books + pudding = good times

so there's a handful of my buddies who've formed a book club. i've been exposed to all sorts of great books i'd never have given a second glance to, because whoever volunteers to host the next gathering gets to choose the book of the month. unfortunately, my schedule hadn't allowed me to actually attend any of the meetings...until this month. yay!

everyone always brings a little something to munch or drink, potluck-style, and you know me - i love to bring dessert. i debated making a batch of cake balls, or perhaps some caramel macchiato cookies. but then i attended a birthday party for an old friend's baby, during which she introduced me to chocolate pudding shots. that's right. PUDDING SHOTS. i got the recipe from her, hit the grocery store to buy the ingredients, and got to work.

it was super easy to make - although, of course, there's always a back story that involves some kind of fuckup on my part. see, we've got lots of liquor stashed away - but because we rarely drink at home, it's rather, uh, aged. of course, when i made my grocery run for the cool whip and pudding mix, i assumed it was all good. and i didn't get a chance to start mixing it up until late the night before book club (like 11:30ish). i whisked the mix and some milk together, opened my unopened, still sealed bottle of bailey's, and tipped it over to pour some into my measuring cup - and nothing. i capped it and shook the shit out of it, tried to pour it again, and still - nothing. crap.

and then i turned the bottle over and saw that the "use by" date was...2/10/05.

good gracious. my alcohol is older than my marriage.

i was super bummed - and since my pudding was "instant," it had already globbed together into a thick, gooey mess and was unsalvageable. dang. i really wanted to have this done because the shots have to be frozen to get them to the right consistency.

so the next morning, i got up bright and early, trucked my happy ass to the grocery store, and bought new liquor and pudding mix. lucky for me, my local store has a starbucks inside, too.

i mixed everything together, folded in the cool whip, and poured it into a ziploc bag to pipe the concoction into my little baking cups. kinda looks like poo, a little, huh?

it was an easy drive down to north orange county - the meeting was at nabum's new house, which we were all excited to visit. not to mention, i've been online buddies with her forever but had never actually met her in person! she's just as cute and friendly as i expected, and as she gave us a quick tour of their new abode, i admired her style and fun little decorative touches.

this was the book of the month, and she'd found a cool illustrated version of it. i have to admit here that i didn't actually finish the book - i didn't even get around to picking it up at the library until two days prior, and only got halfway through.

lots of great grub!

there were also pretty champagne cocktails. i didn't indulge, but i learned that there was such a thing as elderflower liqueur.

nabum's back yard was just as awesome as the rest of the house. i loved the fountain, the lawn, the cozy little seating areas. my friend marshy (also a longtime internet buddy who i got to finally meet for the first time) was more than happy to model for my shot. she's adorable and i heart her, despite her hatred for my beloved lakers.

i set up the timer to take a group shot before we left - sadly, amber and champagna were gone by the time we took it.

we are some hot ass book nerds.