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A fantastic celebration of science, an adorable sock monkey party, a gorgeous yellow and gray baby shower, and an unbelievably creative Hobbit party!

Clockwise from top left:

• Sarah E's Professor Hugo's Scientific 8th Birthday
• Jenifer H's Up & Away Sock Monkey 1st Birthday
• Denise D's Katie's Baby Shower
• Nicole W's Hobbit 4th Birthday Party

Can't wait to see the start of your summer parties!

Here are some fun posts I did for Spoonful this week...

Lots of pretty, pink ballerina party ideas here!

 

This tulle pom-pom garland is simple to make and inexpensive!

Top your ice cream or yogurt with this delicious recipe for nutty, not-too-sweet granola!

For more party planning inspiration, check out all my posts on Spoonful!

I love summer. I love the warm weather, the long days, and hanging out with friends and family. I also love taking trips. We're actually on our whirlwind summer trip right now to visit my family on the East Coast.

I'm writing this post from my hotel  room in NYC.  I put together this collage of some highlights of our NYC trip so far:

• The view of the Empire State Building from our hotel room
• A Hebrew National hotdog at Lucky's Famous Burgers with their special spicy sauce -- my favorite hotdog!
• Gelato from Il Labratorio del Gelato
• My daughter getting her photo on a cupcake at House of Cupcakes
• Me trying on new glasses at Warby Parker
• A pastrami sandwich and chicken soup from Katz's Deli -- an institution!
• A ginormous Hershey's Bar my daughter would like me to buy her

To see more of my trip and follow me a long, check me out on Instagram.

During the summer, I like to create food that feels casual and easy. So as a companion recipe to the Spanish Tortilla with Hot Dog I posted last week (and sticking to the Spanish theme), I also created this Summer Gazpacho Salad. The salad features the flavors I love in a gazpacho - cucumber, tomato, pepper, and garlic with a nice kick from the vinegar and lime. The Spanish Tortilla brings a salty, richness to the menu, whereas the gazpacho salad brings a crisp, summer freshness.

SUMMER GAZPACHO SALAD

Ingredients:

• 1 large cucumber
• 1 red pepper
• 1 basket of cherry tomatoes
• 1 spicy green pepper (Jalapeño or Poblano)
• 1/2 onion
• 3 garlic cloves
• 2 tablespoons parsley (Italian)
• 2 tablespoons cilantro
• 1 lime
• 2 shredded chicken breasts
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon red or sherry vinegar
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin

Directions: 

Dice the cucumber and red pepper, and add the cherry tomatoes (halved) to a bowl. To give the salad some heat, use a roasted a spicy pepper (we used a jalapeño). Remove the skin and seeds, dice the pepper, and add to the bowl.

Now shred or chop the chicken breasts and add to the bowl.

Dice 1/2 an onion, and mince or press the garlic. Chop 1 tablespoon of parsley and 1 tablespoon of cilantro and add to the salad. Save the rest of the parsley and cilantro for garnish.

To dress the salad, mix 4 tablespoons of olive oil, juice from 1 lime (and optionally the zest from the lime), 1 tablespoon of red or sherry vinegar, 1 teaspoon of chili powder, 1/2 teaspoon of cumin, and 1 teaspoon of kosher salt.

Toss the salad in the dressing, and sprinkle some of the leftover parsley and cilantro over the top. You can serve immediately, but it tastes even better if you put in the fridge for a few hours and let the flavor marinate.

For summer entertaining, the Spanish tortilla and summer gazpacho salad make the perfect match! I love serving them together at a summer BBQ!

Hebrew National tastes great because, for more than 100 years, we've adhered to the highest quality standards. Hebrew National Franks are made with premium cuts of 100% pure kosher beef, and contain no artificial flavors, no artificial colors, no by-products, and no fillers. Premium taste and high quality every time, for any occasion. That's our guarantee. Learn about even more reasons to love Hebrew National, and tell us why you love them, too! www.facebook.com/HebrewNational

Disclosure: Compensation was provided by Hebrew National via Glam Media.  The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and are not indicative of the opinions or positions of Hebrew National. 

Here's a perfect gift for Dad this year! In our "Best Pop" printables collection, we have some coupons we created with a couple of blanks for your kids to write in their own special coupons.

Supplies:

• Coupon printables
• Party circle printables
• Paper cutter or scissors
• Circle punch or scissors
• Mason jar
• Glue dots, glue, or tape
• Ribbons

Cut out the coupons using a scissor or paper cutter. Cut out one party circle using scissors or a circle punch. Tape or glue the party circle to the top of the mason jar. (I used a Glue Dot.)

Stuff the mason jar with your Dad's favorite candy and with the coupons.

Tie with a pretty ribbons or two!

Hope your dad enjoys it!!

 

 

Don't  you have the best pop? Well now you can celebrate him on Father's Day with these adorable "Best Pop" printables Michelle at Printabelle designed exclusively for us!

The collection includes: welcome sign, cupcake toppers, treat toppers, banner, gift tags and coupons for Dad.

DOWNLOAD THE HIGH RESOLUTION FILES FOR PRINTING HERE

Take a look at the whole collection...

And here are the individual files...

 

And learn how to make this simple coupon jar gift for Dad!

 

For more inspiration, check out these amazing Father's Day celebrations from our site and all our Father's Day free printables.

And remember, if you’d like any of these printables personalized, Michelle will do it for $3 per file! To learn more about Michelle and see all the printable collections, head to Printabelle and the Printabelle Facebook page.

Here are some fun posts I did for Spoonful this week...

These tips and ideas will help you to host the perfect family reunion!

Check out this recipe for delicious Vanilla Mint Cupcakes!

How about throwing a Pirates and Princesses party?

For more party planning inspiration, check out all my posts on Spoonful!

A lovely blushing bridal shower, a fireman party that's so "hot," a bright and summery lemonade and sunshine party, and lots of pretty pink accents at this cowgirl party.

Clockwise from top left:

• Claudia S' Claribel's Bridal Shower
• That Cute Little Cake's Fireman Birthday Party
• Jessica G's DIY Lemonade and Sunshine Party
• Rechelle C's Our Cowgirl is turning 4

Can't wait for next week!

 

Princess parties are one of the most popular on our site!! So now I am so excited to be giving away this entire princess party printables collection! What great about the collection is that many of the files have editable text fields! Now you can personalize them any way you want, including the invitation!

The collection includes: invitations, cupcake wrappers, drink flags, favor tags, square cards, tented cards, welcome sign, mini candy bar wrappers, a banner, 3 patterned papers, and water bottle labels.

DOWNLOAD THE HIGH RESOLUTION FILES FOR PRINTING HERE:

• Princess Party printables
• Princess party banner

Take a look at the whole collection...

And here are the individual files...

 

The invitation is editable in Adobe Acrobat...

 

These square cards are editable...

 

 

The favor tags are editable...

 

The tented cards are also editable...

 

For a ton of princess inspiration, check out all the amazing princess parties on our site!

What a fun Memorial Day weekend I just had! Lots of time spent with my little family, exploring San Francisco and doing lots of local stuff in Palo Alto. Honestly I can't think of a better way to enjoy a long weekend!

My weekend in a nutshell... We hung out at the Golden Gate bridge, went to the Bay Area Discovery Museum in Sausalito, spent time with my in-laws in San Francisco, and I even got a foot massage! To learn more about my escapades, check me out on Instagram!

To celebrate the start of summer, I was asked by Hebrew National (sponsor of this post) to come up with a delicious recipe using Hebrew National hot dogs. I've loved Hebrew National hot dogs since I was a kid. It was the only hot dog my mom would serve because she thought they were the best. And with my recipe, well, I think I've succeeded at making something delicious!

Inspired by my husband's love of Spain, I present to you my Spanish Tortilla! (Spanish tortillas are very similar to fritattas but with potatoes.) This tortilla is filled with potatoes, onions, pepper, spices, and cut up hot dog to give it that smokey, salty taste. Yum!

What's great about this dish is that it's perfect for easy entertaining. You can make it the day before, then serve it hot or cold. Plus, it works for breakfast, lunch, or dinner! And it's delicious!!

SPANISH TORTILLA

Ingredients:

12 eggs 1/2 cup of diced yellow onion 1/2 cup of diced red onion 1 cup of chopped red pepper 1 1/2 cups chopped small red potatoes 4 hot dogs (you can substitute chorizo) 1 garlic clove 2 tablespoons chopped parsley leaves 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro leaves 2 teaspoons salt 3 tablespoons olive oil

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Cut the potatoes in half, then quarter. Boil for about 10 minutes, or until they just start to soften. Strain the water and set aside.

Put a cast iron or over safe 12 inch skillet over medium heat. Add the the 3 tablespoons of olive oil, thinly sliced hot dogs, salt, diced onion, red pepper, and minced garlic clove. Stir until onions start to soften, than add the potatoes. Stir gently (so as not to break the potatoes) until they are cooked through. You can add a pinch of salt and pepper to taste.

Whisk the 12 eggs in a bowl, and pour into the skillet. Stir occasionally, pulling the cooked bottom up. When it starts to solidify, but is still a little runny, move the pan to the oven. Cook for another 10-15 minutes, just until the top starts to brown.

Cut into slices, garnish with a little cilantro, and serve!

Hebrew National tastes great because, for more than 100 years, we've adhered to the highest quality standards. Hebrew National Franks are made with premium cuts of 100% pure kosher beef, and contain no artificial flavors, no artificial colors, no by-products, and no fillers. Premium taste and high quality every time, for any occasion. That's our guarantee. Learn about even more reasons to love Hebrew National, and tell us why you love them, too! www.facebook.com/HebrewNational

Disclosure: Compensation was provided by Hebrew National via Glam Media.  The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and are not indicative of the opinions or positions of Hebrew National.

 

Nicole from Tikkido is back with a simple way to freshen up your summertime beverages!

This project is ideal for those long summer days stretching ahead of us. Watermelon -- that delicious, classic summer fruit -- has so much water content that it makes fabulous ice cubes when frozen. It's absolutely perfect for punch that you don't want to water down, sangria, or any drink where you want a little bit of colorful fun.

Start by slicing a ripe watermelon in thin slices--about a half an inch thick. Shapes like stars look better with thinner, rather than thicker slices.

Use a small cookie cutter to cut star shapes out of the watermelon.

Place watermelon stars on a baking tray lined with Silpat. The silpat isn't strictly necessary, but it does make the watermelon star ice cubes much easier to peel off after they're frozen.

Once the watermelon stars are completely frozen, they can be peeled from the tray and stored in a ziplock bag. This can be done several weeks in advance of your event.

Cubes work just as well as fancy shapes, of course, but between Memorial day and the 4th of July, we find lots of reasons to use this juicy red star ice cubes!

Thanks, Nicole, what a terrific idea!!