45 Hours in Nashville

Just about three weeks ago I set off for a girls' weekend in Nashville celebrating a very special bride-to-be. Kara is a sorority sister and good friend of mine who deserved to be treated to a fun celebration in her honor. It was many of our first time in Nashville and we did the best that we could to see it all in a short amount of time. The co-maid-of-honor did a fabulous job of planning our weekend so I thought I would replicate our agenda in case you ever find yourself with 45 hours in Nashville.

We stayed at the Hutton Hotel, enjoyed Friday night happy hour on the rooftop of Sambucca followed by a sushi dinner at Virago. The evening ended with a couple stops on Broadway checking out the touristy fun. (There was a Tim Gunn sighting at our hotel Friday afternoon - of course I missed it by thirty minutes.)

Saturday morning started out with a weekend highlight - the Nashville Pedal Tavern. We pedaled through the Broadway District for three hours, stopping along the way to hear live music at several suggested bars.


Later that afternoon a few of us decided to take a cab ride out to check out the Grand Ole Opry. I just didn't think I could go to Nashville and not see it. Bonus part of that excursion included a trek through the massive Gaylord resort as we searched for a cab back downtown.

Saturday night we decided to scrap our initial plans in favor of staying in the midtown area, dining at Chuy's and checking out two low-key bars close by - Winner's and Loser's.

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And of course there were cookies...cowboy boot cookies in honor of our bride. Hint: I just might be posting a photo of the bride in her wedding gown donning some similar boots in just a couple of weeks.


So that was our journey and a fun one it was. There is really nothing like a good girls' weekend. My mom has always emphasized the importance of maintinaning friendships with girlfriends and I couldn't agree more.

Bachelorette Par-tay!

Yesterday my new cousin Sarah sent me an email about how to "calculate the number of Kardashians you've been married." (You can try it here.) Lucky for me I've been married 22.65! Anyway it made me think that I never shared the treats that I made for her Bachelorette Party back in September. As you know Sarah is a big fan of this endeavor so I certainly wasn't willing to go to her big weekend empty-handed.

I chose to bake my sugar cookies but change things up with the icing. Instead of my royal icing designs, I decided to pipe buttercream roses on top of each cookie. I loved the look and think it would be pretty for any shower/party.


The real winner of the weekend though? The chocolate chip cookie dough cupcakes I brought. We ate these for dessert and again with our coffee for breakfast. People were still asking me about them at the wedding two months later. Loved that!


For me it goes back to my thoughts on making it personal when celebrating special events. I knew my sweets-loving future cousin would enjoy these things so it was more than worth the effort invested in making them.

Happy Friday everyone! Wishing you all a very happy weekend.

Lingerie Shower Cookies

I have weddings on the brain this week. Next weekend we are celebrating the wedding of our very good friends (the groom happens to be both my husband's cousin and best friend.) And the bride? Well, I've already shared my feelings about her on this blog. Needless to say we are excited. I am working on their favors in the next week and thankfully have had plenty of practice in the wedding cookie department lately.

Recently a friend of a friend contacted me about making cookies for a lingerie shower she was hosting. We decided on a mix of wedding, engagement and of course lingerie cookies. The cocktail that evening was to be champagne with strawberries, so we included that too. In the end I think the mix came together really nicely and I heard they were a hit at the celebration.


So congratulations MCM and many thanks the hostess with the mostess, Jane!

A Tribute to the Bachelorette!

When a friend of mine asked me to make cookies to bring to a Bachelorette Party, I assumed she would be interested in the "traditional" bachelorette designs. Instead she wanted to personalize the mix a bit. She gave me a few facts about the guest of honor and said she trusted me from there. The list included that the bride-to-be lives in Philly, will be having a Key West wedding, is a teacher and a University of Maryland grad. Hmmm, I had to think about that for a few days before I determined what I wanted to do. I decided to play on that knowledge and came up with the apple cookie in her married name to represent her profession, a UMD tee to support her alma mater, shells for the beach wedding, the LOVE statue for Philly, engagement rings and champagne (it was a Bachelorette Party after all!)

I think in the end it all worked well together.


So cheers to the Bachelorette. And many thanks to you Susan!

The Bachelorette!

With last night's season finale of "The Bachelorette" now (thankfully) behind us, I decided to continue with the theme and share some Bachelorette Party cookies with you. While I found this season's show lackluster to say the least, thankfully I do not feel that way about the cookies. ;) These made their way to a San Diego party, hand carried by a very excited bridesmaid. She asked for a pink and black theme and to keep it girly. I knew these were a hit based on the Facebook love they received, so here's hoping the bride-to-be felt the same way!



Thank you once again Kelly - enjoy the rest of your trip to CA this week!

And thank you ABC for finally ending this season's show...now bring on "Bachelor Pad!"

Bachelorette Girls' Weekend

Some of my sorority sisters are packing up this morning and heading to the lake for a Bachelorette weekend with the girls celebrating our friend J. While I won't be able to join them, I wanted to send along some cookies in my place! I kept the bride-to-be in mind, with her love of fashion and all things feminine.


And I kept the "girls' weekend" theme in mind too.


So have a wonderful time this weekend girls and CONGRATULATIONS to you Jessica! I'll miss you but I know you will have plenty of fun without me. ;)

The (Preppy) Bachelorette!

It's amazing to me how many people read this blog and I am so thankful that they do as it's so much more fun to do this when you know people are actually following along. It's one thing for my ever supportive family and friends to read, but somehow it's even more gratifying to know that people I have never met are reading it. Therefore I was happy to receive an email from Jenna in NY asking me for Bachelorette cookies for her friend's "last fling before the ring." So off to the party the cookies went...I sure wish I could have gone along. ;)


Thank you once again Jenna!

The Bachelorette

It's going to be a long Monday as I am recovering from a fabulous Bachelorette weekend in New York City. The bride is a Lilly Pulitzer loving kind of gal (one of the many reasons I love her) and it seemed only fitting that I bring along a few cookies to add to the celebration.

So here is Lilly meets Bachelorette in honor of Kelly...


Cheers to the Bachelorette!