Bday Bash / 1st Party

We had a b-day get together for my brother in-law/ our first house party this weekend!! What a great way to break in our house!

After several long days and busy nights our house was ready for a party by Saturday (and so were we). Mom and Aunt Anne came up to Memphis this past week and were a HUGE help in unpacking/decorating/hanging/etc. I took a couple of half days off from work but it wasn't nearly enough time to get everything done. Poor Jeff did not have any time off and as soon as he got home we put him and Bern to work doing the heavy lifting and major mirror hanging.

It was a busy week - I went to the grocery store at least once every day, Lowe's about 6 times, and Sheffield antique store 3 times. I guess I'm not good at making one big list to avoid the several trips :)

This awesome green distressed table was a present from Mom and Dad- we found it at Sheffield's. Mom had a vision and knew exactly where we were going to put it in the house (more on that later). Aunt Anne also got two great Gothic shaped window panes. I am sad I didn't snap a pictures to show you - they were cool! The lady that worked there told us that they are opening up an upscale consignment store in December- it will be across from the Walmart in Collierville.
Soo Fun!

Jeff and Bern were put to work assembling these Adirondack chairs.
They still need to be stained and weather sealed - a project for this week.

Aunt Anne worked her magic on the deck and helped make it festive and inviting!
I can't wait for her to take on the bigger job of working her magic in both the back and front yard. It needs help in a major way.

We had a blast having everybody over.
It will be the first of many gatherings!

Yummmm Pup Cake

Happy 1st Birthday to Ellie!!!

Jeff got her a Peanut Butter Frosting Pup Cake from Three Dog Bakery here in Memphis and Ellie loved It! Let me tell you it looked real- Jeff and I were both salivating wishing we had one for ourselves :)

Hope you all have a great 4th of July weekend!!!

Happy Birthday!!

Yesterday was my hubby's Birthday!

We had a great day starting by waking up to a feast at Chris's house. He made banana pancakes with peanut butter syrup, venison sausage scrambled eggs, and to top it off he served mimosa's. What a great brother!

We headed back to the house where Jeff watched football as I made him his Birthday dessert. He wanted something I had never made before so I searched through cookbooks and called mom for suggestions. The final vote was a Milk Chocolate Bar Cake. Yummm!

His parents, Chris, and Kristy came over for cocktails and for presents before we headed down to the Peabody. Then we went to one of my favorite places in Memphis for dinner -- Flight!! If you have not been then I suggest you go for your next night out! There are so many options and everything they cook is fantastic. Although we were all full and didn't need dessert we managed to find a little room for his birthday cake.

A quick shout out!

Jeff I love you soo much! You are the best husband and I am soo lucky to have you in my life!


Here are a few pics from his past!

Jeff with his older brother Chris

Loving his blond hair!

Milk Chocolate Bar Cake

1 (18.25 oz) package Swiss Chocolate cake mix
1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened
1 cup powered sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
10 (1.5 oz) milk chocolate candy bar with almonds, divided
1 (12 oz) container frozen whipped topping, thawed

Prepare cake batter according to package directions. Pour into 3 greased and floured 8-inch round cake pans. Bake at 325 for 20-25 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool pans on wire rack fro 10 minutes. Beat cream cheese, powered sugar, and granulated sugar at medium speed with an electric mixer until it is creamy. Chop 8 candy bars finely. Fold cream cheese mixture and chopped candy into whipped topping. Spread icing between layers and on top and sides of the cake. Chop remaining 2 candy bars over cake. Press remaining chopped candy along the edge of the cake. Yield: 1 (3 layer) cake.

Modifications: I made a few changes to the recipe. I only did a 2 layer cake simply because I did not have an extra cake pan. I poured 1/2 cup of Kahlua on the cakes after they came out of the oven to spice it up a bit. I probably could have added more but I was afraid it would get too soft and fall apart as I was icing it. I bought 5 (4.25 oz) candy bars instead of the size listed in the recipe.