Let the Halloween Treats Begin

If you're someone who complains "Why is there Halloween stuff in stores already?", well, you should skip this post. And you might not enjoy many of my posts in the next few weeks. Because since I am a Halloween baby (yes, I was actually born on October 31st), I enjoy the holiday to its fullest. I love everythign about Halloween--the pumpkins, the decor, the parties, the costumes, and the treats. So I'll be sharing lots of them here. First up is a selection of goodies I spotted at Sur La Table:

Black Cat Measuring Spoons Set ($14.95). Way too cute!


Set of 3 Halloween Dishtowels ($12.95). Halloween dishtowels are a staple in my kitchen all Fall.


Wilton Assorted Halloween Cookies Pan ($12.95). You could fill these with pumpkin bread mix, too...

Browse the entire Halloween selection at Sur La Table.

Eye Candy

My daughter had her 6th birthday party at Dylan's Candy Bar in NYC last week. It was a splurge but it was worth it. She had the best time. Who wouldn't in a setting like this?

Wordless Wednesday: Birthday #8

(Again, this is not really wordless. Whatever).



The birthday girl woke up to pink balloons on her big day. I do this for my kids every year.







I must say, the Princess Peach pinata I bought on Ebay was quite impressive.







The pinata was pull-string but the girls wanted to beat with a bat instead. Someone's dad bravely held the pinata in the air. No limbs were lost.







The highlight of the party--a birthday cake from Carlo's Bakery, aka "Cake Boss." Yes, it was expensive (but it was her one "big" gift from me), and yes, it tasted fantastic, too.









Making a wish.







Want to know what's inside those 3-D figures that Cake Boss Buddy makes? Rice Krispie treats.







There was also a "red carpet," pillow-case decorating, toenail painting, and a visit from our building's doorman, not necessarily in that order. A wonderful time was had by all!

Blues Clues Party Favors

Just wanted to show you a picture of how S's birthday favors turned out- I taped the Blues Clues chocolate lollipops ($12.50 for 10) I ordered from Etsy onto these Blue Goes to School paperback books ($3.99 each). They went over well with S's 3-year-old pals (and the moms, too) and were very affordable. I think they looked cute, too!

Batman Birthday Party

S's fifth birthday party was a big success, We held it at a local gymnastics place and somehow the kids (most of whom had just finished a very full week at day camp) managed to burn off yet more excess energy:























S's favorite activity was diving into the (squishy) blocks...







....or even being pushed in by his friend L.









Remember Baby Grayson, whose mom wrote a guest post here? He's 7 months old now and was the hit of the party. What a gorgeous, sweet baby! Everyone wanted to hold him.







Even R. took a turn.







Cake time! We got a huge Batman cake from the Upper West Side Fairway.







I also ended up ordering those Superhero cookies from Etsy and it was less expensive than I thought since I ordered the smaller platter-sized versions.







The pull-string Batman pinata was a hit, even if it did not require a baseball bat.







Not everyone is happy with their loot though. Look closely.







Opening gifts back home, with R. looking on. Had to remind her that her turn is just days away.







Anyone want leftovers?

From the Archives: Cakes Gone Bad

Editor's note: This post was first published in 2009.



I read an entertaining article in The New York Times last week about the blog Cake Wrecks, an ode to things gone terribly awry with baked goods (in particular, malaprops made with icing). My favorite image from the article was this one:





Which reminded me of my Halloween birthday cake last year, where my kids wished their "memmy" a Happy Birthday!





Cake Wrecks is a very fun read- check it out!

Superhero Treats

While browsing favors for S's upcoming Batman birthday party, I stumbled onto an Etsy shop that makes the most amazing theme cookies. They're expensive (up to $45 for a dozen) but I suppose if you're really crafty in the kitchen, you could attempt these designs yourself:

Top to bottom: Star Wars, Pinkalicious, Superheroes, and Bert & Ernie.

Best Birthday Cake Ever

I made a very important purchase yesterday. I headed to Carlo's Bakery in Hoboken, NJ (for the 2nd time) to order R's 8th birthday cake. You already know that R. is obsessed--to put it mildly--with Cake Boss. And her greatest birthday wish was a "cake by Buddy." I explained that the big cakes they show on Cake Boss are wayyyy out of our price range, but I'd see if we could get a smaller one. So, I won't spill all the details about her cake except to say that there's fondant, Princess Peach, and lots of pink, and that, yes, it is on the small side. And that if it makes her as happy as she deserves to be (she hasn't had the easiest year), then it will be worth every dollar. I'll post pictures of it on her big day. In the meantime, if you want to see what some (more elaborate) Cake Boss birthday cakes look like, check out its specialty cake gallery.

p.s. One big benefit of ordering a custom cake at Carlo's--you get to order your own treats right afterwards, without waiting on the notoriously long line. Yum.

So Cute You (Almost) Won't Eat Them

I just ordered a bunch of these chocolate character lollipops from Etsy as birthday favors and they look fantastic (and taste great, too...I just had to sample one). They are bigger than I expected and for an extra twenty cents per lollipop I got personalized favor tags. I couldn't choose among all the characters so I got an assortment of Elmo, Big Bird, Cookie Monster, and Blue from Blue's Clues. I think my 3-year-old and his pals will love them. And quite likely their moms, too. Order 10 for just $12 at My Sweeties.

Chasing Fireflies Till You're Broke

As much as I love the beautiful selection of clothing and accessories in the Chasing Fireflies catalog, I am starting to wonder how this place stays in business (remember I posted last February about their sky-high prices?) Some of their offerings are so overpriced that I can't believe many people in this economic climate would really buy them. Here are some examples of what I mean, taken from the latest catalog:

Light Up Carousel Letters. $198 each. Yes, each! I'd rather put real fireflies in my kids' rooms to give them some extra sparkle! Six hundred dollars to spell a three letter word is not "F-U-N".

The Wizard of Oz Trunk Set. $290. Sure, it's Madame Alexander, but even my 6-year-old daughter still manages to destroy half of her dolls with crayon marks and missing limbs. Thanks, but I'll stick to Fisher Price.


Personalized Candy Corn Favors. $98 for a set of 36 favors. One hundred bucks for candy corn? I'm no Martha Stewart, but as a Halloween birthday girl I've hosted plenty of parties and I've always made candy goody bags for about a tenth of this price.


I've oohed and aahed over many an item at Chasing Fireflies (including some more reasonably priced clothing), but overall the prices have kept me from placing an order. Ever. I'm curious, how many of you have ordered from them and were you pleased with the value of what you bought?

Oh Say Can You Eat

Not a big apple pie fan? Neither am I. Consider instead these Fourth of July Shortbread Cookies from 1000 Markets. Crumbly and buttery, each set of cookies contains 2 flag cookies, 2 big star cookies, and 4 little star cookies. The ingredients are flour, butter, sugar, egg whites, and salt. That's it. Pure and yummy. $19.99 for the set at 1000 Markets.

Shop Report: London Candy Co.

I was excited to visit this brand new Upper East Side candy store, The London Candy Company, which features an exceptional array of British sweets (including chocolates, candies, and "biscuits") flown in directly from the U.K. As an Anglophile and Cadbury fan, I can say the inventory is quite impressive. And the store is just plain fun to visit. The decorations and displays are perfect and a dream to photograph. Take a look:

I love the shop's exposed brick walls and all the little Union Jack touches:






Most customers gravitate towards the chocolate bars. If you like Cadbury milk chocolate, this is your place.


I learned about Cadbury's top-selling "Flakes" and "Crunchies" years ago from my college boyfriend, who grew up in South Africa. "Flakes" are very good as a vanilla ice cream topping.


I was also happy to find Star Bars, a peanut-buttery candy bar I tasted in London in 1991 (same trip where I met Princess Diana). Hadn't seen these in 20 years.



Here's another Cadbury confection--this one I'd never seen before. Looks yummy.



And those famous Smarties...Britain's answer to M&Ms (personally I like M&Ms better...how about you?)



Wouldn't you LOVE to get a gift basket like this? I covet that gift pail, too. If you like Anglo-inspired decor, you can buy these empty at the store.



There's more than just chocolates, though. There's also a "biscuit" section (that's cookies), a collection of all favors of "crisps" (potato chips)...


...and even British breakfast cereals. Frosted Flakes are called "Frosties" in the U.K.



I was quite disciplined and left with just 2 treats-- a Star Bar for myself and a chocolate-covered "Curly Wurly" for my own curly-haired R.


The London Candy Company does not yet sell candy on its website, but it will soon. In the meantime, if you are in the neighborhood, stop by (it's on the corner of East 94th St. and Lexington Avenue, just two blocks north of the popular 92nd St. Y). They are available for birthday parties too (hmmmm.....).