A Birthday, a Shower, a Cupcake, in vintage

     These last few weeks have been packed with friends and sweets and celebrations. First, a birthday. My Lila girl turned 1! August 13th. Oh, the sweet babe. I love her to bits. My mom, sister, and I threw her a party. Totally did. As in, I made a cake. And got her presents (see red toy above). And may or may not have made her a party hat with the number 1 on it. I love my puppy. It's a fact. And the party was hilarious and such fun. I strapped the hat to her and she pranced into the kitchen trying to shake it off. I laughed. We sang and ate. Such a fun evening. Happy 1st year to my sweetest little canine buddy.

           Next, a shower! My sweet Rachel is due to have baby Noah in the next few weeks and I was privileged to throw a shower for her. Our friend Gretchen hosted it in her stunning home, and we spent a few good hours celebrating, gifting, praying, and eating in her honor. Something I'd been looking forward to for months, it went wonderfully. Can't go wrong with clotheslines of cute onesies, tiny baby gifts, good food, and good people. She's already a great mom. And I cannot wait to meet her little one.

        Lastly, a cupcake. In preparation for the shower, I tested out a few recipes for chocolate cupcakes, along with several frostings, hoping to find the one that might rise to the occasion. My coworkers were showered with them last week while I probed for their opinions: Chocolatey enough? Too salty? Too sweet? Finally, the consensus was resoundingly positive. We've found a winner, folks. Moist, light chocolate cake with a dainty vanilla buttercream frosting. Makes a mouth happy.

      All of these things to say, my little schedule has been fairly bustling. I'm ready for some quiet days. I find you have to fight for those, you know, intentionally make time for yourself, for rest. There's always something demanding one's attention. Just gotta say no sometimes. A hard lesson I have yet to learn. Anyhow, I plan to post a couple recipes soon, but for now am saying no and taking time to finish The Help (so good) and get a good night's rest. Back soon!