It's a Fiesta!!

My good friend and neighbor, Shannon, moved away this week, so in honor of her I through a fiesta themed dinner party. I have always wanted to host a themed party. It turned out pretty well and we all had a blast. Adios Shannon!

The invite was a mini cactus I found at IKEA. Aren't they the cutest?

My mom gave me this vintage tablecloth and it ended being the perfect focal point to model everything else after.

The place setting. The margarita glasses were rimmed with red sugar (for strawberry daiquiris) and the napkin rings were tissue paper pom poms.

While browsing Martha Stewart I saw this great menu idea. Fit the menu to the shape of your serving piece, instead of the boring ol' rectangular menus.

The guests and appetizers.

The guest of honor. These are larger versions of the pom poms. Apparently they are traditional decorations for mexican weddings. Martha Stewart's website has great directions on how to make them.

I wrapped different sizes of glass vases with, yep, more tissue paper and put a small votive in each. They were so pretty and festive.

(Paul was having anxiety about all the paper and fire in our house)

The best neighbors in the world!

here's a close up of the lanterns...it still doesn't do it justice.

The food was awesome but the highlight was the dessert, Faux Fried Ice cream. It was unbelievable. You rough crush 4 c. corn flakes, finely chop 8 oz. coconut and 1/2 c. pecans (I put both in a food processor to get it finely chopped) and throw them in a bowl with a 1/2 tsp or more if you like of cinnamon. Then you melt a stick of butter and 1 c. brown sugar until dissolved. Pour sugar over cornflake mixture and stir. If it feels too wet, add a little more cornflakes. Next, get your vanilla ice cream and form a scoop into a tennis sized ball. Roll the balls in the cornflakes until well coated, wrap in plastic wrap and freeze. When you are ready to serve take them out about 10 min before. Now here's the secret, drizzle each ball with HONEY, I don't know why, but it make it taste fried and delicious. Top with whipped cream and be prepared to fall in love.