Nicole, Author at Life's Tidbits

30Mar 2015

The Cake Smash That Wasn’t

First birthday cake smash photos are just the cutest! Little hands and smiles covered in frosting just melts my heart. As Jellybean’s birthday approached I got increasingly excited at the idea of her cake smash. On her birthday my parents entertained Jellybean while I got to baking. I made the vanilla cake and pink buttercream frosting {from scratch} and anxiously awaited the hubby getting home from work so we could sing to the birthday girl and then watch Jellybean get her cake smash on.

I envisioned how cute Jellybean would look covered in pink frosting. I hoped I would snap a really cute photo that could be used on her birthday ‘thank you’ cards. The camera was set out on the table, charged and ready to go!

We took some ‘practice’ shots of Jellybean with her princess birthday hat on while she ate her dinner.

The hubby, my parents and my husband’s parent (via Skype) sang ‘Happy Birthday’ and Jellybean just looked at us with that little furrow brow she has when she’s unsure of what’s happening. With the cake in front of her I stepped back to snap what one would only assume would be an adorable face and then …

We realized she didn’t like the cake. No, it wasn’t that she didn’t like the cake, but instead she was afraid … Yup, completely terrified of the cake! We all started pontificating what might be the matter. She was tired, wasn’t hungry, and so on. And while we discussed her face said it all, “someone to make that cake disappear … STAT!

Completely baffled, we took the cake away, put her on the floor with the cake and then my baby girl cried. It’s my cake and I’ll cry if I want to! It was hard not to laugh at how much she most certainly did NOT like the cake. For a child who has never shown any signs of fear, is was a strange sight!!! All I can think when I see this picture is ‘no one puts baby {and a cake} in the corner”. Tee hee hee =)

We tried again a few days later at her winter ONEderland birthday party and met with similar results. A little scrunched up face, followed by some crying and no cake smash.

Despite there being no cake smash for Jellybean’s 1st birthday; we did get one hilarious story to tell over and over again. I’m sure we will embarrass her at some point when we whip out these photos in front of her friends, or better yet a future boyfriend hahahaha {pending Daddy’s approval for her to date, of course}.

Anyone else’s baby not like cake?!

24Mar 2015

{Recipe} Chicken & Broccoli Casserole

by Nicole ⋅ Leave a Comment

Sometimes it’s a little tricky finding recipes that are both adult and kid friendly. Over the past few weeks I’ve been trying to add more food variety to Jellybean’s diet. Which seems to mean we all need to eat the same thing for dinner at least a few nights a week. Hamburger casserole and lemon chicken stew have been my go to family dinner recipes over the past few weeks and while they make great lunch we just need some new recipes in the mix.

Enter Pinterest – side note I think there’s a possibility Pinterest will replace Googling at least in some cases – and with a few clicks I found some great chicken and broccoli casserole dishes. I made a few modifications to this recipe and voila a delicious family friendly dinner!

Chicken & Broccoli Casserole Recipe

1 Tbls Coconut Oil (or vege or olive oil)
1 lb Chicken Breasts – cubed/bitesize
2-3 Cups Fresh Broccoli – chopped/bitesize
1 Small Onion Diced
1 tsp poultry seasoning
Salt & Pepper – to taste
1 can Cream of Mushroom Soup
3 Tbls Mayonnaise
1/4 cup water
1 and 1/2 Cups Shredded White Cheddar Cheese
1 cup raw white rice (cooked)

Cook the rice per the instructions on the box. I like to substitute the water for chicken broth to add a little extra flavor!

Meanwhile in a large skillet or dutch over add oil, chicken, broccoli, onion, poultry seasoning and salt/pepper. Cook over medium heat until the chicken is done.

Add in the soup, mayo and water gently mix until well incorporated. Mix in the rice. Turn the heat down to low and let it simmer for a few minutes.

Makes about 6 servings.

I think Jellybean was a little puzzled as to why I was being such a paparazzi while she ate her dinner!

This recipe is pretty delicious and the whole family approved…yay! I’m happy to have one new recipe, but I would love to add at least another 3-5 new {easy} dinners into our rotation.

What are your go to family friendly recipes that toddlers love?

06Mar 2015

Mini Fashionista – St. Patrick’s Day

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St. Patty’s Day is just around the corner! It’s so much fun shopping for holiday themed outfits. For Valentine’s day, Jellybean and I wore similar outfits. A fellow mom on the plane {we went on a family vacation to Mexico … much needed vaca!} comment on how cute we looked. It totally made my day!! The husband just shook his head, almost to say to the woman ‘please don’t encourage my wife’. Hahaha. And while I won’t be dressing up for St. Patrick’s Day … since I will be at work … I still want Jellybean dressed to impress!! While I was focused on the girl clothes, I couldn’t help but poke around and check out all the cute boy St. Patty’s Day fashion out there.

Here are some of my favorite finds …

Headband / Little Sham Rocker / Green Polo / Long Sleeve Shamrock Bodysuit / Shamrock Glasses / Snoopy #Lucky / White Shamrock T-Shirt / Sparkle Shoes / Mickey T-Shirt / Bow Tie My First St. Patrick’s Day

Unfortunately I won’t be purchasing those adorable sunglasses as I know Jellybean won’t leave them on for even enough time for me to snap a good photo … there’s always next year!

What St. Patty’s Day clothing is your favorite? Any good fashion finds you care to share?

Happy {Fashionista} Friday!!

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02Mar 2015

Winter ONEderland 1st Birthday Party

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I love themed parties. LOVE THEM! So when it came to planning Jellybean’s first birthday party I immediately took to Pinterest to brainstorm ideas for themes. It didn’t take long before I settled on a Winter ONEderland theme. I pinned FAR TOO MANY details in hopes of being able to pulling them all off for the party. Then planning came to a complete stop. Work, life, motherhood and {some much needed} evening relaxation trumped party planning.

I had my heart set on sending out paper invites instead of doing an Evite for Jellybean’s first birthday. I managed to motivate, design and print (using Vistaprint) the invitation just in time to get them out a few weeks before the party. When the husband and I sat down to discuss decorations, food and other details he had one rule for me. I had to LIMIT how much I took on for the party. This meant doing things such as buying vegetables precut and not embarking on tons of DIY projects. The hubby knows me well and putting a few restrictions in place helped me not go overboard.

Despite the party planning procrastination I am incredibly pleased with how the Jellybean’s first birthday party turned out. Not to mention … how special and love we felt to have so many friends and family there to celebrate our little snow baby’s 1st birthday!

Jellybean in her Winter Onederland Birthday Girl Outfit … and yes I love playing ‘stylist’ for my sweet daughter. She’s already got that stoic model face down :)

Snowflake Onsie and Pants (Carter’s) | Tutu and Headband (Etsy)

And now for all the party details!!!

The strawberry tower was so easy to make though a bit time consuming. All you need are a bunch of strawberries, toothpicks and a styrofoam cone. It was easiest to put the toothpick into the cone at an angle and then put the strawberry on … go slowly I definitely pricked myself a couple of times with the toothpicks.

Details:
Water Bar: Snowflake Paper Straws | Baby It’s Cold Outside FREE Printable | Picture Frame | Glass Drink Dispenser
Decorations: Let it Snow Doorway Curtain | Plastic Clear Snowflakes Table Cover | Snowflake Cutouts
Cupcakes: Editable Snowflakes
Chalkboard Poster: DIY using PhotoShop and printed at Staples … DIY instructions can be found here
Thank You Table: Snowflake Treat Bags | Thank You Snow Much Sign (DIY) | Snowflake Stampers | Snowflake Cookie Cutters

What was the theme of the most recent party you threw?

25Feb 2015

Bachelorette Party: Kamasutra Drinks

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Last June my girl Erin got MARRIED! The wedding was beautiful and the husband, Jellybean and I had an amazing time. I am just so honored to have been her Matron of Honor. Though we aren’t related by blood this girl is like a sister to me. Our birthdays are just 10 days apart and we’ve know each other our entire lives … we met while our parents were preparing for our birth at lamaze class. But enough mushy stuff, let’s talk about the bachelorette party!

The bachelorette party and bridal shower were held the same weekend. I already shared the Badass Bachelorette Survival Kits we made for each of the ladies for the big night out. What I haven’t shared was the theme for the evening or the details of the pre-party. I’m ashamed it has taken me so long to get this post together!

Saturday night was ‘sex’ themed … yeah, I know, but it’s a bachelorette party. The night was broken into three groups …

“Foreplay” – Drinks/Bachelorette Games/Pantie Game
“Midpoint” – Dinner
“Climax” – Dancing!

The other DC based bridesmaid’s came up with the fantastic idea of doing Kamasutra themed drinks during the “foreplay” portion of the evening. They were so tasty and the at the bachelorette really like the little details and descriptions of each of the drinks. Assuming I am remembering correctly after searching my emails (errr why didn’t I do this earlier again?!) there were 4 drinks…

The Perfect Manhattan and the Kamasutra Probe (sweet vermouth, extra dy vermouth, bitters, bourbon)
The sexy devil (vodka, cranberry, dry vermouth, lemon peel, cherry)
The Naked Martini (It’s a take on the classic dirty martini).
Can’t find the name … POUT … Vodka, grapefruit and rosemary (pictured above)