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! :)

How to #WatermelonPizza

March 25, 2016 by Patricia Chang in diy, Food

Just when I thought beautifully organized toppings on a smoothie bowl was the epitome of photogenic healthy foods, I stumble upon this. Have you noticed the strange trend on Instagram (and I'm assuming on Pinterest & the like) lately? #WatermelonPizza? Did your face cringe or did it light up? Haha, I remember being intrigued yet a little confused about how I felt about it.

Recently I saw it on @natehunt's beautiful Instagram page, and it was his take with a greek yogurt spread that finally sold me that this could actually be a tasty dish. I do like greek yogurt, but I'm not craaazy about it. That got me thinking about what flavors are successful with watermelon. Ah, yes of course - Watermelon Salad! I googled some recipes and came up with my own take. What a pleasant surprise when it was even more delicious than I anticipated my first time around. Here's how it went:

Timidly, I chose a small watermelon as it would be my first attempt. It's perfectly round and absolutely adorable. Made me happy to pick it. You can pick a large one if you want to make one for a party or have a more prominent "pizza" look.

You can make as many "pies" from one watermelon depending on how thick or thin you slice it. Don't be intimidated by this step. Slicing watermelon is fairly smooth and easy with a large knife.

Feta seems to be the ideal cheese to marry with the flavor of the watermelon. It's the combination of sweet and salty that work so nicely together.

Red onions. Is it just me? I love it when a recipe asks for red onion because it adds color.

Here are my toppings and you can play around with yours. Baby Arugula, Pistachio nuts, Mint, Cherry Tomatoes, Olives, Cucumbers, Artichoke.

I have a confession here: The ingredients in the round bowls are from the self serve salad bar at Whole Foods! It was from a greek salad dish. This was a great idea for me because I personally don't like random leftovers in the fridge. Even for a larger pizza, you won't be needing much of each topping.

Garnish your pizza!

Time to cut the slices! Again, it was surprisingly smooth and easy especially since I made thin pies.

I did make a note however for next time: If you want a super neat presentation, try slicing them right after the feta cheese step, and then garnishing the slices afterward.

Voila~ Watermelon Pizzas will make for a great appetizer this summer. Your guests are guaranteed to make a comment about it as well as enjoy it!

Difficulty level: It's much easier than making a real pizza, and just as easy as making a salad. Harder than ordering pizza delivery. Ha ha..

Finally, I found it flavorful as is, but a drizzle of delicious olive oil and a pinch of pepper never hurt. You won't need to salt because of the feta cheese and olives.

I devoured 2 pies by myself immediately and my family shared the third pie. My toddler, Chase went for all the pistachios (and an innocent bite of the crust which he didn't like). Conclusion? Clean to eat since it doesn't flop like a real pizza. Juicy, fun and delicious! Please share your pies and personal twist on the recipe if you do one with me. I'd love to see it! Happy eating and the camera CAN eat this one first since it's not a hot dish ;)

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!