martha stewart? nah. but a girl can dream.

I am no domestic goddess.  Anyone who has been to my house has seen the clutter in the closets, dust in the corner, or peeling paint.  I tend to concentrate more on the functionality of things rather than the appearance.  Most of my furniture is mis-matched hand-me-downs that I swear I'll replace when I win the lottery and purchase my mcmansion.  I hate cleaning more than anything, find nothing therapeutic about it, and our guest bed is piled with two months worth of clean laundry, half still waiting to be folded.  Don't get me started on the endless supply of dog hair from our lil shepherd mix.  And of late the entire place smells of sour milk.  Thanks breastfeeding.

But, once in awhile, I like to pretend.  I love to host get-togethers, mostly because I just love seeing people, and appreciate them wanting to spend time hanging out with me. me!  Those are the times I wonder how I got so lucky to have the people I love surrounding me.  Since Gobbles was born, I've had friends over maybe twice.  Finding time to make the house somewhat acceptable-looking has gone out the window.

So, when the week rolled around for my sister-in-law's bridal shower (to be held at a restuarant in her hometown), it was the perfect moment to unleash my inner hostess without having to clean my house.  I am not the greatest cook in the world - I can make chicken picatta, thanksgiving turkey, and egg white sammys, that's about it - but I looooove to bake.  Probably because I loooooove to eat sweets.  Anyway, mother-in-law requested my usual Christmas cookie-tray assortment, as well as some funfetti cupcakes (yep, sis-in-law's fav cupcakes come out of a box).  Maid of honor reminded me that the theme was "tiffany blue", so I tried to adjust the goodies to match. 

I got to work, made all the cookies from scratch, and fancied up the funfettis to go with the shower theme.  I think I did ok, by the time I got back to fill my goodie box at the shower, my cookie trays were empty!  There were still plenty of goodies as provided by the five other bridesmaids, but I couldn't help feeling somewhat smug that mine had gone.  Just hoping the bride was able to grab some before they disappeared.  But if not, here's a glimpse at what the guests had:

Butter Cookies (old family recipe) with a Sugar Glaze (my own, combination of an Internet recipe and what I already had in my kitchen).  I found a "lips" cookie cutter in my bin, so I figured what the heck, that's what the middle ones are supposed to be:

Jelly Cookies (another family recipe); Chocolate chip (my own, after years of trying, tweaking, and combining pieces from a few different recipes, I came up with a mix that works best for me):

Shortbread Cookies (internet recipe).  I did have fun making colored sugar to top them... Didn't realize how easy it was and I'll never pay for colored sugar again!

Funfetti cupcakes, at least those that survived the bouncy two hour car ride, (from a box.  Icing from a can, mixed with a little food coloring and topped with sparkly sugar)

And finally, I made a towel cake. Not edible, but fun and easy! 

Besides the food of course, the shower was a great time, and the mother of the bride and the maid-of-honor did a great job in organizing the rest of us.   The bride looked beautiful as always with her dress color coordinated perfectly with the rest of the shower - only she would have that planned out so fittingly - love her for that!  I can't wait until the wedding, I know it will be a great time.

Next shower - two months, so far away!  I think maybe I'll have to host a party in between...