Cinco de Mayo is one of our absolute favorite Holidays.  Cinco de Mayo celebrates Mexican heritage and pride and is a great reason to get together with your family and friends.  From the décor, to the music, to the food, there’s nothing we don’t love about this day!  So, today we’re here to help you host a magnifico celebration!

The Little Things:

• Buy batches of colorful flowers and place in short vases
• Stream colorful paper banners and flowers along your yard
• Buy fresh peppers and place in large glass bowls as food table décor
• Place mini-cactus’ along long tables
• Use maracas for your place settings
• Give every female guest a paper flower for their hair and every male guest a sombrero
• Have a piñata for the kids!
• Serve sopapillas and fried ice cream for dessert

The Ultimate Playlist:

Bidi Bidi Bom Bom by Selena Quintanilla Perez

La Bamba by Ritchie Valens

Macarena by Los Del Rio

La Cucaracha by The Hit Crew

Hot Hot Hot by Buster Poindexter

Your Attire:

French Connection Gwendoline Flower Dress, Ray Ban Large Metal Aviators, Rebecca Minkoff Neon Park Avenue Clutch, Sam Edelman Josie Wedges

Ultra Healthy Guacamole:

The best guacamole is made with the freshest ingredients… this recipe has been a classic in our families for years.  It’s diet friendly and also includes healthy, detoxifying spices!

2 avocados

½ cup of pico

½ lemon

garlic salt

lemon pepper

cayenne pepper

Mix avocadoes with pico (the chunkier the avocadoes, the better!), add garlic salt, lemon pepper and 2 pinches of cayenne pepper.  Squeeze lemon over guac (this adds a tang and also keeps your guac from turning brown!).  Serve with pita chips.  Serves 3-4

Our Favorite Skinny Rita:

3 ounces Patron

2 ounces fresh lime juice*

1 ounce agave nectar

Mix in shaker with ice, pour into two salt-rimmed glasses, garnish with limes.  *Use grapefruit juice for a delicious grapefruit rendition!

We are so excited for Saturday & hope that everyone enjoys their celebration!  Adios!

Kelli & Lisa

Z Gallerie Portofino Pavilion

It’s green out, the weather is perfect, the sunsets are beautiful… it’s time for a backyard rendezvous!  To get ready for your backyard cocktail party, you need to first set the scene!

• Add sand and candles to mason jars and place around your backyard.  They look adorable hanging from trees as lanterns if you attach a wire handle.
• String white lights throughout your trees or bushes (you can order these online for only $5!).
• Spread scented candles around inside & outside.
• Use your potted plants as centerpieces.
• Our FAVORITE accessory for these parties is the bar cart.  This is a must for every household!

Other tricks of the trade:

• Start up your fire pit and have a s’mores bar for guests to make their own s’mores dessert!
• Send everyone home with seeds to plant in their backyard.
• Brew your own beer as a fun drink option.
• Keep food cool and refreshing – think fruit, iced beverages & chilled desserts.
• Don’t be afraid to serve an assortment of bite-sized goodies instead of a full meal.  Guests actually enjoy the mingling with finger foods!  Just make sure there’s plenty!
• Keep bug repellent packs near your back door for guests to use before they step outside.  Another great DIY option is peppermint oil which repels most insects, especially mosquitos and fleas.  Dab the oil on focal points of your clothing or skin.  Or mix 1 part peppermint oil with 10 parts rubbing alcohol and put in a spray bottle for guests to easily apply.
• Be sure to have charms or labels on hand for everyone’s drinks.

Our favorite place to stock up on backyard party items is Z Gallerie, here are our favorites:

Clockwise from left: Fete Appetizer Set, Trio Beverage Dispenser (great for 3 types of Sangria!), Silver Nest Placemats, Pebble Starfish Plates in antique turquoise, Silver Seaburst Napkin Ring

And our favorite, refreshing summer cocktail… a Cucumber & Cantaloupe Cooler:

Made with organic cucumber vodka, basil simple syrup and lemon juice.  Garnish with a slice of cucumber & cantaloupe!  So delicious!

Enjoy your backyard soirée!

Kelli & Lisa

Cake pops, those little balls of cake on a stick, are everywhere these days, and for good reason—they’re moist, delicious, cute, and fun to eat, and they’re easy and fun to make, too. Why not roll up a batch for your next party, play date, or special occasion?

When it comes down to it, cake pops are just balls of cake, mixed with frosting to keep them moist and hold everything together. You can make them with leftover cake or bake a cake specifically to make into cake pops.

To make these, you’ll need:

• One cake (from a 9 x 13” rectangular cake pan—we used chocolate, but your favorite flavor will do)
• 8 ounces (½ pound) cream cheese, at room temperature
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
• 1 tablespoon milk (or more)
• Lollipop or small popsicle sticks (available at craft stores)
• 2 12-ounce bags white, dark, or milk chocolate chips
• Sprinkles, colored sugar, and other decorations

This recipe ends up making between 18 and 24 cake pops, depending on the size.

Let cake cool if it’s freshly baked, then break it up into a large mixing bowl and call the kids. Let them crumble the cake into fine crumbs.

Meanwhile, make a batch of cream cheese frosting by whipping together the cream cheese, powdered sugar, butter, and milk (add more milk if the frosting is too thick). You can use ready-made frosting, instead, if you like.

Mix the frosting into the crumbled cake with a wooden spoon and then mix with your fingers until all the frosting is incorporated. At this point, you can refrigerate the cake pop mixture for an hour or so until it firms up. Line two baking sheets with waxed paper and set aside.

With your hands, roll the cake mixture into small balls about an inch-and-a-half in diameter; place the balls on the waxed paper and keep making cake balls until you’ve used up all the mixture.

Place a lollipop stick in each ball, then put them in the freezer for at least 30 minutes so they harden a bit.

While the cake pops are in the freezer, melt the chocolate chips in a double boiler. You’ll probably need about two 12-ounce bags of chocolate chips for a batch of cake pops.

Making the cake balls is pretty simple, but this next part involves a little technique—and of course a hot burner—so it should be done by a grownup. Dip each pop into the melted chocolate and coat thoroughly. It may take a couple tries to get it down where you’re not putting too much on, but your kids will probably help you eat any of the test pops that don’t turn out.

While the chocolate is still soft, roll cake pops in sprinkles or colored sugar to decorate. You can also decorate them with colored icing after they cool. Place cake pops back on the waxed paper and let chocolate cool and harden at room temperature. You can tie ribbons around the sticks for a festive appearance.

These cake pops are rich, moist, and the perfect treat for a special occasion. Enjoy!

Game on!  Sunday, February 5^th marks Super Bowl XLVI Patriots vs. Giants.  What a great game day we had on Sunday which forecasts an amazing Super Bowl Sunday!  Of course we’re thinking beyond the game, and onto what we’ll do this year for our Super Bowl party.

The details:

• Use your best mixology skills to create themed drinks for the Patriots and Giants; we like using Gatorade or Powerade, you can then mix in soda water and vodka and add blueberries (Patriots) and strawberries (Giants) for garnish.
• Use football shaped ice trays so that guests can be surprised by footballs floating in their drink!
• Dress your waters in referee jerseys (koozies) and have guests take a ‘time out’ between drinks with referees (waters)!
• Use glitter paper as the turf for your football themed desserts!  This gives added depth and dimension to your table.
• Give each guest eye black stickers and whistles for them to wear during the game.  This intensifies the atmosphere!
• Beer mug candles (available at party stores) complete the perfect ambiance.
• Load up on game day attire from Victoria’s Secret’s PINK NFL tees!  They are too cute and fit like a glove!
• Download the NFL theme songs to play as background music outside/in the kitchen!

Now for our fave game day recipe… with a bite!

Buffalo Chicken Dip Recipe

8 oz cream cheese softened

1/2 cup mozzarella or blue cheese

1/2 cup ranch or blue cheese salad dressing

25 oz canned chicken

1/2 cup hot sauce

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a pan, whisk cream cheese until smooth. Add dressing, cheese, hot sauce and chicken stirring until mixed. Bake for 20 minutes or until bubbling. Stir and serve with vegetables, chips or crackers.

We have to admit, we’re almost more excited for the commercials, and Madonna’s halftime performance, than the game!  Can’t wait!

Kelli & Lisa

New Year’s Eve is a great time to gather with friends, reflect on memories from the previous year and make resolutions for a brand new year. We love the tradition of New Year’s Eve and the fresh start everyone is granted year after year. Whether you’re throwing a big soiree or keeping it small with close friends, we’re sharing our favorite NYE ideas with you.

The most important part of any NYE party is a festive atmosphere. We’re big fans of repurposing items you already have around the house. Turning champagne glasses into candles by placing votives inside or reusing mini ornaments from the Christmas tree combined with champagne glasses and your favorite cake plate to make a grand centerpiece. 

Keep things meaningful and play a slideshow of photos from the previous year on your Apple TV, re-decorate your tree with disco ball ornaments, sprinkle edible star glitter on your desserts and don’t forget to go all out with sparkle and star attire to help seal your midnight kiss (we love necklaces that feature a timepiece to ring in the New Year!).

1) Cover your tree with disco ball ornaments – F21 2) Play a slideshow featuring the year’s biggest events, and funniest moments, via your Apple TV – Apple Store 3) Crystal encrusted star necklace – F21 4) Track the countdown, to the countdown, with a necklace clock! – F21 5) Clock wine bottle stopper (this is a MUST!) – Z Gallerie

When it comes to feeding your guests a little can go a long way. Cheers to 2012 with these easy to make champagne jello shots that will make jaws drop.

Champagne Jello Shots

Ingredients:

1 package of Jello (flavor or color of your choice)

1 cup of boiling water

1 bottle of chilled Champagne

Directions:

Combine Jello and water into a bowl and stir until powder dissolves. Let set and return to room temperature. Slowly stir in bottle of champagne. Pour into ice cube tray or mold of your choice and refrigerate overnight (or until set). When ready to serve, dip trays into hot water for 5 seconds and loosen with a knife around the outside of each shot. Add edible glitter or festive garnish of your choosing.

Happy New Year! We wish you health and happiness in 2012. We’ll see you back here on Shop Talk next year!

 Kelli and Lisa