Ingredients
- 1 cup flour
- 1 cup yellow cornmeal
- 4 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 large egg
- 2 egg whites
- 1 1/4 cups 1% milk
- 2 tbs canola oil
- 1 cup canned cream corn
- 2 diced hot dogs

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees
2. Mix all ingredients together.  (Batter may appear thin, don’t worry it will be perfect)
3. Grease mini muffin pan
4. Fill pan with batter
5. Bake 10-12 minutes

Our family tradition continues.   The birthday person gets to choose the shape of their birthday cake.  My son chose a popcorn bucket in honor of the movie birthday party.  Fruit leather was the stripes and we made sticky popcorn for the top!!

However, the fun part is that we got to throw a big Baseball themed 1st Birthday Party.

Some fun elements were a flag banner that featured photos from every month of life from birth to 12 months.  It was a fun way to show guests how much he’s grown and changed.  And a “Happy Birthday” banner hung above the high chair.

A sandwich board chalkboard on the curb guided guests the gate leading to the backyard.  Above the gate hung another flag banner that said “Admissions” and a little “Gate B” sign on the gate for fun.  (B is for Bennett)  As guests entered the backyard, a table was set up with some fun ballpark goodies.

•  Cotton Candy hanging on a tree branch
•  Apothecary jars and mason jars filled with peanuts and sunflower seeds
•  Vintage cracker jacks wrapped up with a tag that said “Thank You for Helping to Make Bennett’s Birthday a Grand Slam.”
• Some classic treats like Red Vines, Big League Chew, Twix and Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups
•  An old wooden bat for guests to sign for the birthday boy
•  And some pictures from a recent photoshoot
Of course, what’s a baseball party without baseball cupcakes…. I made some Padres pennant flag toppers since the San Diego Padres are my husbands favorite team.  The tables were covered with a light gray cloth and baseball jersey pinstripe overlays.  The centerpieces were a 2′x2′ astroturf square with apothecary jars filled with baseballs and mason jars in the four corners with a single white rose (from Eufloria) to represent a baseball diamond.  And finally, a snack bar filled with some yummy classics:  hot dogs, fritto boats, nachos, pretzels, churros and some fresh fruit.

We played wiffle ball in the yard and I made a “Schmitz Stadium” flag banner to hang above the “ball field.”  We purchased foam fingers for the teams and to top it off… I made family shirts for our little nuclear family.  It has our names and ages on the back.

It was a blessed day for my little man.  So much fun hanging out with family and friends.

The bride loved succulents and had a picture of a bridal bouquet that she loved.  We got our inspiration from there and expanded.  An urn with a large bouquet was on each side of the door at the front of the aisle.

The boutonnieres and corsages were designed with succulents grown by the bride several months before the wedding, and the matron of honor carried a bouquet similar to the bride’s.

The bride walked down an aisle covered with rose petals.  The ceremony was in front of the hacienda under the trees.  The guests sat in a semicircle around the bride and groom.

The reception was in the back of the Hacienda overlooking the hills.  Cocktail tables with simple centerpieces were scattered around the patio.  We took three wine bottles, wrapped them with lace and green jute and filled them with roses and some fill.

Appetizers and desserts were served after the wedding.  Brownies, cookies and wedding cake decorated the table under a pergola.  A chandelier hung over the table. Tara Stumph did a fabulous job with appetizers.  It was nothing short of spectacular!  Hostess du Jour designed the dessert buffet.

The cake was a work of art done by Amanda Craner.  The lace from the flower arrangements and succulents from the garden were used to decorate and the cake was displayed on the dessert table.  Flowers were arranged by Hostess du Jour.  Photos were taken by Summer Schmitz.  And the special moments were capture by Ryan Lee Films.

Thank you Jason and Lina for allowing us to be a part of your wedding.  It was so beautiful.  You both did a great job planning and designing your day.  It was a beautiful reflection of you both.  We wish you a lifetime of happiness and beauty.

What better way to say fun than three foot balloons!  We were so thankful for the help from Ryan and his mom Nancy for all their help!

The stage was full of the orange balloons.  AMS Entertainment provided music and lighting – sadly we didn’t get a picture!!

For center pieces we made fabric squares to add some color (thanks Candy!!).  We filled 12 inch fish bowls with teal water beads.  We wrapped the vase with ribbon that secured the balloon.  Orange carnations and a few orange craspedia filled the top of the vase.  We inserted a red wire to hold different pictures of the guest of honor from his childhood.  We finally finished it off with a light in the vase to illuminate the beads.

The front table had mandarin oranges with a small teal pin attaching a thank you note for each guest.  Pictures as well as some artwork helped decorate the table.

The bathrooms had a few small touches.

A big thanks to Piper for giving us this opportunity!  We had a wonderful time and wish you and your family the best.

I saw this done on Pinterest, but the nest was made out of chinese noodles instead.  These nests are shredded wheat done up like rice crispy treats with the melted butter and marshmallows.  Then drop a couple egg shaped candies, these ones are Reese’s Pieces, and Cadbury Chocolate Eggs, and then place a Peep on top.  I found these chocolate covered Peeps at Wal Mart.

A super cute treat for an Easter gathering.

Ingredients / Supplies
• 4  Cups – hot tap water
•  1  Fels-Naptha soap bar (or Ivory soap bar)
•  1 Cup Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda (make sure its washing soda not regular baking soda)
•  ½ Cup Borax
•  5-gallon bucket

Directions
•  Grate bar of soap and add to saucepan with water. Stir continually over medium-low heat until soap dissolves and is melted.

•  Fill a 5 gallon bucket half full of hot tap water. Add melted soap, washing soda and Borax. Stir well until all powder is dissolved. Fill bucket to top with more hot water. Stir, cover and let sit overnight to thicken.

•  Stir and fill a used, clean, laundry soap dispenser half full with soap and then fill rest of way with water. Shake before each use. (will gel)

Get a little creative with your storage containers.

•  Optional: You can add 10-15 drops of essential oil per 2 gallons. Add once soap has cooled. Ideas: lavender, rosemary, tea tree oil.
•  Yield: Liquid soap recipe makes 10 gallons.

Top Load Machine – 5/8 Cup per load (Approx. 180 loads)
Front Load Machines – ¼ Cup per load (Approx. 640 loads)

YOU WILL NEED:

• wire wreath form (you can get this at any craft store)
• paddle wire (also at your local craft store)
• wire cutters
• hot glue gun
• assortment of ornaments in different shapes and colors (I bought these from Walmart at the end of the season, they were 75% off.  These ones are also shatterproof, but you can use any ornaments that you like)

STEPS…

STEP 1

Wrap paddle wire around the wire wreath form – this will give you more surface area for the ornaments to sit on.

STEP 2

Start gluing the largest ornaments first – you can do this in a pattern or randomly.

STEP 3

Then continue on to the next largest size ornaments

STEP 4

Fill in the gaps with the smaller ornaments

When you are finished you will bask in the glory of your custom designed ornament wreath.