Love is in the Air

This was a busy weekend for me because I helped host not one, but two bridal showers. Coincidentally, both are upcoming beach destination weddings. So, we used that theme for the bridal showers. Having them on back-to-back days saved decorating as well as food costs. While some people may initially think that's a little cheesy, I think it's just plain smart. And, for those of you in the business world, you'll recognize this as simply being lean!

We held the shower at my friend Cindy Pickett's beautiful house, and she handled the decorations. They were so classic and just perfect. Perhaps the most talked about food item was the vegetable tray. So many people kept trying to give me the credit for such a beautiful, clever presentation. The real credit, however, goes to my friend Cindi Burtnett. Using a hollowed-out red cabbage as a dish for the dip made all of the difference. Here it is up close:

My main contribution was cupcakes. This was my first opportunity at putting my new cake decorating skills to the test. (I mentioned in a previous post how my friend Kim Suiter gave me a cake decorating class for a Christmas present.) Mmmm. As I'm writing this, I realize that Kim may be the smart one since the first bridal shower was for her son and his fiance. I saw an idea on Pinterest to add white chocolate sea shells as a decoration for cupcakes. I decided that I would make these toppers myself after learning only one would cost me almost $1 after doing some online research. Unbelievable.

Saving money has always been a motivator for me. So, I purchased a candy mold for less than $3 as well as some white confectionery coating. This stuff is like almond bark, but it's supposed to be a higher quality of chocolate. You simply pour the melted coating into the mold and "pop out" the shells once they're completely cooled. Much easier than I anticipated. In fact, one should consider starting his/her own candy making business if people out there truly spend $1 on each of these. I was pretty pleased with the final product:

So, congratulations to Stephanie Kane and Wes Suiter (Kim's son) as well as Derek Hicks and Sheelah Johnson (Cindi's daughter) on their upcoming weddings. Love is in the air!