We travelled to Nashville, Tenn., over the weekend for my sweet niece Caitlin's first birthday. My sister, Jennifer, planned a cupcake themed birthday party with a pink and brown color scheme. Every detail was adorable, just like the Birthday Girl!
Jennifer asked me to make Caitlin's birthday outfit, and I surprised her by making the dress reversible. Coordinating bloomers will look cute with both sides of the dress. Covered buttons and rickrack at the hem add sweet details.
Aunt Melissa's Bakery was happy to deliver cupcakes for the party. In keeping with the pink-and-brown color scheme, we tempted guests with sweet strawberry cupcakes covered in ruffles of pink buttercream icing and decadent chocolate cupcakes topped with chocolate buttercream icing and chocolate curls. To make the chocolate curls, I microwaved one square each of bakers chocolate and white chocolate for 25 seconds. I allowed the chocolate to cool for a few minutes, then shaved the squares with a vegetable peeler. I let the resulting curls fall back onto the plate and put the plate in the freezer until they hardened to the touch. Then I tucked curls onto the cupcakes and sprinkled extra curls onto the serving dishes.
And these cupcakes are meant to last. Jennifer prepared sweet pink and brown gift bags for all the children at the party, and I embroidered coordinating turtlenecks for the girls. Jennifer included toys for the boys, and she finished off each bag with a pink and brown polka dotted bag of pink M&Ms. The children were so excited over their goodies, but the sweetest treat of all for everyone was spending time with Caitlin. Happy Birthday, Cupcake!
