Glamour This!

Pulled this post out of the archives. Figured it was the perfect first post to put on the blog after I launched Sucre + Confetti. 

A couple of weeks ago we celebrated Mavrick’s first birthday. I’ve been thinking & planning his birthday I would say at the 6 month mark. (Yes, I’m a little nuts when it comes to planning stuff) But I wanted it to be a memorable one. What can I say, that’s the designer in me.  Ever since he’s been a baby, I always said Mavrick looks like one of those vintage babies… so the idea to have a vintage newspaper boy themed birthday party seemed to be the perfect match.

I asked my father to hand over months of newspapers (once he was done reading them, of course) and I used them throughout the event. I designed a vintage style newspaper invitation that I sent to family and friends just to give them a feel of what was to come. (ha, the surprise that was awaiting them)

For the decorations I purchased Accordian Blue Paper Lanterns, crepe paper streamers and I DIY newspaper streamers to create the backdrop for the table. I also found on etsy some newsprint fabric that I used as table runners. I had some left over white 17″ balloons that I hung from our maple tree and purchased 36″ balloons and tied them around our pool. I used newsprint to DIY a “Mavrick” Banner I tied in the front of the table.

To go with the color theme of gray,white, black and blue, I opted to make a blue punch (which was really good, refreshing and easy to make (see bottom of post for recipe) I reused some baby food containers to serve as glasses. I purchased some striped paper straws  and wrapped the glasses with some newsprint fabric

Seeing the theme was vintage related, I wanted the menu to reflect food from that time as well. I mean why not go all that way? So I decided to make  mini burgers, mini hot dogs, fries with vintage containers, mac & cheese, grill cheese and smoke meat. All homemade. I decided to put the crudités in vases to make it more interesting, and I made salad on a stick (tomato, cucumber, cheese and fresh basil)

As for the desserts I made, I also wanted to make some sweets they had back in the days so mini chocolate chip cookies, rice krispies squares, chocolate dipped marshmallows were a must and I made cake balls,  cupcakes, cake and mini fruit skewers. I even had bazooka gum, blue rock candy swizzle sticks and homemade popsicles.

For the cake, I decided to make it two-toned to mimic the colors of the newspaper. You don’t see it that clearly but there were a beige and two grayish layers. I decided to make dots all over the cake just for the fun of it. I DIYed a streamer cake topper with ribbon and fabric to really tie in the background decor and the cake.

What would be a birthday boy without a birthday hat? I DIYed a newspaper hat with a big fat “1″ on it. He didn’t really love wearing it, but the cake distracted him so we were able to capture a few shots. Seeing I wanted Mavrick to really indulge in his birthday cake, I made a mini vanilla cake him with a little less sugar. Let me tell you he loved it, and of course there was cake all over the place.

The party was a huge success and everyone enjoyed the food and all the little details of the event. I want to say a huge thank you to my family and friends (you know who you are) for helping me out to make Mavi’s birthday a success. A shout out to my talented photographer Christina for capturing all these great memories. I have to admit, I’m looking forward to next year :]

Resources

• 36″ Balloons:  5.25$ each // Sucre + Confetti
• Newspaper Print Fabric :  12$ / yard // Etsy Seller Cottonholic
• Drink Dispenser : 19$ //  Costco
• Newspaper Invitations //  Sucre + Confetti
• Paper Straws : $4 for 25 //  Sucre + Confetti
• Blue Paper Lanterns : $8.99 // Martha Stewart Celebrate
• Cupcake Stand (DIYed with newpaper trim): $10 // Martha Stewart
• Coloured Streamers : $4 // Local Dollar Store
• Bazooka Gum & Sugar Swivel Sticks  // Bulk Barn 
• Vintage Milk Bottles // Already Owned (purchased at thrift shops)
• Two Sided Standing Frame : $0.99 // Ikea
• Blue Milk Basket // Already Owned (purchased at Home Sense)
• Vintage Straw Dispenser // Already Owned (purchased on Amazon)
• Paper containers & checkered wax paper  // Gift (purchased at Abc Emballuxe)

Images courtesy of : Christina Esteban Photography

Well hello blog, hello readers (if you are still around after my lack of posting) I hope you are doing well and have had a great 2013 this far. I’ve been busy on my end (clearly seeing the lack of posts) and I can’t wait to share with you my big announcement.

For the longest time, I’ve always wanted to have my own business, my own shop… but I never really knew what would work, what was right for me. I’ve opened several businesses in the past with partners and unfortunately that didn’t work out so well, so I decided I was going to do something solo and kick ass at it. I want to have a store that I can merchandise, make pretty and entice others to buy. Okay sure that’s not going to happen right now now, but I give myself 3 years. What am I talking about? I decided to open up a baking + party supply shop called : Sucre + Confetti

What made me take the jump? I still get requests about Mavrick’s first birthday (almost 2 years later) asking me either about the invitation design or where I got the elements of the party. I love designing themes and making them come to life, but planning wasn’t exactly what I wanted to do. I wanted to provide ideas to those who lack them and bring new, fresh, modern, colorful party + baking supplies to make it all happen.

Sure it’s nothing new, we know many online stores with this kind of stuff. Stuff like : paper straws, big 36″ balloons, treat bags, treat sticks, washi tape, garlands, paper plate… etc. But it’s certainly something that is lacking in Canada, even more so in Montreal. We are so hip when it comes to design & fashion but lacking in fun (not tacky) party decor. I decided enough was enough and that I would become the #1 source of sweet + stylish decor.

My site is under-construction but I invite you to like my facebook page to stay up to date. I’ve decided to change my Instagram handle from blushink to @Sucreconfetti and will plan to switch up my twitter and pinterest accounts soon. What will happen to Blushink? I will simply become Sucre + Confetti and I will offer design services under my new name. (So don’t be scared to contact me for design services if you are interest)

What will happen to my blog? It will stay … but I’ll probably change the name for it to be more “party related” I was thinking “C’est la Fête!” or something along those lines. That won’t be for a bit though so please bare with me as I try to work all of this out.

Phew… if you are still reading, hats off to you! Looking forward to sharing my new venture with you. Don’t forget to like my facebook page! Merci!

When I received an email in my inbox announcing the launch of the Peter Rabbit collection at Baby Gap, my heart skipped a beat even before I even checked out what they had to offer. I love love love Peter Rabbit. It’s a very nostalgic book for me and I wanted to pass it on to my kids. I try to read it to Mavrick (though he still isn’t super interested yet) but I can’t wait until he becomes a fan as well.

I browsed both the boy and girl collections and thought it might be nice to make a mini fashion board for the bebes. I love practically everything in both the boy and girl collection, and if it’s like every other “limited edition” collection, it will sell out extremely fast!

My favorite boy outfit would have to be the first one. The Rabbit sweater, mustard pants and navy twill boat shoes. I cute would your little one look in an outfit like this. (Kinda makes me wish Mavrick still fit in 0-24 months)

For the baby girls, the first thing that caught my attention was the mustard rabbit dress and I knew that would be my favorite. Paired with some mustard polka dot skinnies … how could you resist the cuteness. I also love when babies where one pieces and that pink one with ruffles sleeves is just perfect!

Have you checked out the Peter Rabbit collection ? Will you get something for your little one?

Who would of thought that the words ‘good for you’ +  ’chocolate cake’ could ever be used in the same sentence. Definitely not me!  So when a friend sent me a recipe for a healthy chocolate cake, I was curious. I’ve been trying to cut the amount of sweets I have been eating to help shed those last few extra pounds. I’m a sucker for dessert and when I finally accepted that I can’t live my life without a chocolate something, I decided to give this healthy chocolate cake recipe a try. I have to admit I was a little sceptical. Who wouldn’t be with a cake made with…. wait for it…. black beans!

I adapted the recipe from Healthy Indulgences because I wasn’t able to find all the ingredients (I’m not even sure if they are available in Canada) so I made minor changes, for the better I think. As for the chocolate butter cream frosting, I made a standard version with confectioners sugar (I know, not super healthy… but again the lack of ingredients didn’t allow for a healthy option). To be honest it was too sweet to pair with this cake… I actually preferred it without or simply have a small amount between the layers (if you are stacking the cake).

Now for the verdict….

The result… AHMAZING! I can’t believe I am saying this but you MUST give this cake a try. It is so yummy, moist and you would never guess it has no flour or sugar let alone made with beans. I kept the ‘secret ingredient’ from the hubs because I knew he wouldn’t want to taste it if he knew. When he told me it was the best chocolate cake he has ever eaten, I couldn’t help but be giddy, and when I told him what it was made of, he didn’t believe me.

I will certainly make this cake again… why wouldn’t you when it low in calories (compared to what I’ve been used to all these years) I’m looking forward to trying to make a vanilla version of this cake, but let me say I have a feeling I will be baking with beans more often. I have included the recipe if you’d like to give it a try… but like I said, you should (and you won’t regret it)

Makes a 9″ one layer cake

Ingredients:

• 1-15 ounce can of unseasoned black beans OR 1 1/2 cup cooked beans, any color
• 5 large eggs
• 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 6 tablespoons unsalted organic butter
• 1/2 cup + 3 Tablespoons honey
• 6 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon aluminum-free baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Seeing I’ve been intense in the couponning department, I was laughing when I saw this infographic about the profiles of a coupon user. I have to admit, I’ve gone through pretty much every stage …

after 6 months of intense couponning, I’d like to consider myself a perfect blend of all 3 (clearly not a newbie anymore). Let’s just say I adapt myself to the current weekly sales with my binder in hand. What profile are you?

Via | CouponCabin.com

When Sienna was born, I knew I wanted to get a newborn shoot done earlier than I did with Mavrick, but unfortunately baby girl got sick 7 days after being home so mama had to wait until her nose was no longer stuffy. Since Sienna was smaller than her brother at birth and she loved being in a little ball, I was certain it wouldn’t be an issue this time around.

I put on my thinking cap and starting thinking of themed shoots. I hadn’t done a themed shoot with Mavrick which was fine, but I wanted to opt for something a little more original this time around. Sienna, since birth has been a big drinker. She LOVES milk (well all newborns do – right?). So I decided to have a vintage milk shoot as one of the themes.

I had all these props at home alread: wire basket, milk bottles of various sizes and a wooden wine rack, that I decided to use for the milk instead. So when my photographer friend saw me arrive with all my props and milk (oh yes, I brought my own milk), she couldn’t help but chuckle. She said she expected nothing less of me. I even designed a milk sign.

The other theme I decided to do was a vintage bath theme. I’m a little intense with the vintage – what can I say, I’m a fan! So I grabbed what I had in my house and staged the studio. I used blue mason jars to put cotton balls and Q-tips, rolled up face cloths, books for reading during bath time and some tin containers I purchased from Target years ago. The bath shoot was a little less successful then the milk one, but I was able to get a few good shots.

Usually once the themed shoots are done, I like to take a few shots with baby, but unlike her brother she did the ugliest faces haha. Maybe it was the flash, but she was making the biggest eyes ever! We were only able to capture 2 pictures that were worth saving. At least I was able to get one with my baby girl!

I find she looks so different now, which is why it’s so important to take newborn pictures. It’s great to capture those first weeks. Sienna was about 20 days here (so not really newborn) but still, it’s a great memory to have and you’ll enjoy looking at them when your little one is even bigger.

Have you ever considered an original themed shoot?

How I’m happy to see you! Sure you’ve already been here for 4 days already but it’s never to late to say hello, right? You might be asking why I’m so happy 2013 is here. Well lets just say that 2012 was a pretty intense year. Rough in every sense of the word and tested my desire for pretty much anything that I came across. Tested my patience, my endurance, my will, my relationships basically anything you can think of. That’s also a big reason why I’ve been MIA for a while. My desire to blog, to share my life with the world was non-existant, and once I saw the light at the end of the tunnel, the happy me slowly started to emerge again.

2012 wasn’t all bad. I had a wonderful end of pregnancy, a wonderful birth to baby Sienna, two wonderful healthy kids, a husband that loves me and not to mention loving family & friends… but unfortunately the bad outweighed the good. So au revoir 2012… you will not be missed.

What are my plans for 2013? Pretty big ones I’d like to think. Back in 2012, it was all about image. Self image, blog image, house etc. And while I can’t say I’ve fully completed those plans (euh hello, do you see a new blog design, nope… failed on that end) but it wasn’t all a waste. We massively renovated and moved stuff around the house to make space for Sienna, I lost lots of weight after she was born, and I continued to buy a piece or two a month to improve my wardrobe.

So what does 2013 have in store? Continuing to work on my 101 in 1001 list which ends this year (and I’m far from completing) so one thing I’m doing is cooking/baking a new recipe a week and I post pictures on my instagram and use the hashtag #1recipeaweek2013. I just find instagraming is so much faster than blogging (when you can’t find the time – life with two kids is hectic) but that will change… because I started working on my new blog design. (finally) and hope to have it up and running before I go back to work full time in April.

Also another important element in my goals for 2013, budget! money! debt! all of that. Because of our crappy financial situation last year and problems after problems, my goal to be debt free by my 30th birthday is no longer possible. (snif snif) but that doesn’t mean that it won’t happen. It will simply take a little longer to achieve. I did start to coupon intensely and boy oh boy it was a lifesaver. I was able to save 20-40$ a week just with coupons, so ya, I’ll keep doing that in 2013. So what did I do the first moment 2013 arrived, I was on my computer working on my budget, filling out all the necessary information on Mint.com to make sure we stay on track. We can do it. With a lot of sacrifices and the will. Does that mean that I won’t shop anymore? hmmm, probably for a while (unless its necessary or ridiculously on sale) but honestly my desire to get out of this mess outweighs any new pair of shoes (gosh i can’t believe I just said that)

Lastly, the whole image theme is part of 2013 as well. Sure I lost all the baby weight and then some, but I am far (25 lbs, oh no as of this morning 23 lbs away) from my goal so I give myself all year to reach it and hopefully keep it off. Winter is tough because I don’t go out much, but come spring I’ll start doing activities again. I’m basically counting calories and logging it using MyFitnessPal. So if you want to encourage me, or need someone to encourage you, then add me! (i’m blushink)

I’ll try and blog about my personal experiences in all of these areas, but bring more design back to the blog. I need to be inspired, I need to start crafting again, and I need to buy glitter. Oh wait, I can’t buy it, anyone want to give me some? Because honestly, how do I not own glitter?! Sometimes I think I have it all wrong!

What are your plans for 2013. Don’t call them resolutions but goals to a better something.

In May 2013, I will no longer be in my twenties. I have to say that I’ve accomplished much in the last 9 years so it’s only fair I celebrate being 30 with a bang. I’ve always wanted to plan a big party but with Sienna’s 1st birthday I week before mine, I think my celebrating might be held off for a bit. One thing for sure is I did not want to compromise on my gift. As soon as I turned 29, I started thinking about what I would want for my 30th. Then it hit me. Something I could never buy for myself because I couldn’t justify the expense, but a perfect opportunity to get it as a milestone gift.

What am I talking about?! Well a KitchenAid Artisan Mixer of course, and not any color… the pistachio… ah be still my heart.

From the moment I figured out what I wanted, I told my mom, dad, stepmom basically anyone who wanted to pitch in so I could have the mixer of my dream. I owned a pretty basic Sunbeam Stand Mixer but it wasn’t great. So I sold it, to make space for my new mixer (even if I hadn’t gotten it yet). I searched basically every week in my local flyers and online until I found a massive sale on all stand mixers at Sears.ca, and simultaneously Ebates.ca was having a double cash back event. So instead of having the regular 1.0% cash back, they were having a 2% event – yay me!

So not only did I get my mixer (but still in the box until I turn 30, I know brutal) but I also got money back for the purchase which is a pretty sweet deal! Obviously I shop using Ebates every chance I get. Why wouldn’t you?  You can find all the deals, daily double cash back, get referrals and more. If you haven’t started your holiday shopping, I suggest doing it online and earning cash back while you do. Sign up now to Ebates, if you haven’t already.