the best saturdays include best friends and brunch

 no one tells you about the withdrawls you go through when you leave college.

one day, you're seeing your friends and roommates all day err day,

and the next, poof!

the real world slaps you in the face and everyone moves away.

 

last weekend, my sweet came to houston!! i can't even tell you how excited i was to see this girl. we spent the morning eating a yummy brunch, spoiling ourselves with pedicures.

pretty perfect saturday morning if you ask me!

 

reunions are the best.

 

 #sunnysquintyface

 

who would have thought the stranger i lived with my freshman year of college would turn out to be such a fabulous life long friend.

 

 

inspiration for a bachelorette bash! :)

last weekend i had the honor of throwing my sweet friend's bachelorette party!
i had so much fun planning and crafting and creating, it was definitely a fantastic time all around!

there were so many fun aspects to the night, and of course, i was highly inspired by pinterest. i thought i'd share a few of my favorite pins with you!

i got a giant foam poster board , taped together some envelopes, traced the edges to make my chevron stripes, and filled them in with hot pink paint.

the envelope trick was genius. 

original pin:

Source: handmakemyday.com via Sarah Grace on Pinterest

my interpretation:

 

in case people were unaware that the number one priority of a bachelorette party was to have fun, a little hit pink sign was clearly displayed to spread the word.

original pin:

Source: etsy.com via Sarah Grace on Pinterest

my interpretation:

and now it's snack time! :)

a party isn't a party without cake balls! :)
as i've stated before,,,,,i am not a pretty baker.
i think it was a sign from the heavens when the groupon from Texas Cake Ballers.
i sent the owner an email with photos of the cake ball vision i had formed in my mind, mostly consisting of  sparkles and glitter,,,and she pulled it off! :) not only did the look amazing, they tasted amazing.
i highly recommend the strawberry-and-cream and chocolate fudge.
yummmmm.

original pin:

Source: hwtm.com via Sarah Grace on Pinterest

my texas cake baller's interpretation:

i, along with 95% of the rest of the female population, love mimosas! i think they are so fun. it is nearly impossible to pop a bottle of champagne and not have a fun time.

when i saw this pin, i just knew we had to try it. 

instead of orange juice, i served scoops of orange sherbet, for a traditional mimosa with a twist.  instead of traditional cranberry juice for poinsettias, i  had cranberry-pomegranate and served pom-settias. 

original pin:

Source: celebrationsathomeblog.com via Sarah Grace on Pinterest

my interpretation:

each of the girl was given a take-away bag that contained the bride's favorite essie nail polish, "topless & barefoot", and a pink nail file. 

original pin:

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

next to the sign, i placed a sign that read "when in cancun, choose topless and barefoot", to give a hint to the gift before the girls could open them.  scandalous right? bub-hub thought so. i thought it was pretty clever. 

 

Source: product-girl.com via Krizia on Pinterest

Source: weddingbee.com via Sarah Grace on Pinterest

my interpretation:

we also played a few fun games!

original pin:

my interpretation:

be sure to check back tomorrow for all the fun details of the best bachelorette bash that ever was! :)

   

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!