Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Girl's Poker Night

Every once in a while, a few of us girls get together for a Girl's Poker Night. They happen rarely, and we welcome one and all (as long as they aren't too serious of a player). We don't play for money, and sometimes we rarely play due to the intense discussions about men, kids, celebrities and various other gossip that happens to crop up.

In between conversations, we play poker.

This time, we went to our friend's loft which was so posh I had to take pictures. It is a 3000 sq ft gorgeous exposed brick loft in a great area of town.





As you can see from the start of this poker post which is mostly pics of apartments, poker is a real priority of the evening.


We played a few rounds of poker, and ate some delicious desserts, candy, cheese and wine (though I think I was the only one engaging in wine consumption past the first glass).






Due to being on holidays, my motivation level is at an all time low. However, I mustered up some energy to make a new recipe for poker night today. Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes.

Here's what you do:  Bake a white cake (from the box like me or from scratch) and pour the cake batter into a cupcake tin filling each holder 2/3 full.



Make a batch of cookie dough balls, or buy ready-made dough like me, roll into balls, and drop them into the white cake batter.




Bake in the oven at 350 for 16-18 minutes, and if you're lucky they won't turn out like this.



Not entirely sure what happened, but the cupcackes were hollow in the centre which they were not in the blog I looked at when I was cooking these bad boys.

Either way, even with the hollowness, when paired with the butercream icing they tasted pretty good.




Anyway, when it comes to poker, I rarely win.



But I always have a great time with the girls!!!




ADELLE


Monday, August 8, 2011

Tis the Season of Bridal Showers - Take 2








I get the distinct honour of being a bridesmaid this fall for one of my best friends. As a bridesmaid, I also have the honour of helping to host a bridal shower, which is exactly what I did a few weeks ago. The Maid of Honour and I hosted the shower at my parent's lake house and we had the most perfect day!

Keeping with the theme of the wedding, the decorations were primarily orange, and we added some yellow in for some summer fun.

We kept decorations simple.


The food was amazing. We asked people to bring certain dishes and they outdid themselves.



Our good friend was in charge of bringing a cake, and she did an AMAZING job!!



Inspired by Jolene and Bakerella, I attempted to make Cake Pops for this occasion. Not only did I lose all the photos of my attempts at Cake Pop making, but my Cake Pops were a flop and turned into Cake Balls instead. They still turned out ok, and tasted delicious if I do say so myself.



With the left over Cake Pops, I made treat bags for all of the guests, complete with the candy decorations that were used in the martini glasses. I lost those pics too. So you just have to trust that they looked quite cute.

Speaking of cute, here is the beautiful bride!



And her proud attendants (minus her sister who lives in Alberta....missed you Doe!)



It was such a fabulous afternoon.....thanks to those who travelled out to the Lake House for the afternoon!!


ADELLE