PARTY FOOD FOR A LUAU

Today we attending a Luau picnic.  We were asked to take a dessert.  With the picnic taking place outdoors I wanted to take something that was ‘finger food’ friendly and required no utensils for serving or eating.

My first thoughts were coconut and pineapple but was a little unhappy with what I saw whilst scouring the internet for ideas.

So what I came up with was these:

The recipe for the coconut balls … or should I say coconut shortbread cookies because that is essentially what they looked and tasted like after baking them … was from Martha Stewart.   I still can’t quite work out how hers looked like balls and mine flattened out a little more like cookies, but none-the-less they tasted pretty darn good. 

While still warm I put each on onto a small bamboo skewer (from Cost Plus World Market), and then once they had cooled I added a slice of pineapple.

A GIFT FOR YOUR GAMER

A little while ago I received an email about Guitar Hero On Tour.  My interest peaked.  Jay loves Guitar Hero.  He has a Guitar Hero for the Nintendo Wii which he’d received for Christmas.  I was being given the opportunity to review the Guitar Hero On Tour: Modern Hits for the Nintendo DS system.  I jumped at the chance.  Literally.  Jay was excited.

We left on vacation and that’s when the email arrived.  Your Guitar Hero On Tour: Modern Hits for the Nintendo DS system is being sent to you.  EEK! was my first response.  I knew Jay would be stoked.  Then the sweats started.  You see, not only were we on vacation but we were moving house.   I knew Jay would be disappointed if I had to pull out of the review so I sent off a quick email explaining the situation and they were kind enough to give me an extension on my review and low and behold his Guitar Hero On Tour: Modern Hits was waiting for us when we picked up the keys to our new house.  Phew.

Next problem.  His Nintendo DS was packed with the rest of our belongings.   It took days to wade through boxes before we finally tracked it down.  He was ‘supposed’ to bring it on vacation for the car ride so he wouldn’t be bored, but it accidentally got packed into a box. 

So finally, we have our act together.  Drum roll please ….. here it is, on tour at the playground.

and check out the stylus … it’s a guitar pick, that slots very nicely into the system.

Some of the features are:

• 28 master tracks from artists such as: Coldplay, Fall Out Boy, The Strokes, Weezer and Tenacious D
• Multiplayer modes
• Wireless feature that allows song streaming
• Jamming to songs in hyperspeed
• Fan requests

The cost:

• MSRP: $49.99 – includes Game and Guitar Grip

Rating:

• ESRB: E 10+ (Everyone 10 and older – Lyrics)

Jay thinks it’s great for playing away from home.  Especially in the car when the twins are hogging the DVD player and while he sits at the dog park waiting for the pooch during his play dates.  It wouldn’t surprise me if he hides it under his covers to play once his lights are supposed to be off too.

 

Thank you Mom Central for giving me the opportunity to review this product in connection with Guitar Hero On Tour.

IT’S A JUNGLE OUT THERE

The twins 3rd birthday is on the horizon and although normally I would have had this planned months ago, my mind keeps changing and so I’m starting to look at what is out there to get my creative juices flowing … hopefully before their birthday arrives.

Take a look at these fabulous Safari Party supplies I found on Shindigz. 

Leopard Patterned Gossamer.   Ranging in price from $19.99 for a 19” x 25 yard roll to $192.99 for a 60” x 100 yard roll.  Great for covering walls or tables.

Inflatable Animals.  $9.99 each.  This zebra stands 29” high.

Jungle Fun Color Your Own Bags.  $4.99 per dozen. Great activity for kids.  Plus, they can put their party favors and piñata candy in them. 

Jungle Animal Cake Toppers. $4.50 set of 4.

Wild Safari Print Balloons. $6.99 / 12 pack.

Jungle Explorer Set.  $16.99 for a set of 8.  These make fantastic party favors.  In fact a friend of mine gave these out to the little guests at a zoo party for her twins earlier in the year and my kids still play with theirs.

4TH OF JULY SWEETHEARTS

I was recently sent quite a few boxes of Sweethearts.  But not just any Sweethearts.  The new Red, White & You Sweethearts. 

This new line of Sweethearts launched just in time for 4th of July and are to honor America’s troops and celebrate America’s patriotism.

I couldn’t just eat all of the candy that was sent to me.   Instead my task was to share some creative ways you could use Sweethearts, not just for 4th of July, but year-round.

So this is my first idea … I will be back with more over the next couple of days.

Sweethearts Candy

These are super easy to make. 

Ingredients:

• Candy mold
• Candy melts (red, white & blue)
• Sweethearts - Red, White & You
• Vanilla icing

To make:

Follow the directions on the candy mold for making the candies … which is very easy, basically you melt the candy, pour into the mold and set in the refrigerator.

Once set, add a little bit of icing to the top and pop on a Sweetheart.

P.S.  The candy melts and candy mold were purchased from Michael’s.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the company for supporting the troops.  They have teamed up with the USO (United Service Organizations) to send the Red, White & You Sweethearts in care packages to American troops, both here in the U.S. and overseas.  As a military wife, I’m all for promoting companies who support the troops.

UTENSILS FIT FOR A LITTLE FOREMAN

I saw these advertised in the April 2009 edition of Family Fun magazine.  Perfect If you have a little one who loves all things construction. 

These are the Constructive Eating’s bulldozer pusher, fork lift fork and front loader spoon.   They have textured, easy grip handles and are dishwasher safe.   Perfect for the special birthday boy or girl, as a stocking filler or party favor (that can be used during the party as utensils too) for  your little foreman and his crew.

If you are wanting even more to go with this set, there is also a special plate and t-shirt available on the website and there is even a set in pink for your construction loving girl.

Another bonus is that the materials used to make these are approved by the FDA and are PVC free, phthalate free and BPA free.

GIVEAWAY WINNER

The winner of the Celebrate Chocolate giveaway is

Sandy Toes

I will email you shortly with details on how to claim your prize.  Congratulations.

CELEBRATE CHOCOLATE

 

If you are looking for a great gift, I suggest this one.   Especially for somebody like me who is a chocolate lover, but is after a healthier alternative.  So when I was given the opportunity to review the above  Celebrate Chocolate Truffles and Cocoa Almonds I was NOT about to pass up the opportunity.

Celebrate Chocolate Truffles are 100% natural.  They claim to satisfy your hunger and cut your cravings as well as maximize your nutrition, increase your Omega 3/DHA and boost your antioxidants.

To control your appetite it is suggested to eat 1 or 2 pieces 15 to 20 minutes before a meal.  Now I’ll be honest, this doesn’t work for me.  Why?  Well I’m a chocolate hog.  I really am.  You can ask anyone.  I normally devour piece after piece before it’s even hit my stomach.  I have not an ounce of willpower.  That’s not to say I didn’t try it this way, because I did for the first couple of days, but all I ended up with was a little taste of frustration as I waited for my meal because I wanted to eat more truffles.   So by day 3 I took a new tactic.  Instead of having 1 to 2 pieces before the meal, I decided to try and have 1 piece after my meal.  Go on laugh all you want, it kind of defeats the purpose for most, but not for me.  You see I’ve grown up eating dessert after every meal.  It’s how I was raised.  However, instead of eating a big bowl of ice-cream with topping and sprinkles, lemon meringue pie, or some other yummy fattening dessert I had just one chocolate truffle.  Just one was all I needed.  I was reasonably full from dinner and this one piece gave me the sweet fix I craved.

I always worry about chocolate being sent in the mail.  I fear that it may melt, especially if I don’t pick up my mail quickly, however these were delivered with cool packs and arrived in perfect condition.  I refrigerated them straight away. I do love my truffles chilled.

Giveaway

One person is going to be lucky enough to enjoy these truffles too.  Celebrate Life Nutrition will give one winner the boxes you see pictured above (which is exactly what I tried) plus samples of the new products.

To enter my giveaway please do the following:

Visit and bookmark the new Celebrate Life Nutrition website.   Let me know in the comments that you have done this and also something you think you would love about this product.

Of course I’ll give you bonus entries for doing any of these things too:

• If you use Blogger, become a ‘follower’
• Subscribe to my blog
• Become a fan of my blog on Facebook
• Follow me on twitter
• Place my button on your own site
• Promote this giveaway – blog, twitter, stumble etc.  Leave me a link.

This giveaway is open to all residents of the United States and ends at 10pm PST on Friday 19th June, 2009 when the winner will be drawn by Random.

FAIRY PARTY

For those who don’t read my other two blogs, I took Marisol to a fairy festival yesterday. 

If you would like to see how I put her costume together, please visit my Currently Crafting blog and if you would like to see the rest of the photographs from the festival, including the fairy tea party lunch we attended, please visit my blog A day in my life.  I hope the photographs will give you a few ideas if you plan on hosting a fairy tea party.

PANDORA PLASTIC

I was reading the August 2008 edition of Oprah’s magazine ‘O’ tonight while the twins took a bath … yes I’m that behind on my magazine reading and bath time is generally the only time I can ever find time to flick over all the glossy pages.

Look what made ‘the O list’:

 

These are Pandora Designs cutlery sets.  Made to resemble fine silver with their stamped design they are perfect for parties and picnics, albeit a little pricey (ranging between $20-$30 for a 4-piece set) BUT they can be re-used and are apparently dishwasher safe.

The colors available are: Opaque White, Black, Coral, Transparent Orange, Pink, Purple, Blue, and Clear and can be purchased from Rose and Radish - $27 per 4-piece set.  Barney’s also offer this set in Grey for $30.

So instead of forking out money (no pun intended) time and time again on cutlery for various kids and outdoor parties and picnics, it may be worth it to invest in a re-useable set.

AND THE WINNER …

of the $75 gift certificate to Fancy Fortune Cookies is:

Rocksee – At the porch swing

CONGRATULATIONS!