A Shower for Baby Girl Carey

Thank heaven for little girls!  

I was thrilled to be one of the hosts of Rebecca's baby shower - which was so much fun to plan and bring to life (no pun intended).  The shower was most certainly a team effort, so I wanted to share all the beautiful things, 'cause food gets boring sometimes, right? What a pleasure to honor one of our best and her baby girl to be.  

All photos credited to the incredibly talented Emily D.

Wish Tree for Baby C.

The glowing mommy-to-be and beautiful grand-mommy-to-be.

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Engagement Cocktail Party

What a fabulous occasion...celebrating a beautiful couple, surrounded by friends and loved ones.  

I was thrilled to cater the event and here are some shots of the yummy spread!

Veggie crudites shooters with buttermilk herb dip.

Sundried tomato and pesto torte.

Fresh summer rolls with shrimp, avocado, fresh herbs and sweet chili sauce.

Mini crabcakes with cilantro lime aioli.

Beef tenderloin sliders with tarragon, basil & Parmesan mayo.

Fingerling potatoes with Maytag blue cheese and bacon.

Crostini with goat cheese, fig jam and Prosciutto.

The dessert table.

From the left: Key lime tarts, almond sugar cookies, s'mores pops, brownie bites,
sweetheart hand pies in strawberry and chocolate-hazelnut, berry skewers.

 Congratulations, Margaret and Jarrod!  Thanks for letting me be a part of the celebration.

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Open House!

Yesterday I had the opportunity to cater a realtor's open house in an exquisite home and wanted to share.

The spread.

The absolutely gorgeous kitchen, complete with two islands, herringbone brick floors and top of the line appliances.

Artisan cheese display with a mix of domestic and international cheeses:
Manchego, triple-cream Brie, Gouda, Dubliner, Chevre and Maytag blue with fresh and dried fruit,
cashews, walnuts, fig spread, honey, fresh crostini and assorted crackers.

Behind the cheese is a fresh crudites platter with buttermilk herb dip.

And you can't forget the sweets: praline pecan oatmeal brown butter cookies, s'mores cookies and brownie bites.

Freshly brewed iced tea infused with fresh lemon and mint.

Front exterior of the home.

Rear exterior of the home.

Such a pleasure to work in this gorgeous place - 

whoever gets to live here is a lucky you-know-what.

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Jam Thumbprint Cookies

Cookie time!  These little jewels are sure to please.

Jam Thumbprints  (recipe from America's Test Kitchen's Feed)

Yields about 4 dozen cookies

½ cup seedless raspberry jam (or other flavor - seedless works best)
2¼ cups (11¼ ounces) all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon baking powder
12 tablespoons (1½ sticks) unsalted butter, softened
⅔ cup (4⅔ ounces) sugar
3 ounces (6 tablespoons) cream cheese, softened
1 large egg
1½ teaspoons vanilla extract

Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper. Fill a small zipper-lock bag with the jam. Whisk the flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder together in a medium bowl.

In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar together with an electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy, 3 to 6 minutes. Beat. in the cream cheese, egg, and vanilla until combined, about 30 seconds, scraping down the bowl and beaters as needed.

Reduce the mixer speed to low and slowly add the flour mixture until combined, about 30 seconds.

Working with 1½ teaspoons of dough at a time, roll the dough into balls and lay them on the prepared baking sheets, spaced about 1½ inches apart.  Dip your thumb in some water and make an indentation in the center of each cookie.

Bake the cookies, one sheet at a time, until they are just beginning to set and are lightly browned around the edges, about 10 minutes. Remove the cookies from the oven and, working quickly, gently reshape the indentation with the bottom of a teaspoon measure dipped in water. Snip a small corner off the bag of jam and carefully fill each indentation with about ½ teaspoon of the jam. Rotate the baking sheet and continue to bake until lightly golden, 12 to 14 minutes.

Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely, about 30 minutes, before serving.     

Happy Holidays!

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think pink!

It's hard to believe that J & G got married this week just two short years ago...

...and they are expecting a baby girl in February!

I was honored to create the invites for the shower:

I'm loving the vibrant pink card with the gold border - and envelope lining to match.

 The addition of the sweet bow in off-white ribbon adds a nice contrast to the bright fuchsia.

  and I am especially excited about the address labels - which were so fun to make!

I hope mommy-to-be loves them just as much as I do!  xo

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Why not WALLPAPER?

So if I wasn't renting my place, you better believe there would be some wallpaper happening - at the very least in my bathroom or closet.  It's such a great way to add a pop of color and pattern to a small area.  I know wallpaper can have a bad reputation, but there is so much available these days in the way of fabulous graphic patterns and happy inspiring colors AND for a wide range of budgets, that it would be silly not to consider cheering up a space with it.  Not to mention if you are wallpapering a small space, the material cost would be low...I'm just saying it's a great way to get a lot of bang for not so much buck.

Soon (I PROMISE) I will be helping my friend re-purpose her built in bookcase to a wet-bar to display her gorgeous stemware and fabulous wine collection. And last night while at a friends new house (gorgeous) I was inspired - and I hope she is too -  to wallpaper her powder room.  

Here is some inspiration...

For the living/bar areas:

And for the powder room and closet:

Ok that's all for now - hope you enjoyed my love letter to wallpaper 

and that you'll consider updating one of your spaces!

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