Little Man Turns TWO!

 HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my little man. He is growing so quickly and becoming such the little gentleman. Thank you to everyone who came out to celebrate his second birthday. For bloopers from this fun day, visit Playdough & Heels' Facebook.

 He was so confused as to why everyone was singing. 

You can't go wrong with a slip and slide!

Mother's Day

This mother's day was fantastic! We spent the weekend with my mom and dad in Port Townsend. We camped in the marina close to town. We spent the morning at the local farmer's market and the afternoon checking out the little shops. We had a delicious locally made goat cheese plate from the farmer's market with local pepper jelly and sourdough bread for happy hour as we watched the sail boats go by.

When we got home on Sunday, my husband and my little boy took me shrimping in the Puget Sound! The water was beautiful and we had a nice afternoon. We even caught 5 shrimp! Not enough for a meal, but they made a delicious appetizer.

For my Mama's Port Townsend Mother's Day dinner I made:

Barbecued chicken breast

Dilly potato salad

Brussels sprout salad

Dessert was a store bought marionberry pie with a locally made vanilla ice cream.

My Boy Turns ONE!

 When my little man turned ONE we had to rearrange his party. I thought I could do it all and execute a large work event and then turn around the next day and throw a baby's first birthday party. My body thought differently. I had to call all our friends and family that morning to tell them I was sick and the party was moved to the next weekend. It all worked out in the end. Little man didn't mind, he got two cakes!

Sweet Southern Bridal Shower

 I had the honor of hosting my dear dear friend Heather's bridal shower before she left for Kentucky where she would be married and reside. My darling friend deserved nothing less than a sweet southern afternoon with her as the focus. 

 When planning a large event my rule of thumb is focus on a few key elements to make the shinning star, so that you aren't burnt out from making everything from scratch. My focus was the trifle, made with layering red velvet cake, whipped cream and meringue cookies on top. I made  Giada De Laurentiis Mini Italian Club Sandwiches (served whole) a head of time as the guests arrived with a light salad. This allowed the desserts to be the shinning star.

 Of course we had to play games! I created a movie love quote game as well as downloaded Jane's Girl Designs' bridal shower game of matching the wedding customs to their original superstitions.

 Games are not complete without a prize! The winners went home with Jolly Rancher vodka. Simply dissolve a handful (10 - 12) single flavor Jolly Ranchers in approx 2 cups vodka for approx an hour and the vodka will take on the flavor of the Jolly Ranchers!

 Each guest signed a heart with well wishes or advice for the soon to be newlyweds that could be displayed as 3D art.

 A southern shower wouldn't be complete without a few chicken guests.

Mayfield Lake

A few years ago my husband spent a month at Mayfield Lake. It was an adventure to host my mother-in-law's mother's day here in a camping spot. Us in the camper and her in her motor home. The high of the weekend was setting up the pretty table next to the lake for lunch. The epic fail of the weekend was dropping 5 pounds of potato salad and breaking my grandmother's bowl. I slaved to make my husband's crew a delicious lunch and he had one request, his favorite potato salad. On the way from the camper to the car, I dropped my grandmother's glass bowl and spread 5 pounds of potato salad on the ground. In a moment of panic I thought, do you think anyone will know if I still serve it? And on the verge of crying, I began to laugh like a crazy person. Thank goodness for grocery stores.