Party Pictures

Hi ladies! Well, I survived the weekend, but just barely! I was flying by the seat of my pants (is that the right expression?!) and everything is a blur. If I didn't take pictures, I wouldn't have remembered the party even happening! I'll share the pictures now (I always forget that my tumblr links to my twitter feed so many of you may have already seen these).

Dessert Table

Candy Treats

Decorated Cupcakes

Paper Lantern Decorations

Cheesecake Pops

Petit Fours

Straws with Flags

Left Side of the Dessert Table

Right Side of the Dessert Table

Some of the girls at the Pottery Painting Class

Jenny, Megan, and Jill (the bride's sister)

Me, Jenny (the bride), and Megan before dinner

We had a lot of fun and I think Jenny really appreciated all that we had put together for her! After the pottery painting and dinner, we went back to my parent's house for dessert, presents, and games. Everyone loved the dessert buffet, but we definitely made too much so we sent everyone home with boxes of treats and candy. You can see the favor candy boxes at the back of the table.

Remember how I talked about ordering corset cookies for the party? Unfortunately, they all arrived completely broken. The etsy seller I purchased them from was very professional and issued a refund immediately. I was pretty upset that this happened, but my mom has a friend who offered to do some decorated cookies on short notice. You can see them in one of the pictures above.

The mini parfaits were the most popular dessert and they were so easy to make. I did one chocolate version where I layered brownie, instant chocolate pudding, and diced strawberries. The other was banana pudding, where I layered mini vanilla wafers, instant banana pudding, and sliced bananas. Both were topped with Cool Whip.

We also had a lot of fun painting pottery for the bride. We all picked different pieces and painted them in Jenny's kitchen color scheme so she'll have these homemade pieces to remember forever. Hopefully she'll get some use out of them! I thought that was a clever idea for an activity. I did a spoon rest and she also got a cake stand, a pie plate, a casserole dish, and some other smaller pieces like a trivet and candy dishes.

I highly recommend etsy seller "the bakers confections" for any of your baking needs. I ordered sprinkles, baker's twine, and the straws and they were all so perfect for the occasion!

I guess that's about it. It was a quick trip but worth every second. Now I am ready for October to arrive so I can go home for the wedding! C is going with me too so we should have a lot of fun!

Thursday's Thoughts

This week has been the week of zero sleep! I am so tired, but can't seem to get my mind to stop racing come bedtime. I finally resorted to downing half a bottle of cold medicine last night because I was so desperate to sleep! Since I'm running on iced coffee, I apologize in advance if this post is all over the place.

Lately, I've been really into painting my nails. My most recent look is a base color of blank slate by sonia kashuk topped with Sephora by OPI Flurry Up Top Coat. I love the purplish-gray hue of the polish and the glitter just makes it fun!

I finally purchased The Help and I'm so excited to read it. I was going to start last night, but of course my Nook was out of battery. Hopefully I finish the book before the movie leaves theaters.

My blog & IRL friend Leeann over at Join the Gossip is hosting a Favorite Things swap. It's been awhile since I've done a swap so I'm excited about participating in this one. The spending limit is a reasonable $20 before shipping so sign up if you'd like to participate too! The deadline to sign up is tomorrow.

Chris & I are open to a couple of different possibilities that could lead to big change for us. No details and really no clear sense of what is coming, but I'm excited for the possibility of any sort of change. If one thing is for certain, it would be that change is inevitable. I am prepared to welcome it with open arms!

One good thing about C & I is that we are weathering quite the storm in every department of our lives, except for our relationship with each other. We have grown stronger & more committed to creating the life we both dream of, and doing it together. I find that to be a tiny nugget of positivity and hope in this tough personal & internal battle I'm struggling through. Okay, that sounds quite dramatic, and it really isn't that bad. :)

Source: tabletonic.blogspot.com via Nemcy on Pinterest

A big thank you to my sweet friend Janna over at Happiness is a Journey for sending me an uplifting card this week. It made me smile!

PS - I tried, but I can no longer watch Bachelor Pad 2. It is too terrible and as long as Kasey & Vienna continue to be there, I can't take it. They are truly disgusting human beings. And I'm trying to be nice.

PPS - I'll be MIA from the blog this weekend because it's finally time for my BFF's bachelorette party! I'll be back next week with all of the details and plenty of pictures!

Winner!

Hi ladies!

I'm so sorry that I forgot to post a winner to the 500 Posts Giveaway. I have been sidetracked with a few other things going on right now so it completely slipped my mind! Thank you so much to everyone who entered the giveaway and for everyone who gave me new ideas for future blog posts!

I really do hope that all of you realize how much you mean to me! I wish that every single one of you could win. I am planning on doing a small giveaway once a month so there will be more things to win soon!

The winner of the Vera Bradley wristlet is Jessica from Southern in the City! In addition to the wristlet, I am also throwing in a $10 gift card to Target and since I'm obsessing with all things nails lately, a beautiful nail polish perfect for fall.

Vera Bradley wristlet

$10 Target gift card

Sonia Kashuk nail polish

(Color: blank slate)

Congrats, Jessica! Please email me with your shipping address so I can send your goodies to you.

Again, thank you to everyone who entered! Your comments mean the world to me!

Tuesdays at the Table (6)

For this week's Tuesdays at the Table, I thought I'd share a {labor-intensive} recipe I made quite a few weeks ago. Both Chris & I loved the flavors of these chile rellenos. Since it was my first time attempting something like this, I made quite a few beginner's mistakes that I would not make again the second (and third, and fourth...) time. We will definitely be making these again as they are really flavorful and delicious.

Real Chiles Rellenos

(the ingredients below reflect my own changes;
if you want to see original recipe, click link above)

Prep: 45 minutes / Cook: 45 minutes / Servings: 4

Ingredients

Peppers

4 large poblano peppers (I used pasilla)

1/2 block monterey jack cheese

1/2 block sharp cheddar cheese

1/4 cup all purpose flour, for dredging

Sauce

1 can Mexican style stewed tomatoes

1 T vegetable oil

1/2 onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

1 1/2 cups chicken broth

2 T distilled white vinegar

1 t. Mexican oregano (I used regular Italian oregano)

1/2 t. ground cumin

1/2 t. black pepper

1/2 t. hot sauce (I used Tabasco)

1/8 t. ground cinnamon (secret ingredient that makes this sauce delicious!)

Batter

1/3 cup all purpose flour

1/2 t. salt

5 egg whites at room temperature

1 egg yolk, beaten

For Frying

1/4 cup all purpose flour, for dredging

1 cup oil

Directions

(It's a lot of steps, but worth it at the end)

1. Preheat the oven's broiler and set the rack about 6 inches from the heat. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil, and place the peppers on the baking sheet.

2. Cook under the preheated broiler until the skin of the peppers has blackened and blistered, about 8 to 10 minutes per side.

3. When the peppers are about 80% blackened, place them in a plastic bag, seal, and allow the peppers to steam as they cool, about 20 minutes. (Note: This tip is helpful because it makes the skin easier to peel off; grab an extra produce bag from the grocery store and use that to put the peppers in.) Once cool, remove the skins and discard. Cut a slit lengthwise into the side of each pepper and remove the seeds and veins. Pat dry with paper towels.

4. Cut each cheese block into 4 smaller blocks. Use one of each to put inside of each pepper. Keep the openings closed with toothpicks. Lightly dredge the peppers in flour and dust off the excess. Place in the freezer for at least 30 minutes. (Note: The cheese will become too hard in the freezer and will not have enough time to melt while being fried. Place in the refrigerator instead. Even doing this, you may have to heat in the microwave to melt cheese completely. See Step 7.)

5. To make sauce, blend the stewed tomatoes in a blender until pureed and set aside. Heat vegetable oil in a saucepan over medium heat, and cook the onion until translucent. Add the garlic, cook for about 30 seconds, and then add the tomatoes, chicken broth, vinegar, and spices. Reduce heat to medium low and simmer the sauce until reduced by half and thickened, about 20 minutes.

6. To make the batter and finish the rellenos, mix 1/3 cup flour with salt in a bowl. In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until the whites form stiff peaks. Lightly mix the egg yolk and flour/salt mixture into the egg whites to make a fluffy batter. Remove peppers from the freezer and coat them in flour again then dip each pepper into the egg batter.

7. Heat frying oil over medium high heat until the oil shimmers. Gently lay the coated peppers into the hot oil and fry on both sides until the batter is golden brown and the cheese filling is hot, about 5 minutes per side. Place peppers in the warm oven until ready to serve. (Note: Since the peppers had been in the freezer, the cheese was quite hard and didn't get melted through while frying. To melt the cheese, I just microwaved the peppers for about 2 minutes. This didn't compromise the flavor or crispiness of the pepper in any way.)


The finished meal:


My favorite part was the sauce! It was so yummy and I want to try it on other dishes like enchiladas & tacos! I hope my tips & notes will help some of you have an easier time making this delicious dinner. Don't be put off by the number of steps and components because it really is much easier than it looks.

Too Funny

My mom sent me this e-mail and I knew I had to share:

The Safe Guide to Women

Dangerous: What's for dinner?

Safer: Can I help you with dinner?

Safest: Where would you like to go for dinner?

Ultra Safe: Here, have some wine.

Dangerous: Are you wearing that?

Safer: You sure look good in brown!

Safest: Wow, look at you!

Ultra Safe: Here, have some wine.

Dangerous: What are you so worked up about?

Safer: Could we be overreacting?

Safest: Here's my paycheck.

Ultra Safe: Here, have some wine.

Dangerous: Should you be eating that?

Safer: You know, there are a lot of apples left.

Safest: Can I get you a piece of chocolate with that?

Ultra Safe: Here, have some wine.

Dangerous: What did you do all day?

Safer: I hope you didn't over-do it today.

Safest: I've always loved you in that robe!

Ultra Safe: Here, have some wine.

Can't we all relate to this sometimes?! Too funny!

I hope all of you have a relaxing & fun weekend!