aggies and tigers and sunburns, o my! :)

what a weekend.

friday night, bub-hub and i celebrated five months of domination.

we had yummy tortellini with champagne sauce for dinner, and shared a bottle of of our favorite wine, Cakebread Cellars chardonnay. yummmmm.

after dinner, we headed over to houston's iconic "house of pies" to satisfy our sweet tooth.

bub-hub had his favorite, apple, and i had mine, cherry! both were topped with the most giant scoop of ice cream i had ever seen in my life. 

fantastic way to celebrate if i do say so myself! :)

saturday morning, bub-hub and i headed to college station to watch the Fightin Texas Aggies take on the LSU Tigers.

beautiful blue skies, nice cool breeze, great company, perfect day.

minus the aggie loss....

but it was such a great day to be in aggieland.

and no game day is complete without a little sunburn.

i promise i put sunscreen on, a lot of it. 

i guess i should have reapplied after the first two hours of standing in the direct sun.

#rudolphproblems

on the drive back, we passed a roadside farmers market, so of course bub-hub, being the sweet softie that he is, stopped for me. :) 

i may or may not have wanted to buy every single mini-pumpkin in the place, but i had self control. i only bought two giant bags of grapes, strawberry preserves, and some apples.

yum!

how was your weekend?

do you ever stop at road side stands?

mmmmmm cookies! :)

prepare yourself for greatness folks.
everyone has their go-to cookie recipe and this is mine.
i may or may not be eating a few as i type...
these oatmeal chocolate chip cookies are so yummy straight out of the oven,
or for a snack the next day,
or for breakfast.
oatmeal. duh.

1 cup butter

1 cup light brown sugar

1/2 cup white sugar

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 cups wheat flour

3 cups old fashioned oats

1ish cup chocolate chips

[one] preheat over to 350degrees.

[two] in a large mixing bowl, beat butter with an electric mixer on medium for about 30 seconds, then add sugars, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.

[three] once combined, mix in eggs and vanilla. 

[four] add in the flour and oats slowly and mix until completely incorporated.

[five] then, stir in the chocolate chips.

[six] using a spoon or a cookie scoop, drop the cookies onto a baking sheet about 2-3 inches apart from each other, and put in the oven.  

[seven] bake for 8-10 minutes, or until the tops are slightly browned. 

[eight] remove the cookies from the oven and place on a cooling rack or paper towels to cool.

[nine] eat 'em up!

maybe you can make a dozen or three for your sweet treat swap partner! :)you can still sign up! so do it!

wedding rap up

it's ok to completely humiliate yourself in front of a room of 150 people right??

 

this weekend was so fantastic and so exhausting.

i had such a blast celebrating the marriage of my sweet friend steph.

the whole day was absolutely beautiful.

and may or may not have humiliated myself during my MOH speech...

i know i brag about bub-hub a lot,

but he really is the best.

he helped me practice and listened to me mess up over and over and over again,

he stood in the back dancing and cheering me on,

and he gave me a half time pep-talk to get through the humiliation.

he is the bomb[dot]com.

 

at the end of the night, the bride and groom left the reception as husband and wife.

a perfect end to a perfect day.

 

 

don't forget to sign up for the sweets swap! :)

send me an email and get in on the sweet action!

gracefullymadeblog[at]gmail.com

 

fall sweets and treats

i really try hard to expand my pinning beyond the wonderful world of food and sweets, but alas, it's nearly impossible. they all looked so scrumptious i couldn't resist!

pumpkin creme brule. it should be illegal.

Source: loveandoliveoil.com via Sarah Grace on Pinterest

pumpkin chocolate chip bread.
at first, i wasn't sure how i felt about chocolate and pumpkin being mixed, but let me tell you,
it is quite the fabulous combination.

Source: javacupcake.com via Allison on Pinterest

double chocolate cake bread.
four of my favorite words put together into one fabulous creation.

Source: gotowaniecieszy.blox.pl via Jessica on Pinterest

pumpkin pie bars. duh.

Source: somethewiser.danoah.com via Joanna on Pinterest

if only i could actually recreate these in real life. even with bakerella's step-by-step-for-dummies directions, i'm pretty sure my ghosts would still turn out like blobs.

Source: bakerella.com via Sarah Grace on Pinterest

mmmmmm cupcakes! :)

all day, errr day.

Source: luluthebaker.blogspot.com via Sarah Grace on Pinterest

speaking of sweets,
have you signed up for our sweet treats swap?!
you know you want to! :)

friday flan!

happy friday everyone! :)

here are a few highlights from my week:

[one] 

i'm loving honeycrisp apples. the perfect amount of sweet and sour, and the perfect amount of crunch.

[two]

this weekend, bub-hub and i are flying to arkansas for a family wedding. i can't wait to see everyone and fill up my hug-tank!

[three]

i received this message on one of my dove chocolates this week. yummy chocolate and encouraging words are a perfect combination. 

[four]

"gracefully and professionally"...this has been my mantra over the last few weeks.  i was reminded by a co-worker that even when things start getting crazy around the office, i have to respond calmly and act "gracefully and professionally". easier said than done, but i'm trying!

[five] 

this week, i tried flan for the first time.  more specifically, flan with coconut cream sauce and pineapple topping. i've falled in love and i think my life is forever changed. :)

how was your week?

what are you looking forward to this weekend?

a lovely baking shower for a lovely bride-to-be

you're invited to a baking shower! :)

what is a baking shower you might ask?

it's just an excuse to eat yummy treats and shower the bride-to-be with gifts to fill her kitchen.

my mama and i hosted a baking themed bridal shower for my sweet friend stephanie.  guests brought so many sweet gifts, and many of them tied in to the recipies they gave her. neat huh?

the colors of the bride-to-be's kitchen are going to be blue and red, such a fun combo! so i designed the invitations and matching recipe cards to reflect this theme.

along with the invitations, guests were given two recipe cards to fill out and give back to the bride.  she received so many yummy recipes!! i wanted to keep them all!  there is something so sweet about having  the ladies in your life share their kitchen secrets.

i was really happy with the size and spacing of these cards.  they had enough room to hold detailed directions, and the lines were well spaced, even if the person writing has large handwriting like me. :)

the back of the recipe cards had a giant "d" for the bride-to-be's new last name! :)

i found plain, bamboo kitchen utensils at the grocery store and painted the handles to match the theme. my mom came up with the fabulous idea of tying them to the plate handles.
the bride said she is going to display them on hooks above her stove. isn't that a great idea!?

the guest's favors were recipe cards for two of the items that were served at the shower:
limeaid punch and chicken caesar salad bites.

we used all white flowers, white and blue plates, and white and silver serving pieces.  the white table cloth provided a clean backdrop for all of the red and blue accents and the yummy food! :)

the yummy bite-sized menu included:
shortbread dot cookies
raspberry spritz cookies
mini ham sandwiches
chicken caesar salad bites
chocolate pinwheels
vanilla gem muffins
fruit tarts with blueberries and raspberries
limeaid punch with fresh raspberries

aren't the flowers beautiful? my mama is so great at arranging flowers, i wish i had even a few of her skills!

just a few photos of me with my mama, and with the beautiful bride-to-be! and we all matched, aren't we the cutest?!

are you hosting a shower anytime soon?

if you're interested in personalized invitations, send me an email and i'd love to work with you! :)

gracefullymadeblog[at]gmail.com

blueberry-lemon boondt cake! :)

we were blessed to be invited over for dinner at a new friend's house,

so, of course, i volunteered to bring dessert!

summer is the season for amazing fruit...especially when it comes to berries.
so i took to pinterest, google and my recipie books for berry-inspiration.

there are so many lemon-blueberry bar and cake recipes floating around on pinterest right now,

but i was itching to use my new bundt cake pan.

[maybe i was channeling my big fat greek wedding]

so it was martha stewart to the rescue!

blueberry-lemon bundt cake
via martha stewart

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus 1 teaspoon for blueberries and zest
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup packed light-brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
4 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup sour cream
2 cups blueberries
2 tablespoons grated lemon zest
Nonstick cooking spray, for pan
Confectioners' sugar, for dusting [optional, but highly recommended! :)]



Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a bowl, whisk 2 1/2 cups flour with baking powder and salt; set aside.

In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugars on high speed until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until incorporated.

Beat in vanilla. Reduce speed to low; add flour mixture in three additions, alternating with two additions of sour cream.

In a bowl, toss blueberries and zest with remaining teaspoon flour; gently fold into batter.

Coat a 12-cup nonstick Bundt pan with cooking spray. Spread batter in prepared pan.

Bake cake on bottom rack of oven until a toothpick inserted into center of cake comes out clean, 60 to 70 minutes.

Cool in pan 20 minutes.

Invert onto a rack; cool completely, top side up.

Dust with confectioners' sugar before serving, if desired.

tadaaaaaaah!

this turned out fantastic! it was the perfect balance of sweet and tart, and would even be perfect for breakfast or brunch!

what are you favorite summer-berry recipes??



p.s. have you heard about the 24 day challenge??
check out my post on it here and consider joining in with us!

holla for friday!

dear munchkin game, you are hilarious.  it was so fun getting to defend curses and kill the monsters. the life of an elf is a hard one my friends. 

[the game can be found here]

dear birchbox, i'm so excited about getting to meet you soon!

dear fourth of july cherry cobbler. i'm obsessed with you.  all day at work I think about how yummy you're going to taste. that's a healthy way to live right? ; ) 

dear bestie,  thank you for coming to houston and hanging out with me, and for loving Chick-fil-a chocolate chunk cookies as much as I do. baked, sealed, delivered...i'm yours.

dear nicole's classes,  i'm so excited to have my first week completed! i'm so close to having my homework done, and I can't wait to start week 2.  

you can check out nicole's classes here:  http://nicolesclasses.com/

dear pure barre, today, i'll attend my first class, and i'm so nervous!!! i've heard the class can be a killer, and i'm excited but to be honest, i'm a little be terrified too!

dear weekend,  i pray that you last a long time and go by slowly. i pray that you are sunny and not humid.  i am so excited to have more time off to spend with my hubby! 

 this has been a week of fireworks, friends, fabulous! :)

how was your week?