Memorial Day Weekend

Last weekend was quite the trip! Kevin and I always love spending time with our respective families and it is always refreshing to see Kevin's side as there are a lot of little children that are so fun and cute to play with!

We ended up getting off around 2pm on Friday and started the trek down south.  Atlanta traffic wasn't terrible, especially when we had gorgeous country roads to look forward to as we got closer to Alma.  The first year that Kevin took me down to the farm, I had noticed a rural country road that was called "Rentz road."  I begged Kevin to let me get a snap shot of it this time, as next Memorial Day I won't be able to claim Rentz anymore!

Thankfully, my mom called right before we left Atlanta and told me to check the mailbox.  The newest issue of Martha Stewart Weddings was waiting for me and I was able to study the magazine on the way down.  Kevin gave Momma and me a subscription to the magazine when we got engaged.  One of the best parts so far of the wedding planning process has been talking to mom on the phone while pouring over the magazine together.  We both look through it alone and then dog ear the pages we want to discuss over the phone. 

A wedding related highlight of the weekend for me was being able to ask our adorable Flower Girls to be part of our wedding! Kevin's cousin's children, Grace and Emma, are the most adorable little girls and we were so thrilled that they accepted our invitation to be Flower Girls at our ceremony.  Grace and Emma along with another cousin's child on my side will be the Flower Girl troop.  I had a flower girl cookie made for Grace and Emma, just like I did for the bridesmaids.  Katy, my future sister-in-law was so sweet to take some shots on my camera for me of the moment when we asked the girls.  They were so excited and seemed to enjoy the yummy sugar cookie!  Emma- the younger one kept telling me about a dress that she already had that was white.  Hopefully, they will still be as excited 11 months from now!

And last but not least, the mile high hummingbird cake was delicious! I highly recommend the recipe.  However, make sure you think ahead and test out how high your cake dome is.  I had a to leave off the top two layers as the cake dome was not tall enough to accommodate the mile high height! The white chocolate cream cheese icing was heavenly!  It is definitely going to be a repeat recipe in our house!

Kevin and I are about to hit the road for the weekend yet again! We are headed to Augusta this weekend to stay with Kevin's parents and attend an engagement cookout party for one of Kevin's high school friends.  One of Kevin's groomsmen and his wife will be there and we look forward to catching up with them! 

Happy Friday everyone! Love to all!

Another check mark for the to-do list!

Yesterday, Kevin and I met for lunch as we sometimes do since our offices are so close (on the same road!).  We met with a purpose yesterday.  We had an appointment with our jeweler who helped Kevin design my engagement ring.  This was our second appointment with her to look at wedding bands.  We have been busy looking around at options, but decided to purchase our bands with Brittany at Ascot Jewelers.  She has been such a joy to work with and we are so excited that we have taken this step with her to help us along the way! My band of course matches my ring and Kevin's matches his personality so very well! We are so thrilled to have done this together and check it off the wedding "to-do" list!

Note: These are not our rings- just loved how cheesy this is!

We are headed to Alma, Georgia this weekend as usual for Kevin's family gathering on his mother's side.  I am looking forward to all the Southern food!  I am currently in the process of making a mile high 8 layer hummingbird cake! I have never made this recipe before, so wish me luck as I cut the 4 cake layers into eight tonight before I frost the cake! The recipe is from Oxmoor house which is affiliated with where I used to work (myrecipes.com) Hopefully it will look like this:

Recipe:

Ingredients

• 1 (8-oz.) can crushed pineapple in juice
• 2 (18.25-oz.) packages white cake mix (we tested with Duncan Hines)
• 2 (3.4-oz) packages vanilla instant pudding mix
• 6 large eggs
• 2 1/2 cups milk, divided
• 2 cups canola oil
• 4 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon almond extract
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 (4-oz.) white chocolate baking bar, finely chopped (we tested with Ghirardelli)
• 1 cup flaked sweetened coconut
• 2 cups chopped pecans, toasted
• 2 cups chopped banana (about 3 medium)
• White Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting
• Garnish: toasted pecans

Preparation

• 1. Preheat oven to 350°.
• 2. Drain pineapple, reserving juice for another use. Squeeze pineapple well using several thicknesses of paper towels to remove excess moisture.
• 3. Combine cake mix and next 7 ingredients in an 8-qt. mixing bowl. Beat at low speed with an electric mixer 2 minutes; beat at medium speed 3 minutes. Fold in pineapple, white chocolate, and next 3 ingredients. Pour batter into 4 greased and floured 9-inch round cake pans.
• 4. Bake at 350° for 34 to 36 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans on wire racks 10 minutes. Remove from pans to wire racks, and cool completely. Wrap and chill cake layers at least 1 hour or up to 24 hours.
• 5. Using a serrated knife, slice cake layers in half horizontally to make 8 layers. Place 1 layer, cut side up, on cake plate. Spread with 1/2 cup White Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting. Repeat procedure 6 times. Place final cake layer on top of cake, cut side down. Spread remaining frosting on top and sides of cake. Cover; chill in refrigerator overnight. Garnish, if desired. Store in refrigerator.
• Note: Cover cake in an airtight container and freeze up to 1 month in advance. Thaw in refrigerator overnight before serving.
• Test Kitchen Tip: To prepare a 4-layer White Chocolate Hummingbird Cake instead, use half of all ingredients in both cake and frosting recipes. Follow cake recipe as directed in Steps 1 through 4, except use only 2 greased and floured 9-inch round cake pans. In Step 5, slice the 2 cake layers in half horizontally to make 4 layers. Follow White Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting recipe as directed except microwave white chocolate morsels in Step 1 for only 1 1/2 minutes. Assemble cake as directed. Both the 8- and 4-layer versions of this delicious cake slice best after they have chilled overnight.

Oxmoor House
MARCH 2008

Happy Memorial Day weekend to ALL! Safe Travels!