My primary 'obsession' with the food and this shower was the dessert table. My friend Kristen has gotten me hooked on Amy Atlas' blog. Check out her site and click on 'eye candy' to see spread after spread of beautiful tables! She's a gal who specializes in gorgeous dessert tables (most likely for the rich and famous...I really wonder how much she charges...). So Ms. Atlas' dessert tables were my inspiration behind the photo above!
But first I'll mention lunch. Because that's what we ate first...and it's the order of my photos. We used my mom's chicken salad sandwich recipe on croissants and Jenny's strawberry-walnut salad. I had a few requests for the salad recipe...so here it is (Jenny, I hope you don't mind!):
Along with the salad and sandwiches, we served my most recent shower standard: Bacon Leek Quiches! I love them almost more than dessert. I actually ate more of these rather than a cupcake. But it may just be what I'm craving....I love making them for showers/events because you prep and freeze them days or weeks ahead of time and then pop them straight from the freezer to the oven when it's hosting time! I'd be glad to share the recipe, but this blog post will be getting so long! Let me know in a comment below and I can email it your way!
And now for dessert. Sugar cookies...another one of Jenny's recipes. I enjoy her icing recipe because it's thin enough that you dip them (brilliant!) and thus end up with a really smooth cookie surface! I thought the tiny monogrammed ones were adorable! (Andrea's soon to be born daughter will be names Lauren).
Chocolate-Covered Strawberries. Need I say more? These were possibly the biggest hit--such a favorite--and took the least amount of time to prepare. AND strawberries were on sale. Win-win-win! Ladies just ooh and ahh over chocolate covered strawberries!
Another one of my new favorite pretty treats. Brownie pops. These are little balls of brownie on a stick, dipped in and drizzled with different colored melting chips (purchased at craft store). Cute and yummy!
Continuing with the pink and green theme (because Andrea's baby room/bedding is pink and green), we made Jenny's Spritz cookies. Well, Jenny made Jenny's Spritz cookies. I watched.
And the cupcakes. I did a lot of research on strawberry cupcakes with cream cheese frosting prior to the shower. This is what I decided upon and had pretty good feedback! I used Paula Deen's cupcake recipe found here (but didn't use her cream cheese frosting). I wanted a cream cheese frosting that would pipe well and hold it's shape. I ended up using:
Here's my big crafty blogging baby announcement; we're expecting another baby! Here's a T-shirt I made (painted) for James tonight. Okay, so the news isn't so new. I was so exhausted the first trimester that I didn't get around to blogging about anything and have been so busy the past month that I haven't had time either! Baby #2 is due in October. Now, on to the craft....
Not sure why I'm so obsessed with this craft. Perhaps because it can be successfully accomplished in an hour or two? Maybe because my FIRST trial run actually worked? Or maybe because it's fairly cheap? So many great things about it! This is a variation of the craft we did at Andrea's Baby Shower (photos & recipes coming soon). See this and this website for some more in-depth instructions and tips.
My inspiration for this t-shirt design came from this. I had already purchased a red t-shirt at H*bby L*bby not long ago for $1.50, had the paint leftover from Andrea's shower, and borrowed the freezer paper, rotary mat, and knife from my mom and Jenny. (thanks!!) First, I goofed around in Microsoft Word, picked out a font, and designed my stencil. Then I printed it (above, left). Then I traced exactly what I printed on the freezer paper (above, right).
Then I cut it out with Jenny's craft knife. I will have to buy one, because she's leaving for Memphis tomorrow. :( I thought this step would take forever. It did take 20 minutes. That, of course, varies on your design!
Here's the paint I used. That brand and type was recommended. I used WAY more than that little dot of paint. Maybe that was partially due to the fact that I was painting yellow on dark red....
Mark was very patient with my craft time. I was extremely indecisive about the paint color choice....
Drying with a hair dryer. I did this only a minute or two before carefully peeling off the freezer paper, using the X-acto/craft knife to pry up the edges of the letters. I will let this dry the rest of the way over night and then iron it once more to 'set' the paint in the morning (with a piece of fabric between paint & iron, just in case).
Finished product! I think it's so cute! I have a blue shirt, too, and I'm already armed with a few ideas for another Big Brother shirt...Maybe I'll post a picture of it!
And one profile picture to finish things off...Here we are at 16 weeks. I'm fairly certain I wasn't this big til 20 or 22 weeks with James! I know, I know...you're supposed to show earlier with your second child. :) Had an appointment today and found out I will get another sonogram at 20 weeks and if Baby is cooperative we'll know the gender then! Can't wait!
...Mark and I were in Ft. Lauderdale, FL! Mark surprised me with the trip two months prior on Valentine's Day. It was fun to look forward to!
We flew down early on Friday morning and were walking on the beach by lunchtime. (The beach is across the street from this restaurant.) Mark had picked out a darling little hotel just a block's walk from the beach and shopping/dining strip!
Our first day was the sunniest and we took advantage by walking on and laying out (for about an hour). The water was still just too chilly for me to really get in but Mark braved it.
Not sure if you can see it, but our hotel is the short third building back. It was totally charming; I'd recommend it!
Saturday we purchased day passes for the touristy Water Taxi. This may have been my favorite thing we did! It was fun to ride in and out of "Florida's Venice", gawking at HUGE homes (and being told who lived in them, such as the inventor of Alka Seltzer :) and yachts and who owned them (such as the founder of Yankee Candles, owner of the yacht "Paraffin").
Aboard the water taxi, on the way to a popular shopping district along Las Olas Blvd.
Our favorite meal atmosphere was at a restaurant called Mancini's. It was outdoor seating under twinkle lights with live music. Yummy Italian food, too! Our last full day, Sunday was really rainy so we enjoyed a museum, caught a movie, and stumbled across a neat little ethnic restaurant that was once featured on Rachael Ray's "40 Dollars a Day"'. It's specialty was Argentinian empanadas. The weather wasn't ideal for visiting the beach, but we were still thankful to enjoy some time away for just the two of us!
Two weeks ago, we decided to take James to the zoo! There was a great forecast--sunny and warm but not too hot. We talked up the zoo all the way there but were pretty sure James didn't know what to expect.
His reactions weren't as 'big' as we were anticipating, but we know he enjoyed it all the same! There was just so much to see!
James' first favorite animal was this tall giraffe statue. I think he was just excited to get really close to something at last. 
Checking out the lemurs, just like in the movie Madagascar! I'm not sure he made the connection, although we pointed it out.
It was really tough to get him to sit still for even a second! We had taken a picnic lunch, which worked out great! Sitting at a table next to the train tracks was also a highlight for James.
This little monkey was really active (maybe more than James :) and swung really close to the glass, which was perfect for James.
You can't really go wrong with a petting zoo. In this photo James was pointing at his eyes, mouth, nose...
As we guessed, James was zonked out about one minute after pulling out of the parking lot! What a fun outing! I'm sure he'll love it even more next time around, as he'll know what to look forward to!
On Easter Sunday we ran to the hardware store to pick up some flowers to plan around our little trees in the front yard. Mark built the nice stone circular beds around them last year and we were looking for something that would add a little color and have nice coverage. We decided on creeping phlox. James REALLY got into the digging part. He was grubby from head to toe. Literally; in the hair, in the toes. He even sampled some of the dirt (which really grossed me out--I don't care how typical it is of little boys).
I ended up taking photos and attempting to corral and manage James. Planting flowers 'family style' probably wasn't the most productive way to accomplish the task, but it was memorable!
James had a hard time keeping from chewing on or throwing the mulch.
His favorite part (by far) was learning that water comes out of the hose! And that he gets to drink it!! It takes a lot of coaxing to get him to drink much water out of his sippy cup (he loves milk) but he will chug it out of the hose or a straw. Funny boy...
A sampling of photos from our Easter weekend....James heard the magic words "wash dishes" and scooted his chair over to the sink at Grandma and Grandpa's house. He LOVES to splish splash. What a pill.
I know I've said it before--18 month-olds come with LoAdS of personality! 
James really enjoyed shooting hoops with his daddy.
And now I'm joining the scores of parents who must post Easter-egg hunt photos. Here's James with his basket--not quite sure what to expect. My parents, Mark, and I made quite the ordeal out of it, with two cameras and a video camera to document the whole process.
James was really into it--for the first six eggs or so. 
But 12 eggs later, he was starting to fizzle. I could just imagine him thinking, 'why are they making me clean up all these eggs?'
Two baskets were required to hold all of his eggs--a good sign that there were a few too many. It was fun, though!