Chickenpox Party...For Kiddies Only

Spots spots everywhere! It is the most expected disease that your child will get and almost somewhat a rite of passage perhaps. The virus is so easily passed and undetectable in the beginning that your child may have caught and spread it to someone else in a matter of minutes! With something as contagious as this you'd think parents would keep their kids home from school during the late winter and early spring (when the virus is at its height). Not so fast! Even though many children receive a vaccine now for chickenpox there is still a chance that they may contract it and this is where your duty as a parent and party aficionado can come in handy.

Gather the moms in the neighborhood and invite them over for an afternoon play date with a purpose. You want them to interact with the infected child for an afternoon so that they can catch the virus and get the process if itching and scratching underway. The reason for this is so that you are sure that your child contracts the virus early on in life and get over it quickly and maybe with a few friends in tow. Make it a simple play date occasion complete with orange juice popsicles and mittens (if needed).

In this circumstance it isn't necessary to pull out the decorations or bake a cake, but if you'd like to make the mood more festive it wouldn't be a bad idea! Nothing says let's get healthy once this is over like toy stethoscopes and doctor's kits for the kiddies while the parents get a goodie bag with a thermometer, calamine lotion and oatmeal inside!

Enjoy and try not to scratch!

Cake Topper with Style!

I had the opportunity to assist my good friend and baker Aniela with an request from a customer. Now I know you may be wondering what what I helping do besides make a mess, but I actually used my creativity to solve a few issues she was having. One of her clients was suprising a friend of theirs with a birthday cake and mentioned that the birthday girl like flameco dancing. Aniela wanted to create a gum paste doll but because she was hort on time she opted for a half doll cake topper.

The cake when finished was beautiful and the woman who it was presented to shed tears! I was happy to help and use my design skills to assist a friend. If I ever decide to stop planning and designing I may have a career as a pastry chef or cake designer! Check out Aniela's website for more of her delicious confections at http://www.sweetanielas.com/

Changing A Room Without Changing Your Style

I'm looking to change my living room around to do something different but I don't want to repaint or spend a lot of money. What can I do?

Everyone wants to refresh a room from time to time for a new feel or to make it more reminiscent of a location that they have recently visited. This is also a task that many people see as being time consuming and costly, but fear not it doesn't have to be. You can make a few cosmetic changes to a room to make it look completely different without breaking your budget.

First think specifically about things you want to change and then narrow that list down to just three items. This way you won't be overwhelmed by changing everything at once and also it will give you time to adjust to the changes that you are making as you go along. It would be terrible if you changed everything about your living room only to find parts 6 and 7 don't fit parts 2 and 3 and you have to change everything again. Here are some things that you can do:

1) Make sure you are really ready to change the room and not just thinking about it for the moment. Remember you will have to look and live with it for awhile.

2) Choose a paint color for your wall in a different color family. This is the quickest way to change a room from introverted to inviting. Often times the paint color of a room makes you feel a certain way like a light blue can make you feel serene whereas a deep red evokes energy and passion or liveliness in a space.

3) Accents are often the bests and most cost effective way of making a change. Adding decorative pillows to your couch or getting some rustic decor pieces can make all the difference.

4) Moving the furniture is also a way to mix up a room for a different feel. Though it may not seem connected that moving an arm chair from one end to the over opens a room, but it does by offering a new traffic pattern and view of the same room. Instead of having your couch line the wall move it to the center of the room and bring in a table to add some new flavor.

Whatever you wind up doing just make sure that its something that speaks true to you. You don't want to go over budget or spend beau coup bucks and end of not liking the final product. Check out  home section of your local Marshalls, Michaels or Target for some great inexpensive finds. Shop the end of the middle to end of every season hen things are deeply discounted to make room for new inventory.