More Cake!
My family has a cake problem. Yet we rarely bake them! I think the only from scratch cake I’ve ever made was this sorta silly looking heart for a friend’s engagement gathering. It tasted great though, I promise.
Since my mom’s birthday was today and she had to work late into the evening, I knew she wasn’t expecting a cake. So I figured it was the perfect opportunity for me to whip one up and pop over to Hillsborough for a wild and crazy party.
I love making strawberry buttercream, but it doesn’t hold up well to frost a cake, especially when frozen berries must be involved. Thus, I decided to put the strawberry buttercream in the middle as a filling, with strawberry cake and old fashioned white buttercream on top. I didn’t do so well with the whole icing thing. I’m not very patient.
The cake was moist yet dense and sturdy enough to cut. I’d definitely recommend the strawberry cake recipe.
The birthday girl liked it!
It was a fun surprise and a sweet ending to this spring day.
Read MoreWhoopie
After spending the day in the kitchen stuffing pies full of mint icing and taste-testing everything, I can’t wait to relax and watch the Superbowl. I’m really craving something savory.
Dessert Bar
You guys, I just went to a Fuqua Partners (that means significant others of business school students) cook-out and the desserts there were fabulous! I obv. brought cupcakes. It’s just so much more fun bringing sweets to a potluck and pictures of hamburgers are boring, so here’s what I had tastes of:
A Bit of Everything
It was one of those fabulous weekends. The sun was shining, the temps were perfect, and I had the whole weekend free to play. I did a bit of everything – relaxing, cleaning, organizing, exercising, eating, drinking, friending. Friday started with drinks and dinner at Fuqua Friday, and then Matt and I came home for a movie night. We watched Reality Bites, a movie that I’ve actually never seen, despite having listened to the soundtrack a million times. I really enjoyed it, and could definitely relate with the whole post-graduation blues thing. Although, I’m feeling that this year might be a turning point….
And we also enjoyed this wonderful Octoberfest, which was a nice prelude to Saturday’s festivities.
I accidentally slept until 9 on Saturday and it felt glorious. A lot of times I feel zombie-like if I sleep too much (and when I sleep too little), but I felt great, so my body must have needed it. I went to spinning, and then worked hard to get my life in order – laundry, grocery shopping, a good shower scrub, cold-brewing new coffee for the upcoming week, dishwasher unloading, sheet changing – ya know, all the things that take over your weekend when you are supposed to be having fun:) In the afternoon, we dashed out to Fullsteam Brewery for a birthday party and then made our way over to the Bull City Burger Octoberfest.
We met lots of friends and enjoyed 20oz plastic mugs of Octoberfest with live music. It’s funny how good beer and conversation with friends can make hours just fly by.
Around 8, we decided non-alcoholic nourishment was needed, so we walked to the Federal. I always order the veggie sliders because they are soo good, but I forced myself to branch out this time. I’ve been to the Fed three times before and always had the same thing, so I went for the burger this time (well, I really wanted the pimento cheese and fried green tomato sandwich, but they were out of tomatoes!). The burger was great – thick and juicy and topped with gruyere.
Of course when we saw Pumking on tap, Matt and I had to share a glass. Oh, and we also had the nachos, which were some of the best I’ve ever had! It was one of those nights where it just felt so great to be relaxing with friends with nothing else on my mind.
Sunday has involved pancakes and coffee and a glorious run around Duke’s East campus. It’s rare that I would describe a run with that adjective, but it just felt good today. I’ve started leaving my watch at home and just running, and I’ve noticed it’s made running more enjoyable because I’m not worried about time goal. I’m still only running once or twice a week at most, but after having to quit because of stomach issues over the past two years and then deciding I hated running, I’m still trying to rekindle the relationship I used to have with it in college.
Back to Sunday – I spent the afternoon baking cupcakes for a cookout I’m going to tomorrow. I’m such a messy baker, but I do enjoy it! I used a double chocolate cake mix that I’ve been trying to use up forever, but made my favorite strawberry buttercream icing to go on top. Though I haven’t tried a cupcake yet, I think this batch of icing is my best ever – the perfect balance of butter, sugar, and strawberry.
I also made pizza! And I’ve got leftovers to pep up my Monday!
Progressive Bowl Party
I just had a major freak out because I couldn’t find my camera. After thinking about the progression of last night, I retraced my steps in my head and couldn’t figure out what could have happened to it. I mean I only had one beer!!!
But, thankfully, I found it, tucked under the covers in my bed. Strange. Anyway, the retrieved pictures of last night’s fabulous feast(s) are below! Super bowl party-hopping is officially my new favorite. I got to experience a wide variety of food and say hello to many different friends! And, I never had to stare at the screen for an extended period of time:)
Food highlights included beef and bean chili, buffalo chicken dip….
lil smokies in some kind of cheesy bread,
greek hummus dip, pulled pork sliders, and…
football themed desserts!
I think my double chippers went over well, as I overheard and few yumms.
Though I didn’t feel strongly about either team, I was glad there was some excitement in the game. And I’m really, really glad that I found my camera!
If you participated in bowl festivities, what super food did you eat?
Read MoreThe Night Before Chistmas
…was tons of fun! I took it easy all day – went for a run outside this morning and put the final touches on my white chocolate peppermint cheesecake this afternoon.
Then around 3, Matt’s parents arrived and the real party started!
We drank beer and chatted for a few hours and Matt and I prepped two pizzas for a late-night dinner.
Bacon, mushroom, red pepper on whole wheat and pesto, goat, sun-dried tomatoes, and basil on white.
We got all dressed up for church and walked down to the Christmas eve service.
There was lots of singing!
We put out our flames and headed home to a cozy fire.
But that wasn’t the only fire – some toppings from my pizza fell off into the oven and started a small fire! Luckily, it went out on it’s own, but it filled part of the house with smoke and made for a delicious wood-fired pizza.
Then, we feasted.
And I must say, I was very happy with how delicious my cheesecake turned out! Can’t wait to eat more tomorrow.
The eve was perfect, although we did miss my sister and kanz!
I’m uncomfortably full and can’t wait for bed. Tomorrow, we do it all over again – hooray for more food and family. Merry Christmas;)
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Welcome to TBT!
I've created this blog because I'm in a bit of a quarter life crisis. Since graduating from college in 2008 and earning an advanced degree in school psychology in May, I still don't know what career path to follow. All I know is that time is moving way too fast and I find myself living only for the weekends. Bear with me as I attempt to reclaim my twenties by finding pleasure and balance in the work week and incorporating my passions of food, fashion, fitness, and fun into everyday life. 
She said what?