Party in pink! How to host a Cook for the Cure cocktail party - Entertaining - Food - Canadian Living

Party in pink! How to host a Cook for the Cure cocktail party - Entertaining - Food - Canadian Living

Our cook for the Cure cocktail party/slash housewarming party will be here before too long. While searching i found a great article from Canadian Living about that very topic. I don't know about that whole silent auction thing, but of course the food ideas are exactly what I'm searching for.

Virgin Bevvies or Vintage Sammies?

That is the big question.

So it's finally confirmed, we will be hosting a pink party in order to participate in Cooking for the Cure.

What we do know is:
The party will be sometime in August and feature the color pink (possibly along with a tangy splash of lemon and tangerine). There will be lots of tasty homemade food. There will be sweets. Guests will be asked to bring a small donation to the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation. I will most likely go overboardy.


What we don't know is:

Do with go with a mocktail party or a tea party?

The Mocktail Party would have a bit more splash, with great appies and interesting non-boozy drinks. I would have to consider music and some really great swag. It would be later at night and guys would likely be invited along.

The Tea Party would be more of an afternoon gathering, with a selection of ices and hot teas, vintage tea sandwich recipes, tiny baked treats and other such nibbles. Music would be less important, there would be the possibility of great looking hats, and it would likely be more of a ladies gathering.

At the moment I'm still undecided. Both options sound like fun. Should I go for the mocktail party or the tea party?

Peanut butter and jelly birthday cake

Cutest cake pan ever! It just so happens that I have a sandwich lovin' SO who I think might get a kick out of this cake pan (hiya babe, I know you're reading this).

Have a closer look at this Cakewich pan and lots of other insanely cute baking goodies -like the most incredibly gorgeous selection of cupcake baking cups. If you love cupcake baking and pretty paper, you may just faint dead away.

Find it all at Bake It Pretty.

Window tasting -like window shopping, only yummier!

<--------This, my darlings, is a parsnip cupcake. That's right, a beautiful, scrummy looking cupcake that just so happens to be made with that infamous, pale carrot look-a-like, most often seen in thick winter stews vegetable. I cannot claim this concoction as my own; although I'm dying to try baking them, if for no other reason than to say that I have. This cupcake and dozens of others can be found on a super user friendly site called mingmakescupcakes.com. There you'll find oodles of interesting, beautifully photographed cupcakes like chocolate with chambord, flourless beet chocolate cupcakes, sour cream fig cupcakes and several others. The sheer gorgeousness of each creation is nearly satisfying enough. Have a look!

A garden full of memories

As a brand new gardener, it can be a real challenge trying to figure out just what to put in the ground, which makes walking into a garden center both an awe-inspiring and overwhelming experience.

I had already identified my zone and figured out how much sun/shade I had in both front and back gardens. I also knew that really I wanted to put some perennials in, with only a small patch for annuals. Annuals are easy, because you can change your mind year after year, and throw a few containers in to shake things up. Perennials however, are a commitment.

Speaking of commitment ...as I stood in Vandermere's Garden Center, staring at row after row of plants not yet in bloom, trying to figure out what I wanted to devote my years to, it struck me that planting these perennials could be symbolic of another commitment I had just made months before. I would plant my wedding flowers -hydrangeas!


I picked up one Niko Blue and one Masja for the backyard and then two more Niko Blues for the front. And as I put each one into the ground, I said a little prayer over them, acknowledging that they were a symbol of my marriage and that I would nurture them for years to come. I would delight in them in good weather and keep them safe through storms. I would fight to keep them healthy even during the coldest winter storms, knowing all the while that they will be better for it come springtime.

The fact that Niko Blue hydrangeas bloom out of old wood from the previous year is so wonderfully poetic. It's like a symbol of hope and of promise.

I would suggest to any new bride and homeowner that planting the flowers used in your wedding (if possible in your zone) can become more than just a gardening experience, but something beautiful that can be shared with generations to come.

*Yep, that's one of my Niko Blue hydrangeas. The lack of acidity in my soil has resulted in what looks more like Niko pink. LOL. I may play around with the soil composition in the backyard next year to try and get that Niiko to turn blue.

Miles or perhaps kilometers of milk glass in Ontario

While planning my wedding last year, I began frequenting a wedding planning and DIY blog called Wedding Bee, and while my wedding was over 7 months ago, I still love to visit Wedding Bee every now and again. That's how I came across this post and discovered the understated yet elegant beauty of milk glass.

I am now in possession of three lovely pieces of hob nail and I'm pretty sure that one of them is Fenton.

For anyone in and around the GTA with an interest in collecting milk glass (or other antiques), I've found a veritable gold mine of fabulousness. The St. Jacobs Antique Market is just wonderful for milk glass and several other varieties of collectibles. There is just row after row of antique furniture and dishware, military items, bits of art and housewares. It's about an hour and a half from my neck of the GTA and not a bad drive at all. Of course while you're at it, you absolutely must stop in at the St. Jacobs Farmer's Market for fresh fruit, vegetable, flowers and even a tasty apple fritter or two. It is the perfect summertime, weekend outing. Go have a look!


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How to get lipstick out of a wedding dress

Much as I love sharing the fabulousness of home decor products, recipes and the like, I'm not usually one to give word of mouth to small packaged goods. HOWEVER, this is where I simply must make a huge exception, because an old tube of something wonderful literally saved my wedding day.

Here's the skinny on my near wedding day disaster. My not so smart makeup artist (who is very lucky to remain unnamed here) thought it would be a good idea to apply my lipstick after I'd donned my wedding dress, while I was standing up, if you can believe that! Several minutes later, after taking some photos I looked down at about hip level and there was a dark pink spot on my dress about the size of a penny. Needless to say, I completely lost it. I mean we're talking full on bridal meltdown! It was not pretty.

After much screaming, near crying and sheer panic, my mom remembered that she had an old tube of something called Didi Seven in the laundry room. So she grabbed it and had my MOH apply little dabs of it with a wet rag, first at home and then in the limo on the way to the church, and I'm telling you, it took the stain right out! I honestly can't think of much worse than lipstick on a wedding dress, before the wedding even got started. But thank God for Didi Seven.

If you're getting married soon, or planning something important that will have you dressed in light colors, I would highly suggest getting a tube of this stuff and keeping it close at hand. Here's their link. Check it out!