A Proper Party.

All the prep work from the posts below was nothing compared to the party that was had for these two love birds...

Together, all of their friends threw them a Surprise Engagement Party :)

After the planning, baking, and cooking was done... all we could do was wait for them to walk through the door. It was hard for all of us to keep quiet!

Yes, you better believe I made all of the desserts.... right down to the chocolate ganache frosting on those mini-cupcakes :)

Yes, I put together that gorgeous arrangement as well. Notice the bread sticks too!

Vanilla Custard & Berry Napoleons? No problem! I was literally putting the finishing touches on these babies as Sam & Erin were heading up the elevator...

Not to forget that it was ALSO Erin's birthday!

After we'd love a few, we decided to quickly take a group shot. Such a happy little family!

The night before the party... they had no idea what we had in store for them! I think it was quite a success. Special thanks to everyone to helped by bringing food and drinks... and to Sarah B. of course for doing a lot of the planning, while I did the cooking & baking!

Thyme & Parmesan Breadsticks.

Like I said, I had to make everything by hand for this special little party. It only makes sense to make the best of things when you are hosting one of the Food Editors from Better Homes & Gardens. I felt the pressure, but I was up for the challenge :)

Funny, what mixing a few key ingredients will produce! I think I threw in flour, yeast, salt, some herbs, freshly grated Parmesan cheese, and olive oil into my mixing bowl and slowly mixed them all together.

The batter quicky became thick and dough-like. I rolled the dough into a long loaf -like shape and cut small pieces off of it, and then rolled the small pieces into long bread sticks.

After baking them for about (15) minutes or so, they were ready to eat!

Making about (50) or more of these yummy sticks was fun, but not as fun as eating them. This is all that was left after the party. I have to say, they are quite the people pleasers!

Pumpkin-Chocolate-Oatmeal Cookies.

Prepping for Erin & Sam's Engagement Party was quite a task. I had decided that I was going to make (3) different homemade desserts, as well as snacks, for the party... and I only had a couple of days to make it happen!

So I went to town. I made the pumpkin puree the night before attempting to make and bake the cookies, so lucky for me I had part of the recipe done ;) It actually called for puree in a can, but I knew I could make my own and be an over achiever.

After picking up all of the different spices I needed from allspice, I went to town and threw together the batter. The smell of everything mixed in was kind of intoxicating. If I remember correctly, I used freshly ground nutmeg, clove, allspice, cinnamon, and ginger.

Then I threw in one of my favorite ingredients... dark chocolate!

I scooped small spoonfuls onto a parchment sheet and into the oven they went!

Yum. I taste tested more than a few before the party... :)

Meredith Gardens.

I promised all of you (but mostly myself) that I would make it over to see the Meredith Gardens before the end of Fall.... lucky for me, the Summer and Fall both went late into the year for the first time ever and I was able to make it down right before they closed the gates!

I loved this little gazebo area. To bad it wasn't a day that was open to the public so I wasn't able to really sit an enjoy for too long.

On Fridays, anyone can go down and have lunch and just enjoy the scenery.

I didn't get to see much more than half of the gardens because Better Homes & Gardens were doing a photo shoot for their Spring/Summer issues. Can you believe they were already planning those shoots as the rest of us were preparing for the coldness.... which luckily still has not struck too bad yet :)

Rekindled Love.

If you know, you have to know how much I love weddings. I love to plan them... attend them... and work at them too! I fell in love with the idea of weddings a long time ago.

The moment that realized how much I loved them was when I read "The Five People You Meet in Heaven". I don't remember the exact quote from it but I do remember that when Eddie meets Marguerite in "heaven", she explained that she chose weddings as her "heaven" because they are a time of supreme happiness and she wanted to experience that happiness forever...

So, after leaving the wedding industry for a while, it should be no surprise that when Saley from DiVine Flowers asked me to help her coordinate, I jumped right back on board! Take a look at the world that I love t be a part of. How could walking into this wonderland not make you smile inside?

The entire room was so fragrant with the essence of roses. If I remember correctly, she said she used over 10,000 of them.

I love when weddings have a lounge area. It makes the setting so cozy and relaxed.

Candy Bars: Not just for kids anymore.

I really enjoy decorating the honeymoon suite. I know that by the time that the couple makes it up, they are either too exhausted to care or too drunk... but the thought they might appreciate it makes me happy.

There few things that I am truly passionate about... weddings are one of them!