Wedding Time!

It's finally here. Prince William is marrying Kate Middleton! tomorrow at 3:30 am!

I'm so excited to see what her dress looks like!

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And the procession through London.

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But I have to say, I'll be happy when it isn't covered 24/7.

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I'm going to a Royal Wedding party on Thursday night. I'll let you know how it goes!

Will you be watching the Royal Wedding?

Easy Dessert Decor

I love festive decorations. I think balloons can make a party and I always look at what's on the table.
Now don't get me wrong, I don't care if there's nothing at the party but my friends, food, and wine!

I wanted to make my dessert for Easter a little bit more festive for the table. After working with stamps lately I thought it would be a fun touch to add a Happy Easter topper to the cake.

All you need for this is:
-Toothpicks
-Stamp Pad
-Stamp
-Paper
-Tape
-Pen

Just stamp the image on the paper.

Cut around the shape.

Write whatever your heart desires.

Tape a toothpick on the back.

Ta-Da! You're done!

And same goes for the eggs...I just cut out the shapes, taped, and jammed them into the cake haha

I plan on making something similar to this for my brother's wedding shower.

Shots of the Weekend

Asparagus & Brie Quiche and laughing all brunch.

Mimosas & a Sunny afternoon

Easter Treats

Finally starting my garden...thanks Easter Bunny! (tips? I am far from a green thumb...)

Shades of blue

Chambray Blouse: Target, Belt: Ann Taylor Loft, Dress: J.Crew

Hummingbird Cake

I had this once at Table 52 (which is so good, please go!) and since then I've had dreams about it.

I originally stumbled upon the recipe last year in the Food Network magazine so when I was put in charge of bringing a dessert to Easter, this was first pick.

It is a wee bit labor intensive, but not horrible. And the outcome is WELL worth it!!
I took most of the pictures on my phone bc my hands were waaay to sticky for my camera.

Chopped pineapple, bananas & roasted pecans.

Mix together & add to flour mixture

Bake (keep an eye on the time, mine were ready almost 10 mins earlier than 50-55 minute guideline.

Delicious & Easy Cream Cheese Frosting with Lemon Zest

Ta-Da! Hummingbird Cake!

It safely made it's way to my cousin's table for Easter!

I really enjoyed this cake and am thinking about making another batch for the Royal Wedding Party I'm going to Thursday night!

Holiday Weekend

I love a 3-day weekend.

What I love even more is throwing a Holiday in there!

If you celebrate Easter, have a great weekend! If not, you can at least enjoy the fun candy!

Oh and Mr. Bunny, don't forget to bring me some of these goodies if you can!

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Easter Bunny Cakes--a tradition in our family! I was very proud of this cake in 1988!

Have a great weekend!! Be back Monday!

Easter Basket Goodies

If all these things could find their way into my Easter Basket (yes I'm 26 and still like to get presents from the EB) that would be JUST SWELL!

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9

Regardless if you celebrate Easter or not....what little things do you wish would show up on your doorstep?

Current Deals & Steals

Macy's Buy More Save More
And 15% off certain Martha Stewart products using the promo code LOVEMARTHA

Three 16 oz. Philosophy Bath & Shower Gels for $33 Save $15!!
Use Promo Code: springshowers

40% off everything at Ann Taylor & Ann Taylor Loft

Do you know of any current sales online??

I was really disappointed with this week's Anthropologie cuts. Boo.

Shots of the Weekend

I had a really great weekend.

Friday was take-out and on-demanding Country Strong.
Has anyone seen it? Holy depressing story. I'm not a huge Gwyneth fan but she did nail it!

Saturday was my blind blogger date with Allison. It was SO fun. We hugged like old friends when we met at Hot Chocolate in Wicker Park and instantly I felt like I'd known Allison for 10 years. We waited in the lounge for a while and chatted before our deeelish brunch.

Of course, we started with an appetizer. Doesn't everyone start brunch with an app? ha.

Mini doughnut sticks with raspberry preserves. So good.


But better when washed down with a blood orange Bellini
(a new twist that was thoroughly enjoyed)



I then ordered the Brioche French Bread



and Allison got the Quiche. Both were a hit!




After a couple hours of story-telling and many a laughs, we braved the bi-polar Chicago weather for some shopping.

We scoped out Vintage Underground which has so much jewelry you could go blind and decided we're definitely hitting up more thrift stores and possible estate sales when the weather changes.

It was a fabulous day and I'm so happy we met up. Now we're on to planning date number 2 :)



Oh and I saw Superwoman on the way to Wicker Park. No big deal...

Weekend Plans

A quiet Friday night in to unwind from the long week.

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Brunch with Allison at Hot Chocolate in Wicker Park. I have been drooling over their menu!

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Hoping for a White Sox winner on Saturday (not hoping for the cold rain)

And working on the shower invitations on Sunday....

What are your plans this weekend??

and I just don't feel like doing the FBFF questions this week, whoops.

Happy Things

The little things have really been putting a smile on my face this week. Like yesterday at work when I thought it was Tuesday....cha-ching.

Here are some things that have made me extra happy lately...

Frozen Yogurt Blaster w/ Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough.

Fruit Salads

This song I heard in a Ford commercial:

Go do, you'll know how to Just let yourself, fall into landslide
Go do, you'll know how to Just let yourself, give into low tide

Scoring a dainty necklace on sale with free shipping

What has been making you smile lately?