I had another birthday.

Fabulous chocolate waffle cookies, awesome birthday candles, tulle puffs, amazing lemon cupcakes!

So I turned 40 a couple of weeks ago. There was a fun little party with all of my favorite foods and lots of my favorite people! It's weird to turn 40, mostly because when you're really young, that sounds REALLY old. But once you're here it's more like, where did the last 20 years go?? I don't feel like I thought 40 would feel! But it's good. I like my 40 better than I thought 40 would be. :)

Things I've learned/I'm not afraid to admit now that I'm 40:
I've realized I can't do everything I think I should be doing, and that's okay.
*on a related note - having a clean house is great, but not always possible (without paid help).
I'm addicted to making friends.
I like Sci-Fi and Westerns.
I'm more of a garment sewer than a quilter - mostly because I like a quick finish!
Having a 2 year old is a good disguise for being 40.
I love a good burger.
Most of my days are fueled by diet Dr. Pepper.
Doing something is better than doing nothing.

So, my birthday present was our trip! And a post-deployment break for the two of us.  It was convenient that it timed well with my 40th and my BIL and SIL's 5th anniversary (we went with them).  I have been supremely spoiled by mrlouwho and it was a great way to start out this new decade!  Here's to being on the young end of something again!

oh and PS - I got an amazing present from a truly thoughtful friend.  We don't live near an IKEA and she picked one of these up for me last time she went! Now I can be part of the cool club!

a bridal shower

Here for the giveaway? Click here.

I mentioned in a previous post that I am going to a wedding in South Carolina next week. Over the last weekend I got to play a small part in throwing a shower for the bride-to-be. It was so much fun! And thanks to the hard work of my friend Jen, the house looked gorgeous and the food was awesome! Not that I would have expected anything less.

I threw some simple invitations together with the ink I had left in my printer and paper I had on hand. They inspired the colors for the decorations. I love the way it looked! (luckily Jen had some ribbon and white cardstock to dress one up for a keepsake.) I made some cake balls a la Bakerella for favors. They were lemon cake dipped in white chocolate. You can sort of see them in their cellophane bags under the invite.

Tissue pom poms, by Martha, adorned the windows.

An assortment of little sandwiches: curried chicken, waldorf chicken, and the quintessential crustless cucumber. (thanks to Jen for the recipes, found below)

Why yes, this salad did taste as good as it looks! Blueberries, strawberries, candied almonds, feta and mixed greens. She used Brianna's blush wine vinaigrette. That's my kind of salad. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to sit down with that bowl all to myself.

Really, who doesn't love a fruit kabob? (Even if the picture is blurry!)

I loved that she reused these lemonade bottles instead of pitchers. I thought they looked so cute!

And I've not jumped on the cupcake-love wagon, preferring more traditional pastry type desserts, but I have to say, these. were. AMAZING. I had blueberry-lemon and I can barely talk about it with bursting into tears of joy. They were from local bakery Baked and Wired.

We had so much fun celebrating our dear friend! Can't wait for the wedding. Did I mention that I'm going sans kids? I think I will be sleeping a lot. Not DURING the wedding of course. Just in the car.


The Recipes

Minty Cucumber Sandwiches

1 8oz. Cream Cheese1 Stick Butter
3-4 T. Fresh Mint (minced)
1 tsp. Fresh Tarragon (minced)
1-2 tsp. lime juice
Salt & Pepper to taste
2 cucumbers, sliced
Sliced bread

Blend ingredients until creamy. Spread over bread of your choice, followed by one layer of sliced cucumbers, cut off crust. You can make these as open faced or close faced sandwiches.

Chicken Salad Sandwiches

Waldorf

1 lb. cooked chicken (minced)
½- ¾ C Mayonnaise
½ Celery (minced)
3-4 Green Onions (minced)
¼ C Dried Currants or Craisins
¼ C Slivered Almonds
2 tsp. cider vinegar
1 T. Sugar
Salt & Pepper to taste

Curry Chicken

1 lb. cooked chicken (minced)
½- ¾ C Mayonnaise
½ Celery (minced)
3-4 Green Onions (minced)
¼ C Raisins
¼ C Slivered Almonds (optional)
Salt & Pepper to taste
1 tsp. Curry Powder

Mix and adjust to taste.