Summer Berry Harvest Party

This time of the summer is perfect for having a berry harvest themed party!   I was thrilled to have the party featured on Amy Atlas Sweet Designs blog!

Here are more photo's from the party!  This is certainly easy to re-create and most of the party decor can be re-purposed for another party ~ especially a Patriotic Party!  See more party ideas on my Pinterest Berry Harvest board!  You will also find the products and where to get them on the board.

My favorite part was the cake, the backdrop & the party favors!  For the party favors find the zucchini bread recipe HERE & the strawberry jam recipe HERE is is a Martha Stewart quick & easy one!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Party Printable by Fresh Chick Design Studio
Peace, Love & Berries!

Merry Sweets DIY Banner

Merry Merry!  That has been jingling in my head since attending the Starbucks Holiday Party designed by Hostess with the Mostess last month.


With that being said I had the opportunity to create things for an island in a kitchen last weekend for The Garden Girls at one of the homes on the Chestnut Hill Holiday House Tour and used the theme "Merry Sweets".  
I, like many others try to do lots of DIY for Christmas decor.

I want to share with you a quick tutorial on the glitter banner I made.   If you know me I always tend to use Martha Stewart brand for crafting.  I find that from paint to stickers and ribbon the quality of the product is better then most.  This month in the Martha Stewart Living magazine they had great coupons to buy her paints and crafts from Michaels and I took advantage with the savings can't wait to share out project with the paints I bought! !  


Here is what you need~ burlap from a fabric store to cut triangles with, glitter glue, glitter and letters.  I bought my letters at Michaels for $1.00, ribbon, jingle bells & a glue gun.  

The letters I bought were pre-made glittered. 

Take one letter and triangle at a time 

paint the back of the letter with glue and press it onto a burlap triangle.

Hold the triangle over a bowl and pour the glitter onto the glue

 and shake off the access.  

Let the glitter dry.  

To assemble, I used a pencil to make little holes in the burlap and 

used thin ribbon to secure the 2 together.  Then tied two more pieces to that ribbon.  

Here's a cute photo of my 2 year old getting caught trying to sneak a candy cane when i was taking photo's of the banner.  She is so cute, love to see her little hand pop into a picture!

Merry Merry!  More to come soon with the Merry Sweets island later this week!  

Peace, Love & Merry Sweets,

Stacy

On the Rocks with Salt! Margarita Saturday's Pinterest Board

Summer is almost officially here, although if you live in the Northeast part of the country summer weather has been making itself present a lot! This past week here in Philadelphia, PA we set records in the high 90's & 100 degree temps.  Tonight is the perfect evening now that the temperatures have come down a bit to have a Margarita Saturday!

image via Pottery Barn

This 2 tiered serving tray from Pottery Barn is perfect for the presentation of the theme.

Two summers ago my husband and I being that we have three children began having "date nights in" on Saturday's, one of the themes is a margarita saturday date night in!  We have mararita's mafe with Freshie's all natural mix, tacos, chips & salsa all the things you would have to enjoy your cocktails! 

image via Pottery Barn

I love this extra large margarita glass from Pottery Barn. 

Somtimes life calls for an extra large one for sure!

Want to join the fun and have your own?  I collected an inspiration board on Pinterest for the theme!  Click over to see! 


Click HERE to view the whole board

Roasted Tomatoe Salsa image via Martha Stewart



Melon infused margarita skewers

Layla Grace now has Trina Turk fabrics by the yard!  This would be perfect to make your own placemats to brighten up your table.

 
I created the board with recipes from Martha Stewart and my blog, decor from Pottery Barn and Layla Grace, serving pieces from Pottery Barn and Rosanna, Inc. and many more! 


Enjoy your Saturday!  How do you like your margarita?  I am definitely on the rocks with salt!  

Peace, Love & Margarita Saturday's,

Stacy

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

Happy Day all!  The sun is shining and this day has 3 of my favorite things in the food & cocktail world involved in it to celebrate!  Which are~ Margarita's, Avocado & Sour Cream!  


Here are two last minute ideas for you to celebrate the day or even prepare for the weekend. The weather here in the Northeast is going to be great on Saturday so celebrate that too with margarita infused melon!  


Remember last year we had these served to us at The Martha Stewart Blogger's Night Out event, I of course had to make them again they were extremely refreshing!

Here is a little "how-to" & I say a "must-do" for your happy hour this evening or whenever  your melons and margarita's can come together!! 

What you need~
A good Margarita Mix
Cut up melon
Skewers or popsicle sticks

Here is what I did~ grabbed 3 different melons from my local The Fresh Market; watermelon, cantaloupe & honeydew.  A bottle of Freshie's margarita mix this is the only mix I will use these days....all natural ingredients including the sugar, the lime juice & the oj and it taste so good and fresh (hence the name ;)).  I had the alcohol already at home~ the tequila & cointreau.

I mixed 2 glasses worth of  margarita's poured it in with the fruit that I had cut up into corningware bowl that has a seal tight lid. (tip: VERY IMPORTANT don't put it in plastic....alcohol eats away at plastic, email me if you want to know how I learned it...it was 20 years ago..lol).

Use how ever much fruit can fit and of course if you need more.....make another Margarita!!

Ok, so I infused mine for 6 hours in the fridge.  Took them out, got my skewers out and placed three on each, then on a platter to the freezer for about 30 mins!  They are extremely tasty and refreshing I must say!  Please take a few minutes to party or relax with your melons & margarita's tonight or this weekend!! 

Don't forget a 5 layer Mexican Dip!

1 1/2 cups of Sour Cream

Taco Seasoning

1 cup of Black Beans

1 cup of Tomato Salsa

8oz of Cream Cheese

1 c Shredded Cheddar Cheese 

3 chopped green onions

1/2 c sliced black olives

Preheat the oven to 350.  Mix together the seasoning and sour cream.  Spread the cream cheese on the bottom of an 8x8 pan or oven proof dish.  Layer beans, salsa, sour cream mix and cheddar cheese on top.  Bake 12 minutes, garnish with green onions & olives.  Grab a bag of your favorite chips & serve!!  

Peace, Love & Cinco de Mayo,

Stacy

{Recipe} Brownie Snicker Bites with Toasted Marshmallow

Happy Friday!

Just in time to celebrate Valentine's~ an easy but oh so 

Scrumptious Ending dessert for you to prepare!!

Here is what you need~

Your favorite Brownie Mix

2 King Size Snicker Bars

Jar of Fluff

Mini Muffin Pan

Non-stick spray

Kitchen Torch

I made these addicting chocolate treats last weekend, I was going back and forth with whether to top it off with vanilla ice cream or buttercream.  Then the other day, I had the pleasure of relaxing for an hour when the Martha Stewart Chocolate Show was airing when I got the "ah-ha" of what to top the snicker brownie bites with....MARSHMALLOW!!  She made a chocolate marshmallow cake.  There are many recipes from that show you have to take a peek, I plan on preparing the chocolate creme brulee on Sunday for our family Valentine's dinner...yum, yum, yum! I can't wait, but back to these brownie snicker bites!!!  

Mix the brownie mix according to the box.  Spray the mini muffin pan with non stick spray very generously.  Bake for about 14 minutes.  While they are baking cut up the snicker bars, if you buy the king size cut each piece into 6.  Like so~

Take the brownies out of the oven (you do not want them to be baked all the way through) pop the snicker pieces gently into the tops of each brownie.  Like pictured above~ put back into the oven for 3 minutes.

The brownies will need to cool for at least an hour in the pan to set.  After that time, gently remove them with a knife around the edges.  

You can do 2 things either make your own marshmallow (find the recipe here) or use Fluff.  Spoon the marshmallow into a piping bag and pie the marshmallow onto the tops.  Make heart shapes if you wish.  

Finish them off with your kitchen torch, hold it about 3 inches away and toast.  

If you don't have a torch, place them under your broiler for a few minutes or enjoy as is without toasting.  

Let it cool for a few minutes and ENJOY!!   I dare you to eat just one ;)!!  

A Scrumptious Ending to any day!!  

Try it this weekend, 

you will happy you did!!  

Peace, Love & Brownie Snicker Bites~

Stacy

Details & Photos from the Martha Stewart's Dreamers into Doers Event

Hi everyone!  I wanted to share the photo's that I have from the Martha Stewart Dreamers into Doers event in NYC this week that I was fortunate enough to attend!

First I do need to take a moment and thank my husband Jude, my Mom & my friend Dawn for helping me with my 3 girls while I was away.  Without them my attendance would not have been possible!  A huge hug, kiss & a big THANK YOU!!!
Here we go~  The Dreamers into Doers is a fantastic on-line community with thousands of Doers who have a dream and follow their passion to do what they love and make a difference in their lives and others!  The community is made up of thousands and 80 of us were able to attend the event provided & coordinated by the fabulous Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia staff.  Which by the way was nothing short of anything you would expect from something Martha Stewart herself would put together!

Here are some of the photos & deets in no particular order~

The MSLO front office door

Lunch table from left to right bottom row, myself Courtney & Phronsie Dial of Pizzazzerie,  Charyn of Two Sugar Babies,  Tanya of Save The Date for Cupcakes
Standing Jasmine of Couture Cakery, Christa of Pizzazzerie, Jill of Modern Cupcake, Caryl of ROAR events

Group photo shot with Martha Stewart

The fabulous & creative Maureen & Adria of AndersRuff Custom Design 

The Sweet & inspirational Kim of The TomKat Studio

Kim & Courtney chatting with Martha

Kim from The Celebration Shoppe & Courtney of Pizzazzerie

The TomKat Studio Team Toni, Andrea, Kim  & Courtney

The amazing, funny & energetic Rebecca from Fresh Chick Designs a new friend I hope to have forever! 

The most beautiful and passionate Irish woman I have ever met~ Rachel of Rachel Gaffney's Real Ireland , one of the original DID's

These are a few of my photos! I am missing photo's some new friends like Nancy of A to Zebra Celebrations & Andrea of Dolce Drive !  I will have them all posted later with my details & video from our fun adventure to the Martha Stewart Show!

Have a fantastic Thursday everyone!!

Peace, Love & #DIDinNYC~


Stacy