showerin'

i was still pretty exhausted from the events of the previous few days, but i was excited to get up early sunday before last to get the house ready for my cousin r's bridal shower.

first up - get the cake pops done.  one of the bride's favorite cake flavors is the classic red velvet, and with this batch i took no chances.  i used a tried-and-true box of duncan hines mix and frosting, and was so excited to have an excuse to try one of my favorite bakerella blog posts.  i'd had just enough time the day before to get the first couple of steps done and have them ready for dipping - of course, i didn't have the right sizes of cookie cutters to form the layers, so i had to do them by hand.

i'd bought two bags of yellow candy melts, since that's one of the wedding colors, but in my exhausted stupor managed to burn the hell out of the first pound.  damn.  not to mention, i was extra clumsy and knocked over a whole container of heart-shaped sprinkles.

but i rallied, carefully melted the second bag, busted out more sprinkles, and got 'er done.

slightly misshapen, but i think you can tell that they're supposed to be mini wedding cakes.  speaking of which, here's what kept me up two nights prior until 2am:

the wedding cake-shaped cookies were meant to be favors, so i sat down to wrap them individually and tie them with bright yellow ribbon.  i somehow forgot to take a picture, but you can imagine what it looked like.

next up - mini carrot cake cupcakes.  i was using ina garten's recipe, which looked easy and yummy.  and i was stoked to cut down my prep time considerably since i've conquered that fear of my food processor.  amazing.

it made an enormous amount of batter, which ended up being a good thing since there was a major hot spot in my oven, resulting in this:

oh, i was so bitter.  but i was happy to find that i still had enough to serve, and a quick taste test proved that the recipe was definitely a keeper.

all of my trips to target and ross (ugh) were totally worth it as i put the sweets bar together.

the teen and i were scrambling like mad to get the tables done in the back yard, where the hub had already put up the awning we'd used for the bean's birthday party last year.  she got to work on doing the floral centerpieces using the blooms i'd bought at the flower mart the morning before, and got the tables all put together with the white table covers and the runners i'd hastily sewn in the shower colors.

i'd just barely gotten out of the shower, thrown my dress on (i got to wear the one dress i've successfully made for myself, since it was the right color), done my face, and pulled out the hair dryer before the first guests started to arrive.  crap.

and the bean, who was feeling under the weather, was keeping the hub completely tied up.  she was totally grumpy and clingy, and i was just grateful they'd done the costco run to scoop up the rest of the stuff i needed for the food table.

with help from the teen and my cousins, we were finally ready for the guests to start eating.  thank goodness for the extra stuff the hub picked up.

everyone seemed to have a great time, and we managed to get some great group pictures.  gatherings with my cousins are pretty few and far-between, so we had to commemorate it somehow.

because r lives out of state, i probably broke a zillion etiquette rules when i asked guests to ship their gifts straight to her home and bring a card or something with a picture of the gift inside.  r certainly appreciated it, and she had fun opening the stack of envelopes.

such fun!  and when all the food had been devoured, the guests gone home, and the dishes washed and put away, this was all we had left to show for it:

i wish i'd taken more pictures, but when you're hosting, well - i'm just glad i got what i have.  i was amused when r told me that her friends asked her "does your cousin do this for a living or something?"  haha!

nope.  i'm just a complete partyzilla who reads way too many party blogs.  it pays off sometimes, right?