Monday, May 31, 2010

tea for three





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the details:

1. the girl. 3 years old. very, very happy.
2. The dress: Libery of London for Target
3. The crown. Card stock, plastic pearls, glitter, and hot glue. 100% easy.
4. The banner. Fabric swatches (I've been saving for years from back in the day when I sold Modbe) + string
5. the "tea": Archer Farms Italian Soda
6. the hats: the boys' came from a party store, grandmas was in the $1 bin at Target and she added the bow. I wore my giant sunhat with a tulle bow attached.
7. The boys: what great sports!
8. The grandma and grandpa: Came from Montana!! yay!
9. Myself: this only got me started on ideas for a real live big girl tea party I'd like to have someday....who will come?
10. The cupcakes (lots) (I halved both recipes):

Chocolate Cupcakes


3/4 c unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 c butter
1 c sugar
3 eggs
1/2 c (or a couple good globs:) of mayonnaise. yup. get over it.
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 c flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

Mix together: 1 cup boiling water and cocoa. Set aside.
Mix flour, soda, and salt together, set aside.
Cream together in large bowl: butter, sugar. Add eggs one at a time and mix well. mix in mayo.
Add vanilla.
Add the cocoa/hot water mixture and beat for 2 minutes.
Add the dry ingredients, and stir just until mixed.

Pour into cupcake liners. Bake at 350° for 13-15 minutes



Yellow Butter Mini Cupcakes (cake recipe from Sunset Magazine)


2 1/4 cups cake flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups sugar
About 1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2/3 cup milk
Preparation
1. Preheat oven to 350°. Sift flour, baking powder, and salt into a medium bowl; set aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat sugar and 1/2 cup butter until creamy. Crack eggs into a small dish (do not beat) and add vanilla. Add eggs to the butter mixture 1 at a time, scraping down the inside of the bowl as needed. Beat in flour mixture and milk in alternating batches, starting and ending with the flour and making sure each addition is fully incorporated before adding the next.

2. Butter and flour mini cupcake pans.
Divide batter evenly.

3. Bake until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center of each cake comes out clean, 8-10 minutes.

4. Cool 5 minutes. Invert onto a rack, remove pans, and let cool to room temperature, at least 40 minutes.

Mom's Chocolate Buttercream
cream together
Butter + Powdered Sugar + Cocoa + Milk until she thought it was just right.
it was.

Strawberry Buttercream
cream together
6-8 strawberries, pureed until smooth.
1/2 stick butter.
Powdered sugar until it's the right thickness


Vanilla Bean Buttercream:
cream together
1 stick (1/2 c) butter

4 cups powdered sugar
4-5 TBS milk
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
seeds of 1/2 a vanilla bean

Happy 3 to my baby girl!

22 comments:

Anonymous said...

LOVE THIS POST!!! My little lady will be 3 on Thursday and she is *so so so* excited for her party on Saturday! I love so very much that this is the first birthday that she's truly excited for and that she may actually remember:) Happy Birthday to your little one!

Oh - and L_O_V_E the dress! Before I saw the end of the post I scrolled back twice to look closely to see if it was Liberty of London. So darling!

Anonymous said...

LOVE THIS POST!!! My little lady will be 3 on Thursday and she is *so so so* excited for her party on Saturday! I love so very much that this is the first birthday that she's truly excited for and that she may actually remember:) Happy Birthday to your little one!

Oh - and L_O_V_E the dress! Before I saw the end of the post I scrolled back twice to look closely to see if it was Liberty of London. So darling!

Moments and Impressions said...

What an adorable day! I would love LOVE a grown up tea party!

cara lou said...

Perfect little girls party. Beautiful and whimsical!

I want to go to a big girls tea party!!

Kaitlin said...

God, I love your blog!

What a doll! How awesome of you to throw such a sweet party for her :) I wanna be like you when I'm a mom!

You are so creative and you take the best family photos I have ever seen!

Anonymous said...

will you throw me my next birthday? sept 18, pencil me in!

You Are My Fave said...

What a perfect party. Proof that simple sweetness is better than crazy over the top affairs. The crowns and fabric swatch bunting are my fave.

Anonymous said...

this is absolutely stinkin super duper adorable. seriously, two hundred thumbs up! the crown & dress are so cute & your boys are such good sports!!

Shannon said...

Oh so much fun! I grew up in a house of all girls and we had tea parties on a regular basis. If you decide to do a grown up tea party I'll email you my favorite tea food recipes! Your cupcakes turned out amazing and the table was just gorgeous! What a lucky 3 year old! Happy Birthday to the little lady!

banananutmeg said...

I am totally having a tea party themed "swap/borrowers" party very soon. Cute. This reminds me that I never posted the rest of corbin's 1st Birthday...cuz I'm a good mom.

I love her obnoxious crown. I love your big obnoxious sun hat even more.

Anna said...

this is the sweetest thing ever! You are an amazing mom!

A Beautiful Life said...

adorable, adorable, adorable!!! the girl, the dress, the decorations, the food, the BOYS, the EVERYTHING! so sweet! great pics!

Erica Lea said...

Your photos are spectacular. In fact, everything about your party looks spectacular. I love the fella's hats. The settings. Okay, just everything. Thank you so much for sharing!

Kelly said...

What a prefectly precious party! Gorgeous photos - those cupcakes look delicious!

Kelly said...

oops, I meant PERfectly. :)

summer said...

my oh my. this is pretty as a picture! now i know what my dream party is. sheena, you are so awesome! my favorite things about it are endless.. i love your dishes, your table-setting skills, your sweet easygoing style, your photography, everything.

oh, and i think it's super super fun that it was all a family affair- and the WHOLE family. i love that!

Amie said...

What a beautiful birthday, for such a beautiful little girl! Everything looks wonderful, congrats!

Jeana Bird said...

This is a perfect party! I love all the ideas (I might borrow a few for my little girl's party...she want it all pink) and the photos are priceless. Thanks for sharing...I would love to do a grown up tea party one day.

Trendsetters said...

LOVELY CUPCAKES...CUTE KIDS

Nathan Williams said...

this is the coolest looking birthday party!

Lula. said...

SO so darling! I bet she was in heaven. and I would like to come to your big girl tea party, please.

tanalicious said...

sheena, sheena, sheena..

where oh where did you get those lovely pink dishes? and if you say the DI or Salvation Army i'll cry. i never find the good stuff when i go. or the milk glass cake stand.

le sigh.

how can i have a tea party like yours without all of the wonderful dishes?