Purple Bunny Birthday Party

I was thinking and thinking and couldn't come up with a theme for my daughter's 4th birthday party.  I finally thought to do a Bunny Party.  Olivia really likes bunnies, even her must-have stuffed animal for bed time is a bunny she received shortly after her birth from her godmother Barbara from BKluge Photography, located in Halifax.  I searched for bunny cakes on Pinterest, as I wanted to try something different than piping one, this year and finally came across this awesome Blog Post.

My friend Lila from Sweet and Lovely Crafts (she has an AWESOME BLOG, don't miss out on it!) sent me this link on how to make these Bunny Ears - this is what we used instead of party hats.

So, here is what I did for our little girl's 4th birthday party.  Let's start with the cake.  I made the Cookies & Cream Cupcakes recipe, and used it for this cake, as it's a really nice treat.  Since I only had half the Oreo Cookies I needed, I used half Oreo Cookies and half Golden Oreos and we loved the cake.

I used a stainless steel bowl from a regular Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer for the top part of the cake and a 9" cake pan for the bottom part.  I made the amount of the recipe above and before I poured it into the pan and bowl, I put two stripes of parchment paper into each pan, so they overlapped and made an X for easy removal.  I also greased the pans before I put in the batter.

Once I was done putting the batter into the round cake pan, I put in the Oreo and Golden Oreos (only half the cookie with the centre on it), alternating, until the whole top was covered.  I then pressed all the cookies down a bit further into the batter and smoothed the batter over top as much as I could, as I wasn't sure if they would burn, if left uncovered.  I think that was actually my favourite part of the cake - the way the bottom of it tasted, thanks to the cookies!

So when taking the cakes out of the oven, I turned the one from the cake pan and upside down.  Then I trimmed the top part of the cake from the Kitchen Aid Stand mixer (and by the way, this one took a loooong time, to actually be baked).  Then I turned that upside down as well and set it on the other cake, putting a generous layer of frosting in between.

Next, I frosted the whole cake with a nice layer of frosting, trying to form somewhat of a neck and head.

Next, I attached two little muffins with tooth picks as the bunny's nose and cut two little teeth out of a white marshmallow.  I cut the nose out of another piece of white marshmallow (because I couldn't find any pink ones) and put pink hearts on it, to make it look pink.  I also cut two little eyes out of licorice. 

You could also use this kind of licorice, if you want to make your bunny look a bit crazy! ;)

My dear husband made the bunny ears that we only stuck in the bunny the next morning.  He made them out of white bristol board and pink paper, making a pocket with the white paper, so he could stuff a pipe cleaner in between, so the ears can be bent.  Make sure you let some pipe cleaner stick out of the bottom, so you can easily stick it into the cake.  To finish off the bunny, I gave the neck of the bunny a bit of colour - purple of course!

One of my favourite parts of the cake were the sparklers!  Unfortunately we weren't smart enough to have one person light them on the right and simultaneously another person light them on the left side and therefore the right side finished sparkling before the left side even began, but it was still cute. :)

We made these Toilet Paper Roll Bunnies that were fairly quick and easy.  Though, as you can see from the picture, I forgot all about the cotton ball tail - shame on me!

The kids made a Bunny craft and a Candy Necklace.  For the Candy Necklace I bought purple laces at the Bulk Barn, Fruit Loops, Marshmallow Bunnies and Candy with a whole in the middle.

After that, the kids had Bunny Peanut Butter and Jam sandwiches and Bunny Fruit Kabobs with Vanilla yogurt dip for lunch.  

Picture (c) of Lila from Sweet and Lovely Crafts

The Bunny Fruit Kabobs included bunnies out of water melon, melon and cantelope.

I'm happy to say that Olivia very much enjoyed her Purple Bunny Party for her 4th Birthday.  If anyone tries out any of these ideas, especially the cake, please let me know how it turned out, as I would love to get your feedback.

White Chocolate Brownie Cake

This post was meant to go up in July, but alas, it's here now.


I needed a simple birthday cake idea for my 2nd daughter's first birthday party.  It needed to be simple.  We were going to the U2 Concert in Moncton, NB, Canada the next day and then were having the birthday party on July 31, 2011, the very next day.  It takes 2 1/2 hours of just driving time to get home from Moncton and it took a long time for 80 000 people to get down from Magnetic Hill and on the road.  We were exhausted the next day, that's for sure.  

I went on my Sweet Treats board on Pinterest (which any of you should join, because it's FREE and amazing - you can follow me, just click on the "Follow Me on Pinterest" button on the top of this blog) and found the White Chocolate Brownies Recipe that I've wanted to try for some time now.  This was the perfect excuse!  The recipe was found here and I just doubled it to make more of it, so I could put it in a round form to make the cake.  The recipe below is adjusted for my cake, but you still have to double it!

Prep Time: 15min

Cook Time: 33min

Ingredients
125g butter, chopped
250g white chocolate chips
1/2 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
2 eggs, lightly beaten,
1 1/4 cups plain flour, sifted

Use a 9 inch cake pan.  Generously spray with non-stick baking spray or line with paper cases.  The oven should be preheated to 160 C (325 F).

1. In a microwave safe bowl heat the chopped butter on high for 30 seconds. Stir, then repeat for another 30 seconds - the butter should be melted. Add the white chocolate and heat for another 30 seconds. Remove and stir until blended. You may need a further 20 seconds. Stir until smooth. Cool slightly so that you do not cook the eggs when you add them.
2. Add the brown sugar and the beaten eggs.  Stir through.
3. Add the sifted flour and stir through until smooth.
4. Bake in a preheated oven set to 160 C (325 F) for 33 minutes.
5. Remove from the oven and leave to cool in the pan for 10 minutes before removing to a cake rack to cool completely.  Lift out carefully.
6. Store in an airtight container for one week. The white chocolate brownie cake can be frozen for up to two months.

I thought the cake turned out quite nicely but it was very dense.  If you make Brownies, they might be less dense, but I'm not sure.  I guess I'll just have to try it sometime! :)

For the decoration of my little girl's first birthday cake, I used Dr. Oetker Ready Rolled Marzipan, that I picked up at our Specialty Food Store in Bedford, NS called Pete's Froutique.  They only carry it around Christmas time.  If you're lucky enough to live in the UK, you can buy it online here or they might carry it in Tesco etc.  You can google how to make Marzipan, too - it's quite simple.  Here are the instructions from the Ready Rolled Marzipan on how to put it on the cake:

1. Turn cake upside down for a smoother surface and place onto cake board.

2. Use a knife to thinly cover the cake with cool boiled jam (I used Raspberry jam).

3. Roll out marzipan (this was not part of the instructions, as it was already rolled).

4. Carefully fold disc in half around inner tube (or on your rolling pin).

5. Holding the ends, lift disc, placing it over the centre of your cake.

6. Smooth marzipan over top of the cake and carefully pull out folds while smoothing down sides.

7. For a perfectly smooth finish, cut out any folds with a knife and mooth the joins tongether until they blend.

8. Trim off excess around the bottom of the cake with a sharp knife to give a smooth finish.

9. Smooth surface with palm of your hand.

I had purchased a Carebear Edible Image from Ebay months ago and was ready to use it.  Unfortunatley it wouldn't come off the baking paper it was on (even though it was supposed to easily come off), so I really wouldn't recommend it.  I just stuck it on the cake, decorated over the torn spots that happened when we tried to pull the image off, took some pictures and then took the image off again and enjoyed the cake. :)  

If you try to make your own marzipan and roll it, please drop me a line and let me know how it turned out.  Let me know if you ever try the White Chocolate Brownies, and be sure to refer to the original Brownie recipe in the link above, as I've left a couple of ingredients and steps out for the cake!

Linking up with Skip to My Lou

Yoda Ears

To Andrew's Mum and sisters: yep, that's how long Andrew's hair is now!

I can't help myself and have to share this.  Tonight, Olivia figured that Daddy needed "Yoda Ears" (the general public would call them pig tails), too.  This is what Olivia came up with, after brushing Daddy's hair - well ok, I helped a little...

These are Olivia's Yoda Ears.

...and since we are talking about Yoda.  Here's another visual. :)

Face Painting, Balloon Animals & Cotton Candy

Daddy took his little girl to Best Buy the other day, as they had their Grand Opening.  To their surprise they had Face Painting going on, someone was making Balloon Animals and they were giving out Cotton Candy.  Olivia turned into a little Butterfly, got a Puppy on a Leash Balloon Animal and a small bag of Cotton Candy, all of which she was very excited about.  

Every time Daddy says he's going to Best Buy now, Olivia wants to go with him.  As Daddy and daughter were walking towards the front door a couple of days ago, Olivia told Daddy she wanted a Balloon Puppy.  Poor girl was disappointed to hear that the fun activities were only a one time deal.

Upper Clements Park

We took the girls to Upper Clements Park today, along with two of my sister's families.  This was Olivia's second time at Upper Clements Park in the Annapolis Royal (the Valley), Nova Scotia, Canada and Lexie's first time.  Olivia was shy of 4 months old the first time we took her, so this time, the experience for her and us was completely different.

While waiting for the rest of our crew to arrive, Daddy took Olivia to one of the playgrounds.  Andrew couldn't stop telling me on the drive home, how he loves seeing Olivia's eyes light up when she sees a playground and she just gets to play as her little heart desires.

We walked a bit down the road, where there were two big towers.  Daddy and Olivia went up the first tower and walked across to the second tower.  Olivia certainly is not afraid of heights - she crossed the whole way, walking all by herself and had fun in doing so.

Lexie is standing up just behind the pony! :)

Next, we went to the Carousel.  Daddy stood by Olivia while she was on the pony that was pulling Mami and Olivia's little sister.  It was Lexie's very first time on a Carousel and she was alright with it. Olivia on the other hand, kept squeeling with joy, and people kept smiling at her.

I'm not sure why I thought it was a good idea to take Olivia on the Ferris Wheel.  Maybe because I thought that it is one of the rides I wouldn't feel sick afterwards, as it's just high and not round and round and round.  Boy was I wrong.

It went quite fast, which I did not expect.  Olivia was fine the first round, as we went up slowely and then stopped, to load the next people.





Even when we were right at the top, she was fine, pointing down to Daddy.  This went on about 6 times, until all the new people got on.  Then, once the ride started going fast, my poor, little girl started crying.  I really don't think she expected the "Butterfly in your stomach" feeling when the ride really took off.  We had to endure two more rounds and then got let off.  Luckily, as soon as we got out of the Ferris Wheel, Olivia was fine, running over to the Trucks.

Now the Trucks...she loved!  Mami took Lexie on a truck, too, which was Lexie's second ride.  She seemed to enjoy it, as she kept standing up in my lap and hanging on the front with her hands.  Olivia kept going back on the Truck ride.  I personally think she looked cutest when she rode in the front and with her cousin Lily.  

Shortly after, Tante Karin took our big girl on a plane.  Thank Goodness, my sister volunteered to take her.  I know I probably would have thrown up afterwards!  Olivia enjoyed the plane ride with Tante Karin.  

It was time to get some grub - we went up to the little restaurant and while Daddy & Olivia went to yet another fun playground, Lexie & Mami went to get some food.  It was about a 25 minute wait and once I got the food, I took it outside to the picnic table by the playground.  I took a look to the playground, to wave hubby and daughter over and during that second, a nasty seagull dove down onto the table to attempt the abduction of our food!  Unbelievable!

First, Gotte Babsi and Malcolm (soon to be uncle, oh yeah!) took Olivia on the Antique Cars and Olivia had so much fun, that we decided to take a family ride in the Antique Cars, with Lexie and Mami hanging out in the back, while Olivia steered and Daddy pressed the gas in the front.  Good times.  Then we navigated up to the Kiddie Bumper Boats and the Ball Pit.

The Kiddie Bumper Boats were really sweet and kind of fun for Lily and Olivia, even though I think the boats were kind of tricky to steer.  The girls mostly went in circles.

The Ball Pit was most fun for all the kids, whether they were one year old or over 3 - they all loved it!

Our last stop was at the Kiddie Wading Pool.  Olivia and Lexie both enjoyed the water and Olivia actually went under water fully, her whole head and everything, for the first time, I think.  We've only been in a pool one other time, when she wasn't even a year old.  Other than that, she's been in the tub and in her Oma and Opa's Lake.

I wasn't sure why the guys suddenly started laughing behind me, but when I turned around, I realized why.  Needless to say, I had to take the above picture.  Not sure what Lexie was trying to do with the food!

Our biggest girl sure enjoyed the treat of her Birthday Party ice cream at the end of the day.  She had to wait many, many hours to get it.  Needless to say, I don't think she very much minded the wait, as she had a great day at Upper Clements Park this year!

We really enjoyed the day with the kids and relatives.  However, we both decided that next time we wouldn't get Premium Bracelets for ourselves again.  Maybe we'd get one, or just a Basic Bracelet, as we paid $25.50 plus taxes for one Premium Bracelet and only went on 2 premium rides.  It was not worth it.  We did get a 25% discount off of one Premium bracelet (CAA).  Kids under 2 years are free to go on Kiddie rides, so we didn't have to pay for Lexie but the Basic Bracelet for Olivia cost a wooping $22 plus taxes.  

However, seeing how much Olivia enjoyed her day, it was well worth the money.  We were at the Park from 11am - 6:30pm and both of the kids fell asleep in the car pretty much immediately on the way home.  Hubby and myself had a nice and quiet 2 hour drive back.  We could actually talk to each other, uninterrupted - it's a luxury these days!  These last two pictures were taken hours after our kidlets had been transfered to bed, the same night.  They were exhausted alright!