Fourth of July Weekend

I don't know about you guys, but I felt like we celebrated July 4th for three days straight. We had a cookout at our house Saturday, the McInlaws came up on Sunday plus we saw a movie and checked out a new DIY fro-yo place (Sweet Spoons in Apex - my new favorite), then Monday was Zachary's first birthday party. Whew! It was almost a relief to get back to the grind and eating Lean Cuisines.

We did hot dogs and chicken sausages, a corn-avocado salsa, a Greek pasta salad, and two desserts: cake balls and S'Mores Pie. The attendees contributed the rest: hummus, baked beans, chips, and mini Oreo cheesecakes.

--Salsa {I didn't use the olive oil or Italian seasoning, just red wine vinegar and juice from one lime. Also, I used a can of diced tomatoes with jalapenos.}
--Greek pasta salad {My only veggies were red pepper, onion, and cucumber. Also, I served the olives and feta separately because not everyone likes those two things.}
--S'Mores Pie
--Cake Balls - Bake a 9 x 13 cake (I used white), let it cool completely. Crumble it in a bowl then add a can of frosting (I used chocolate buttercream) and mush it all together. Freeze this for 15 to 30 minutes, then roll the dough into balls. Freeze the balls for at least an hour (or overnight). Dip them in liquified candy melts to coat and allow them to set up before storing.
































I used my bandana banners - bandanners? - and vases from last year to decorate. The McHusband actually picked the flowers up when he was in Harris Teeter earlier in the week. Good call, McH!





















I got a red bowl to go with the blue and white York Peppermint pieces, which are fabulous by the way.
















I had the starry cupcake liners last year but forgot to use them. So I figured out a way to get them in on the Fourth of July action this year.





































So who came to our cookout?
















Mike and Kristina, who are just days away from getting married.
















Shawn and Vanessa.
















Eric. And look, I made it into a picture, evidence that I actually WAS at one of my parties.
















Chelle and Jeremy came a little later, too, and Tucker hung out at the McHusband's feet.





















The McHusband took people's plates inside and came back out with a plate of cake balls. He's just full of great ideas lately.
















Hope everyone else had a wonderful Independence Day weekend!

Recipe Recap: Reese's Cup Brownies with Peanut Butter Frosting

I had leftover peanut butter frosting after making those banana cupcakes and I didn't want to throw it out. I didn't want to fight the temptation to eat it spoonful by spoonful either so I decided peanut butter cup-stuffed brownies would make a great base for the remainder of the frosting.

Guess what? I was right. I love when that happens.
















I used my slightly-smaller-than-9x13 pan and one box of family size brownie mix. I probably should've used either an 8 x 8 pan or else used two boxes' worth of brownie batter so that the pb cups would've been more sandwiched between the brownie layers. Next time...
















See the pb cups playing peekaboo with us? Yeah, I don't think I could call these Surprise Brownies since it's pretty obvious what their secret is.
















Once the brownies cooled and my frosting warmed to room temp, I slathered on a layer of deliciousness.
















The real reward is getting down at eye level and checking these babies out.
















Brownie, Reese's PB Cup, more brownie, and peanut butter frosting. Layers are good for hair AND dessert!

A limb's limit

A couple of months ago (April 16th to be exact), a tornado ripped through our area. "Our area" refers generally to the line the tornado traveled from Sanford through North Raleigh as well as specifically to Holly Springs and the road not a mile away that the tornado tore down. We were very lucky to be spared by Mother Nature's handiwork.

While the tornado didn't come through our neighborhood, we did have a very mean storm hit. Wind, rain, thunder, lightning, we had it all. Surprisingly, we didn't lose any limbs or trees and really didn't have much debris at all. I mean, really, I should WISH for a nearby tornado every time considering how we came through it unscathed.

There were storms in our area yesterday and when I got home, I saw this out the kitchen window.
















Each of those lighter pavers is 2 feet square so that should give you a rough idea of how big the limb is.





















This limb was a decent size so maybe it had been holding on for dear life since the tornado, and yesterday's weather event was the final straw.





















The McHusband was in Connecticut for work last night so guess what he's going home to tonight?

That weekend in Charlotte

Okay, enough with the food (for now). We were in Charlotte a couple weekends ago and had a wonderful time meeting Maxie, playing with the other kids, visiting family, and attending a baby shower.

The McHusband to the rescue! A balloon had floated to the ceiling in Bri's two-story living room. But combine a couch, a tall McHusband, and a pair of grill tongs, and that balloon didn't stand a chance.





















While we waited for Nate to get home from work, the McHusband took Lyla and Owen (and the rum and diet coke that was supposed to be mine) out to the swingset.





































I joined them after a bit.






































The next day, I went back to hang out with Bri, my mom, Lyla, and Maxie while the McHusband stayed back at the house to help his dad with stuff. We girls went to Hobby Lobby to get stuff for Lyla's Minnie Mouse party, which was yesterday.

Bri has two well-stocked candy jars in her kitchen and neither the McHusband nor I have the willpower to resist them. That's not always good when there are little ones around who want candy, too. I gave Lyla some Laffy Taffy, and she promptly stuffed the whole thing into her mouth and tucked it into one cheek.






















































That night, after a dinner consisting of brownie trifle, pretzel sticks, and wine, we watched the Michael Jackson concert documentary This Is It. It was pretty interesting and looking back on how sick he was supposed to be, it was amazing what he was able to do on the stage.

Lyla entertained us with her own dance moves.

Vogue!
















Stop! In the Name of Love






















Uh, the "put your leg in" part of the Hokey Pokey?





















So, wanna know how Bri's coping with being a mom to two precious little girls? Well, let's just say that the bottles she's washing each evening aren't the only ones she has her hands on. Kidding! Sorta...
















On Sunday of that weekend, after Fake-Father's Day breakfast, the McHusband and I attended Bill and Veerle's baby shower. Coincidentally, Veerle's due the same day as Sara and with a boy as well.










































When we got back to the house, I was talking to the McMom in the den. The McHusband went into the kitchen and came out eating a sugar cookie. All of a sudden the McMom yells, "Stop! Spit it out! Don't eat those!"

See, they were from Christmas and had been in a Tupperware container since then. Now, to Tupperware's credit, they were still edible as long as you avoided the moldy bits.
















Green sprinkles are good. Green fuzzy spots? Not so much.
















A potential poisoning: what a way to end the weekend.

Dancin'!

Lyla showed us her recital dances when we visited. Bri had told me how everyone - Bri, my mom, Nate, and Shannon - cried while watching her. Well, I have to admit, I teared up during Lyla's living room performance. What is it about these kids that can break your heart and make it overflow at the same time?


And the Wiggle-Wiggle song and dance:


You wouldn't guess it by how much she enjoyed dancing for us, but she wasn't too happy about being up on the stage for the recital. Don't worry, Lyla, I see MANY more dance routines in your future.

Meet Miss Maxie

So we were in Charlotte the weekend before last to meet our newest niece, to celebrate a fake Father's Day (faux holidays = a McFamily tradition), and to attend a baby shower for Bill and Veerle.

Maxie is such a sweet baby. She does not seem to require much beyond the basics - food, sleep, and diaper changes. She's not gassy, doesn't have to be held to sleep, and isn't bothered by her older sister running around being crazy.

I was almost disappointed that she didn't NEED more cuddling to be happy. Not that I let that stop me from holding her as much as possible.
































Can you believe all that hair? Lyla didn't have that much hair by her first birthday!
















Look, a rare instance of open eyes!
















Congrats, Bri, Nate, and Lyla - she's a sweetie!

Recipe Recap: Banana Cupcakes with Assorted Frostings

Yes, another food post. I know I really need to finally write about our trip to Charlotte a couple weekends ago, I just haven't had much time to sit in front of the computer at home.

You know, cuz it cuts into my TV time.

I promise, I'll try to catch up this week. In the meantime, here are some cupcakes.

We had bananas that were too ripe to eat (too ripe for us anyway) so I was either going to cut them up and freeze them for smoothies, or else turn them into a baked good. This recipe showed up in my Reader just in time so I figured it was serendipity and who am I to argue with the universe?

I went with mini cupcakes so that I could have more to share. The McHusband's office, while grateful for the treats, also gives me a hard time through the McHusband for making them fat. So I didn't want to burden them with too many sweets. Instead, I took the majority of the cupcakes to my building and shared them with the doctor's office next to us.

The original recipe calls for a peanut butter frosting so I made a half-batch of that. I'd been wanting to try a honey buttercream and these seemed like a good base for that so I made a half-batch of that as well and then further divided it in half and added cinnamon to a portion of it.

Peanut butter in the front, then cinnamon on the left and honey on the right.
















I actually liked the peanut butter frosting-banana cupcake combo more than I thought I would.





















The honey flavor wasn't quite strong enough for me in the honey buttercream, but it was a very pretty frosting and it wasn't overly sweet so I think it's a pretty versatile frosting.
















Bachelor Number 3, the cinnamon-honey buttercream, was my favorite. The cinnamon was definitely there, but it wasn't overpowering, and it was a nice complement to the cupcake.
















So there you have it - one cupcake, three different flavors. Which one do you think you'd like best?
















(A cupcake for anyone who can identify where these pictures were taken. It was 10:00 at night and I had to go to where the light was best. If you've been to our house or driven down our street at night when the garage door is open and the McHusband's out there working, you know how bright it is in there.)