Pirate Birthday Party

My youngest boy decided that he wanted a pirate birthday. I think he changed his mind for about two months and finally picked a theme.
I decided to get the invitation done and this is how they turned out.

He said he wanted a black pearl cake so I was on the hunt for different ship cakes. I stumbled across about 5 different cakes that I like and got some ideas from all of them.
This how our cake turned out.

Sorry for the bad lighting. We used two round 9" cake pans and one 13"x 9" cake pan. We put the 13"x 9" cake on the bottom and stacked the 9" cakes on the front and back of the ship. For the water we used blue buttercream and also mixed some white buttercream at the end to make the waves. This was probably one of the easiest cakes we made.
For the party favors I just used a brown paper bag and ripped the tops off. I then placed the pennant on the front of the bag. I found these at http://www.cottage-industrialist.com/. I used these pennants for the decor by the cake. I also printed these cute pirate hats and eye patches.

We also had some pirate nuggets with little pirates in them. The pirate guys are made of tootsie pops with a black piece of cloth wrapped around and glued like a bandana. The black cloth is a black dish rag I got at the dollar store.

 We had some pirate rope, pirate punch, and some cute pirate cookies.

 Even Captain Jack Sparrow came to our party!!!

This was a fun birthday! My little Boston had the best time. He loved all the presents that is wonderful family got him.

 

How to unclog a sink

Good Morning-- and Happy Tuesday!!! Tip Tuesday actually...  I have had a couple of sinks that have been draining slowly, so I though I would share with you a tip to get your clogged sinks draining again.  It's simple, and there are no harmfull chemicals involved- in fact you probably have what you need in your pantry.  Here is what you will need:

1/2 Cup baking soda

1 Cup white vinegar

Pour the baking soda into the drain, followed by the white vinegar-- let it fizz for a 10 minutes and then pour boiling water to rinse it down.  That's it-- it really works!!!   

And it keeps them smelling good too.  I have found if you do this once a month or so your sinks will drain well.

Herb Enfuzed Water

We planted the garden Saturday... it was an all day 10 hour job!  I am going to post a tutorial on the plant cages we make-- but I need to get one more picture showing you how to hook the fencing together first, so that will have to wait for one more day.  But while we were planting, it was getting hot & so I went to go get a pitcher of ice cold water for us to drink.. and I decided to try the packages of herbs Lisa & I put together & froze for our dill, spearmint & basil lemonade-- (I know it doesn't sound like it would be good, but oh my it is the best.)   I just added it to the water and it was so refreshing and yummy good.  Adam came by while we were working & drinking, and he even liked it!!!   So this all you need.....

  fresh dill weed, fresh spearmint, and fresh basil.  We made little piles of these three things & then used my food saver & sealed them, then put them in the freezer last summer.  It is really good in lemonade- use any recipe you like-- let it steep in the sun for a few hours, add ice and you have a WONDERFUL drink.
But Saturday I just grabbed a package out of the freezer & put it in a pitcher of ice water-- it was so good and tasted great on a hot day! The herbs enfuze a wonderful flavor into the water, and look at how LOVELY!!  It looks like fresh picked- you would never know it was frozen.   I put it in the refrigerator last night & we had it again today for our dinner-- it still tasted great, the longer it sits the stronger the flavor!  Adam added Mountain Dew to it & said it was good... kind of defeats the purpose of  the whole idea, but hey.... it worked for him. LOL

Salsa Chicken over Brown Rice

I made this chicken yesterday for dinner--- It's salsa Chicken you make in the crock pot.  Usually I make it with chicken breasts and use it for tacos, and it is delish!  But this time I tried it with chicken thighs, and served it over brown rice.  We loved it!!   I think I found a new FAVORITE-- and it's so easy too so that makes it even better. 

The picture doesn't look that lovely...(not the best presentation) but believe me you will love it.......

                             
                                    Here's the recipe for you......

Party Punch

Are you getting things ready for Mother's Day?  I am trying to put together a menu for our dinner on Sunday... and I decided to make this yummy- very pretty punch.  So if you need somethig special for your Mother's Day Dinner give this one a try- I know you will use it again! 

How to re-use melted chocolate

Here's what I do after I have melted chocolate or candy melts...

I take the left over and pour it into a cupcake liner, allow it to cool...

when it has completely cooled you will be able to pull it out of the cupcake liner in one piece.. put in back into the bag, and it is ready to use the next time you need it.  This way you don't have any waste.
                                                      Happy Dipping!!!!

How to wash fresh Berries so they last longer

I had read about cleaning your fresh berries so they lasted longer & so I decides to try it.  We buy & grow a lot of strawberries, and they always seem to go bad before we can eat them.   Usually we just eat what we can & then put the rest in the freezer before they spoil-- but this is GREAT and it works.

I poured 1/2 cup of white vinegar into a large bowl & added 5 cups of cold water to it- rinsed my cartons of strawberries and put them stem & all into the mixture.  I let them set 5 minutes (well one time I forgot about them and they were in there for about 20 minutes) and they were still fine....  

then took them out of the water and vinegar mixture and placed them on a dish towel to air dry.
When they were dry I put them in the fridge- they have been in there 2 days & still look great.
The vinegar kills the bacteria- and stops the mold from forming, it doesn't affect the taste at all-- so there you have your tip for the day!!