UNDER THE SEA

My baby is not a baby.  She turned 6 last week.  While time moves forward, it stands still.  When she was 4 and was graduating from VPK, she told the teachers she wanted to be a mermaid.  She still wants to be a mermaid and is well on her way.  She loves to swim and be in the water.  So for her birthday party, a pool party was a natural choice for her.  Another easy decision was the theme: Ariel.

We (yes Kennedy and I huddled in front of the computer) made the invitations weeks in advance and she knew that she wanted chocolate and vanilla cupcakes ('because some people like chocolate and some like vanilla') with blue frosting ('like the ocean').  The girl knows what she wants and I cannot fault her for that.

The weekend and week before I shopped for the party.  I found cute cupcake papers and themed toppers at Party City.  I knew I wanted to make some of the decorations out of fondant, so I picked up some pre-made fondant to give it a try.

Lisel had a great idea for party favors.  In the Family Fun Magazine there were really cute mermaid tails made out of beach towels that one mom had made for her daughter's mermaid pool party!!  Instead of the traditional 'goodie bag', this would be a unique and memorable item for the kids to take home.

I picked up over-sized pink terry cloth bath towels for the girls and blue for the boys.  The ribbon and the rubber bands completed the list of elements of the ensemble.  Mom agreed to sew on the ribbons with her handy-dandy sewing machine, which was a huge favor considering it takes me about 10 minutes to sew on a button.  (Many have tried to teach me the fine art of sewing, but it's just not my thing.)

Tuesday evening Mack helped me make the fondant decorations.  Though I had THE BEST intentions, I have to admit my artistic sculpting abilities are not quite where I would like them.  The Sebastian and Flounder I tried were more Picasso than Walt Disney.  Oh well, my Cupcake Buddy Mack and I had fun.

Thursday evening I mixed up the cupcakes.  Instead of just making the two flavors, I decided to make three: chocolate, vanilla and lemon.  Six dozen cupcakes should be enough for the crowd we were expecting, plus there would be enough for folks to take home. 

This week we were getting ready for our big trip north to Maryland so I decided to go boxed mix with a little embellishment.  For the vanilla I added a package of vanilla pudding, for the chocolate I added 1 c. of mini milk chocolate chips, and for the lemon I added 1 c. of white chocolate chips.

They looked good and smelled good.  I sure hoped the birthday girl liked them.

Friday afternoon, I was able to get off of work a few hours early so I made a dash for final supplies for the party and headed home to finish the cupcakes.

For the frosting, I used a simple vanilla buttercream recipe with about 1/4 tsp. of Wilton's Royal Blue Icing Color.  When trying to get just the right color in baking, I recommend the icing color products.  They make for a much truer and purer color than traditional liquid food coloring.

The big day finally came!  The morning was beautiful and rain held off (except for a few sprinkles) until after the party.  The kids had a wonderful time swimming and playing in the pool, hitting the pinata and scrambling for candy, and just generally being kids.  Even some of the adults got in on the action, too. 

  

There are days when I wish that I could travel backwards in time and re-live certain days in my children's lives all over again or fast forward to when they are grown and happy, healthy, well-adjusted, contributing members of society.  This day was not one of them.  I hope Kennedy felt the love and support of the many great people in her life and I hope it's a feeling she can draw on in the many years to come.  Girl you're amazing...just the way you are.

Angie

Now the frosting recipe...

Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

Ingredients:

• 1 c. unsalted butter (2 sticks or 16 tbsp.), softened
• 4 c. confectioners sugar, sifted
• 1/4 tsp. table salt
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 4 tbsp. milk or heavy cream

Directions:

• In a large mixing bowl, using a paddle attachment, beat butter for a few minutes on medium speed until creamy. 
• Alternate wet and dry ingredients until all have been added and incorporated.  Add additional sugar or milk to achieve the desired consistency.
• Add icing color and blend until desired color is achieved.
• When the cupcakes are completely cooled, frost and store in the refrigerator.  (I like to take them out about 10 minutes before serving to allow the frosting to soften just a bit.)

Frosts 18 to 24 cupcakes.