Hello Kitty Party For Two

This year, my girls wanted a Hello Kitty party.  Hello Kitty is big over here, featuring a Sanrio store in every mall and Hello Kitty guest appearances quite often.  They didn't really know who Hello Kitty was before coming here, but now, they are in love with her.

It's been a challenge for me to let my creative party planning juices flow over here.  We don't have a Michael's, a JoAnn's, a Target or even a real Dollar Store.  Even tissue paper can be hard to find and expensive if you do (although I now know Paper Chase carries it, 15 AED for 5 sheets...roughly $4.)  I can't go to garage sales and stock up on mismatched shabby chic items, or vintage dessert bowls and cake stands.  And with my kids' birthdays falling in some of the hottest months of the year, June and September, I'm left with indoor options for hosting.  Combine all these elements, and I'm put to the test.  Sadly, for the first time, I was left with hosting a party at a local venue.

*Note to OCD party planners...using a venue means giving up control and not bringing in your own confectionery delights!  Prepare to have something not falling into your exact wishes and desires.

I chose to have the party at the golf club here in town.  They have beautiful green lawns with a full playground for the children to keep busy, we had indoor and outdoor options for entertainment and seating, and someone else would cook, clean and I could relax.  The girls colored Hello Kitty pictures, they played on the trampoline and swings, we had a pinata custom crafted by a local company and plenty of giggles.
The tables and chairs were all decked out in white linens with bubble gum pink satin running down the middle.  White china graced each setting, perfect for a little girls tea party.  I placed a Hello Kitty water bottle at each setting, labeled with the girl's names that I fashioned, as well as a hat and party blower.  A pink lemonade with a pink straw also awaited the girls.  In the center of the girls table, I placed the tissue paper flower bouquet I made using skewers.  On the cake table, I placed individual party favor bags, which I designed after my girls' party dresses and put together, and filled them with Hello Kitty silly bands and Hello Kitty Jelly Belly candy and topped with pinwheels I made as well.  I even made a sign to match the invitation to place above the cake table.  I wish I could have made cake pops and had a pink and white dessert table, but when you use a venue, you typically can't bring in your own food.  However, it really did look sweet and perfect.  I was impressed so far...most of my vision had come together.

But remember that note about being OCD and giving up control?  It was time for lunch to be served. Here, you're dealing with lots of different languages, always trying to make sure you understood what was said, and hoping you have the same interpretation in meanings.  I thought I had relayed my messages about the menu clearly, even providing pictures from my inspiration board for the staff to use as visuals!  However, we ended up with some interesting versions of our food.  Instead of petit peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, we had monstrous peanut butter and Jell-O sandwiches!  Instead of yogurt parfaits with fresh fruit, we had yogurt parfaits with jelly...the jelly meant for the sandwiches.  I think a few bites of each were taken by the girls.  But the adults, they laughed, took pictures and thought it was a classic memory.  They even joked that peanut butter and Jell-O sandwiches are going to be all the rage soon!

The cake.  Those of you who know me know I always make my cakes.  But I wasn't allowed to bring in any outside food.  So, in my effort to get exactly what I wanted, I drilled in the fact that I HATE fondant, and I want butter cream ONLY.  I wanted bright red and pale pink with white to match the invitation and my girls' dresses.  Again, I provided a picture from the inspiration board.  Out came the cake, and my face dropped.  My disappointment showed to my guests.  The cake was fondant.  The red was a burnt, deep red (I enhanced the red in the above picture for my pleasure.)  The cake...was frozen.  It wasn't my vision.  Overall, my friends were having fun, regardless of the food and what was supposed to be.  The little girls didn't care.  I was the one who knew what I ordered, not them.  But I was the one who felt the need to disclose the mistakes.  Hostess party foul number one.  Don't show your disappointment.  Chances are, no one even notices but YOU!

My girls?  They LOVED the party.  They profusely thanked me for it.  Other little girls told their moms' that they wanted to have a party like it at the gold club too.  I guess if people talk about it, loved it and want one of their own, you can consider it a success, no matter how much you beat yourself up for the mistakes.  In the car on the way home, I was actually able to truly laugh about it and get over it.  Not easy for me, but the grins on my girls' faces was all that mattered.  Not some crummy old fondant cake.

Woody's Roundup Birthday Party

My son was turning five and moving out of the country.  This meant saying good-bye to all his friends and everything he knew as "home."  So, I felt that I needed to throw him an amazing party where he and his friends could create some final memories together.

Enter Woody and the gang!  We transformed our neighborhood park into a Toy Story themed play zone.  The food was was nostalgic and somewhat named after characters, the games too!  We had cherry bites, lemon heads, laffy taffy, Mr. Potato Head's Chips, Rex's Chex Mix, Jessie's Haystacks, Alien Limeade, Cow Tales, hard candy sticks, licorice and more.  For cupcakes, I created grass looking cupcakes with toy soldiers hiding in them.  A smorgasbord of confectionery delights for children to devour, get hyped-up and send home with their parents.  LOL!  

The games included Toy Story Flying Saucers for distance, Pin the Tail on Bulls-eye and other relay games centered around the movie.  The kids thoroughly enjoyed themselves, acting out scenes from the movie and getting into character.  It helped that the local Dollar store had everything we needed for the games...they seemed to carry quite the selection of Toy Story toys perfect for party favors and games.

Chickadee Prints made everything for this event, down to the Woody invitation.  My son was thrilled, and still talks about it all the time.  For some reason, the boy themed parties are harder for me than the girls.  It's hard to top this one, but I'm still trying!

Knock-off Shopping, Oh My!

So many purses!

I recently had the experience of a lifetime!  I was surrounded by Tiffany & Co. jewelry, Pandora bracelets, Louis Vuitton hand bags, Jimmy Choo purses, Hermes scarves, Mont Blanc pens, and Juicy Couture sweatsuits, just to name a few!  And it was all within my pocketbook's reach.  Throughout my life, I've been given a knock-off purse here and there, but never really understood the "allure" of owning the name brand.  Now that I live in a place where name brands are the in thing, I've learned a little bit about the "must-haves" in fashion.

What a section of Karama looks like

Women here may dress in head to toe black abayas and shaylas, but they are dressed to the T underneath...including the designer handbag!  They've got them all, and even matching the trim on their abayas!  Every day at work, I'm joined by Hermes, Louis, Jimmy, Chanel and Prada.  They are so nice, so pretty, and SO out of my league!  Well, I thought they were!  I too could have them, at a fraction of the cost.

My new Louis baby

I was recently privileged to learn some key information...I could LOOK like I belonged here, and on a smaller budget.  There is a place in Dubai, an area really, called Karama.  Karama is a long street with tiny, jam packed shops...ALL knock-offs.  You want your Ed Hardey?  It's there.  Your Coach purse?  Yep, got it.  Your Tag Heuer or Rolex?  Done!  It was amazing.  We arrived at 11:30 am, just when shops were beginning to open.  It was like a candy stores waiting for me and I wanted to taste them all!  We shopped, and shopped, and shopped...all the way to 6pm!  And kids in tow!  Skull Candy, Diesel, Apple Bottom...it was endless, and all REALLY good quality!

If I didn't know any better I'd have thought everything was real.  However, before going, I did some research.  I wanted to know what to look for.  How many stitches on the tab?  Where would the real silver stamp be?  What is it traditionally lined with?  Does the real one even come in that color?  I was prepared for the mission.  I ended up with a loot...hello Christmas presents!  There's even a whole other aspect to this place that I can't get into detail about on here, but message me if you're coming and I'd be happy to share that information with you...you won't regret it!

Christmas gifts going home!

Have fun if you make it, and be prepared to shop 'till you drop!

Mmmmm, Umm Ali!

Another recipe found everywhere here...and slightly reminiscent of bread pudding back home!  This one is a wonderfully delicious and sweet desert, combining the most rich flavors and surrounded by warmth.  Surely to become a comfort food for you and your kids. 


It's called...Umm Ali, meaning Ali's Mother.  The story of Umm Ali is as follows:


**Umm 'Ali is said to have been invented during the reign of the Ottoman Turks. One day while hunting in the Nile delta, the sultan developed a ravenous appetite and stopped in a small village. The peasants wished to please the sultan, so the best cook of the village, Umm 'Ali , pulled out a special pan and filled it with the only ingredients she had around: some dried wheat flakes (perhaps stale broken pieces of gullash, a phyllo-like pastry), sultanas, nuts, and coconut. She covered it with sugar and milk and put it into the village's oven. It was so good that the sultan asked for Umm 'Ali 's dessert the next time he visited.**


You'll find Umm Ali made either firm or sloppy style...basically more baked and set, or still swimming in the delightful sweet creamy milk.  Basically, bake it the full 15 minutes or stop when it's the consistency you'd like.

 

 Recipe for Umm Ali

17 oz. phyllo/puff pastry frozen (However, baked croissants broken up is actually widely seen!)
3 C. milk (not low-fat)
1 C. sugar
1 C. whipping cream
2 TBS. unsalted butter 
1/2 C. chopped pistachios
1/2 C. sliced almonds
1/2 - 3/4 C. coconut flakes (to taste)
1/4 - 1/2 C. sultana raisins (golden)
2 tsp. orange flower water (if you can find it) OR 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1.  Preheat oven to 450º F.
2.  Unroll puff pastry sheets and place on greased baking sheets.  Bake until dry and crisp, but not brown...approximately 45 seconds each. When finished with puff pastry, turn oven down to 350ºF. 
**skip steps 1 & 2 if using already baked croissants**
3.  Break puff pastry into 1-2in. pieces.  Add the nuts and coconut and mix well.  Reserving 2T. of raisins, mix the rest of the almonds in as well.  Place in a 9x12 baking dish.
4.  Combine milk, sugar and butter in a saucepan.  Stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves and butter melts.  Remove from heat and mix in cream and orange flower water or vanilla.  Pour mixture over phyllo mixture.
5.  Sprinkle with cinnamon and reserved raisins.
6.  Bake until pudding puffs and sets, about 15-20min., or to desired consistency...set or sloppy!


So, there you go.  Another treasure from the Arab world.  I hope you enjoy!

Egyptian Kushari...Vegetarian Delight

I've now had Kushari made for me a few times, and each time seems to get better and better.  Kushari is an Egyptian dish, and is almost always vegetarian (even Vegan), but it's becoming more popular to add shawarma chicken to the dish or to cook the rice in a chicken broth.  You could essentially make it any way that appeals to your taste buds and your family.  The tomato based sauce on top can be made without spice or with an added kick.  I prefer the added kick!  Here's how to make this delicious dish.

What you'll need:
3 large onions
1/2 C. oil (add more if needed)
1 C. lentils
6 C. water (or chicken or vegetable stock)
1 1/2 C. long grain rice or Egyptian rice (uncooked)
1 1/2 C. elbow macaroni (uncooked)
8 oz. vermacelli (uncooked)
1-2 cloves of garlic
1T. cumin
Salt (to taste)
1 bottle hot sauce
2 tomatoes chopped
1 chicken broth cube

Preparation:
1.  Chop the onions into small pieces.  I like fine slices like caramelized onion style.  Reserve 1 T. for the sauce later.  Pour 3 T. vegetable oil into a pan over medium high heat and add onions.  Add the onions in batches, frying until they reach a nice brown and slightly crunchy.  Watch carefully as this step will happen quickly!  Drain onto paper towels and set aside.

2.  Bring to a boil lentils in 6 C. of water or stock, along with 1 clove of garlic (quartered) and 1 T. cumin, simmer for 25 min. until cooked...drain, reserve water.

3.  Fry vermacelli in a pan with some oil until brown.

4.  Add the rice to a pot with the reserved lentil water, along with rice and fried vermacelli, and cook until rice is tender.

5.  In another pot, boil macaroni in lightly salted water until tender, drain, and combine with lentils, vermacelli and rice.  Top with fried onions.

6.  For the sauce, put the hot sauce, tomatoes, garlic and chicken cubes in a blender.  Puree.  Then heat on the stove to let the mixture thin out.

7.To plate the food, first put the Kushari mix (lentils, rice, macaroni) in a bowl or on a platter.  Top with onions.  Add a small amount of the sauce on top (you can always add more later, but start slowly).  You are now ready to enjoy the meal!

Serves 6.

If you decide to try this dish I have come to love, let us know how you liked it!

Our Alice in Wonderland Birthday Party

 Invitation by Chickadee Prints
These ADORABLE Tutu Tees were made by Tutu Mamas

Mission:  To host an Alice in Wonderland birthday party for my 3 & 5 year old girls...in the extreme heat of the Middle East.  Also, to do it on a budget and indoors.  I think we succeeded.

I'm always browsing online for birthday party ideas.  Much of what I see is very high end and expensive, or in some beautifully landscaped backyard...neither of which I have.  However, when I came across the Alice in Wonderland parties, I knew I had to have one for my Alice obsessed girls.  The only hitch was, I had to bring it indoors as it's reaching 116 on a regular basis now.  I hope this inspires you not-so-crafty moms out there to know you CAN do it.  Also, don't be intimidated to try it indoors and on a budget.

I'll start out with the tablescape.  Tables and chairs were not readily available since my situation is unique, so I had to rent.  However, if you have neighbors and friends with card tables, patio tables, etc...get creative!  Do different height tables and mismatched chairs for a true Mad Hatter feel!  Borrow what you can!  We kept it simple since we had ages 1-7 attending the party!  I had to keep breakables to a minimum!  I also needed to stay within a budget.  So, picture the Dollar Store of your area.  You will surely find table cloths, plates, napkins, forks, tea cups (of course...it's a tea party!), tea pots, straws, a mirror (the Looking Glass), and you might just be lucky enough to find a stuffed mouse or a bunny rabbit depending on the season.  There you go, your table at the Dollar Store.  I'm sure you could go to a place like Salvation Army and find tea cups for 25 cents...but new just seemed like the better option, at least for the party favor!  Easy Peasy. 

Get creative and have fun!  The simplest things make a statement!

The decorations were relatively easy as well.  It just took a little prep work to pull it off.  My husband made the tree.  Remember, we had to pull our tea party indoors, and the tree was a critical part of setting the theme!  So we covered a bookcase with brown wrapping paper (Kraft paper!), and purchased green crepe paper/tissue paper for the leaves...Dollar Store!  The signs were cut like the shapes from the movie (go back and watch for the Tulgey Forest scene...you'll see they aren't just arrows).  You'll also find what you need for the tissue paper flowers at the Dollar Store, as well as the lanterns.  For the flag banner, I thought of making my own, but time was an issue, so I luckily stumbled across this one from the Creative Hostess!  Just print, cut, string and hang!  Don't forget your Cheshire Cat smile in the tree!  To pull the area together, my son just happened to have a green shag carpet that we put in the middle to represent the grass.

You can do so much with a limited space. This was all in our living room!

Games are always the fun part of a party...or is it eating cake?  Well, the games we chose were a hit with the kids, and worked well for the age group we had.  We chose musical chairs, sugar cube tea cup race, and pin the smile on the Cheshire Cat.  For musical chairs, we had two circles of chairs, one for the younger babes and one for the older kiddos.  For the sugar cube tea cup race, we formed two teams and gave each a bowl of sugar cubes and a spoon.  They had to race to fill up the tea cup with sugar cubes.  Amazingly, we actually found sugar cubes in the shapes of hearts, spades, clubs and diamonds!  I thought that matched the Queen of Hearts idea perfectly!  And lastly, pin the smile on the Cheshire Cat...almost everyone knows SOMEONE who can draw.  Just draw, paint or color, and voila...a DIY game for your party.  So far, cheap but fun entertainment!

Remember, it's all about the fun.  Don't stress if something doesn't go as planned.

Ok, so now the yummy part, and what turned out to be the hit of the party!  Twirlie Whirlies made these wonderful pinwheel cupcake toppers to match my party colors and mis-matched theme.  I figured a splurge was worth it for the cake!  Little did I know the kids would go crazy for them!  It was so fun to watch them blow and blow and blow!

The last little treasure of the party was the adult room.  I needed a place for adults to go hang out while their kiddos played and had fun.  Let's face it, 18 itty bitties in my living room was quite eventful...I wanted to give the moms an option to "leave".  So, I had some snack foods, drinks and adult cupcakes in my dining room, along with my living room furniture that we moved in order to have an empty space for the party!  So, my dining room became a lounge.  We found white roses at the equivalent of the Dollar Store and the kids helped paint them red.  I had a friend paint the Kind and Queen of Hearts.  And the banner of characters was another fab find here online!

All in all, it was a lot of planning, but so worth it.  My girls LOVED every minute of the party, and are still talking about it.  I think I captured what they wanted.  The little guests had a wonderful time too...so many giggles to be heard.  I love a good party, but I love when it's all cleaned up too!

A Princess Ball...A Night She'll Always Remember

This past weekend, my little girl turned 5.  Turning 5 is a big one!  It's right up there with 10, 13, 16 and 21!  And as a 5 year old, her world revolves around everything princess and romance.  I find it terribly endearing...that she has such a love for true love.  She is already waiting for her prince to come.  So, for her birthday present this year, we went dress shopping for a royal ball!  

Eden had no idea why I was dragging her from store to store, trying to find the perfect ball dress.  She would have settled with the first purple dress we saw!  But it wasn't a ball gown, it was a party dress.  Yeah, yeah, I know.  Anyway, two days before the ball, we found the most beautiful dress...just stunning!  It was a size 7.  No problem!  Here in the UAE, there's a seamstress on EVERY corner, and your work is done in about 20 minutes!  I kid you not, within 20 minutes, we had an altered dress that fit like a glove!

Now for the surprise.  She's dressed and ready, and still has no clue that she's going to a ball!  Daddy came out in his suit with a tie to match Eden's dress.  They looked so great together.  Then he showed her the event tickets with the horse and carriage on them.  Her eyes lit up, her mouth turned upward,and her face just beamed.  She knew she was going to a ball.

I was so giddy inside, knowing how truly happy my little girl was.  She was going to live out a dream.  She watches Enchanted and Tangled almost daily.  She talks about them, dreams about them, and just adores them.  Now she got to be a princess in a real ball gown.  So, off they went to enjoy the evening...just Eden and her daddy.  When they returned home, I got to hear all about the other princesses...the REAL princesses, Snow White, Belle, Cinderella and Aurora!  That just melted my heart.  She also enjoyed some chocolate covered marshmallows, dancing, coloring, story time and other festive ball-type activities.

Happy Birthday Eden!  We love you!

Mom Time: Boeuf Bourguignon

I did it!  I have always wanted to make it, and now I can say I have.  And let me tell you, it's 100% worth every effort...EVERYONE loved it!

I took some pictures to try and give you an idea of how the recipe follows.  Some moments were tricky to interpret, but you get the hang of it quickly.

The first step is to cut the chunk bacon into lardons, separated from the rind.  I could not find chunk bacon, so I bought a chunk of Pancetta.  Let me tell you, the flavor was WONDERFUL!

After cooking, you simply remove and reserve.  You'll end up using both throughout the process.

DRY your meat before cooking!  It will not get that nice brown tone without it being dry!

Carrots, onions, and garlic saute in the fats from the bacon and meat.  GOOD flavor.

Put beef and bacon back into the pot with the sauteed veggies.  Eventually you discard these onions and carrots.  Some like to keep them for a more Earthy/rustic taste and texture.

Wine, broth, paste, herbs to simmer.  Your house will begin smelling AMAZING right about now!

White pearl onions with the herb sachet.  These little beauties taste so delicious once caramelized.  Little bits of heaven.

Brown the mushrooms....DON'T crowd! It's true!  Do in two batches if your pan isn't big enough, but don't crowd them for nice browning.

Putting it all together after HOURS of baking.  Oh my heaven, my house had the most wonderful aromas.  At this point, you're done.  We opted out of putting over a carb...and it was divine.  The mushrooms and the onions were the perfect compliment to the most tender beef.  Just like in the movie, I put the first bite into my mouth and uttered..."yum".

Not the greatest picture, but you get the idea....smiles!  That means job well done mom!  Now, go plan a day and make it!  You know you want to!

My Girls' Birthday Party

This weekend I put together a magical birthday party for my two girls.  Eden turned 4 in May, and Ellison will turn 2 in June.  To save my sanity, I held one party!  Eden wanted a Princess Tiana party, so I compromised with her, and stuck with a color theme, while adding frog accents and Tiana presents.  :)  She thought it was wonderful.  

This first collage shows the party table.  We used blue, green, and purple for the party colors, which I think looked beautiful together.  I used green and blue cupcake papers, and made purple frosting to top them off.  I picked a fun, fanciful font to use for the 2, 4, E cupcake toppers and party bag tags.  We had blue raspberry, green apple, and grape licorice sticks, blue raspberry and grape rock candy sticks, Haribo frog candies, and some fun small suckers. The kids had a ball sampling a little of everything, and I'm proud to say, they didn't indulge or eat all of anything!  :)

This next collage is of little Miss Ellison.  She had a ball hitting the froggie pinata, opening a Trunki for her travels, and her favorite present...Jessie from Toy Story 2!

The last collage is of Miss Eden.  I think her favorite was the Belle dress she received as a gift.  She is just a princess!