Max’s Dinosaur Party

 

Max turned 3 a couple of weeks ago, which of course meant a birthday party. He loves dinosaurs so we went with that as this year’s theme. Max was really into the planning this year and spent ages trawling Pinterest with me looking for ideas. He decided on the green and orange colour scheme, the decorations and insisted on a pinata as one of the games (we also had a very cool pin the tail on the dino made by my talented little sister).

 

 

 

Max also chose chocolate cake for his birthday cake, asked for dino cookies (I used our shortbread recipe and then also covered some in sprinkles to make them more attractive to the kids), jelly, vanilla sprinkle cupcakes and popcorn (which I served in cute cupcake cases that I decorated with dinosaur stickers) along with the usual cheerios, sausage rolls and fruit platters. As has become tradition drinks were served in my gorgeous mini milk bottles from The Pretty Baker, it wouldn't be a party without them.

 

To thank all our guests for coming Max and I recycled some of his baby food jars by adding dinosaurs to the lids, spray painting them and adding jelly beans in cool or warm tones.

 

Max had a great day and is already talking about his next party, at present he thinks he'd like a superhero party! I can’t wait.

A Very Dr Seuss 1st Birthday Party

You might remember back in 2011 I blogged about our gorgeous friend Jess and her cake making venture 'Rosy Cakes', since then Jess has been very busy baking and decorating countless cakes, being Mum her nearly 3 year old Molly and Solomon who turned 1 this week - and was the reason for the amazing Dr Seuss themed party Max and I went to last Saturday!

As you can see Jess not only has a flair for making and decorating amazing cakes but for creating fabulous parties! I loved how balanced everything was, the different heights of everything on the table and how the colour scheme of red, white and blue ran through everything from the blue lemonade to the families co-ordinated outfits. The backdrop for the food table was simple but so effective!

Jess made delicious chocolate cupcakes with bright blue buttercream, cake pops and marshmallows (dipped in white chocolate and covered in blue sugar crystal) on gorgeous blue and white paper straws, there were also some healthy choices with popcorn and grapes served in paper cupcake cases with Dr Seuss stickers on the front. I also loved the mini milk bottles which were jazzed up with some bakers twine, paper and more Dr Seuss stickers!

My Max and Jess' Molly will be turning 3 in a few months time and this party has me feeling inspired to get on with planning Max's next party - which I have been informed will be dinosaur themed! What are your favourite kids party themes?

If you want to keep up with what Jess is working on check out her Facebook page, I am constantly blown away with what she comes up with!

If we didn’t have birthdays,
you wouldn’t be you.
If you’d never been born,
well then what would you do?
If you’d never been born,
well then what would you be?
You might be a fish!
Or a toad in a tree!
You might be a doorknob!
Or three baked potatoes!
You might be a bag full of
hard green tomatoes.

Or worse than all that…
Why, you might be a WASN’T!
A Wasn’t has no fun at all.
No, he doesn’t.

A Wasn’t just isn’t.
He just isn’t present.
But you… You ARE YOU!
And, now isn’t that pleasant!

- Dr Seuss

A huge thank you to Jess for sharing her photos with us and a big happy 1st birthday to wee Solomon xox

Funfetti Cookies

These Funfetti Cookies are so much fun!  Just look at them; don’t they just make you want to smile?  The recipe is for a simple refrigerator cookie – mix, refrigerate, slice and bake.  I actually just tweaked the recipe I used for the Chocolate Sprinkle Cookies I made not so long ago.  Why not make them too?

Ingredients:
300g butter, softened
1 cup icing sugar
2 ½ cups flour
¼ cup sprinkles (the ‘stick’ variety)

Method:
Beat the butter and icing sugar in a large bowl until light and fluffy.  Stir in the flour in two batches.  Mix through the sprinkles.
Knead the dough on a lightly floured surface until smooth.  Divide the mixture in half and roll each half into a 25cm log.  Wrap in cling film and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 180°C.  Line baking a couple of baking trays with baking paper.
Cut the logs into 1cm slices.  Place about 2.5cm apart on the trays and bake for 10 minutes.  Leave to cool on the trays for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. 

*If you are having trouble getting the mixture to stick together to roll into the logs, soften and beat through another 50g butter.  The butter needs to be quite soft.

Meet The Vintage Table…

We have been really lucky to have some wonderful sponsor supporting the work we do here with our blog.  To say thank you, show our appreciation and highlight to you awesome they are, we are going to have a couple of posts sharing a little bit more about some of the business that have jumped on board to help with the Baking Makes Things Better journey.

First up, we have The Vintage Table.  The Vintage Table was actually our very first sponsor.  They  are an Auckland based business and is a boutique hire company specialising in vintage china and tableware perfect for a high tea, party, wedding or corporate event with a vintage twist.  Their collection includes vintage china trios, tiered cake stands, hollow-stem champagne saucers, glass candy jars, silverware and cutlery, vintage vases, tea lights, candelabra and embroidered linen.  We’ve been lucky enough to borrow items from their gorgeous range from time to time too!

Who is behind the business ‘The Vintage Table’?

Me (Amanda Fergus), plus a few helpers here and there!  I've been really lucky to have friends and family help out as the business has grown.  I have 3 young daughters (who are great at matching china patterns), and my background is in marketing and natural health.

 

Where did the idea for your business come from?

I collected china and glassware for a few years, and my collection kept growing.  When my eldest daughter started school my husband told me I needed to stop buying china or do something with it! That was the start of The Vintage Table...

You have an amazing range of gorgeous collection of vintage china, what would you say is your favourite product/piece?
My favourites change as stock changes, but at the moment it would be Royal Albert Lady Carlyle trios, and a set of Crown Lynn swans.

What are your favourite things to bake?

If I'm honest, I do the cooking and Scott bakes!  His mum wrote and illustrated children's cookbooks, so he grew up surrounded by it.  I do love to bake, but the clean up puts me off.

 

What do you most enjoy about your business?

The amazing people I've met and worked with over the last few years - chefs, event planners, stylists, bakers, photographers, and loads of lovely brides and customers.

 

Where do you go for baking inspiration and ideas?

Blogs, Pinterest, beautifully styled and photographed cookbooks.

Your pieces add the special touch to events, what are your 3 must have decorations?

Vintage china is great for events - it's there to be used and enjoyed, but also adds colour and interest. I also love flowers and bunting.

You have been involved in so many gorgeous events, what has been your favourite?

There have been lots!  A gorgeous wedding in April 2012 at Highwic would be one of my favourites.  We worked with Little Wolf Catering, Raj Tent Club, and Claudia from Style Etc.  It looked amazing and was so much fun.

Do you have a favourite recipe you’d like to share?
Here’s a recipe for Chocolate Pudding.  This is a quick and easy family favourite.

Chocolate Pudding

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons butter
1 cup flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ cup white sugar
2 tablespoons cocoa
½ milk
1 teaspoon vanilla essence

Sauce:
¾ cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon cocoa
1 ¼ cups water

Method:
Put the butter in a small bowl.  Microwave on high for 40 seconds.
Sift flour, baking powder, sugar and cocoa into a mixing bowl.  Whisk in the milk, vanilla essence and melted butter.  Mix well.
Spread the mixture into a 20cm square baking dish.
Make the sauce by mixing the brown sugar, cocoa and water in a bowl.  Pour it over the pudding.  Don’t stir it!
Cover the dish loosely with wax paper.  Cook in the microwave on high for 10 minutes.  Stand for 10 minutes then serve.
*This recipe comes from the book ‘Jumbo Junior Cook’ by Mary-Pat Fergus (Amanda’s Mother in Law!)

For more information and to keep up to date with The Vintage Table, check out The Vintage Table on facebook, twitter or their website.  Alternatively, you can contact Amanda on 021 705 822 or via email: amanda@thevintagetable.co.nz

Thanks Amanda for answering our questions and all the support you have given us!