Swim on by our Mermaid Party!

There are so many adorable inspirations and ideas out there for a mermaid birthday party.. even if you want to avoid to total Ariel/Disney theme (which I did). I absolutely loved planning this party and kept it relatively simple by a) hosting it at a water park and not our house, and b) reusing a lot of the party materials that we had from previous years. I was also somewhat limited by knowing that I needed to transport it all somewhere, which forced me to keep it to just a few key items.

Fortunately, I caught a few pics of the decor ahead of time because the elements outside that day were not great- lots of wind and having a small amount of time to actually get all set up before the party started meant that I didn't get a lot of great pics of it all set outside. In addition to what is seen below, we also put out Pirate's booty, made a "mermaid" punch, and lots of little cups scattered around with various gummy flavors. I didn't get a pic of the plates and cups, but they were also cute mermaid theme like the napkins seen below and came as a set from Birthday Express. ETSY was as per usual my go-to for the centerpieces, favor labels, etc. The cake was actually from Target which has become my favorite easy place to not spend a ton of money and still get a cute pull-away cupcake type cake for the kids parties.

Gluten Free Strawberry Cake with Strawberry Buttercream Icing

It's been awhile since we have had an excuse for some mommy-daughter baking time, so with some yucky weather this weekend combined with my feeling at a loss for more small person entertainment, we went down to the kitchen and created this little gem. I literally put this one together on the fly with ingredients that we had at the house, and then pulled some inspiration from Pinterest for a little guidance. The cake was a little dry but that was because I had to use some different GF flour than my norm to have enough for a full cake. Next time I would use some yogurt like some of the recipes suggested as well. The buttercream turned out delicious, though!

Gluten Free Strawberry Cake with Strawberry Buttercream Icing

For the Cake

- Box of Betty Crocker Gluten free cake mix with required ingredients or use Betty Crocker Gluten Free Rice Flour and required ingredients to make a plain cake

- Pureed fresh strawberry added to mix (about 1/4-1/2 C)

- Bake at 350 according to cake mix directions

For the Icing

- Prepare a traditional buttercream icing with powdered sugar, butter, and vanilla

- In lieu of the milk, first add about 1/4 C freshly pureed strawberry into mix and only add additional milk if needed based upon consistency

                             

Sweet Treats from Sugarfina

Anyone who knows me well understands that I can't resist most sweets.. And throw a little champagne my way too and it's party time. So imagine my delight to have the hubby bring home both in the most adorable packaging. I was already familiar with Sugarfina's cute website, but this was my first opportunity to see one of the gift sets in person and it is truly a product that vastly exceeds expectations!

I love how witty and creative their different sets are, and can't wait to get my hands on some of the champagne gummy bears next to try! The packaging is flawless and makes you almost want to just display them rather than eat them (almost!).

A few more that look amazing and adorable from Sugarfina
Champagne Bears
Love Bites Break Up Collection
Sugar Momma
Bridesmaid Gift
Gummy Love Tasting Box