Tucson Custom Home Builder

Very unrelated to my usual blogging, but my boyfriend is a custom home builder and we just finished his site! SO I thought I would give him a little love and start spreading the word and working on the link building! This website became a labor of love for me too working together with Pat of Geoelements Design Studio to get it put together. If anyone is in need of web design work Pat is your man! I have hired and fired many web designers since I started working on Swanky Chicks a year and a half ago, and Geoelements Design has been a breathe of fresh air to work with!
Dolan and Sons builds amazing custom homes in Northwest Tucson in some of the most stunning and exclusive communities. You just wouldn't believe the views from some of these homes, what am I talking about you wouldn't believe some of these homes either! I don't know about you but I love to look at beautiful homes, so take a look at his site leave us some feedback here on my blog. And please spread the word Dolan and Sons Custom Homes, Tucson's premier custom home builder!

Bridal Party Gifts- Part 2

Hi all! Today I have a favor to ask of you, I need your totally honest opinion. I have a great retailer Mud Pie Gifts that has the most adorable lines of bridal party gifts. So I am asking for your opinion on which ones to stock. They offer three lines

Something Blue

I Do!
And Eat Drink and Be Married
I want to test out one or two of the lines and see how they sell. Please leave a comment and let me know which bridal party bags you like- if any. I am looking for your honest opinion, you will not hurt any feelings here. Would you buy them for your bridesmaids gifts? Thanks! Brandy

Tortilla Roll Up- Recipe

I thought I would share another amazing recipe with y'all today. These tortilla roll ups are a great idea for finger foods, and are light enough to be served with lots of other goodies. Whether you are hosting a baby shower, or bridal shower, or cocktail party this recipe is sure to be a hit!

Tortilla Roll-Ups Recipe #1
12 (14-ounce package) flour tortillas
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 cup sour cream
1 (4-ounce) can chopped green chiles
3 tablespoons chopped green onion
2 tablespoons finely chopped red bell pepper
12 ounces sharp Cheddar cheese, grated
1 cup salsa or picante sauce
PREPARATION:
Directions for tortilla roll-ups. In a medium bowl combine cream cheese, sour cream, chilies, onion, red bell pepper, and Cheddar cheese. Mix thoroughly. Spread onto tortillas and roll up. Cover tightly and chill for 2 hours or overnight. Slice the tortillas into smaller portions to make a great hors devours.


Tortilla Roll Ups Recipe #2
These tortilla roll-ups are very popular, especially for holiday entertaining. Serve with salsa, Ranch dressing, sour cream, guacamole, or use your own favorite dip ideas.
INGREDIENTS:
5 large flour tortillas
1 bunch green onions, chopped
4 ounces chopped green chiles, drained
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
8 ounces sour cream
1/2 pound Cheddar cheese, shredded
salt and pepper to taste
salsa, sour cream, guacamole, or your favorite dip ideas
PREPARATION:
Have tortillas at room temperature. Place the remaining ingredients in a bowl mix with an electric mixer on low until well combined. Spread mixture thinly and evenly over tortillas to within 1/8-inch of edge. Slice into smaller portions for a great hors devour.

If you decide to try this yummy recipe please comment and share your thoughts or variations!

Personalized Baby Shower Favors- Lemonade or Hot Cocoa Mix

If you have been searching for original yet practical baby shower favors look no further! Swanky Chicks has added a line of personalized drink mix favors that come in hot cocoa and lemonade! You can personalized the favors with colors to match your invites, your name or your babies name, the shower date or your due date. The little favors are so unique and are something your guests will actually take home and use.

Nothing is sweeter than a precious little baby but our personalized lemonade mix favor sure comes close! Treat guests to this refreshingly sweet summertime drink. A perfect complement to any outdoor and warm weather events. Create the perfect lemonade gift by pairing it with our optional heart handle mini whisks.

Guests can cozy up to a cup of exquisite Hot Cocoa this winter with these Personalized Hot Cocoa Favors. For a mom-to-be with a sweet tooth this decadent chocolate favor is sure to please.
And just because your baby shower is held in the spring, summer or fall, don't hesitate! This traditional winter beverage is now enjoyed all year round. If you love chocolate, this is the perfect favor for you, anytime Create the perfect hot cocoa gift by pairing it with our optional heart handle mini whisk.

Swanky Chicks also has the Cocoa and Lemonade mixes available for bridal shower or wedding reception favors. Are you planning on welcoming your out of town guests in a special way? These make a great addition to welcome baskets, and your guests can use them while in town for your wedding.

Personalized Bridal Party Gifts

As you all know I went to Vegas last week. Well on my very early flight 6:30 am (btw I am not really a morning person it was a very difficult flight) I met a wonderful women Perry Touche who made the flight a lot easier! Sorry Perry if I butchered the name, she told me I wouldn't forget it and I didn't. We had great conversation, I told her a little about Swanky Chicks and she talked about her daughters. One of Perry's daughter is getting married later this year and she asked my opinion on bridal party gifts. I have been wanting to blog about this very subject for a while and Perry lit a fire under me!

My Mom often jokes with me that I have become a professional bridesmaid and sometimes I think I could be Katherine Heigel in 27 dresses LOL, so I definitely have an opinion on this subject! I have gotten jewelry, hair and makeup, pajamas, track suits, picture frames, candles and tote bags as bridal party gifts. Far and away my favorite is a tote bag full of goodies. The very first wedding I stood in the bride gave us a tote bag with our initial on it, and to this day I use it as a carry on and overnight bag.

Many brides fill these bridal party bags with small goodies as well. Bath products, manicure sets, make up bags, flip flops, wedding day essentials like tissues, bobbi pins, lip gloss, and mini hairspray, make great fillers for the bridal party tote bags. Swanky Chicks has several lines of personalized lotions, lip balms, and shower gels. We are adding adorable cupcake mixes, that you can pair with a heart shaped measuring spoons or whisk. I also love personalized note cards or stationary. Or think of something that each individual bridesmaid would love, something that you would give her as a birthday gift, and fill the bag with that. The bridal party does not have to all get the same gift!

The more personal and usable the bridal party gifts are, the better. Your bridesmaids may even wind up using them long past your wedding day like I have. The same is true for gifts for the groomsmen, help out your hubby to be and suggest personal gifts. How many flasks and clocks can one guy have!

Many of these products make wonderful hostess gifts as well!

Great Baby Shower and Birthday Gifts!

Swanky Chicks has recently added the cutest line of girlie, unique boutique clothes for your little one. One Posh Kid is a Phoenix based. Mommy owned business that creates the most darling little outfits. The pieces are perfect for a baby shower gift, or even a birthday gift for older girls! We are even carrying a line of birthday couture that will make your birthday girl feel extra special. One Posh Kid products are always made of the best quality fabrics and materials. These are pieces your little girl will want to wear over and over again and they are made to last.


The One Posh Kid line is a celebrity favorite, most recently they created a custom piece for Tori Spelling's little girl Stella! Swanky Chicks will soon be carrying that piece that you can customize with your precious little girls name. Visit the Swanky Babies, Baby Girl and Toddler Couture sections to shop for One Posh Kid pieces.

Wendy from One Posh Kid runs a great blog with updates on new products that are in development and cute antecdotes on her family. Follow her blog at One Posh Kid.

Bachelorette Party!!

This weekend I went to Las Vegas with 6 of my best friends and sorority pledge sisters to celebrate a bachelorette party. My "favorite friend," as we like to call each other, Michelle is getting MARRIED!!! We are all so excited for her. She has met a truly amazing man who we know she will have a long and happy marriage with. Well here are the highlights.
Vegas is the ultimate bachelorette party destination. Yes it is expensive but we all decided we were going about six months ago and started saving. Plan ahead and save $100 to $150 a month or so until the party and you will have no problem affording it. The sooner you decide the easier it will be to save up!
We stayed at the Venetian and got a couple of the Bella Suites. Our rooms were amazing and the service is great but I can't recommend it. The gambling was not so great and the table minimums were very high even during the day. Each floor had a different floral fragrance that was wonderful when we got there and gave me a head ache by the time we left! TAO was a neat restaurant and club but overrated. I will say however the Lounge bar in the hotel had a fun 80's cover band that played Poison, Journey, and all our "hairband" favs.
Here are my raves. We absolutely LOVED the Bellagio. We ate a FIX and had the most wonderful service from everyone starting with the hostess and bussers to our waiter. We then had cocktails at the lounge Caramel and were given FREE bottle service and had such a fun waitress. They then escorted us past the line and right into their nightclub the Bank to dance the night away!
I also have wonderful things to say about the Monte Carlo. The hotel is clean, beautiful, and does not reek of cigarettes. The dealers at the craps and black jack tables were extremely entertaining! They had us competing with the table next to us to see who could be louder and have more fun!
Email me if you are planning a Vegas trip we met some wonderful VIP hosts and I will be glad to share their contact info! brandy@swankychicks.com

Crab or Chicken Salad Martini!

I have a wonderfully Swanky Party Tip for you today! I love to cook and I was raised in Texas so I always joke that my recipes are great but never healthy, or healthy but not as great. I also love getting my hands on as many new recipes as I can. Needless to say I adore Paula Deen and her amazing recipes! Good southern cooking maybe not so good for you but is always good. I get so many compliments when I use one of her recipes. I was watching Paula Deen over the weekend and found this awesome recipe with a very swanky twist! The Paula Deen recipe is a crab salad serve in a martini glass! This is such a classy and unique way to serve a light dish, your guests will be so impressed.

Cost Plus World Market always has inexpensive glasses if you are short on martini glasses. If you are not a seafood lover try making a chicken salad and serving it garnished in the martini glasses. (Hint to spice up my chicken salad I add a few spoonfuls of green salsa YUM) The Paula Deen recipe is Paula Deen Crab Martini. Enjoy!

Custom Nursery Art

Attention all my mommies, and mommies to be Custom Nursery Art is a must have accesssory for your nursery! You have picked out a theme, colors, furniture bedding, you almost have it all for your nursery and then it comes to what to put on the walls. I think that this is the hardest part of decorating any room let alone a perfect little nursery.

Well I have met a fellow Aggie and Texan that can help solve that problem. She has clients nation wide that she creates wonderful one of a kind custom nursery art for! You tell her your colors and theme and she gives you a to die for piece to hang in your little bundle of joy's nursery.

Custom Nursery Art is the ultimate way to bring it all to together and give your nursery that finishing touch. Custom Nursery Art also makes a wonderful gift for a friend or family member. Custom Nursery Art offers gift certificates so she can work directly with mommy and daddy to be to create a one of a kind piece.

Kim's custom pieces are also a great idea for your older children's rooms!

Sausage Queso Recipe

Okay so this recipe may be more football party than baby shower but it is too good not to share! You will need a crockpot, one stick of velveta cheese, one can of rotel(in the mexican food area), and one roll of ground sausage jimmy dean is usualy the best the sage flavor. This is really easy but you should start it at least an hour or two before the party so your cheese melts. But not earlier than that or else it starts to burn on the edges. Brown your ground sausage in a skillet and drain. Cut up your velveta into smaller squares about 16th's but that's not too important the smaller the pieces the faster it will melt. In your crockpot add the cheese, sausage and rotel (do not drain). Heat on high until the cheese melts and then turn down to low or warm to keep the cheese from burning. Serve with tortilla chips and enjoy. Your guests will love it! I always get requests for how to make this one. Don't forget to stop by Swanky Chicks for great baby shower and bridal shower favors to go along with your recipe!

Personalized Baby Shower Favors

So I am busily adding more products to the site, just as quick as I can! I have added some adorable personalized baby shower favors. Guests can pucker up with these sweet cases of vanilla flavored lip balm labeled with playful little baby designs - from a stylish baby carriage to a "goo-goo" baby face. The perfect size to pop into your pocket or handbag for on-the-go lip replenishment. These luxurious lip balms come personalized with your chosen text, color and design. I used the lip balm baby shower favors at my sisters shower this summer and they were a huge hit! On top of being super cute the vanilla flavored lip balm is great!

I have also added some adorable baby shower mint tins. You can choose a label to match the baby shower lip balm and have a great little personalized baby shower favor set for your guests. Send off guests with something they can slip into their purses and start using right away. Baby shower themed tins make a modern package for your sweets (fill them with colored jelly beans, mints or any other candy that you like best) and also make practical favors. Choose a design to match the baby shower theme and mommy-to-be's style - a goo-goo baby to show her playful side, a pink rubber ducky hint at something sweet, and a cute umbrella to celebrate the shower.