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Emma’s Dedication :: The Reception

August 30, 2011 5 Comments

(I’d like to dedicate (ha, get it) this post to our dear friends and family who joined us in celebrating Emma’s day. Especially, Paul’s family who hailed all the way from SoCal. I just wished my family could have been there.)

As promised, here’s more about Emma’s dedication. This is the reception post (or ‘after party’ like Paul called it), you can read all about the church ceremony here.

Now that I’m a mother, I can finally use my child as an excuse to host parties and craft all this cute decor stuff that I used to design for my business, Wishcraft Design.

As much as we would have loved to have more friends join us for the ‘after party’ at our house, we had to keep this celebration small for budget reasons. Speaking of which, I’m proud to announce that I managed to only go $30 over budget. (Which is a HUGE success for me. Not too long ago, I didn’t even set myself a budget for occasions like these. Yet alone ask Mr. Thrasher for his opinion on the budget.)

I’ll let the pictures do the talking first. And then I’ll share the menu and sources with you. Oh, and if you like what you see, feel free to share, post, tweet or comment.

A bright and cheery color palette and tasty food made for a fun dessert table.

Supporting local small businesses is always fun and I’ll try to do that whenever possible. These mini cupcakes came from Mission Minis. I scored a Plum District coupon and saved it for almost a year just so I could redeem it for Emma’s special day.

Mini cupcakes are just too cute (and tasty) to not be part of a dessert table.

One of my favorite recent ‘party equipment’ purchases: 20 white coffee mugs ‘Fargrik‘ and silverware ‘Dragon‘ from IKEA. At only $.99 a pop for the coffee mugs, I am pretty excited about this eco-friendly and posh alternative to plastic silverware, paper cups (I only got a few for the cold drinks) or even worse styrofoam (is anyone really still buying these?). I mean, it wasn’t smart if I was only using these for one event but I know there will be plenty of occasions where I’ll be able to put them to use. And before I know it they will be amortized and I’ll never have to buy paper cups or plastic silverware again.

The coffee bar with my brand spanking new coffee mugs.

Food & Beverages:

Strawberry Cake (Safeway)
Yellow Cake with Marzipan (homemade)
Carrot Cake (Trader Joe’s)
Mini Cupcakes (Mission Minis, San Francisco)
Cake Pops (homemade – recipe to follow)
Almond Ring Danish (Trader Joe’s)
Macaroons (Whole Foods)
Mini Chocolate Bars (Trader Joe’s)
M&Ms
Coffee (w/Half & Half, Milk)
Organic Pink Lemonade (Trader Joe’s)
Izze Orange Soda (next time, I’ll get glass bottles, promise)
San Pellegrino

Serverware, Party Decor & Craft Materials:

Pink paper plates, paper cups and napkins (Party City)
Vellum paper, scrapbook paper, round craft punch (Paper Source, Michaels)
Orange paper straws (Amazon.com)
Coffee mugs (IKEA)
Silverware (IKEA)
Glass milk bottles (Bed, Bath & Beyond – no longer available)
Vintage coffee thermos pot (gift from MIL who never used it)
Beverage tub and stand (Target – no longer available)
Various cake stands and platters (Ross, T.J. Maxx, Costco) 

Now, off to gathering ideas and inspiration for Emma’s first birthday party. I’m thinking Red and Aqua and Penguins.

 

Filed Under: Events, Food, Parties Tagged With: , , ,

Hot Crab Dip

August 27, 2011 Leave a Comment

Photo: Kraft

 

 

 

 

 

And here’s what’s for dinner tonight: Hot Crab Dip based on this recipe by the lovely Paula “Ya’ll-need-to-add-at-least-three-sticks-of-butter-to make-it-taste-reeeaaal-good” Deen.

Ingredients

  • Crabmeat from Trader Joe’s (You could get it somewhere else but I think you should buy it at TJ’s.)
  • Lots of mayonnaise
  • Couple of dollops of sour cream
  • A bit of cream cheese
  • Heaps of grated Parmesan
  • Some minced onions – green, white or red
  • Half a red bell pepper
  • Some garlic based on how smelly you want to be later
  • A tad bit of Worcestershire sauce
  • A bit more lemon or lime juice
  • A bit less hot sauce
  • A dash of dry mustard
  • Salt and pepper to your liking (I have to defer to Trader Joe’s again: they have this new delicious Lemon Pepper. Perfect.)
  • Some grated Asagio cheese
Directions
  • Preheat your oven to 325 degrees F.
  • Finely chop garlic, onions and bell pepper and saute in frying pan with a bit of olive oil.
  • Combine all of the ingredients in a bowl and stir until thoroughly mixed. Scoop the mix in a casserole dish and sprinkle with grated Asagio cheese.
  • Bake for 30-40 minutes.
  • Serve hot with fresh toasted artisan bread.
Delicious!
Filed Under: Food Tagged With: , , ,

Master Of Ceremony :: Our Wedding

May 5, 2011 Leave a Comment

I do!

Forget Cinco de Mayo, it’s the Thrasher Wedding Anniversary. Four years of married bliss. I snatched a hardworking, humble, hot ‘n’ handsome husband, we adopted a lovely mutt, multiplied and gave birth to a stinkin’ cute baby. To this day – and beyond – we are dreaming big of a fantastic future as we grow and nurture our little family.

But this post is not about us. This post is dedicated to a good friend and the best master of ceremony a bride can ask for. (I’m not mentioning the groom because he didn’t even know what a master of ceremony does, yet alone why we would need one.)

Li, this is for you:

Today, Paul and I are celebrating the 4th return of our wedding day.
This occasion prompts me to shout a Thank You your way.
As I remember the day, Paul and I began our life.
As husband and wife.

You were the master of ceremony.
The guardian angel of our vows of matrimony.
The man.
With the master plan.

Getting ready, Paul suddenly discovered his pants were too long.
With a stapler you did a better job than tailors in Hong Kong.
Helping him fix his tie.
Without a sigh.

Without you Paul would probably still be standing in the sand.
Waiting for me and my mother to give him my hand.
Guests would still be looking for their seat.
With nothing to eat.

Sensing the danger of having no songs to move our feet.
You quickly assigned Neil to be in charge of the beat.
What a moving speech.
You gave on the beach.

Thank you again for diverting every disaster.
While being the best ceremony’s master.
As we remember our ‘I Do’.
We cheer to you.

Love,

The Thrashers

 

Filed Under: Marriage Tagged With: , , ,

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