Celebrating the 70's Double Birthday Party Extravaganza

Let me share with you some great photos of a most memorable double celebration a few weeks back. My Mom turned 70 and my brother in law turned 40 which means he was born in the 70's so I decided to host a 70's themed celebration with 70's food. Let me tell you, I had a blast researching all the 70's foods on the net, and let me also tell you, this is not a 'healthy' blog entry, but a celebration of what used to be... to be ingested in moderation of course.

 Signage...

The celebrated one! So pretty in her new sweater for the celebration!

 

 

Other signage... thanks Julie for getting those!

 

 The best homemade signage designed by Melanie, love how she capture the 70's! And so does Barrie apparently.

... and then Stephanie is like, can we please get this party started????

It was hard to find ideas on how to incorporate veggies in the 70's, my 70's were filled with canned peas! So I saw that was the introduction of the Salad Bar- which was Julie's favourite thing to do in a restaurant. So I made her 'in charge' of bringing all the fun fixings! She did not disappoint... and check out Melanie's other beautiful signage... Salad Bar!

 

Ok, I had to add these to the salad bar... they were my favourites. Bugles!

OMG, look at that fried, crispy cone of corn and preservatives!

 ... and these... a take on what my mom used to make us in the 70's called, 'Bouchee au Bacon', bacon bites. Which were white bread, slathered with Cheez Whiz and then topped with real bacon and then broiled and cut into bite size pieces. Well my version was a little more modern... triscuits, cheddar and bacon bits, these were gobbled up!

Happy Birthday Party table decoration, now we skip ahead to the main event.  The meal!

 It included a classic- Rice A Roni, a San Fransisco Treat. I have memories of this product being promoted on the Price is Right.

 There's the beauty! It was 'gross', but my rice lovers LOVED it! Brent, Melanie and my Daddy could not get enough!

 The big protein..... Shake n' Bake Chicken. Oh, wow, was it delicious- it's all about the crispy skin, the best part!

Here's my portion sensible plate- ok, except for the donation of my Mom's skin (she doesn't eat it- what????) and a side of St.Hubert BBQ sauce- oh you know it!

 Celebrating the 70's continues...

 

 ... with raspberry jell-o and butterscotch pudding- so 70's right?

If you are 40, you probably remember....

... toasting Pop Tarts- these were a hit, the smell of the cinnamon apple toasting had people licking there lips.

Oh, but wait, there's more, the Main Event. The 70's Birthday Cake. You can see Barrie and my Mom just blowing out those candles.... 

 

That's right... it's Pineapple Upsidedown cake. One of my absolute favourites! So retro, sweet and the best when you use canned pineapples and Maraschino cherries that take you 7 years to digest...

 

 And now it was time to get the party started! Just look at that cute Stephanie busting a move! She was dancing up a storm on my 'craft table'.

 

 So you're wondering what this is... well this was a 70's tradition too! At Christmas time my family, aunts, uncles and cousins would all get together in Montreal and play Bingo, and when you won the Bingo, you got to go fishing behind a sheet for a prize. So this is my interpretation of it all. Tie a table cloth the the wall and lamp and for a fishing pole, tie a piece of yarn to a knitting needle... Julie and Stephanie were having soooo much fun! So instead of Bingo, I decided to ask everyone 70's trivia questions to win their little prize!

  Sharing and caring and present-giving, that's Stephanie holding a cute little mini-pink bow seconds before she put it in her month... oh, kids, aren't they adorable?

 ... actually yes, they are. See. Here is a special Father/Daughter moment captured while opening some Valentine's presents from Grand-maman.

Cafe Latte Downtown Date

One of my sweetest, dearest friends from way, way back in High School ( a few 30 yrs ago)- Holy Cow that hurts to say... is my dear friend Roshni. She has traveled the world with her family and for now has settled back down to Oakville in a beautiful home, not too far from where she lived growing up. We made a special date recently to reconnect- 'sans' little girls (she has 2) and we met up at my favourite little cafe downtown Oakville for some sweet Latte!

 I LOVE MILK ART!

 

We window shopped and talked about our hopes and dreams for our little girls! Here's Roshni standing 

Some winter greenery.

 Some high-fashion model shot!

A trip to our favourite store.... Anthropologie. Find your Cup!

Shoot back to our our special Valentine's cookie... we shared this delicious treat!

 

And there is my sweet friend blowing us all a kiss! Over our latte's my 'skinny', her's ;decaf'!

Thanks for an awesome date Ro! Loved our special time together!

Skinnied Up Banana Splits

I love the taste of a banana split, so one day, I decided to make a healthier version of this favourite treat of mine.

Start by cutting up some strawberries and bananas into bite size pieces.

Then, instead of using ice cream, choose a frozen yogurt. Chapman's has the best selections and they are ususally 50% less fat than real ice cream.

See, half a cup has 130 calories and 3g of fat, compare this to ice cream- 290 calories and 18g of fat (ok that's Haagen Dazs, but still!!!).

 

Et voila, just add some drizzle of chocolate sauce!

Here's a closeup... nice, eh? This little treat was less than 200 calories, so go ahead and impress your friends and family... just remember to put it in a fancy serving dish and you will think you are at one of those fancy gourmet desert places.

Nice Nails- Blue Steel

Sometimes you just have to go crazy with your colours.... Check out some of these designs... Sally Hansen Blue and Purple tips... not an ordinary nail day!

Nature's Fast Food- Spinach Omelette

Okay people, I am a busy mom, wife, friend, zumbaer, taxi driver, shopper, worker bee and chef of course... so on those nights when it's omelette night, I try and add some quick nutrition and hit the road running!

 Here's my attempt... take 2 eggs, add a handful of baby spinach and some light mozzarella, salt and pepper and that's a great way to sneak in your veggies!

Ok, so even though I am French, I still have not perfected the omelette flip... maybe it's because I am French Canadian... but, let me tell you, it's still delicious!

Date Night with Love

Recently, my dear husband and I went on a date night. We love to go see movies and have a nice dinner, just him and I. Usually, I try to see at least one of the films nominated for the Academy Awards, this year, the only one that wouldn't scare me or make me cry or was too violent was- Silver Linings Playbook. It was a wonderful date movie and some great emotional moments... and dancing too! A great date movie indeed. We had received gift certificates at Christmas for Montana's, so that's where we made our next stop.

 

 Montana's has a very special meaning to us. When we first started dating 15 years ago, we went for brunch and Brent drew his love for me and I for him in the form of hearts and arrows pointing to each other... we were shy and still young in our relationship so we weren't as bold as we were tonight.

Check out what my date drew for me. So cute, right? Since he had to draw this upside down, he circled the letter he messed up on... I still love him though!

The artist, Brent, my dear husband and date night partner for life!

 Here is my attempt at upside down love declaration for my husband.

Ok, this is one of our favourite dishes here. Antijitos. Rolled up tortillas with a spicy cream cheese filling and dipped in a sour cream with pesto sauce. Now this isn't a 'healthy' recipe... but I will one day share with you my version, which is healthier, created by dear friend Robin.

Ok, but this is why Brent wanted to go to Montanas... all you can eat Ribs... okay so I stayed on track with a grilled steak and baked potato... but yes, I did have to steal a bite of the BBQ crunchy crust. Thanks for sharing Brent, I love you.

Healthy Homemade Tortilla Taco Salad

Check out what Santa brought me this year. Tortilla molds!

It's a healthy alternative to those taco salads served in fried bowls.

We took some small whole wheat tortillas and baked these following the directions.

Look, a little bowl, next time I suggest we use a larger tortilla for a 'meal' sized portion.

This is how we assembled ours. Iceberg lettuce on the bottom...

... then extra lean ground beef with spicy mexican seasoning, then some light shredded cheddar...

... add some light sour cream, salsa and a few Kalamata olives and there you have it! The possibilities are endless, you could mix and match lettuce, protein and veggies and have a different edible bowl salad everyday of the week!