In my day there was no such thing as a “sprinkle” let alone a “push present” OR better yet a “babymoon.” So jealous! It almost makes me want to go back and do it all over again. Just imagine the push present after 36 hours of unproductive labor!! When my good friend and partner in crime, Hayley announced that she was having her second child, I knew I had to jump right in and plan her Sprinkle!

I was thrilled when Hayley announced she was having a boy because I knew my beloved blue and white china would tie in nicely into my plans.

 

Aside from the china I had no idea what else to do to decorate or for the menu. Of course my first stop was Pinterest.

Never lets me down!  Here are a few of my inspirations:

French Tangerine Paper Lanterns

 

 

 

 

 

Enough inspiration! Too much inspiration can be overwhelming. It’s time to pick a plan and get going. At this rate, Hayley’s son will be entering Kindergarten by the time I get off Pinterest.

-Love the lanterns on bamboo poles in a vase. I have plenty of blue and white vases but I wanted a white vase to display the blue and white lanterns. I hit the jackpot at New Life Thrift Store in nearby Glenside.

 

 

I found a tall white Chinese vase with pomegranates on the sides for just $7.00. With a good scrub it will be perfect.

 

After several trips to party stores I struck out on finding blue paper lanterns with a fun pattern. As a last resort I went onto Amazon. I not only found varying shades of blue paper lanterns but I also found them in a pattern similar to that on my china. Score!! While searching the site I also came across and added to my cart small LED lights meant to illuminate paper lanterns.

Now it was off to my area garden store for bamboo stakes used to hold up garden plants (99 cents each).

Ikea – rattan chargers. (3.99)

Ready for the big reveal??

 

I love this centerpiece but it was too large to fit on the center of my table.So I chose the next best thing – the sideboard. I think the pattern on the lanterns ties in well with the pattern on my china.  Amazon.

 

While I loved the idea of the bluebells in the vintage teacup, I found these cute votives at the Dollar Store and they were perfect with their beach motifs as we headed into the summer.

I happen to be fortunate enough to live and work (at night) in the King of Prussia Ballard Designs store. The napkins are from Ballard and were monogramed right in the store. The rattan placemats are also from Ballard.

 

Since the lanterns wouldn’t fit in the center of my table I found this to be a good second choice. This centerpiece I did at a fabulous workshop at Terrain.  More on that later!

Menu

What helped a great deal with the planning of the menu was that my Sprinkle happened to fall on Cinco de Mayo! So….what better food to serve than Mexican – it also happened to be the mommy-to-be-again’s favorite food. Win/Win!

Drinks

Margaritas and Sangria

Appetizers

Homemade Guacamole with Tortilla chips

Queso Fundido with Chorizo

Dinner

 

Shrimp and Avocado Taco Salad

Desert

Salted Carmel Crack

Recipe for Salted Carmel Crack

32 caramel squares unwrapped (I use Craft Caramels)

1/2 cup heavy cream

3/4 cup (stick and a half) butter, melted

3/4 brown sugar, packed

1 cup flour

1 cup rolled oats (make sure they are NOT the quick oats)

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

6 ounces (half a bag) semisweet chocolate chips

Baking Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Learn from my mistakes: line an 8 x 8 pan with parchment paper and spray with Pam. You won’t be sorry you took the time to do this!

Combine caramels and cream in a small saucepan over low heat. Keep an eye on it, they can burn quickly! Stir until completely smooth; add 1/4 teaspoon salt, stir; set aside.

In a separate bowl combine:

Melted butter

Brown sugar

Flour

Oats

Baking soda

Pat half of the oatmeal mixture into the bottom of an 8 x 8 pan. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove pan from oven and sprinkle chocolate chips over the crust. Pour caramel mixture over chocolate chips. Crumble remaining oatmeal mixture over caramel. Return to oven and bake an additional 15 – 20 minutes, until lightly brown.

Remove from oven and try not to eat them until they are completely cooled. Good luck!