so before trying to remove them to a cooling rack. If you try to do this step while they are still warm, they will break.

Here's the printable recipe.


Enjoy and Happy Baking! Hope these ideas were helpful to you. I loved how fun it was to plan a Brave Birthday party.

"Brave" Birthday Party

My daughter recently had a birthday and months ago she decided she wanted a Brave party. This was her first official party where she got to invite friends and, honestly, I was a tad nervous. I shouldn't have been, but I wondered how I could incorporate food and fun games into the theme she had chosen AND how to keep a handful of preschoolers entertained. 

A few weeks before her birthday, K decided that she wanted a Minnie Mouse birthday and then she decided on an Ariel birthday and then it was back to Brave. I could have taken the 2 former themes and had a handful of easy and festive ideas, but I'm glad she chose Brave because it was a fun and challenging to plan and it became a creative outlet for me. This also gave me the perfect excuse to attempt my first decorative cake. I was so excited to do something that would create memories for our daughter.

She LOVES anything princessy and I wanted to make sure to incorporated a bunch of her favorite things into the party: makeup, nail polish, sparkles, rainbows, pizza and cupcakes. Thanks to Pinterest and talking through some ideas with friends, we created this event for our daughter.

This is an overview of the party and I'll post specific recipes in another post. I also wanted to give a special thanks to Tarren Jessop who came as Princess Merida. This was her first birthday party and she was AWESOME! She was so great with the kids and her Scottish accent totally rocked. The girls couldn't believe that Princess Merida had come all the way to attend the party. They were all pretty stoked! If any of my Northern Utah readers/followers need and awesome Princess to come to your daughter's party, let me know and I'll give you her contact info. She was so great!

I also wanted to give thanks Alisha and Steve from Embre Photography for capturing the night for us. It seems like when you put an event together you don't have enough hands to accomplish everything, especially taking pictures, so I'm so grateful for them. I loved how the pictures turned out. This will definitely be a fun memory and I'm glad they captured it for us. Embre Photography also has a Facebook page, so check them out.

Here's the party in a Reader's Digest version:

The decor: Was really simple and I tried to tie the forest into the decorations since the movie takes place in the Scottish Highlands. We cut up some logs and covered them in parchment paper and served the food on them. I also gathered sticks from our backyard and arranged them in a glass vase and used it as a center piece. I also took blue tissue paper and made "wisps" for the table. The main decor was less than $1. I saw the idea here. I also bought the Disney Deluxe Figurine Pack so that I could use Merida on the birthday cake and I used the rest of the figurines on the food table.

The food: We served Target Practice pizza, Bullseye cakes, Arrow cupcakes, and Bear claws. I totally loved how easy it was to make the cupcake toppers. That site is so cute and filled with lots of ideas. I also made a Brave-themed cake. I used these cute food tags from the site, Printabelle, that was part of the free (and super cute) printable Brave party pack. Check out that site because there are lots of themed (and free) printables for birthdays, holidays and other celebrations. I also wanted to serve Scottish Sweet buns seen here and here, but I just didn't have time. They would have made the party extra festive, especially since the triplets in the movie LOVED sweet buns.

The activity: We had a girl come dressed as Princess Merida to the party. She read the girls a book, played games outside with them, did a Princess Makeover on each girl and played at the party with each of the girls. I couldn't believe how much the girls loved it! And anything that involves sparkles and makeup is sure to please little girls. Other ideas that could have been fun that I toyed with was: pin-the-tail-on Angus, a pinata in the shape of a horse or arrow, and outdoor games. There are so many avenues you could take with this theme.

The party favor: I went to Zurchers and got the Brave party bags. I filled them with a candy necklace, a Ring Pop, a party noise maker and Brave Stickers (also from Zurchers).

The "Thank You": Each Princess that attended the party will receive a card with a picture of them with Merida. What little girl doesn't want to remember meeting a REAL princess? :)

Now here is the extended party version with lots of fun pictures. I can't believe how well this all came together. I hoped it would be a magical time for the girls.

We had all the girls come in Princess dresses.

Princess Merida came to meet all of the princesses. They were so happy and excited!

She read them a story. K's cousin even made sure she was paying attention.

We did Princess makeup and hair sparkles.

We painted fingernails.

And toenails.

 Princess Merida even let K paint her nails. K loved that!

 All of the Princesses got their pictures taken with Merida after their Princess makeovers.

The Princesses couldn't resist playing in the leaves with Merida.

We had yummy food and decided to do dinner since we were having the party in the evening. We also wanted to have desserts along with the cake.

Target Practice pizza.

Bear Claws.

Bulls-eye cakes.

Arrow cupcakes.

And her birthday cake. This was my first decorative cake. I did a vanilla bean sponge cake with Swiss Buttercream frosting and dark chocolate ganache. It was tasty!

The kids were SO excited when we cut the cake. K loves rainbows, so this was another little surprise for her and I wanted to incorporate it into the party. Note to self: If you do a rainbow cake for a kid's party, either make 2 of them or make rainbow cupcakes. The arrow cupcakes were SO not cool after we cut into the cake. :)

The Birthday girl couldn't wait to open presents. She got spoiled rotten! She got a bunch of new dolls and "animally friends" (aka stuffed animals), a new outfit and a ton of princess toys and makeup. She was so happy that Merida helped her open gifts. She loved celebrating with her friends and family.

She couldn't stop hugging her new stuffed friends.

We sang "Happy Birthday" and she couldn't even wait until the song ended to blow out candles.

We gave out little party bags for each of the Princesses that had little favors in them: noise maker, candy ring and necklace and Brave stickers. 

Princess Belle having some fun outside.

K's little Sis holding down the fort inside.

Cinderella even had a chance to take a ride on Angus. :)

We had so much fun seeing the joy and fun that the kids experienced it made all of the hard work worth it. I can't wait to plan her next birthday. I have to give a HUGE thanks to my amazing husband who was my right-hand man for the whole shindig. He is the most awesome person in the world and I'm glad we get to party together. He is so supportive in all of my baking and party adventures. And the most willing taste-tester. Gosh, I love him! My parents were also so great to come a few hours before the party to help organize and set up everything. They are always there to help and my Mama always says, "Many hands make light work." My good friend, Missy, was also great to come over and help me with the cake. I needed some serious moral support to pull that off. She always has fantastic, creative ideas. Party planning is SO much easier with awesome people to help me. I definitely could not have pulled this off solo. :)

I'm so glad I came from a family that enjoys celebrating, making memories and creating traditions. Life is so good. I hope this inspires you to find the joy in celebration and finding little ways to become more festive in creating memories with your loved ones.