Baby Shower

I had the privilege of hosting a baby shower for my sister-in-law, Chrissy, this past weekend. Technically speaking, I'm not entirely sure it can be called hosting when it wasn't my house. Either way, I was able to prepare yummy food and slightly ridiculous, but entertaining, games. 

Angel food cake was on sale for 97¢ at Harris Teeter. I took advantage of this steal and made super cheap parfaits.

My sister used to make these delicious turtle pretzels that I've been craving. What money I saved on the angel food cake, I spent on the overpriced square pretzels and Rolo's. Confession: I may have eaten a few handfuls of these while taking them out of the oven.

Another party favorite to make is cinnamon-sugar tortilla chips with fruit salsa.

Other foods included chicken salad sandwiches, chips with queso, cupcakes, brownies, Cheerwine punch, mints, and veggies with dip. As always, I had more food than mouths to eat it, but I don't think any food was wasted due to family and guests taking extra food home.

The guests were all good sports at playing the games (Price is Right, art contest, and blindfolded feeding). I detest so many baby shower games like dissecting candy bar "poop" in diapers or guessing the girth of the giant pregnant belly with toilet paper. The guests could have very well thought the same thing with the entertainment I provided, but they at least laughed and smiled through it.

My mother-in-law funded the food and helped set up. I know so many women who complain about their in-laws. While I'm not completely exempt from this, I am most definitely blessed to call these two women family.

I love the genuine smiles on Jason and Chrissy's faces. I hope they felt the love and excitement we all have for their second child.

Since my siblings are finished having children and Jesse and I are unlikely to have more children, this nephew might be the last addition to either side of the family. The countdown is on. We are more than ready for some baby loving. (Of course, we're happy to wait until the due date!) 

Fun with Fondant

A friend requested a construction-themed cake for a baby shower. I knew the best medium for the construction signs would be fondant. Since I could get away with the signs all being one color, I cheated and purchased pre-made fondant. Creating the signs was tedious but easy. Here are the simple steps I took to make the main decoration:

Step 1: Roll fondant between two sheets of wax paper. It takes a bit of work to get the fondant to the same thickness.

Step 2: I happened to have a square cookie cutter and was able to use the bottom of my large icing tip (for sides of cake) to make a perfect circle. It took less than a minute to punch out my signs.

Step 3: I used an edible marker to outline the edges of each shape to make it resemble a road sign.

Step 4: I had fun coming up with cheesy baby-related "construction signs".

Step 5: I placed the completed signs on my iced cake.
(I had made a two tiered strawberry cake with cream cheese icing. I used black sugar sheet and very thinly rolled fondant to make the road. The "dirt" was made from chocolate cookies ground in the food processor. And my friend supplied the construction vehicles.)

I used the round signs for cupcakes.

I love making cakes that look more complex than they really were to decorate. Hopefully the guests enjoyed it, too.