Celebrations

We had a nice, relaxing weekend… Filled with house cleaning, laundry, schoolwork, and trips to Trader Joe’s & Target. Is it sad that this makes me really happy?

Sunday night, Jeff’s parents and two of the four Whittaker kids were back home from a trip to New Orleans, and so we celebrated! A welcome-home for the family and belated birthday celebration for Karen. My sister-in-law, Kelly, and I split the cooking duties, and I have to say that the dinner was delicious!

Kelly made Pioneer Woman’s Olive Cheese Bread for an appetizer… and I could have eaten it for my meal (and I don’t even like olives usually!) This is a must-make-again in my book, and I love Kelly’s thoughts on pairing this with a nice tomato soup or salad for an easy dinner.

Kelly also brought Pioneer Woman’s Rosemary Potatoes as a side… So rich and delicious! I could definitely see this as a great holiday dinner side dish.

Finally, Jeff and I paired up to make some chicken and veggie kabobs. Marinated overnight in Trader Joe’s organic Italian dressing and cooked to perfection by the hubs.

And, no birthday celebration is complete without cake! I've decided that I love baking… especially trying new cake recipes. However, I could use a little practice in the presentation.  The cake ended up looking like the mad hatter cake in Alice in Wonderland… lumpy and not stacked evenly at all (sorry folks, no pictures and not because of the lumpiness, but because I'm a bad blogger!)

I tried the Blueberry-Lemon Cake with Lemon Cream Cheese Icing that Jen mentioned last week. True to her review, it was a hit! Such a nice summer cake, loaded with fresh blueberries and a slight hint of lemon. I actually think that I might try a little more lemon  if when I make it again (just because I love lemon).

Sorry for the poor picture quality... This is a semi-eaten slice taken with my iPhone.  Obviously, I would highly recommend it for a summer dessert!

We had a great time relaxing and celebrating this weekend!  Now back to the work-week...