Party Planning...Classy Surpise 50th Dessert Birthday Party!

I get hired for many different things and it seems I wear many different hats!  An event I did recently was a 50th Birthday Party.  It was a ton of fun for me especially because the women that hired me was great to work with.  She definitely knew what she wanted it to look like.  So, I presented a few ideas and we ended up making the perfect Classy 50th Dessert Birthday Party.
The Birthday Girl I was doing the party for I didn't know very well.  So I started by asking the hostess a little about her.  I found out that the birthday girl was very religious, family oriented, she had children and they meant the world to her.  I also found out that she wouldn't take well to a party that made fun of her age.  She was more shy and really didn't even want to celebrate this milestone at all.  So, this was a challenge...but I love a challenge!  I came up with the idea of a Classy Birthday Party, full of family photos along with classy desserts and flower arrangements that didn't have any BLACK flowers or any reference to "Over the Hill"!  Below are some photo's that were really hard to take because the house was lit by candles and the lighting was really dim...but, you get the idea.

Every dessert I made I had made these little flags that said something about who the women was (Her Character)!

  These were some of the words the hostess came up with when I asked about the Birthday Girls Character!  I thought this was great!  She was Wise, Faithful, Elegant, Gracious, Nice, Sincere, Generous, Humble, Sensible, Happy and the list went on!  I tied little spoons in a silver ribbon to each individual chocolate souffle...They really were cute.

Here were the containers before I filled them with the yummy dessert:)

I also made these cute little Greek Yogurts with berries and a touch of honey.  I then typed up a sign and called them "Generous" to go with the theme of the Birthday Girl!

Main table!

     As the Center piece on the table I simply took large glass containers and filled them with individually wrapped mints that were in the the theme colors the Hostess picked (White, Black and Silver).  Also, 50 Silver balloons hung over the table each had a family photo that dangled from the balloon.  This was very cute and a great conversation piece.

The Birthday Girl's favorite dessert was Red Velvet Cupcakes so WE HAD to have those!

I also made little flower arrangements and had them placed around the room with candles throughout!

As you can see plenty of desserts that graced the main table!  It was very elegant, and classy just like the Birthday Girl!  What a beautiful way to turn 50!  She clearly is loved by her friends and I really enjoyed meeting such beautiful women both inside and out!  Thanks for allowing me to help create a memorable 50th Birthday Party!

Boys Cowboy Meal

My oldest had a Birthday last week and I had text messaged him while he was at school and asked him what he wanted me to make him for dinner.  I had a one word response, which is typical of boys/men in general.  He texted me the word "MEAT"!  I'm still laughing because he gets plenty of meat, but I secretly knew he wanted a steak and/or ribs!  So, off to the store to make him a special meal and make it "MAN" style for the 17 year old!  I decided last minute to make it a cowboy meal for him!  Here's what I did, but first I had to show you this picture...It's SO cute!

He likes different cakes so I did two separate cakes and put them together!  17 candles REALLY make a cake light up:)

   HOMEMADE COWBOY STEAK RUB

1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika

1 teaspoon dried rosemary

1/2 teaspoon Chipotle

1 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 1/2 tablespoons brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1 teaspoon dried garlic

Place all ingredients in a coffee grinder that you only use for herbs (Or make sure it's REALLY clean).  Mix well and you are ready to use on beef, chicken, salmon, roasted potatoes...or anything your little heart desires! I used this rub on both the ribs and steak.  I also, incorporated a little of it in the roasted potatoes with fresh rosemary.

For the Steak:

I seasoned each rib steak with the above rub then wrapped a piece of bacon to make it extra special boy style before I placed it on the grill.

For the Ribs:

I covered the ribs in a little olive oil and then used the remainder steak rub, when the ribs were just about ready to come off the grill I put a little barbecue sauce on both sides. 

For the Potatoes:

I diced the potatoes and wrapped them in foil.  I drizzled a little olive oil, placed fresh diced up rosemary, salt, pepper and a little of the rub.

All of it went on the grill for easy clean up for me:)  Ha, Ha  After all, I had to "dude" up the table for the birthday boy:)

I even made him a strawberry protein drink and bought his favorite A1 sauce I NEVER buy:)

He ate almost the whole rack of ribs...PIG!

The potatoes were my favorite part:)