Food Art at the Fair

As a testament to the fact that food has become more of an obsession than ever (to more people than B and I) this summer's OC Fair had a whole building dedicated to the food frenzy. Part of that was the food art area.

Can you guess what this eagle is made out of?



As part of the fair there are many food competitions including cake decorating.



This was a part of the junior division and I thought it was awesome.



Did you notice I'm only 28 days away from my due date? I'm reminding you so that you'll forgive me for not remembering if this artist is sculpting butter or white chocolate or cheese or something.

I'm almost positive it's butter.



These displays blew my mind.

My first thought was chocolate but the answer is.......

drum roll please....



bread.

Yup, these are all made out of bread.



There wasn't an explanation as to how but I would love to know.



The talent is mind-boggling. These people are chefs and artists and architects and visionaries.

I don't even have the patience to decorate sugar cookies with pretty icing.

Andrea & Chachi's Wedding

I'll be showing you weddings in reverse order because I'm feeling sort of backwards these days anyway.

On Friday night Andrea and Chachi were married at the Sterling Hotel in Sacramento.



I love the old charm of this gorgeous building, nestled amongst the trees not far from the California capitol.



The wedding and reception took place in the ballroom that was equally as charming.





I love these pictures of them!



We arrived a little bit early and I was able to sneak around and take pictures of the table arrangements. Simple and beautiful.



The hanging key accents made such a gorgeous statement.



They had me at cupcake display. This picture doesn't do it justice.



There were actually 3 colors and flavors. Darker pink, light pink and white. Each color had a slightly different accent from pearls to flowers. You can't tell here but some of them were glittery!



More centerpieces, I love the mix of short and tall so they don't crowd the room.



Classic and glamorous.



Have I told you how much I love hydrangeas?



I got a sneak peak of some of the groomsmen and made him sit for me so I could get a picture.



The gentlemen all waiting very patiently. On the far left we have the minister and the 2nd gentleman is the groom.

We found out later that the mother of the groom gave all the groomsmen smelling salts in case they needed to revive him.



This blurry picture is the only one I have of the bride and grooms adorable son. He turns 1 next month!



I loved her hair and I felt the urge to go out and buy hair accessories... preferrably with feathers.



All the ladies waiting for the grand entrance of the bride...



and the saxophonist starts playing a melody.



Andrea looked so beautiful, she had the bridal glow.



You may kiss the bride!



I love Chachi's expression here.



Such a happy couple! The reception was full of laughter and a bit of chaos. I mean that in the best way possible. It was an adult only reception and included lots of dancing and drinking, a photo booth and many, many memories.



See, you can tell I'm pregnant! The black just disguises the belly in photos.

Oh and I did have flats with me just in case my feet or hips or back got tired. I ended up using them about the last 30 minutes or so.



Light-up hula hoops! I love little surprises like this :) A fun wedding for a really fun couple... I wouldn't expect anything less!

Quick trip to Sacramento

Just a quick post while we unpack from a fantastic weekend! We flew into Sacramento on Friday and flew back this morning. We had a credit for a flight we didn't make at the beginning of the year so it worked out wonderfully.



Saturday was a fantastic family get-together. It's always good to see family and friends, many of which we haven't seen since the wedding. It's quite odd to think that the next time we see them we'll have a baby with us.

Speaking of babies... the above stroller was the stroller that B's grandma used for his mom! They were cleaning out her stuff and asked if I wanted it or if they should get rid of it. Apparently all 6 of the sisters slept in that stroller.

I have no idea what I'm going to do with it but I'm sure not getting rid of it!



Friday night we went to a wedding and I have more details to share about it as well. In fact, I have 3 weddings to share and FYI I am wearing the same thing at all of them. I had every intention of changing shoes and jewelry and I never did because... because I'm lazy and because those are the most comfy heels I have. Don' judge me- I have limited options these days :)

What did you do this past weekend?

I can't handle the cute!

I've gotten something in the mail every day for a week. AND we're not even talking bills.

The neighbors must think I have some kind of mail fetish because I waddle over as fast as possible and giggle to myself the whole way back.

It's hard to clap and hold your mail.



Why are people so creative and artistic? This is from Jana and I sat looking at the box for so long I forgot there was something inside it.

Then I squealed and startled B who looked over and started to laugh. He proceeded to show me how he was going to stuff the baby into this "Peanut Pod". It's a knit baby cocoon and I cannot wait to take pictures of the baby in it.

It's so soft I had to rub my face on it.



"Beeeeeeeee, come over here and hold it for me! Pleeeeeaaaaassssseee beeeeeee!"

Sometimes with B you get a little more than you bargain for. This photo makes me laugh and laugh.



I've been in love with this print for over a year. My family seems to represent all the colors of the rainbow and I love to see artwork that shows some diversity as well.

Andrea sent this to me and I cannot wait to get this framed and on my wall. You can see more fun art work by Barking Bird Art on etsy. I love that they have nursery art with very specific interests. I'm waiting for a few friends to have babies so I can get them certain prints.



This onesie is from Mimirickets and it is sooo soft. I really can't resist a onesie with peanut written across the top.

Created by Babycakes & Decor they also have some adorable onesies for twins. Things like Peanut Butter & Jelly or Copy & Paste.



But my favorite part has to be the surprise little peanut on the back. I just love little details like that.



I hate to play favorites here but I have to admit this is one of the best gifts I've received for the baby. As you can imagine B and I have a little thing for bees. When I was on Elle's blog I noticed that Bug (her daughter) is quite the artist and requested one of my own.

This bee will definitely be making his/her? way into the Peanut's room.



Plus Elle sent me these burp rags which I think are rather genius. Way cuter than any I've seen in the store and so personal!



There were more but my mom stole them and has been inspired enough to start sewing some for everyone we know who is pregnant... or may ever become pregnant.



I believe that Peanut may have a personal stylist and her name is Jennifer.

In this outfit little Peanut will be followed around by a bunch of paparazzi, I just know it!

Not pictured are some fantastic tile necklaces that I will show you soon.



It gets better... she made this onesie.

I hope you realize you'll be seeing all these things again when I take pictures of him in them.

I still can't quite picture it but I can't wait. As of Thursday morning Peanut weighs 5 lbs 1 oz. He is just getting so big!

You see, I'm saying things like that and he isn't even born yet.



Goodnight Moon I'm familiar with and I love but How do I love you? was something I'm new to.

Becky sent these to me and they will just melt your heart. Go read them!



You see, I've always wanted a Becky original and when this came I felt a little... um, star struck? I want to tell everyone who sees it that I know the artist and she made it just for me and it's a signed one-of-a-kind piece of art.

The picture doesn't do it justice. It has texture and it's multimedia (is that the term?) and B loves it. She can do custom house paintings as well as create jewelry.

Can I just say that I love my friends?

Well lovelies, we're headed to Sacramento today for another fantastic wedding. That makes #5 for the year and so many I still need to blog about. We'll also get in some much looked forward to family time. I'll be checking in with you soon and we'll be back on Sunday.

I hope everyone has a fantastic weekend.

Pumpkin Pecan Cookies with Brown Sugar Frosting

These cookies scream comfort, fall and a constant request for the recipe.



I made these cookies a couple years ago for Thanksgiving and they were a huge hit. I've been making them ever since. The cookies themselves are light and almost cake-like and full of autumn flavor while the brown sugar frosting tops it perfectly. You will love these cookies.



I believe the recipe originally came from Better Homes & Gardens but you can find a printable copy here.

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. In a bowl combine 2 cups flour, 1 1/2 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp ground cinnamon, 1/4 tsp ground allspice & 1/4 tsp baking soda.

I love the smell of allspice.



Beat 1 cup (2 sticks) of softened butter until creamy. Beat in 1 cup sugar and then add 1 egg and mix again.



Stir in 1 cup of pumpkin puree. If you are using canned make sure you pick up pumpkin and not pumpkin pie mix.

Not that I've ever done that.



Mix in the flour concoction until just incorporated.

Oh you can just smell fall all around you now!



Stir in 1 cup of chopped toasted pecans.

Mine are a bit on the dark side because... well... I'm just a bit on the dark side.
Or I always forget about the nuts when I toast them.



Drop by rounded teaspoonful about 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.

I obviously used a cookie scoop for these.



Bake for 10-12 minutes or just until the bottoms are lightly browned. Don't wait until the tops are brown. Sometimes I just lift one up a bit to see underneath.

These cookies are almost a little too perfectly round for my taste. They need to have a bit more individuality. They're like cookie clones.



I used the scoop here to but I wasn't as dainty with it. This is more of what you get when you just drop it by the spoonful. I'm not sure it matters when you get the frosting on anyway but I can get a little odd with my cookies.

Let your cookies cool completely!

From here you can either pack them up between layers of wax paper and then freeze for up to 3 months or you can frost them. The freezing works fine, I've done it many times. You just pull them out of the freezer, let them defrost completely and then frost.



For the frosting you'll combine 6 tablespoons of butter with 1/3 cup packed brown sugar in a medium sauce pan. I used dark brown. Melt over medium heat until the butter melts and then remove from heat.



Stir in 2 cups of sifted powdered sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla.

You'll end up with really thick not pretty frosting. Add in 1 teaspoon of hot water at a time until the mixture is smooth and spreadable. I ended up using about 3 teaspoons. A little water goes a long way so be careful as you don't want to end up with a glaze.

If you do end up with a glaze then pour it over all the cookies (a couple of times) and rename this Pumpkin Pecan Cookies with Brown Sugar Glaze. Perfecto!



I use a spoon and just put a dollop on top and spread it a bit. The amount of frosting is up to you. You could add a bit more water and drizzle it over the top for a different look.



The recipe makes about 40 cookies. I got about 44 out of this batch.

Light, fluffy and comforting with the perfect amount of fall spice.

Make a batch of these and welcome autumn with me!