Turning Thirty

We had a party this weekend celebrating my upcoming 30th birthday.  The weather was beautiful, I was surrounded by good friends, and I got to party plan!  Oh, and bake.  Several of my guests asked if getting ready for our backyard bbq was stressful, to which I replied, "Do you even know me???"  I LOVED every second of it.  Even ironing (which I normally leave to the hubs) the table cloths was relaxing and joyful to me.  Yes.  It is true.  This party was not only for the fantastic people in my life that, oddly enough, choose to have me in theirs, it was my present to myself.  Happy Birthday Me!

 Yellow, turquoise, and gray were the colors of choice.  I had some fabric in my ever growing "stash" that I cut into 14" napkins and had a quilting friend serge the edges.  With a ribbon tied around the bundle, they even made the plastic ware look fancy.  I also made a banner out of the fabric, not pictured.  But what would birthday party be without a banner?

 The mini candy bar in milk glass.

Lemon Heads and Gumballs.

I did minis for the birthday so my friends could enjoy more than one with less guilt.  These are chocolate cupcakes with chocolate cream cheese frosting.  Below them on the tier that I neglected to take a picture of are white chocolate cream cheese fruit tarts in mini fillo shells.  Yum!

 Lemon cupcakes with lemon cream cheese frosting.  I think these were the favorite.

 I love their perfect little tops.

Ah, and last but definitely not least, my Pig Pickin' cake.  In the south, we make these for family reunions and special get togethers, usually a "pig pickin'."  Also known as hog roasts in other parts of the country.  The cake, I've been told, can sometimes go by the name of "Mandarin Orange" cake.  But for me, this is just a Pig Pickin' Cake!  It's a yellow cake with Mandarin oranges in the batter.  The frosting is whipped cream, vanilla pudding mix, and crushed pineapple.  It is the most moist, delcious, sweet thing you will ever put in your mouth.  I made mine from this recipe.  And I'm happy to say it was a hit even amongst these midwesterners. 

A big thank you to my wonderful friends who helped me celebrate the big 3-0.  And to all those that were there in spirit, I missed your smiles.  <3