What I did on my summer vacation....

Since it's been SUCH an epically long time since I consistently posted; I thought I'd show some stuff I've done over the past year...

From the 4th of July

If you couldn't tell from my previous post...my mom and I love to cook. Well, my mom is a great cook/baker, and I am a willing (as long as it doesn't involve corn) guinea pig. Mom had been talking about making homemade "Moon Pies", and I finally pestered her into it.

EVERY component in this "Moon Pie"
 was made from scratch.  The graham cracker and the marshmallow and the layer of chocolate glue in between.....YUUUUUM!  Plus, I also got to watch Mom fight with the marshmallows.  See, unlike the marshmallows you see in the baking aisle at the grocery store...these marshmallows were fresh...which means STICKY.  Mom was pretty much covered in powdered sugar and bits of marshmallow by the end of it, which is why some of the marshmallow edges looking a little ragged.  Didn't affect the taste though...still DEE-LISH.

I've actually never had a store-bought "Moon Pie", but I really think there's no way they can measure up.

Bernie was pouting because he didn't get any...since it had chocolate and all....and mostly because I wanted them all for myself.

I also got to spend some time with one of my good friends, Rachel, who recently moved up from Georgia Southern.  She, Bernie, and I have birthdays around the same week, so for the past few years we've all hung out together.

This year, we went on a tour-de-Atlanta.  One of the places we went was Sublime Donuts in Midtown.  They've been in the news, on FoodNetwork, and on a blog my mom and I read, Bakerella.  And they're right here in Atlanta!

Really non-descript place.  You'd almost never know it was there if you didn't know what you were looking for.

Ahhhhh the fruits of our labor.  Yes, that is a bag full of donuts.  Yes, those are all mine.  And yes, this is a donut story after the "Moon Pie" story.  Think of it like "Eat Pray Love" but with baked goods.  Yeah....that sounds good.

Rachel's selections.  The s'mores one (with the marshmallow middle) was super yummy.  I got that one, too.

The fresh strawberries and cream!  Strawberries and cream cheese?! Heck yes!  Bernie wasn't really a fan, though.  :)

My best friend's shower

So one of my best friends in the whole world is getting married. As the maid of honor, it is my duty to host a shower in her honor. I love Katie; she and I go way back to our college days, so I had to do something that would be totally her. She's a lot more sophisticated and modern than I am....and she loves Tiffany & Co, in fact, her engagement ring is from Tiffany's. So that's the theme I decided to run with...iconic Tiffany blue and white satin and diamonds.



I can't lie...my mom did help with the majority of the food execution. I made decisions about what to eat (I am obsessed with the fruit tarts), and the decorating ideas, so I can hope to say it was a collaborative effort. Mainly I just want to show off what we accomplished...together...which was wonderful on its own. Thanks, Mom, you're the absolute best.



So like any great masterpiece...we had to start somewhere.



Since we had the Tiffany & Co. theme....we had to incorporate diamonds. Mom found what she calls "pirate booty" online...which was too awesome for words in my opinion. We scattered the clear gems around the tables...I hear they come in a whole array of colors, but we were going for diamonds so we chose clear.



CAN YOU SAY 'BLING'?!?!?!?! I looooooove it!



We put some little Christmas lights above my entertainment center and above the niche in my kitchen. It really added a subtle layer of twinkle and light that highlighted some of the silver I already have in my place as part of my own decor.



These are the favors....aren't they just too frickin' cute!? They're little blue candles on the inside, and the ribbons say "Something Blue" on them too! All this coordination makes me giggly :).



So these are the unadorned tables...a blank canvas...sort of. I wanted the tables to look like Tiffany boxes...blue wrapped with a white satin ribbon.

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This is the "dessert" table. We had the tarts...which were soooooo delish!!! Brownies and chocolate dipped-strawberries. Another bridesmaid also brought cupcakes designed to look like cute potted flowers, too.




The fruit added a nice, fresh, slightly tart contrast to the sweet pastry cream.



Who doesn't love brownies, right? And I love that my mom thought to put them in these cupcake liners....it added such a great touch.



Again, Mom thought to put flowers in an antique silver teapot. I picked the flowers....but it was such a great idea. And I'm sure a small part of her thought, "YES! I KNEW this teapot would come in handy someday!"



Rebecca working on the assemblage of her cupcake-flower pots...



Guess everyone enjoyed it!

I know....I know.....

It's been an excessively long time. I apologize. A year, actually. I've done a lot over the year....had some pretty fun adventures...we'll recap later perhaps.