Friday, July 29, 2011

My Best Friend's Wedding

My college best friend, Kat, got married almost two whole weeks ago! She was a beautiful bride and so calm throughout her big day! We've been friends through many ups and downs in both of our lives and I'm so thankful to have her in my life. Here are a few pictures from her big wedding weekend...
Rehearsal Dinner: Meghan, Kat, Me (college bffs)
Zeta Girls
Beautiful Bride and Best Friend, Kat
Favorite picture
My date, Darrin, who was such a good sport. The wedding weekend was busy!
Congratulations to Kat and Tyler! So happy for you and love you both!


Thursday, July 14, 2011

Caprese Salad Kabobs!

I've never been a big dairy eater...I don't drink milk, I eat cheese in moderation, I'm not even a huge ice cream fan. But in the past year or so I have fallen in love with Caprese Salads. In case you are unfamiliar with them, they are made up of Tomato, Mozzarella, Basil, and Balsamic Vinegar. I needed a quick appetizer to take to a friend's house for a porch party, and decided to make a mini-version of a Caprese Salad. These are a great, easy-to-make appetizer to make (and take) somewhere when you need something last minute!

You Need:
Cherry Tomatoes
Mozzarella Cheese
Basil Leaves
Balsamic Vinegar
Toothpicks

Preparation:
1. Rinse the cherry tomatoes and thread a toothpick through the center.
2. Tear basil leaves into small pieces. Thread them onto the the toothpick beside the tomato.
3. Slice the Mozzarella into the appropriate size and place them onto the toothpick
4. Pour Balsamic Vinegar into a small bowl to use as a dip.



So cute. So simple. So good!


EDIT: Found tiny mozzarella balls (similarly sized to the cherry tomatoes!) at Sam's Club in a medium sized tub. They were absolutely PERFECT for this appetizer....much cuter than the slices I had to use the first time around!

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Jack Rogers Giveaway!

I recently bought my first pair of Jack Rogers Navajo Sandals (alright, I bought two pairs!) I've been looking at my roommate's pair for over a year now and decided it was time I had some of my own! I bought them in Black (with Black Stitching) and in Silver (with Silver Stitching) and have worn nothing else for the past week! I'm completely obsessed!

The College Prepster (www.thecollegeprepster.com) is hosting a giveaway for a pair of Jack Rogers Sandals, so naturally I'm entering! They're just coming out with a collegiate inspired line, and I'm hoping they'll venture into making me some Tennessee Orange and White ones before too long!

www.jackrogersusa.com

4th of July Goodies!

I fully intended on posting this on July 3rd (the day I made these yummy snacks), but the excitement of the 4th of July Weekend (which I love) and a date that night resulted in me not getting a post completed. So, here is a sampling of the yummy 4th of July goodies I made for family and friends to enjoy at the lake!

Red,White, and Blue Strawberries
As I've said before, I absolutely love strawberries. They've been my favorite fruit since forever and I love them in most anything: salads, desserts, snacks, it doesn't matter! One of my best friends, Melissa, showed me this idea and we decided they were too cute to pass up!
You need:
Strawberries
White Chocolate Chips
Crisco
Sugar
Blue Food Coloring

Preparation
1. Wash the strawberries and dry them off. Drying them off is important because it allows the chocolate to actually stick to the strawberries.
2. To make the granulated sugar blue, place sugar into a Ziploc bag and add drops of blue food coloring until your desired color is reached.  It helps if you drip the food coloring onto the side of the Ziploc instead of onto the sugar. Then, work the color throughout the sugar by kneading the closed bag with your hands. Place the colored sugar into a bowl.
3. In a double boiler (or a sauce pan on low heat), combine 1 tablespoon of Crisco per cup of White Chocolate chips.  The Crisco helps the chocolate chips to stay creamy enough to dip the strawberries in.  The first batch I made didn't turn out as pretty because I didn't use enough Crisco, thinking it was unnecessary--this made the chocolate lumpy and the dipping process not as easy. Let the chocolate chips and the Crisco melt together, stirring pretty continuously.
4. Dip the strawberries into the melted white chocolate (holding onto the stem), then immediately dip the bottom tip into the blue sugar. Repeat until you run out of strawberries (or chocolate!).



These were some of the first done...they aren't as pretty as the ones at the end, but of course, I forgot to take pictures of the pretty ones!

Red, White, and Blue Cupcakes
I wanted to make cupcakes in the shape of a flag after seeing them done in a magazine (I have no idea which one). I searched the internet for a made from scratch cupcake recipe, but I'm still in the process of tweaking it so it is exactly the taste I want. They turned out fine, but were nothing to write home about just yet...here's a picture of the finished product!