A Girl Party!

O, it was a lot of fun to have a girl party! People say that a child's 1st birthday party is for the parents as if there is something wrong with that. I love birthday parties. The making, the baking, the decorating; it is all delightful to me. More than anything, I love my babies and I love celebrating the day they came into the world. Birthdays are special.

Here are some of the details from Lilly's 1st birthday party.

The invites I made. I used different pieces of paper to make the design I wanted and stamps. I made 1 original and color copied it. The details were printed on the back.

Aren't these adorable? I got these little beauties at Bake It Pretty. They have these cupcake liners in every color and print imaginable.

I also bought my first pastry bag and tip. I don't know why I ever tried frosting a cupcake with anything else. This way is much more fun. Sadly, cream cheese frosting does not hold up well in 85 degree heat. So, my first attempt at fancy decorating really looked like my first attempt.

The treat bags had the bird crayons, of course, and these cute little bird whistles, also from Bake It Pretty.
For every party I have to make a garland. I love garlands. This one was made from pink, orange, red and polka dot papers. I cut the paper into flags and strung them on orange string. 3 went on the back of Lil's high chair. The rest hung from the patio cover.
And even though the cupcakes didn't look the best, they still tasted fabulous. These strawberry cupcakes are my absolute favorite. I will post the recipe here, because I think they will be a part of many more celebrations. Happy Birthday, sweet one.
Strawberry Cupcakes

(from Martha Stewart Living magazine)

2 3/4 cups all purpose flour

1/2 cup cake flour ( I always forget to buy this and so always use regular flour. Sometime I will remember and note the difference it makes in the cupcakes)

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

8 ounces (2 sticks) butter, softened

2 1/4 cups sugar

3 large eggs plus 1 large egg white

1 cup whole milk

1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

2 cups finely chopped strawberries

1. Pre-heat oven to 350. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. Whisk dry ingredients in large bowl. Cream butter and sugar in mixer until light and fluffy. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating after each addition.

2. Reduce speed to low. Mix milk and vanilla in a bowl. Add dry ingredients to butter mixture in 3 additions, alternating with the wet ingredients and ending with the dry. (I am always making these cupcakes with 3 little helpers and I often forget, or do this step incorrectly. They still taste good) Stir chopped strawberries into bowl. Divide batter among muffin cups, filling each 2/3 full.

3. Bake cupcakes until testers inserted in center come out clean, about 20 minutes, Let cool on wire racks before frosting. (They taste amazing when they are still warm and they don't even need frosting) Enjoy!