It's Always Something

(above: Birthday girl) With Cassie back in town, it was a great night to celebrate Miss Jessica's birthday. Commencing with a champagne toast, followed by a light-hearted dinner, and capping it off with a little club hopping between Etiquette and The Ambassador. Very rare occasion, I got to play DD for Jess. I was only so happy to finally return the favor she has many times done for me.  Happy birthday, Jess! 

Thanksgiving this year was perfect. A nice intimate lunch at home. Everything was prepared from scratch as we sipped on wine and listened to mushroom jazz in the background.  Brooklynn prepared the mashed potatoes, Jeff took care of the honey glazed turkey and green bean casserole, nana brought the gravy and cranberry, and I took care of the asparagus with hollandiase sauce and pumpkin w/ cream cheese frosting cupcakes.  Brooklynn and I set aside 7 cupcakes- 5 for the girls and 2 for some buddies. (above: Sparkling apple cider for the Brookie Bear) After Thanksgiving lunch, Brookie and I headed to a Thanksgiving dinner at my parents' house. An eclectic mix of turkey, chicken, ribs, fried rice, pancit, chicken salad, lumpia, and pot stickers.   Once we were stuffed little turkeys, we headed to the Thanksgiving after-party at the Chen's. Here we dined on scrumptious food, offered our cupcakes, danced, played High School Musical trivia game, and had an all-around good time. As it ...

Recipe: Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting Prep Time: 30 mins Cooking Time: 18 mins

Hanging out at the Lake is where we usually spend our Sundays.   MY ideal Sunday is jogging around the 2.5 mile lake while Brooklynn keeps pace for me on her scooter. BROOKLYNN's ideal Sunday is playing at the playground the entire time.  We usually end up compromising.

After seeing an episode of Gossip Girl, Brooklynn decided she wanted a masquerade ball as her birthday party this year.  It sounded like a fantastic idea, so I agreed.  To make the event extra special, we planned on making the invitations and masks.   This is our first time making invitations, so they came out a little plain.  We promised ourselves to be a bit more adventurous on the holidays cards. *wink*