Happy Birthday to Me!! Thank you all for the birthday wishes. I think I’m eligible for all the senior discounts now, HA! For me planning a dessert table is as much fun as putting it all together. I can’t even find the appropriate words to tell you how much I enjoy doing this. Then there’s the indulging part that is literally the icing on the cake. I’m going to do my best to not have to wear those fat pants. OK, enough chit chat let’s get to the goodies.
The color palette was an easy one. Finding the damask pattern in pink was a bit tougher. With a bit of mixing an matching I pulled it together to my satisfaction. I used the pink pom poms that we used at Gabbi’s spa party and covered the table with a pink cloth and use a white lace patterned cloth over it.
As I said before the pink damask wasn’t as easy to find as I thought but I did find wrapping paper in a reasonable substitute. I like to use wrapping paper because a roll or two can go a long way. I used my paper to make the lollies at the back of the table and to cover the boxes for the kettle corn and vanilla wafer pops.
I’ll share the recipe for the cake and cookies in a later post. However, I have to tell you about the cake decorations. It’s a pink velvet cake filled with chocolate truffle. I frosted the cake with a basic buttercream and then poured a white glaze over the top and let it drip down the sides. My super yummy cake was garnished with sour cream glazed donut holes that were covered in pink candy melts. It sits on a black cake stand all gussied up with a pearl beading trim. This is just too much isn’t it?
I have to gush about the Red Velvet Mini Cheesecakes and Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies. They came from Sam’s BabyCakes and Sam (short for Samara) just happens to be my oldest daughter. Samara launched her website last fall and has been going full steam ahead since them. She carried out my theme by packaging an extra roll of cookie dough that I can bake at a later time and also included it on the gift bag. Thankum Sunshine Blue Skies. The mini cheesecakes and cookies were displayed on white trays lined with black and white damask paper.
I embellished the mini wine bottles with my theme paper and used more of the same to customize the food labels which are sitting on covered match boxes. Pretty nifty if I must say so myself.
Over at Pizzazzerie I saw this cute idea for milkshake shooters and used it for my Strawberry Vanilla Bean milkshakes. I dipped the rim of my bottles in melted white chocolate then rolled them in pink pearl candies. Added a simple straw and voila, totally girli-fied!
The mini white cakes are actually Little Debbie snack cakes that I drizzled with pink candy melts. I baked a perfect dozen sugar cookies and used a gift box shaped cutter. I glazed them with a basic royal icing glaze and topped them off with cutouts from an edible frosting sheet in damask print. The bow portion of the cookie was sprinkled with pink sugar. They were both placed on a silver trays lined with pink and white damask paper.
How about a little cookie on a stick? I spread chocolate frosting between two vanilla wafers, inserted a lollipop stick and dunked them in candy melts. They were topped off with pink sugar. I stuck them in holes I poked into a gift wrapped box. I’m not a huge kettle corn fan but this was pretty good. As you can see the cones were made from the same gift wrap.
Small white plates lined with white and black damask were used for the Hershey’s Kisses and Raffaelos and pink Jordan Almonds.
I don’t know about you but my sweet tooth has been satisfied, at least for now.
Menu
Pink Velvet Cake with pink candy coated donut holes – Sweet Sensations
Red Velvet Mini Cheesecakes – Sam’s Babycakes
Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies with Walnuts -Sam’s BabyCakes
Sugar Cookies – Adapted from Desserts for Two
White Cake Squares with Pink Candy Melt Drizzle – Little Debbies
Strawberry Vanilla Bean Milkshakes – Sweet Sensations
Kettle Corn – Sweet Sensations
Coconut Almond Truffles
Hersheys Kisses with Raspberry Filling
Jordan Almonds
White Zinfindel
I’m sharing my birthday table at Whipperberry.
happy Birthday Sandra! the menu looks great and I am drooling for those white cake squares and pink velvet cake. Everything is so perfect for the occasion.
That pink velvet cake was very different. The recipe will be up soon and thank you for the Birthday wishes.
HaPpY HaPpY BiRtHdAy Sandra!!!!! Oh how fabulous (yes…both YOU and your gorgeous table!) I am so very impressed! This setting is just beautiful! I love the black and white and pink theme. It’s elegant, pretty and classy (much like YOU!). You’ve turned some of the simplest elements into such works of art! I love coming here…you inspire me in so many ways….and I come away with my mind racing in a million different directions! I hope your 39th birthday (wink) is the best ever! And may you have a happy and healthy year to come! Now sit down and enjoy your fantastic party! : )
39 is going to be a fabulous year! Thank you for always coming back and inspiring me with your kind words. I’m sure I indulged a bit too much, but that’s what birthday’s are for. Thank you again.
Thanks for linking to me
You’re welcome.
OMG!!! Sandy, girrrrrrrrl, you outdid yourself!!! This is such a treat to look at!! I must have scrolled up and down at least six times!! Wishing you the best on your birthday and for many years to come!!
Thank you in big bunches! I had to pack up most of the goodies and send them out of the house.
This is so fabulous! There are so many carefully chosen elements you pulled together here. I want this exactly as is for my birthday! Your table scapes just keep getting better with time, so birthdays do have their benefits. Be proud of your accomplishments, my friend, I know I am!
Thank you Tina for being so supportive. I always want to improve on everything I do and feel incredibly blessed to have the good health to try.
Happy Birthday!! What a sweet celebration. You are going to have to think hard to top this one Sandra.
Thank you Eileen and I have my thinking cap on.
Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful! Happy Birthday to you. I love the new look of your site too. Have a wonderful day.
Thanks Suzi, have to change things up a bit every once in a while.
Happy birthday to you Sandra! And what a SPECTACULAR menu and table you’ve created for yourself – beautifully photographed, too! Enjoy those senior discounts!
You guys are funny and thank you. You always give me a confidence boost and I appreciate it.
Oh C’mon..you don’t look like senior at all, nobody will believe it! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!! Your creations look amazing, what a party menu..wowww just stunning!
I wish you lifetime of happiness!!!!!!
Thank you Sandra, I am so blessed to be able to do what I love to do and to have good friends to share it with.
I know I commented on the photos on Foodbuzz but I think the full post wasn’t up yet. Seriously this table is amazing. It is so pretty and well put together all the treats look amazing. I hope you had a wonderful birthday!
I had an amazing birthday Susie, thanks for stopping by again and for your kind words.
Oh, my gosh, you are AMAZING, Sandra!!! Just WOW!!! Every treat and decoration is perfect….what a nice thing to do for yourself! You deserve it
Had to laugh about the fat pants comment…at OUR age, we have to be more careful!!! xo
Thank you Liz and yes we do have to be more careful. I really would love to know how that skinny chick who bakes stays so skinny!!??
OK, Sandra…I am going to start off being nice: “Happy Birthday, Sandra! Oh, wow! You don’t look a day over 20! I am so happy for you! Congratulations!” Now that the niceties are out of the way: I DON’T LIKE YOU ANYMORE!!!!!!!! I was just talking to you earlier this evening about how I was struggling in the kitchen with those cookies, and you make it all look so easy! (I didn’t even mention earlier how I apparently put too much strawberry filling between the cake layers and it started to slide all over the place!) This is so pretty…and I can’t stand you for it!!! I am a super girlie girl, especially when it comes to entertaining. Pink is my very favorite color in the whole entire world, and you have just taken it to the nth! Curse you, Sandra!!!!!!
OK…now that I have vented, I love you again! 
Girl you are hilarious!!! I will be chuckling about this comment for days. Love You!!!
Happy Birthday! Your photos are beautiful!
Thank you Chris.
I have to say the same thing as everyone else…at the risk of sounding like a parrot – you look amazing!
…speaking of Amazing! The table, menu and food is stunning! You are really, really talented!
Thank you Ann. I am always encouraged and blessed to have so many good foodie friends.
WOW! Happy Birthday!!! You have been working hard and the results are sensational! Love everything here, looks so amazing – wish I could be at your party to give you a big birthday hug but I’m sending through the blogosphere ……………….. did you get it?
Have a wonderful day, Sandra!
I sure did get that hug and it was a BIG one!! Thank you so much Chris you’re a great friend.
Happy Birthday, Sandra!! There’s so much inspiration here! I love every element of this table. Great job!
Thanks Tiffany and I love your blog. You’ve had some fabulous parties!
You did it again Sandra! Holly molly everything is stunning!!! What I’m amazed about is that you are having fun. To be honest, I’m always so nervous about photo shooting and I get so serious about how I take pictures of the food (cooking part, I’m not worried about)… do I enjoy it? I have to ask twice myself. After photo shooting I think I can say it was fun (sometimes) but I’m not sure if I can say I’m having fun…. I think I’m not at the level that I can enjoy it since it’s a big challenge for me all the time. So, I’m really impressed and happy for you that you enjoy what you do. I highly admire you for that. Every single details of your sweets and presentation show your dedication for this post. I really enjoyed it. And lastly, did you enjoy your birthday? I hope you do, and I’m sure you were sugar overload. =) Once again, HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
Thank you for saying such nice things Nami. The photo shoot to me is the most nerve wrecking part. Your pictures are always perfect and I can’t imagine you being uneasy about them. I’m working with a point and shoot, plus it seems like I’m always chasing daylight. Working with artificial lighting is very frustrating. That being said I still have fun, because I love the whole process of planning the table and then putting it together. I’d gladly do a couple of these a week.
What a beautiful dessert table. I love all the pink details, and everything looked so delicious. Great job, and thanks for sharing it. Oh and, Happy Birthday!
Dannyelle @ http://www.lifeispaarty.ca
Thank you Dannyelle, I’m so happy you stopped by!
—-Sandra,
I can’t believe how absolutley stunningly BEAUTIFUL this is…
Happy Birthday.
)
—-love this site.
Thank you Kim, and thanks for stopping by. Hope you visit again. Love your site.
Pink and black, sweets and snacks. Oh my! Great job giving yourself the perfect party because who else but you would know exactly how to get it right. You go, girl! Thanks for sharing. ~CJ
Thank you for stopping by and you’re exactly right!
Okay… I have looked at each picture 2x-3x and I’m still just in awe!! You are truly amazing!! I mean, you are on a whole different playing field when it comes to decorating and setting a table!! I am simply amazed by all the beauty, sophistication, attention to detail… the list goes on and on!! I hope your birthday was as terrific for you as it looks to us from the pictures. I hope this year is filled with all the love, joy and happiness you could ever ask for!! Enjoy yourself and give yourself a big pat on the back for such a gorgeous job!! After all that work.. you deserve to treat yourself to a spa day.
Thank you Ramona. I am blessed to have some many foodie friends that support and encourage me. I’m having the time of my life designing tables and styling parties. And funny you mention a spa day, I got a spa gift certificate for my birthday. Looking forward to being pampered big time!
Ah nuts, I’m late to the party. And a pink party to boot. HAPPY BIRTHDAY SANDRA!!! This all looks stunning. I am now a little chuffed at my family for not providing me with a pink party like this. I have pink envy. xx
Ha, you are hilarious Kim! Hope your birthday was a blast. That was some cake/torte you had.
Happy Birthday Sandra!!! I hope you had a fantastic birthday, and judging from the look of this table, you sure did
It’s fabulous!! You outdid yourself this time!
Wishing you a very Happy Birthday Sandra! It must have been a Divine affair with all your Delicious Desserts!
Cheers:)
J & C
This is amazing. I love this one the best!
This one is one of my all time favorites. I had such a sense of pride and accomplishment when I finished it. Aslo gained a couple of pounds