Jayne Reece Atelier

Showing posts with label party. Show all posts

Do It Anyway

Monday, November 11, 2013

    A couple of weeks ago my grandparents were visiting from North Carolina. They only make it up here once or twice a year, so we always get together for pizza at a local restaurant while they're here. My grandparents, mom, stepdad, my son and I were just finishing up dinner when my mom said she wanted a four generation photo. Like most people, we protested. I hate being in front of the camera, and I think my grandparents just like giving my mom a hard time. A few minutes later, as we were leaving the restaurant, my grandparents and I asked where we should stand for the photo. I could tell my mom was upset when she said, "Never mind, we'll do it another time." We all hugged and got in our vehicles. As I was headed to my grandparents' hotel, I called my mom to see if she wanted to stop real quick and do the photo. I felt horrible as she said, "It's ok. I'm the only one that cares about it." We really should have just taken the picture. I do care about having family photos, especially considering that my grandparents aren't around much. I just needed to pull my head out of my butt and get over the fact that I hate how I look in photos.
     Over the weekend, my mom and I went shopping for her birthday and we touched on this subject again. As I was listening to her talk about how lucky we are to still have my grandparents still around (and the fact that my 98 year old great grandma died last year), I realized how selfish we'd all been. I have a photo of my son with my great grandma from when he has roughly a year old....he's almost four. I also have a photo of my grandpa, mom, my son and me (four generations) from around the same time. It's sad to think that the last family photo like that was done about 3 years ago.
     You think it's annoying when your mom, dad, grandma, grandpa, ect pull out the camera and want to take your picture? You hate that you still haven't lost that 40 lbs of baby weight you put on? Do it anyway. I have learned far too well this year that life is precious. We all take for granted the time that we have with our loved ones, but the truth is that we could be gone tomorrow. And if we did leave this world tomorrow, don't you want to leave those memories for your family?
      I am terribly guilty of this myself. There are TONS of photos of my son. TONS. But, how many with me or my husband in them? Not many. If I were to die tomorrow, I want my son to remember me. I want him to look back on photos of us hugging, kissing, playing, whatever, and remember feeling my love. Get in there. Take that photo with your awkward haircut or extra 40 lbs of baby weight. Do it anyway.

Photo copyright Megan Leigh Photography

Red, White, and Blue Icebox Cake

Friday, June 28, 2013

This light, no bake dessert is perfect for celebrating Independence Day. Besides being simple and delicious, you can add a special little touch by whipping up your own whipped cream! I got this idea from a similar icebox cake I did recently, and thought, "how perfect for the upcoming holiday?"

Ingredients:

1-1/2 lbs strawberries, sliced (this varies on your love of strawberries!)

1 lb blueberries

3 cups whipping cream

1/3 cup confectioners sugar

1 tsp vanilla (optional)

18-24 whole graham crackers (my husband likes more whipped cream, so I added less)

Step 1: Slice strawberries

Step 2: Add whipping cream to large bowl- stand mixer or hand mixer will work. It will take awhile to get the consistency you're looking for, be patient.

See? Stiff peaks. That's what you want to see. Now, add the confectioners sugar and vanilla (if using) and whip together.

Step 3: Cover bottom of 9x13 pan with thin layer of whipped cream. Place 6 graham crackers over whipped cream.

Step 4: Add another thin layer of whipped cream over graham crackers, then add fruit. Continue layering until out of graham crackers. You should get 3-4 layers depending on how graham crackery you like your cake.

The final layer should be whipped cream, unless you decide to go something fancy like an American flag out of fruit or fanned strawberries with a mint sprig. I wasn't feeling fancy today, so plain old whipped cream for us.

Step 5: Refrigerate for atleast 4 hours.

Now, you may be thinking to yourself, "won't the graham crackers get soggy?" YES! That's the point! Once the cake has set in the fridge it gets more of a cake-like texture. Trust me, you'll love it.

Enjoy this cake at your Fourth of July celebration this year. You'll be glad you did.

Polar Express Birthday Party

Tuesday, January 8, 2013

My son loves trains. LOVES them. Since his birthday is so close to Christmas, we decided to do a Polar Express themed birthday party. As I quickly learned, Polar Express isn't quite as popular as it was even a few years ago. It was really difficult trying to find anything related to the movie or book. I did some research on google and Pinterest to find ideas, but I wanted to post what we did in case there's anyone else out there having trouble with ideas. First, I printed out these letters to Santa (find them here) for the kids. I thought it'd be fun for them to do in between presents and cake (and a great keepsake for mom & dad too!)

Next, I made chocolate covered marshmallow spoons for the hot chocolate. Unfortunately, I didn't bookmark the site that I got the tutorial from, but these are pretty easy. Take a regular plastic spoon, pour any kind of melted chocolate you like (milk, semi-sweet, dark or white) into dip in spoon, add marshmallow. Let sit overnight until firm. Next, dip entire spoon into melted chocolate and decorate as desired.

I did some semi-sweet (my favorite) and some white chocolate (for relatives that have a cocoa allergy) and alternated between Christmas-style sprinkles and crushed candy canes. These were a huge hit with kids and adults alike.

I also made bell ornaments as party favors for the kids. My mother-in-law had tons of silver bells, I created the tag saying " The bell still rings for all who truly believe" in Photoshop, added some extra jute I had lying around to hold everything together and viola!

And of course, don't forget the cake. Everyone (my son most importantly) l-o-v-e-d this cake. I found an image online and knew this is what we had to have. Brandi at Sweet Treats made this for us and she did wonderful. I almost didn't want to cut it, but I'm glad I did- it was delish!