Perfect Picnic, Birthday Edition

perfect picnic

July 25, 2016 by Patricia Chang in Family, Fashion, Food

It's our second year that Perfect Picnic has created the most incredible spread for Hank's birthday picnic! He is so loved and is the most selfless person. He is always giving all of himself for Chase and I and I wanted him to have a beautiful day to celebrate him!

And you can see why I chose Perfect Picnic - their attention to detail is flawless and they really know how to make your day special. I love their classic blanksets, and the pillows make the long hours spent at the park much more comfortable (something you wouldn't normally bring out to the park yourself). On this hot Saturday, you can bet their fans and umbrellas came in hand - they thought of everything!

This was a customized event spread that was ordered for 20 people in mind, we had close to 30 friends and family show up with plenty of food still! Perfect Picnic has all sorts of picnics starting as low as $10 for a Kid's meal, $15 for an adult's Grab & Go bags, to delivery boxes and catering. My personal favorites are the Soppressata with Spicy Dilly Green Bean baguettini, Kale Salad, and the Fig Spread. Though honestly, they're all amazing! The baguettinis are unique and explode with flavor - you might remember that they happen to be perfectly Chase sized from this image last year:

Patricia Chang Central Park Perfect Picnic

When I'm walking around Central Park I'll see beautiful engagement spreads on the weekends, or people having a relaxing lunch~ If you're interested, it's really simple to use. We arranged a date and time, showed up, enjoyed, and left! They set up and clean up everything for you if you choose to do a spread. Here is their site for more info - Happy Picnicking!

PerfectPicnic.com

1. Make your picnic selection.

2. Pick your date and time to enjoy.

3. Choose delivery or experience location.

Chase is Two!

April 11, 2016 by Patricia Chang in diy, Family, Food

My son turns two years old today! Over the two years I savored each day, each milestone, every giggle and every precious memory whole heartedly. I hate having to put into words how the experience has been because a few words won't do. I love (is there a stronger word?) - I LOVE watching him grow and develop into his own person, SO full of personality and expressions. It's insanely fun to interact with him on new levels versus simply taking care of him. Now that he is two - he is more self aware, opinionated, independent, and hilarious! It is definitely worth celebrating!

In Korean culture it's tradition to throw a huge celebration for a child's first birthday. (Chase is half Korean - I am). So this year, I was so ready to have a intimate party with just my husband and I's immediate families! Here's how we planned our party for 11 adults and 3 children.

Macarons and Cake: Macaron Parlour

I just discovered them a couple weeks ago! (I can't believe there was a character macaron shop in NYC under my radar~) It was only a week before his party that I realized it would make the perfect cake! Not only were they kind enough to make a custom one for Chase, but everyone fainted at how delicious the luscious chocolate cake and buttery salted caramel icing tasted!

There is a second flower cake pictured - it was also my sister-in-law's birthday a few days ago! I bought a simple vanilla cake and topped it with fresh tulips! (Tip: Take the macaron apart and stick the front half on the cake using the filling as the glue.)

Decorations: Oh Shiny Paper Co

They did such a fantastic job last year I had to go back for their tassels and balloons! They walked me through the DIY photo confetti process. I printed 1" circles of Chase's face, cut them out and rolled them into the clear balloons. I did the same with tissue paper to make the confetti. For the tassels- you can get creative with how to place them according to your space!

Food:

I was surfing google images and landed on Honestly Yum's blog post about her ricotta crostini recipes. I'm normally intimidated by so much variation, but once I took a closer look it was more simple than it appeared (especially with my husband as my sous chef). I scrapped the initial plan of "chips and guac" appetizer and replaced it with this beautiful finger snack. It's really delicious so plan to make more than anticipated! We had to make more during the party until we ran out of all our spare crostinis. Now that I've tried it I'll be making it on a regular basis for sure (even just for myself). My personal favorite is the lemon zest, olive oil, and sea salt topping.

For the main, we cooked and ordered Italian - meatballs, pastas, salad, vegetables - family style!

You can usually count on a guest to bring dessert, and sure enough my sister brought some scrumptious pastries. Chase's care taker, Isabel, is Brazilian and made him a batch of the most delicious homemade caramel treats! Chase is so lucky to be surrounded by the sweetest people!

Gifts:

As he turns Two, Chase is really soaking in everything. So we asked our families for educational gifts and Chase (& Hank & I) LOVE the presents! He received a bit of everything he loves - trains, trucks, buses, animals and even the ABCs. The play-doh is great for his creativity and learning colors. (Tips: for messier projects, create a "one at a time" rule. We have a large roll of paper we use to cover our table for art time.)

Let me know your party tips so I can take notes for next year! :)

DIY: Fabulous Birthday Cake

February 17, 2016 by Patricia Chang in Food, Fashion, diy

For my birthday post, I decided to share with you how to decorate a fabulous, one of a kind, flower cake that will make anyone feel special. And it's actually quite easy!

First, you can either bake your own cake, or buy a simple cake.

Second, gather your favorite toppings! Consider your color scheme and be creative. I have here fruits, chocolates, macarons, meringues, miniature cupcakes, and more! You can also use popcorn, sliced limes, wrapped candies, donuts, eclairs, cookies, the possibilities are endless.

There's no right way to start! Dive right in.

Play with height for that "over the top" feel.

Lastly, you will need some fresh flowers!

Make sure to rinse them clean with water first.

Use the flowers as "fillers", to fill in between the edible toppings. Have fun loading your cake with all your toppings until the cake it covered the way you like it!