27 is still close enough to 25 to be considered mid-twenties, right?

What will this year bring? Who knows.  I already have ONE big change in store, but I’m not sharing just yet (oh the suspense is killing all of my 5 readers).  Cat will be out of the bag by the end of the week most likely (those of you with the inside scoop, keep it to yourself please).

I actually started my b-day off on Friday with a Jim Gaffigan show at the State Theatre in Minneapolis.  I laughed so hard I was crying! Note — don’t go to a comedy show after doing a killer ab workout the day before.  Side note — there was mention of a fork made of bacon.

Of course, there was shopping involved this weekend.  Since it’s my b-day, I bought myself a couple of gifts.

Found this fabulous Jessica Simpson bag at Gordmans thanks to a tip from my friend Shelly.  She bought one in a neat beigey-pink color.  I had to go with red to replace my almost 2-year-old purple bag.  I bought the purple bag in January of 2010 and busted it out that year in June. I’ve been too lazy to change bags and haven’t found anything in an affordable price range that I love just as much. Also, I combed the internet to find this bag so you could purchase too … but no such luck.

I also found these amazing shoes.  They’re G by Guess and they’re boots.  And heels.  Obviously.  But I don’t wear heels typically.  These are really comfy with a hidden platform and they have major traction on the bottom so they aren’t completely useless in the snow.  Oh, and they are COMFY.  And super hot. When paired with these jeans I look kind of tall (and by tall I mean average height) and super skinny.  LOVE these.

And I got a LOT of new fabric.  A lot of which for my new wallets. The top row will make great insides for my wallets.  And I’m beyond in love with the bottom right — “dropcloth” in plum.  I might have to make myself a wallet out of that with the dots on the inside.

To celebrate today, Mark and I went to The Café for lunch. YUM.  We haven’t been out to eat anywhere “fancy” for a while — just La Fuente and that’s mostly for free chips and salsa + booze.  I picked up lunch because I think it’s kind of rude to invite somebody out for lunch, and then expect him to pay for it.  He offered to pick up dessert.  Mostly because he knew if I picked it up we’d only get ONE dessert and he wanted something other than my first choice of dessert (they are all amazing there!) … so we got two.

[Mark's pick — the fig & goat cheese cheesecake — my 2nd choice]

[and my pick — chocolate cayenne torte — since I've been obsessing over spicy chocolate as of lately]

I also picked up a new album, which really isn’t out until tomorrow, but I snagged it on emusic early.  New Wednesday 13  [he's in Des Moines on the 23rd ... ].

All in all it’s been a pretty awesome day.  :) Here’s to another year!

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it’s been a month and a handful of days, and my friend Steph and her beau are still happily married.

and my friend Kelly finally posted her amazing photos.

That means it’s finally time for a recap!

We started off the day before the wedding with a fabulous bridal tea thrown by Steph’s future sister and mother-in-law at their home. Here’s Steph with the teacup and saucer I made her for the occasion.

The bridal party

AMAZING sangria. I *need* this recipe.

After tea we went and got our nails did. Which was rather entertaining because I broke off half my thumbnail two days before (yes HALF of it) and I run (in case you forgot) so I told the lady to leave my calluses alone.  She was pretty put off by that request even AFTER I explained that if she shaved off my calluses that it would make my feet worse. And it would hurt my training. (ha. training!)

She managed to paint my thumb so it looked like there was a real nail on it.

We went and rehearsed and after rehearsal we went to 801 Chop House for the rehearsal dinner and our significant others joined us.

Mark looks dead sexy in a suit. Just sayin.

Then came the wedding day! The ceremony was outside at Sticks in Des Moines and the reception was inside the warehouse.

I was in love with the flowers — even though Steph said they were definitely NOT what she’d ordered.  They were gorgeous.

and so was the cake. also delicious for the record (kelly and I snagged 2 pieces)

the bridal party — ready to rock — glittered up!

After the wedding the bride and groom were showered with white rose petals and left to get some pix taken.

This photo is beyond gorgeous (Amanda does AMAAAAAZING work).

While they were out, we waited for our official photos. Somewhat impatiently …

for the record, the above two shots are probably 2 of my favorite photos of myself ever.

Mark held my flowers so I could take a pee break from the ridiculousness that was ensuing.

oh, and my other BFF Adria was there.  Holla!

And our friend Jen made it with her hubby and her month-old baby, Adoree.  She had to break Chinese tradition of 30 days of house arrest to attend (BY ONE WHOLE DAY). They are the cutest little family ever!

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Dinner and drinks were served.  Cake was nommed.  Dancing ensued.

One thing I must note — the music, the food — everything — was so significant to the couple.  They spent hours and hours on the perfect playlist and even had their string quartet play “Just Like Heaven” by The Cure for the processional and they played “Today” by Smashing Pumpkins as the recessional.  I *loved* it.  And I know they were hoping that everybody loved the food and music because they put so much of themselves in the selection of both.

take one

take two

take three

WINNING

because we’re classy.

And yes, I had got drunk enough to show off the fact that I worked my butt off the previous week and a hafl to lose the last 5 pounds to fit in that dress.

Note: always get the bigger size if you’re between sizes.  I didn’t even THINK about the fact that my hips are hugetastic (11 inches larger than my waist) and that even if I weighed 10 pounds less the dress STILL would have been tight because my hips aren’t going to be any smaller. You can’t shrink bone people!

However, you just got a free pass to the gun show.  Enjoy.

all photos are from Kelly, Amanda or Candace unless otherwise noted. Photos without credits are mine.

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So I love Pinterest. Did I ever mention that? I have a ton of boards, but one that’s always growing is my dessert board. So many naughty decadent things on there that I will probably never make.

I present to you the most naughty-looking desserts that I’ve got pinned for possible future binging.

1. Sweet, Salty, Chewy and Crunchy Brownies
   
   Holy lord these look naughty. I just ran across these the other day. Caramels, pretzels, peanuts and cream. These are actually too naughty-looking for me to attempt baking.
2. Dutch Apple Cheesecake
   
   Apple pie + cheesecake? Yes. Please.
3. Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ice Cream Cake
   
   Wow. That’s all I have to say. It’s too much for me … doesn’t look appetizing, but would be fun to make.
4. Homemade Samoas (Girl Scout Cookies)
   
   These look awesome. I think I want to try making these. It would be  interesting to see how I can modify them to have them be healthier than GS cookies (ie. less processed crap and more whole ingredients).
5. Cadbury Creme Egg-Filled Cupcakes
   
   Whoever thought to do this was a mad genius.  I don’t know if I can bring myself to do it, but awesome.
6. Snickers Caramel Cheesecake Cookies
   
   There are no words.
7. Vanilla  Bean Latté Cupcakes
   
   Any filled cupcake is just plain naughty. These look beautiful and delish.
8. Toffee Brittle with Chocolate and Sea Salt
   
   Yum. Sweet+salty=awesome
9. Hot Chocolate Layer Cake with Marshmallows
   
   Just look at the thickness of frosting on this. Whoa.
10. Peanut Butter Cup and Pretzel Terrine
    
    I actually made this for Mark’s birthday last year and made it NAUGHTIER. It was awesome. A nice option for a birthday instead of a cake in the hot summer months.

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Yay! I’m excited that I finally got around to making my lovely cake stands from vintage plates and milk glass bud vases. They turned out beautiful and eclectic.

I’m  not sure where I’m going to sell them other than at local craft shows — I don’t trust the USPS to get these shipped in one piece. They’re also really heavy, so shipping would be super expensive.

What do you guys think? I have 2 more that I didn’t photograph, but I would love to make more!

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I got a brilliant idea for Mark’s birthday cake from Real Simple.  Of course, I had to modify the recipe, but the main idea is based on this recipe.

I asked Mark what kind of cake he wanted, and we talked a little about ice cream cakes and Better than Sex cake (for those of you who don’t know what that is, Google it!).  But I remembered flagging a page in Real Simple a couple months back with a way to make vanilla ice cream not so boring by adding layers of peanut butter cups and pretzels. I also remembered that Mark’s been bugging me to try Chubby Hubby by Ben and Jerry’s ice cream, and I think that pretzels in ice cream sounds gross.

So, I decided to create an ice cream cake of my own.

I used a pyrex bread pan and lined the bottom with a half inch of vanilla ice cream. The next layer was peanut butter pretzel sandwiches, then an inch of ice cream, then crumbled peanut butter cups, then more ice cream, a layer of chocolate/peanut butter ganache and more pretzels.

It was GLORIOUS. It’s not technically his birthday until tomorrow, but since we knew we were going to be out of town this weekend, we decided to cut into it a bit early …

Look at that giant hunk of chocolate at the top. om. nom. NOM.

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I’m not quite there yet, but the 25th birthday celebration has begun (also known as Calee’s 25th Birthday Parade of Awesomeness).

The official 25th birthday celebrations began a few weeks ago with Kelly‘s celebration. For her birthday, we did cake and wine (MollyCake) at Molly‘s place. Molly made an amazing raspberry lemon cake that was beautifully decorated.

Gorgeous!

Eloisa and I eating the leftover frosting. Yes. Leftover frosting. Amazing.

Kelly and Molly cutting the cake.

inside … YUM

me n shelly — tallest person in the room + shortest=epically cute.

AND the birthday celebration continued on Kelly’s b-day at Olde Main Brewery in Ames for dollar pint nights. Mmmm … Off Kilter.

ridiculously cute as usual.

Yay… Kelly, Maria and I. I <3 my girlies!

And now, for my b-day celebration!

On Saturday we went to the Appare Steakhouse in Des Moines for some sushi and steak (mostly sushi).  And then we went to the Blue Moon Dueling Piano Bar in West Des Moines.

Kelly, Feleecia, me and Maria at Appare

Me and my boys, Mark and Matt. Related: I am ridiculously short.

Molly and I (pseudo roomies!) — I’ve been hanging out/staying at her place some of this month. Molly is awesome!

Steph and Nathan — the cutest awesomest couple EVAR. Seriously. Look up “made for each other” in the dictionary and you see their picture (not that you can look up a phrase in the dictionary, but hey, you get my drift).

Annnnndddd… no night would be complete without making out with some inanimate object.

This was just at the sushi place.  The piano bar was far less interesting.  We got there and had nowhere to sit. So we ended up on some couches by the bathroom. Kelly and Danielle got a fish bowl, which ended up being given to a bachelorette party. BECAUSE because because … some girl was waiting in line for the bathroom (which was being occupied by a couple that was getting busy) and TOTALLY puked all over herself and the floor right by where we were. Although it was hilarious, it was also disgusting, so we promptly left.

More is to come for the Birthday Parade of Awesomeness ™.  Thursday we shall have cake and some awesome TV watching (the office, project runway, sunny).  For my birthday cake, I requested a Cake Wreck.  Molly and I have something reaallllly awesome in mind.

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