Fall Pictures

The fall of the year brought invitations to fun parties and dinners, beach trips, and a flower job for a friend at church. I couldn't resist another chance to make the paper bag broomsticks so I shared those with the hostesses for a pregame bonfire at a lovely home in the "Beehive Neighborhood" in Auburn.

I found a small farmer's market in Opelika that supplied me with my fill of small pumpkins that were used for my fall table at home.

 

Jay and I were super fortunate to take two late beach trips. The first was with my family and we had a glorious time in Sea Grove. The girls took sometime together in Seaside one morning and made a stop for a beach side treat- a Lobster Roll and a little bubbly.

 

Fall flower combinations are endless, but I was able to find these beautiful stems to create an arrangement for a friend.

 

 

My family is made up of some of the best cooks I know. Not to mention, they taught me and inspired me how to make and do so many things. I had to snap a shot of my plate from Thanksgiving. The table was surrounded by such wonderful people. The food was fantastic and so colorful. I am so thankful to be a part of that family!!!

 

A sweet Cinderella Birthday

In late September I had the pleasure to help style a very dear friend's daughter's birthday. She also asked that I make a few goodies to add to her menu so I made cheese straws in the shapes of crowns, and cupcakes in three flavors.  I made the cookie slippers and the slipper favors- both in Cinderella blue. My friend is super generous and the guests enjoyed their time at the Bibity Bobity Boo Affair.

Since my last post...

In Early September I hosted a baby shower for my sweet little niece (Baby W) who is Baby Girl No.2. I couldn't resist the opportunity to go the french inspired route. The styling turned our precious and the food for the brunch was delicious!

 

Since we had a good bit of family in town for Baby W's shower, I also helped host a couples bridal shower for my new SIL and BIL who were married in November.

I did the invites here- she used these colors in fantastic ways at her wedding, so I wanted to use them for the shower too.

Since I am talking about their wedding, the picture below- while very poor quality- should be documented. It was one of the best salads ever. I have since copied it in modified form for two Thanksgiving dinners and other throughout the Christmas holiday season.

The apple was cored out and used as a bowl. Pieces of apples were chopped and mixed with kale, slivered almonds and craisins and dressed with a vinaigrette. The cheese on top was something like a mozzarella.

 

 

A Few Delicious Moments to Share

Also this month I captured a few food delights.
After a fun girls trip to Destin, I brought back these gorgeous tuna steaks for Jay and I to cook. We coated them with black and regular sesame seeds and seared them perfectly to top a bed of fried brown rice and hot pepper asparagus.

I don't want to forget the interesting dinner combinations at Merchant's in Nashville:

http://www.merchantsrestaurant.com/

I was there on Bastille Day so I ate the Steak Frites, but my friend ate the porch chop with pimento cheese grits. I thought the combo of pimento cheese and grits was excellent and definitely worth recreating at home.

I helped host a joint birthday celebration for two good friends and sadly didn't catch any of the items on camera. However, one of the hits of the evening was the Bellini bar:

Guests had the option of peach, mango, and blueberry puree.

And lastly, I wanted to remember this small miracle that tool place in my own backyard.

Since, most of my family has a deep history with tomato crops, I wanted to try my hand at it this year. Imagine my surprise when these delights tasted as fantastic as they looked!

Even if they did get a late start!

This summer I have definitely taken the easy way out for dinner prep and made several pizzas. Its easy to roast chicken breasts and slice them, cover with garlic and cheese and Jay is happy. For my side, sliced tomatoes, fresh basil and cheese.

A perfect summer treat:

 



Flowers and More Flowers

The month of July brought several opportunities to work with beautiful flowers. Probably one of the most beautiful varieties I have ever seen are these Wimbledon Roses!

I used them in several arrangements for a retirement breakfast for one of the AVP's in Auburn University's Development Office.

I also had the pleasure of adding to the wedding celebration for a family in Auburn.

The bride wanted purple tulips and callas for her bouquet and hydrangeas for the others.



June Happenings

My BIL and SIL were planning to find out the sex of their baby the first week in June. I offered to host a reveal party and to my surprise, they decided to find out with the rest of us instead of just announcing it at the party. Brooke's friend wanted to make the cake, so Jay and I hosted a dessert party to celebrate. I made His and Her favorite desserts and then they cut the cake to reveal a darling pink center. I was so happy for another neice!

The first weekend of June I worked a job for one of the sweetest brides I have ever met. The wedding was held at a fantastic venue in north Opelika called the Reserve at Oak Bowery.

http://www.oakboweryreserve.com/

I took a quick pic of the program to remember some of the details. A super talented duo played the music for the prelude and ceremony. They played about 4 string instruments throughout the entire time and it was delightful.

The couple each chose a signature cocktail for the night: a Watermelon Mojito and a Peach Mint Julep- both delightful for a perfect southern wedding under the stars!

Thrown in amongst my work week were a couple of flower jobs for AU Foundation events.

I planned a party for the Local Women's Association of Realtors Tour Of Homes and created the flowers.

After 12 years of wedding planning I attend my first beach wedding- as a guest. The weather was windy and the ocean was a beautiful backdrop for the ceremony. The reception was held on the balcony of the Beach Club Restaurant and we enjoyed an evening with family.

 We stopped in one of our favorite towns on the way home- Fairhope,AL. We ate lunch at this cute place called Pinzone's. http://www.italiandowntown.com/

I hope to recreate our appetizer as seen here:

Bruschette Con Cannelloni- Perfect!

Tuesday night dinner last week was too good to not post. Our favorite meal to cook:

Grilled Lamb Chops with Balsamic Reduction, Roasted Asparagus topped with Parmesan, and Mushroom Risotto.

Fun in May

May was a busy month filled with many different types of jobs starting with a jazzy graduation party. Kitchen 3810 is a local lunch spot that has a cool space. They aren't open for dinner so it is perfect for parties! The graduate chose her own favorites for the menu: Sliders, Mini BLTs, Cucumber Sandwiches, Pasta Salad and Potato Salad, a delicious Peach Lemonade and other items.

I planned a Business After Hours for a local Real Estate Office that hosted the Auburn Chamber of Commerce Members to celebrate their recent opening.
Unfortunately, there are no pics to document this, but I used gold and black to mimic the logo for Century 21. Linens were black and I found yellow hydrangeas to place on the tables. The menu was completely Greek and deliciously catered by chef Galen Hagerty of Custom Confectionery and Catering!

The first weekend in May was a wedding job for the Parmer Family. I was honored to be hired for the Parmer's first daughter's wedding about 7 years ago and they hired me for their other daughter's wedding as well. It was beautiful as was the bride! The Reception was held in a beautiful event spot in LaGrange, Ga called Delevant.
 http://delavanteventcenter.com/
The flowers were so beautiful, done by Vicki Rockwell of the White Orchid. Each table had a deifferent variation of white, green, and crystal.
I had to take a picture:

The following Tuesday I delivered a flower job for AU's Vet School. They were hosting a dinner at Greystone. They needed 9 arrangements, a wreath for the front door, and a few pin on corsages.

My brother graduated from Law School over the weekend of my birthday and Mother's Day. We celebrated all of it by eating as many treats in New Orleans that we could hold. My brithday breakfast was a fantastic start to the celebrating when we walked to a fantastic bakery called La Boulangerie on Magazine. It is a must stop- for every breakfast- while you are in New Orleans. My choice was a classic croissant and cafe au lait.

May also included a wedding I worked at my church, a picnic at Auburn's Jazz Festival at Pebble Hill, our Supper Club's trip to the Bowling Alley in Auburn for a surprisingly tastey dinner and fun, and ended with the Hovey Chappell annual beach trip.

My MIL had a fantastic idea for the girls' dinner to be served beachside. It turned out to be the lovliest meal and one that I will definitely recreate for my next party.

For starters we served shrimp ceviche and fruit salsa.

The meal, served in these cute pails:

Included the following options:
Spring Mix Salad with Red Onion Vinaigrette or Fresh Corn and Tomato Salad
Sweet Potato Chips or Regular
Crabcake and Avocado Sanwich serverd on a Croissant with a horseradish mayo and mango salsa on the side.

We served two types of icecream sandwhiches for dessert:
Peach ice cream with sugar cookies, or vanilla icecream with chocolatechip walnut cookies.