Vintage Sheets

I've been collecting vintage sheets lately -- just now and then when I run into them and the price is right. They work quite well for tablecloths, and brighten up the dining room. I've found they work best when placed on top of a plain colored cloth, so that the sheerness of the sheet is not obvious. This one looked so cute with Laura's birthday cupcakes. I've just found a new yellow one and I can't wait for Mother's Day to use it!

We're doing wedding flowers today! It will be fun to be surrounded by all the lovely colors and scents of the flowers. I'll take lots of pictures......

The Ruffle Cake

Have you seen the Ruffle Tower Cake yet? My friend who stayed with us introduced me to them (we made 3 while she was here!) and now I'm hooked! The effect is quite stunning and I can't wait to create one for Christina's Trunk Show this coming Thursday.

You can find the recipe and instructions right here. Do be shocked at how much butter it takes!

Nursery Rhyme Shower

Last weekend my sister and I hosted a baby shower for a friend. We decided on a nursery rhyme theme and asked my mom to paint us a bunch of decorations.

In keeping with the theme, we played a nursery rhyme game with a tray of objects, each one related to a nursery rhyme -- the players had to guess which object went with what rhyme.

Everyone signed the front of a book of nursery rhymes as a reminder of the shower.

The three blind mice were really hysterical!

We also went around the room and shared our favorite childrens' books.

The food had a nursery rhyme theme too. Peter Peter Pumpkin Eater's wife sat inside a pumpkin shell. I neglected to photograph the pumpkin pie bars that went with the pumpkin.

Cherry tarts for Queen of Hearts:

Blind chocolate mice made a very whimsical decoration:

Emily made nice little pat-a-cake cupcakes:

There were devilled eggs for humpty dumpty and then some brie and white stilton for Little Miss Muffet.

Emily and I enjoyed the evening and it seemed like everyone else did too!

If it seems like party central around here, it was for a week or so. :) No more parties on the horizon, just trying to figure out how to celebrate Michael's 40th coming up in a few weeks.

Spring Tea

As you may have read about on The Cooks Next Door, it is our family tradition to have a spring tea on the first day of spring. I decided the "next' day of spring was close enough and we could have our tea on Sunday since I like to have something special for Sunday lunch anyway.

Our simple little tea morphed into a party of 13 overnight and we all had a great time around the table together.

I found some near-bursting branches in the woods and mom showed up with some flowers to stick in with the branches. I loved the effect!

We used the traditional spring embroidered tablecloth for the center and of course included strawberries in the menu.

There was quiche, fruit salad, and an incredible green salad which will have to make an appearance on TCND, and piles of scones with 3 kinds of homemade jam and cream. And all the tea and coffee one could drink.

Good times!!!!

The kids and I enjoyed another afternoon tea yesterday with the leftovers. Leftovers are such a welcome thing around here (at least for the mother).

Don't forget to sign up for the knitting pattern giveaway!!!

Party Time

Emily's birthday was this past Friday. Our plans morphed from nothing, to having the family over after dinner, to having one or two friends, to inviting a party over! We ended up having a really fun evening.

The theme of the food table was "Winter Wonderland" complete with 3 lighted trees and a myriad of candles:

There was lots of good food: a baked ham for sandwiches, veggies, spinach/bean/ricotta dip, salsa and chips, chex mix, cheeseball, apples and caramel, trifle, gluten-free chocolate cake, Christmas pudding with hard sauce and a cookie/candy platter.

Perhaps it was a bit over the top, but it was fun to make, and several of the items will serve a dual purpose of "blog appearance" over at TCND.

Let me forewarn you that the blueberry-lemon trifle was INCREDIBLE! You will eventually see the recipe FOR SURE!

Christina's gluten-free chocolate cake with peppermint was a definite hit.

Besides tree-trimming there was also a table for cookie decorating -- not just for the kids in attendance, but the adults too.

Fun times! And, can I also mention that I do love my new camera lens, even if I am still learning exactly how to get the best pictures with it. (Note: most of my personal blog pictures are taken with my little point and shoot, but sometimes I throw in a few from my new digital SLR -- most of the shots in this post came from it.)

Saturday Shower

It's the season for hospitality around here! This past Saturday we hosted a baby shower brunch for a friend.

There was plenty of good food. Sticky Buns:

Gluten-free pumpkin bars (which taste just as good to gluten-eaters as to gluten-freers):

Scones of various assortment:

And cream puff swans:

Pumpkin yeast bread was baked for favors:

And we had a number of kinds of quiche to eat as well:

I didn't get a picture of everyone sitting in the front room eating their food and sipping tea, but this is what the set-up looked like afterward:

And now we all just have to wait a few more months to meet the baby girl we were celebrating.

Today the kids and I headed off to the International Festival here in town. It was so much fun and I took a lot of pictures to post soon. And I still need to tell you all about Baby John's baptism on Sunday. Life is busy!

Fall Party

The house was full of people on Monday night for a baby shower. It was a fall-themed shower, and we had lots of fall treats, like this gluten-free pecan walnut tart. (Recipe to be revealed next month on The Cooks Next Door).

This was my first time making these Walnut Acorn Cookies. They were so cute, and very scrumptious:

Then we had a bright orange sun-dried tomato and cummin hummus that went well with blue cornchips:

I didn't get a picture of the delicious cheese fondue that we also had, thanks to a friend.

To drink we had a mulled cider punch, which I may just have to post over at TCND sometime soon:

Mom came over a few hours early and helped transform the house from major disaster into peaceful abode. She also helped with the decorations:

We played "Guess the weight of the pumpkin" and then read out cards with questions or statements like "Don't make your child eat ____________ ".

Oh, and we also enjoyed this amazing pumpkin cake with cream-cheese frosting. Our cake-maker friend (see previous post) provided this cake and I'm thinking we're going to need it for TCND.

We are in the midst of Indian Summer! I think that calls for a trip to the park........

Loveliness

Friday evening we were surrounded by much loveliness here at our house. Emily hosted a bridal shower for a friend and I got to come along for the ride.

We spent the day sewing, cleaning, cooking, and setting things up.

Em, of course, did all the flowers.

The table looked very elegant with all the decorations and chair covers:

Flowers were everywhere:

We had a scrumptious dinner of goat cheese stuffed chicken breast wrapped in prosciutto, salad, brown rice medley, green beans and rolls. (I didn't get a picture).

Dessert was delicious. Personal sized chocolate cakes covered in ganache:

And a full-sized vanilla cake topped with fruit:

Yes, this cake tasted as good as it looked!

At the last minute, we came up with the ideal theme for the party and prizes for the games. Tomorrow I'll post on what we sewed up.

Easter Lunch

Yesterday was delightful. In between church services there was plenty of good food and fellowship.



Em did the flowers:

There were Easter eggs for the children's table:

Cupcakes waiting for dessert:

The table all read and waiting for dinner:

My three boys:

Grandma and David:

Punch to go with the appetizers:

There were Hot Cross Buns, fruit, mini quiches, baby sausages and shrimp:

Trying not to eat too much before lunch:

We made the Pavlova from a recipe in the current issue of Gourmet. It is filled with lemon curd and topped with berries -- incredible! And check out the size -- huge! (I did double the recipe):

Easter candy is so beautiful:

And jelly beans are so hard to resist:

Especially for a certain child and a certain mother (mother not pictured):

The Salad: spinach, strawberries, blue cheese and a few onions:

The dinner: ham, asparagus, sweet potato gratin, potatoes with leeks, fruit salad and buns:

The children's table -- I didn't get a picture of the adults:

The table was so colorful and everyone's outfits added to it:

Then came tea-time:

And the Easter-egg china -- my favorite:

These cookies, made by Carla, were a hit. They were shortbread that melted in your mouth, filled with an almond cream!

Besides Pavlova, cookies, and cupcakes, we also had chocolate covered strawberries!

One happy boy! He is eating a gluten-free cupcake and loving it!

Easter dinner is over for another year. A new week has started and there is plenty to do......