Harvest Moon Easy Croc Pot Meal

Today marks the first cooler night here in Houston and it is also a Harvest Moon night so I want to welcome it with the sweet and warm fragrance of a slow cooked meal.  Here is a general recipe (I'm not a lab cook, my measurements are just approximations):

1 pork tenderloin
1 bag small yukon gold potatoes (they remind me of little moons)
1 bag baby carrots
1 tablespoon of tomato paste
1 pk of onion lipton soup
a drizzle of molasses (it adds a depth of flavor that everyone will love)
a bunch of rosemary (fresh from the garden)
a little cracked pepper (no salt is needed because of the lipton soup)

Put it all in a slow cooker for about 8 hrs.  The pork will come apart, but that's part of the fun.

Enjoy,
Catherine

Pirate Birthday Party

A Pirate Birthday Party is quintessential for a little boy.  Last year my then soon to be 3 year old was into Disney's Jake and The Neverland Pirates.  I thought easy peasy! Well, since the cartoon was so new, there was no party supplies out in the market yet.  I set off to make this party on my own from scratch.  So much fun!!!

I added a little swirl of glitter to the invitation to spark the imagination of the kids.  It would be the pixie dust they would use to fly them to the party.

The party was meant to be outside, but right before the guests arrived we had rain so I quickly moved the ship table indoors so they could "sail to Neverland" while they dined before moving on to outside.

In the Menu:  Fish and Chips with a side of fruit cut up in the shape of Jolly Rogers, Ships, and Treasure Chests.  I designed all labels and decorations.

As we approach Neverland, the crew stops by Hook's quarters.

... Where they notice the picture of his Nemesis: The Birthday Boy

Details...

The kids snatch the map of Neverland and start their great adventure... ( I created stations within my back yard for every part of the map)

At this point, pixie dust should be sprinkled onto their feet...

I put together this little terrarium as a place for tinker to hide her treasure.  At the party it was placed next to a large mirror with a trunk full of neverland related costumes for the kids to change into.  (Sorry, I try not to put pictures of kids other than my own in the blog!)

So here is my little rascal.  Behind him is Pixie Hollow, where we had an awesome treasure hunt!

Each child received a personalized loot bag for the treasure hunt.

Here is Pirate's Cove.  It served as a stage for the entertainment.  We had a singer come and hang out with the kids for 45 minutes putting on a show where the kids were the main characters.  Super fun!  The inflatable ships were filled with water balloons for a sea worthy battle at the end.

At Mermaid's Den we had some fun games and sand craft for the kids.

Indian Cove - I put some pirate and peter pan books in there with a cute little lantern. The kids were in and out of this thing like clowns coming out of a tiny car at the circus. Super fun!

The Sweets Table

I did coat all of the paper decorations with mod podge to make it water resistant.

I think the coconut and straws made a cool addition to the favors table.  :)

Coloring books and crayons covered in see through paper were sent home with the little guests.

And to complete the experience I sent these cute rice crispies pirates to school.  

Metamorphosis Monday

My Etsy Shop:

Carolyn Quartermaine

Carolyn Quarterman for Hotel Delos

     I just found my newest source of inspiration.  While zipping thru Pinterest I just ran into the most amazing artist:  Carolyn Quartermaine.  Having been away from the blogosphere in the past two years, I had completely kept her work out of my radar:  Hermes and Vogue stylist, fabric designer, painter...  Her work is sophisticated, but approachable.  Classic, but with a modern edge.  Her color use is absolutely refreshing after so many years of the dreary grays.  It just makes me plain happy.  I might just do my entire Christmas card line in bold pinks and bright oranges with a touch of robin's blue and a brush of gold.  There is nothing more invigorating than stepping out of our comfort zones into something magnificent!

Fall/Halloween Decor Round Up

Fall is upon us (even though it doesn't feel it one bit here in TX!).  In order to get my frame of mind in the mood for planning a Halloween Launch for late October I decided to share some old pictures of previous Halloween/ Fall decor that might inspire you to get started as well...

 This little vignette is super easy to achieve:  Spray paint an old urn, add some spray painted twigs, candy corn light string, some gourds and call it a day.  To add extra whimsy I made these cute little owl family (daddy, mommy, and baby)

 I'm not into gore, but note the blood drop rolling off of papa owl's beak.  It was just a nod to the vampire addiction in all of us.

Baby owl is a smaller version of his parents.  He is super cute!
I will be making 30 of these for the launch party.  Come back for a future post on that.  ;)

I'll be making one of these for the party as well. This one was a kit from Target last year.

Now, how easy is it to add a little hairy spider to a store bought wreath ( I found the wreath at Tuesday Morning)

 This cute little witch is getting a makeover for the party.  Think glamour, baby!!!

 On Halloween I added some black crystal to my carved pumpkin.  Awesomeness!!

 What's Fall without mums? Right?

Here are some super strong superheros ready to T or T.


METAMORPHOSIS MONDAY

My Etsy Shop:

Yummy Cupcake

My Etsy Shop

I just tried the Fun da-middles cupcake mix from Betty Crocker and it was pretty awesome.  It is a yummy chocolate cupcake mix with a creamy vanilla filling.  After they came out of the oven I topped them off with tiny marshmallows and put them under the broiler for a few seconds.  Awesome!  I am sending these to school tomorrow to celebrate my son's birthday.  I hope the kids like it.  :)

The topper came from my Explore. Dream. Discover collection.  I have drawn four adventurer's hats inspired by Mark Twain's quote:

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." 

A Baby Shower

     I had the honor of showering a dear friend for the birth of her baby girl.  Having only boys at headquarters, it sure is fun to think girly once in a while.  When I found out I was having a boy, I waddled myself as fast as I could to a quaint little housewares shop in Tulsa and bought me a beautiful tea set.  I was committed to keeping some sort of femininity in my life and a tea set just filled that need. So  the opportunity presented itself right here.  It was settled, I was throwing a tea party!

My tea set is the blue and white peacock one in the back.  I made all labels with my cricut machine.

I used tea canisters as containers for my flower arrangements.

A wide variety of teas were served to appeal to every palate.  Accoutrements such as lemon slices, honey, cream, and sugar cubes were also available.

Pink stripped paper straws added just amount of blush to the arrangement.

Amongst the activities we made paper flowers that mom later used to decorate the nursery.  The large prints in the back were my gift to the baby and made a beautiful background for this table.

A diaper cake set atop a wrapped box added just the right height to the table display.  The tissue filled  vases were an inexpensive way to re-inforce the pink and green color scheme.

What would a party be without a delicious sweets bar.  I set it in the middle of the room where all the guest gathered to play games and easily access the yummy candy.

Little butterfly finger sandwiches with cream cheese and herbs, cupcakes, flower shaped cookies, chocolate covered fruit, pineapple and skewers and homemade strawberry syrup, cheese sticks and nuts completed the menu.

If you have a minute, please visit my Etsy shop at: http://www.etsy.com/shop/CatherineHopkinsInc?ref=si_shop or by clicking on any of the images below.  Thank you for visiting! :)

Metamorphosis Monday

A Hopping Away Party

Hello blogfriends,

I wanted to share one of my parties with you.  It was a moving away party for some dear friends.  Pretty much everything I do involves kids, but my challenge is to make it interesting for the adults as well. This party was created based on a Serena and Lilly room that I knew my friend would love!

Of course I didn't run to buy Moroccan lanterns and custom fabrics, but I knew I could pull it off using the stuff that I had around the house and maybe find some inexpensive paper goods that might reflect the mood of the room.  Obviously green was the color of the day and what kid friendly motive would be more appropriate than a cute little frog hopping away (remember it was a moving away party).

I found napkins with a similar print as the fabric on the bed!

The kids got little frog eggs filled with goodies, and the adults took home frog notecards to keep in touch with the family once they move.

I set the kids' tables out back and we had a frog piñata full of froggy related treats.  The kids had a blast at the hopping race with the kid sized bouncing balls out in the yard. 

Here is my handsome boy hanging out!

At the end of the party, the children sent off balloons with messages of goodwill for the family that was moving away.  It was beautiful and quite moving!

And here I am with my froggy green dress next to my cupcake toppers.  I should have made some of them sit halfway up the stick for a hopping motion display, but it will have to way for the next party.  :/

I hope you enjoyed the brief look at my hopping away party.  If you would like to see some of the paper goods I offer at Etsy, please go here: http://www.etsy.com/shop/CatherineHopkinsInc?ref=si_shop .  

Please keep all communication shop related through Etsy by clicking the Contact button at the shop or send me an email at CatherineHopkinsDesigns[at]hotmail.com

Catherine Hopkins Designs, Inc. at Etsy

Hugs and Kisses,

Catherine

METAMORPHOSIS MONDAY