Katherine and Nathaniel's wedding

I was honored to be included in Katherine and Nathaniel's wedding on October 11. I have known Katherine and Caroline since elementary school when her family moved here. We could certainly call our friendship hand me down. 

This wedding was my third this fall (parts 1 and 2; shower here), and the whole weekend was so enjoyable.  

Katherine and her family are talented in the kitchen, and her mom treated us girls to a lovely brunch. I need this quiche recipe; it was the best I've ever had. 

We had a sweet time over brunch and gifts. I am looking forward to using my new tea kettle, and I've already tried the delicious pumpkin tea Katherine gave me at her shower. 

She's a beautiful bride, even with her tacky bouquet! I have had to explain this tradition several times lately, so I'll spell it out here. At a bridal shower (or more than one), someone collects the ribbons and bows from the presents to turn them into a bouquet. A bridesmaid, friend, mother's friend, etc. holds onto the bows for the rehearsal. Typically, we put them on a paper plate base, and we tape, staple, or punch holes and tie to attach the ribbons to the plate then make some kind of handle on the back. The bouquet goes to the rehearsal, where the bride uses it as a stand in for her wedding bouquet. 

I was expecting a reunion of old church friends, but instead, this wedding was a bit of a college reunion. Katherine and I lived together our sophomore year in college, and we were in a Bible study with other girls in our dorm. Two of the ladies above led our Bible study that year and the next. 

I enjoyed seeing Lacy, who braved Asia (1,2,3) with me over a year ago. 

My dress is Ann Taylor, pearls were a gift from my parents, and shoes are Nina, from Lindsay's wedding. 

I got to bring this handsome man as my date. 

cookout with the Kirks

I had a great lazy afternoon/evening at a cookout hosted by friends this weekend. LH carried out a picnic theme, using borrowed supplies from her mom. What a creative way to serve watermelon! It's a bug! 

They decorated with tissue flowers, which I didn't get a good picture of, jars, and pretty paper straws. 

Two of the guests brought three flavors of sangria they had made with homemade liqueurs. I didn't taste them, but they were beautiful! 

I didn't try the lawn games, either, though there was cornhole and a frisbee game. I tried for an action shot, instead. 

LH eats gluten free, which made for a fun baking challenge for those of us who decided to take desserts. I have been trying to eat healthier, especially cutting carbohydrates, so I was happy to have an event for which to give paleo cookies a go. 

By the way, could someone tell me what exactly paleo means? Between my best efforts to eat low carb and natural and having friends who don't tolerate gluten, I find myself making a lot of "paleo" recipes, but when my SIL asked me to define paleo, I couldn't. However, I do know what gluten is. (Thanks, LH, for this reference.)

LH's brother in law made these doughnuts using leftover coconut flour passed from Lindsay to LH to him. They passed on the flour because after using it to make gluten free foods, they decided they didn't like it. Well, he made doughnuts with it, and they were FABULOUS. I wanted the recipe but was scared to ask for fear that there's cups and cups of sugar. 

Lindsay made gluten free candy shaped cookies above and these Eiffel tower cookies. I sure do miss Paris! 

LH made pretty, pretty Pinterest-y dipped strawberries. 

Can you tell that sweet treats were the most photogenic aspects of the party? Isn't that always the case? The company was great, and the other food (hot dogs, pulled pork, salads, fruit) were delicious, too. I wish I had taken pictures of people and the gorgeous house! 

Thank you for including me, Kirks!

Kentucky Derby party

My friend Allison hosted a great party this weekend for the Kentucky Derby. There were all kinds of food, drinks, activities, and people at the party. I took over some mint from my garden and chips and salsa to share, and Allison asked me to make banana pudding. 

I used this recipe for banana pudding, and it turned out great! Meringue is such a quick and easy way to fancy up a dessert.  

Allison's pretty pink nails looked beautiful with her mint julep. 

I enjoyed spending time with these friends and other friends from Allison's neighborhood. She is a fabulous hostess!

pink punch (T's favorite)

This is the punch bowl that I inherited from my friend's family (story here). 

And the beautiful glasses. 

First, I added half of a quart (a pint) of raspberry sherbet. Sometimes I just run warm water over the bottom and put the whole thing in, but this time I decided not to be lazy. 

The punch gets mixed together better this way.

I poured in about a cup to a cup and a half of lemonade, made with powdered mix. You could also dump in lemonade mix first, stir it into soft drink to dissolve, then add sherbet. It's actually tastier that way, in my opinion. 

I poured in half of a two liter (one liter) of Sierra Mist. I chose this brand because my SIL steers clear of high fructose corn syrup.

I added my ice ring.

Then, I placed frozen, sliced limes and frozen cranberries in the bowl for more decoration. 

A pretty pink punch! We served this punch at our cookie exchanges and at my new year's eve get together.

I am certainly not the first person to make this very simple punch, but I threw it together when I had these ingredients on hand, and my SIL liked it so much that I've made it again and again.

Pink Punch

2/3 cup lemonade mix + water

2 liters Sierra Mist

1 quart raspberry sherbet

Scoop out half of the sherbet into a punch bowl. Pour in half of the prepared lemonade and half of the bottle of Sierra Mist. Stir. Garnish with frozen fruit. Refresh the punch bowl as needed with the remaining ingredients. 

This recipe is a starting point for all kinds of variations. What are your favorite types of punch? Punch ingredients?

Second Annual Cookie Exchange

My sister in law and I hosted our second annual cookie exchange last weekend.  We enjoyed seeing and tasting everyone's cookies, and we were pleased with the variety of cookies.  Can you guess which won prettiest cookie?  Even tougher, can you guess which was tastiest?  

Anyone want to come over for cookies?  We hope that our friends will have plenty of cookies to share throughout the Christmas season and will come back with new recipes next year!