Dating

On Friday night when Hubby got home from work he told me we had an appointment at 6:15 in Bellingham.

Really?

Yep, at Anthony's for dinner.

Why?

Because tonight is the 25th anniversary of our first date.

I was blown away. I didn't think of it. I hadn't remembered.

But he did.

So, I cried. Then after I pulled myself together, we went out for an evening to remember. He took me to Anthony's because the Bellingham harbor and Everett harbors are similar and Anthony's is similar to Pelican Pete's, where it all began. We had such a great time, just like 25 years ago.

I love that guy!

Beach Cake at Birch Bay

Beach Cake

1 yellow cake mix

1 small box of coconut instant pudding

1 T. poppy seeds (heaping)

1/2 c. orange juice

1/2 c. oil

1 c. sour cream

4 eggs

1/2 tsp. lemon flavoring

Use a mixer, combine ingredients and then mix on medium for 4 minutes. Pour into a greased bundt cake pan and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes and turn out of pan.

Glaze:

1/2 c. sugar

1/3 c. orange juice

1/4 c. butter

Bring to a boil, and let it reduce a bit until it's thickened and is glossy.

Brush cake with the glaze after you remove the cake from the pan.

*If you use a castle cake pan, the cake makes too much batter so I use enough batter to make a small loaf pan of cake too.

*I use flour/oil spray and lots of it. I've never had a problem, the cake comes right out.

*The "rocks" around the cake are candy and the beach umbrellas are from Pier One.

*This recipe was a bit accidental as I found one recipe and then made some substitutions using what I had in the house. It was a happy surprise.

The boot camp babes and their babes went to Mrs. VV's cabin at Birch Bay for the day.

We were celebrating our third anniversary, which was in May.

It was so much fun to have kids at the beach.

Sydney picked up many rocks while walking the beach with Karen. She loved this purple rock, I suggested a picture of her and the rock (that matched her flip flops perfectly) rather than carrying it back up to the cabin.

It was a fun afternoon at the Bay. The kids didn't want to go home and neither did I.

Thanks Lisa for planning a fun time.

Garden Party Part III

Hubby and I hosted dessert this year for the garden party. Dessert is all about the lighting and keeping guests warm. Oh, and the dessert...

Hubby rewired the chandelier we took out of our old bedroom last Fall during the remodel. We had some funky light bulbs we had picked up on Camano Island that hadn't worked out for another project. For the soft evening light we were going for on the patio, perfect.

I started last Fall with a china dessert set I found at the thrift store. Green, my favorite color, on the set plus another find at the thrift store of dessert dishes got my table started.

Chris helped with more green glass and I was set.

I had a quote on the bottom of the menu place cards and because of it, I wove a daisy and ivy chain to loop loosely through the chandelier.

I took some shots of our table in the afternoon because when we get back for dessert it is getting dark, fast.

I paired the many shades of green with a soft yellow tablecloth, ribbons, flowers and place card menus. I used daisies wherever possible.

Lots of fairy lights, some soft chandelier lighting, candles and our fire bowl back in the corner to keep the ladies warm. Also, throws on the back of the chairs for when it gets chilly. It made for a pretty and comfortable Summer evening on the patio.

I made a strawberry cheesecake layered with two layers of sponge cake with whipped cream frosting and fresh strawberries between the layers.

Sugar cookie and Oreo truffles with coffee to end our wonderful evening.

We had such a great night of fantastic food, eye candy on the tables and good, good friends.

So blessed.

And after a brief nap on the patio... I begin my research for next year. We have appetizers and I have ideas!

Garden Party 2011 Part II

Dinner was in Italy. Well, it felt like Italy, looked like Italy and tasted like Italy. It was actually at Mark and Karen's place. Karen set a beautiful table with grapevines, wine corks, candle wax dripping down wine bottles, and everything Italian from the water to the wine. Mark hung curly willow branches over the terrazza. Karen went to Drizzle, the new oil and vinegar store in Fairhaven, to choose the best olive oil and balsamic vinegar for our dinner.

Details. Were. Everywhere.

Some Italian guy was grilling the beef fillets.

Perfectly, I might add.

I'd never had Brussels sprouts roasted, I am now in love.

Check out the ravioli... Karen made it from scratch. It was delizioso!

benissimo, eccellente, stupendo, magnifico

All that and more...

Garden Party 2011 Part I

Garden Party 2011 was held Saturday evening. I'll post each course separately this week.

First up, we went to the farm for our appetizer course.

Karen and I asked Shelly where she started this year. It was with the coral plates. Shelly got them as a gift last year and it went from there. Her table runner was an obi, a sash used for traditional Japanese dress. She brought it back from Japan in the seventies. She recently was given a box of sauce spoons and cups from a friend's mother. Mary has passed away so they have sentimental value. I love the table stories.

Our tables usually start with one item or recipe and it builds from that point. It's fun to hear where it all started.

Shelly's sauces are amazing. She is the queen of sauce. The chopping was so tiny. It had to be time consuming. Worth it? Yes! Just reading the menu again makes my mouth water.

The presentation was beautiful, and the food was delish.

Thanks Vern and Shell! Appetizer course was amazing and so, so pretty.

Recovering

I am recovering from Garden Party 2011. Lot of dishes to wash yet and my legs are killing me.

So worth it, so amazing.

I will post each course next week.

Oh my, I think we outdid previous years AGAIN!