Furniture Stores Make Me Feel Like a Rat In A Maze

Just as I started this post, the part in Old School where "Frank the Tank" gets mocked for having a "big day" planned with his wife to visit Home Depot and Bed, Bath and Beyond, came on. Andrew and I just locked eyes and grinned, because we've been discussing future trips to both stores all weekend.  In fact, we ran a lot of errands on Saturday that had us visiting similar home-oriented stores.

After meeting a coworker of Andrew's to pick up a file in Milton, we decided to take a look at some of the nearby furniture stores in Avon.

First on our list, Jordan's Furniture (it's hard to make out the Jordan's sign all the way to the right, I'm going to blame Andrew since he was the one that took this picture!):

Andrew made a beeline for the leather chairs when we walked in - he looks ready for his duties as man of the house:

We spent some time looking through rugs - it was amazing how different ones they had (and how expensive they are):

Andrew had way too much fun with flipping the rugs quickly on the massive hanger system:

We found a sofa in my signature color, but this green was even a little too bright for me!

Located conveniently next door was Ikea, which was a zoo in terms of parking and how many people were crammed in it:

We weren't really interested in their furniture but I always like seeing the wide variety of patterns they have for comforters and Andrew was interested in some of their storage systems for use in a basement:

Just to give you a clue how crowded it was in the store (which literally had to be hundreds of people considering how massive the entire building is), there was a long line of people waiting to get into the cafeteria. I guess people really love their Swedish meatballs! Andrew quickly scrapped his plans to grab a coffee:

Getting out of Ikea was even more of a hassle - we couldn't not figure out how to exit, which sounds stupid, but literally, they plan the store like a maze where you have to wind your way through a whole floor before you can leave. Determined to avoid doing that, we figured out taking the elevator down was the quickest way, and even that was confusing since none of the buttons were labeled to clearly identify a floor (the couple in the elevator with us were also mystified by the choices). We left the building thankful for the parking lot's "fresh air", glad to shake off the feeling of claustrophobia!

Last stop in the oh-so charming Avon/Brockton area was a Walmart to stock up on TONS of cleaning supplies, for things like hardwood floors and stainless steel appliances.  I'm not going to post any pictures from Walmart, because I figure every American has been in one at least once in their life. However, I did want to share something interesting we spotted at checkout - Strawberry jam and peanut butter M&M's! What will they think of next?

While picturing how to decorate rooms and trying out furniture was fun, it was suprisingly draining. I was feeling distinctly cranky at the end of the day, and I had to bribe Andrew with the promise of pad thai from New Rod Dee's for an early dinner to keep him going!

Dinner at Ten Tables

I have been dying to try Ten Tables ever since I read about it in a Boston Globe review a few years ago, and this desire was only reinforced by the hundreds of positive Yelp reviews. Which is why I was glad Z chose it for our friday night dinner with her and husband T.D., since Andrew and I rarely venture into JP.  Like the name suggests, the restaurant is pretty small with an intimate atmosphere - it originally only had room for ten tables (duh!), but has expanded into the space next door which is just big enough for a few more tables and the bar.

We were seated in the corner of the restaurant, so this picture (somewhat) shows how big the room was beyond Andrew's shoulder - you had the feeling that you were in someone's house, watching them cook your dinner in the kitchen. (In case you're wondering why Z is sitting next to Andrew, it's because she's a lefty, and T.D. had to sit on the opposite side since he needed the extra room for his leg, having gone through knee surgery a few weeks ago):

Sitting at the table, we were gifted with shots of beet soup topped with creme fraiche, compliments of the chef. I thought this was one of the highlights of the meal - it started off tasting almost like cheesy mashed potatoes (I know, not a very cultured observation) and ended tasting more Mexican. Just take my word that it was yummy!

We were suprised to learn that Ten Tables doesn't have a liquor license, it just serves beer, wine, and cordials. Since Andrew was driving, he stuck with a craft "lemon lime" soda and the rest of us ordered mixed drinks. T.D. had some sort of alcoholic citrus punch, which he described as overwhelmingly grapefruity. My drink was pretty good, as I recall, it was called "The KK" and had champagne, some sort of citrus, and ginger. I'm not a big fan of ginger or candied ginger (which the drink came garnished with) but it tasted pretty good and had only a hint of ginger which had a faint spiciness to it. However, I think it's telling that we switched to beer for our second drinks!

For the appetizers, we split two of the most hyped choices - House-made toulouse sausage with mustardy puy lentils and the Ten Tables charcuterie with traditional accompaniements. The sausage was good, but I didn't think it was anything special, as I described at the table, not something I would wake up craving a week later:

The charcuterie plate was also a little different from what I originally was expecting, as I was comparing it to ones that I've tried at the Publick House in Brookline. It didn't have any additional meats or cheeses, and was simply simple some sort of chicken liver mousse and a slice of the pate with golden raisins (which seemed to be one of the Ten Tables specialties). Z and I were responsible for eating most of this plate, I thought everything tasted pretty good layered with the pickled vegetables and spicy mustard on the plate. However, the toasted slices of bread were way too crunchy and I ended up eating a lot of the plate with the soft rolls that got served at the table.

My short rib dish (Z ordered the same) was out of this world. It technically was a molasses and green peppercorn-braised short rib with creamy polenta and mushroom ragu - the meat was so tender and everything was incredibly flavorful. I would come back to Ten Tables merely on the strength of this dish alone:

T.D.'s proclaimed his herb stuffed gianone chicken with salt roasted potatoes, mustard greens and roasted garlic au jus as delicious, even though he didn't like the stuffing (Z tried it and thought it was good): 

Andrew ordered the housemade pan seared gorgonzola gnocchi with raddichio pesto, carmelized pears and saba, which was a menu item I almost ordered (and was glad that I didn't). Expecting your typical gnocchi, which has fairly small balls of dough that is covered in sauce, we were surprised to see this pile of large roasted gnocchi:

 
 
 
 

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Don't get me wrong, the gnocchi was pretty good with a nice punch of gorgonzola from the center filling and the contrast between the toasted outside and chewy inside. It just didn't taste like typical gnocchi. And, I couldn't taste the pears, which is a flavor I usually love. I think this is a dish that I picture more as an appetizer that gets split around the table.
 
So overall, the meal was pretty good but didn't have enough stand out dishes to make us instantly want to go back. One can argue it's our unrefined palates (we're admittedly not used to going out to fine dining places all the time) but I still loved the ambiance and the quality of the food (even if I didn't like all the flavors) to come back again when they change the menu to reflect seasonal offerings. Plus, they offer a Tuesday night, four course tasting with wine pairings for only $42, a deal that may have me coming back during the weeknight.

Magic Straps?

A chance comment by Liz on Sunday prompted Andrew's latest purchase:

Not the furniture but the orange lifting straps. As he happily pointed out in an email to me, he said the women look happy moving that massive piece of furniture. Um, not sure that I will look that calm and collected lugging our heavy pieces of furniture. I may have to tag in Phu and Pete for that. But I am curious to see if it really works.

Big 3 - 0 in Bridgeport

Sunday saw us driving down to Bridgeport to celebrate another 30th birthday, this time for one of my "old" college roommates, Liz. It feels like only yesterday that we were celebrating our 21st birthdays. Since Liz's birthday was much earlier in the year, she actually turned 21 our Junior year, while the five of us remaining (in our six woman suite) all had birthdays clustered with a three week period at the beginning of our Senior year. Geez, how quickly time flies! And I can't forget the fact that I'm turning 30 myself, since I've got all my friends' 30th birthdays to remind me of the fact! :)

Anyway, back to Bridgeport. After stuffing ourselves on good food and tons of birthday cake and ice cream, it was time for the gifts.

Since it was a joint birthday celebration for Liz and her dad, they each sat surrounded by their own pile of gifts. I also have to give a shout-out to Liz's dad, mom and sister Sara for losing an astonishing 100 pounds combined in two months!
Liz's dad cracked me up because he kept holding his gifts up to his forehead a la Johnny Carson to guess what was inside. The problem was that two of his gifts (seriously) were an axe and a hatchet - luckily, he got warned about that those in advance!

Here's Liz holding a gift from one of her brothers, a wine appropriately called "Mommy's Time Out."  That big Crate and Barrel held our gift - a cupcake carrier that I own and love (a birthday gift a few years back from my sister Amy) and the Barefoot Contessa's chocolate cupcake and frosting mix. I figured it a was a good gift for a baker to give to another baker, especially one with a two-year-old!

Although Liz's daughter Isabel was down for a nap, I was still able to play with her adorable nephew Tommy who looks unbeliavably clean in this picture, from having his face covered with cake and ice cream just minutes before:

Right before we left, Liz was able to wake Isabel up to say hello - needless to say, she was a bit sleepy and shy, and clung to Liz's side:

This is one of my favorites pictures of her - Liz had just pulled her pacificer seconds before I took the picture and Isabel was not pleased! I still can't get over how adorable she is and how much she takes after her blonde and blue-eyed father Adam:

We were finally able to make Isabel smile (my favorite trick is get kids to do a high five and to clap for them afterwards, they love it):

It was definitely worth the drive down to Bridgeport to surprise Liz and spend the afternoon reminiscing about our college days. But I'm still going to enjoy being 29 as long as I can!

We've Been Blogged!

Haha, I just happened to look at our photographer's blog today and saw this.

Yay for engagement photos, although I think my face looks awfully scrunched up in the first shot.

Needless to say, we are so excited to have Heather and Jesse shoot our wedding in October!

Officially Grown-Up Now

I'm feeling particularly grown-up now that Andrew and I starting to do some serious furniture shopping. Our current place is mostly a mishmash of cheap furniture from college. I'm finding it therapuetic to throw out all the crap I've accumulated over the years, including all the furniture that is falling apart (goodbye pressboard Target dresser with broken drawers!)

This is one of the pieces that Andrew and I have been lusting over for the past few weeks:

The description cracks me up:

"This is the recliner and ottoman you start thinking about halfway through your evening commute. You’ll stumble through the front door, drop the briefcase, kick off the shoes and flop into the big, broad arms of this handsome chair. [Chair name] looks and feels like it’s been a part of the family for years."

I think that's exactly how Andrew is picturing using the chair. Me? I'm picturing myself draped sideways over the cushy arms, wrapped in the throw and reading a book. Pure happiness.

I Never Get Tired of Korean Food

After a long day of shopping, the thing we all needed the most was a nap. Since we didn't have time for one, the second best thing was to stuff ourselves with good food. Apgujung fit the bill for its delicious Korean food (comfort food for me) and sushi (asparagus tempura maki is out of this world, Andrew and I always get two orders).

The funny thing is that Andrew and I had already eaten at Apgujung the night before everyone arrived. But we love the restaurant so much (and are trying to squeeze as much of favorites in before we move) that we readily agreed to go there at Amanda's suggestion, which was eagerly seconded by Camie and James. And we weren't too embarassed when the host looked surprised to see us back so soon. :)

Here's Amy expertly cooking her spicy pork bulgogi at one of the two grills set into the table:

Amanda seems glad that she went with one of our recommended favorites, the okdol bibimbop with beef:

Camie and James chose bulbogi as well, with Camie choosing the chicken and James the spicy pork (another favorite of ours): 

The famous asparagus tempura maki on the bottom with an action shot of the chicken and pork bulgogi sizzling on the grill:

Camie and James wisely decided to call it a night (poor Camie ended up suffering from heartburn due to the kimchi she eagerly ingested) while the rest of us headed back to Boston.

Since we were all exhausted from the frenzied day of shopping, we were back safe and sound in Newton at a relatively early time and headed straight for bed. We had time for a nice breakfast together, which also served the purpose of helping us empty our freezer and cupboards of food, before everyone hit the road - Camie, James and Amanda back to New York; Andrea to work at the OG; and Andrew and I to Bridgeport. Jen and Amy, both being local, had returned to their own beds the night before.

I know the fun that we had together as a group signals good times ahead for the bridal party! Special thanks to Andrew and James once again for withstanding all the estrogen. :)

Boston Bridesmaid Extravaganza

Coincidentally enough, the further I get immersed in wedding planning/cleaning/packing, the less energy I have for blogging each night. My long absence last week was due to some crazy days at work (where I was working longer hours and even on Saturday morning listening to conference calls at 8 a.m.), cleaning at night in preparation for house guests and hanging out with said house guests between two different 30th birthday parties (yup, it's the year of the big 3-0 for me and my friends. Sigh.)

We had four people staying with us this weekend because it was "Bridesmaid Extravaganza" weekend, aka time to shop for bridesmaid dresses. Andrew's sister Amanda, my cousin Andrea, my friend Camie (aka Brooklyn Blogette), her husband James, plus their dog Fred. As Amy and my frequent dining companion Jen were local, they just met us at the house on Saturday morning.

First stop in the day was an appointment at the illustrious Priscilla of Boston (full disclosure: I forgot to take a picture of the exterior when we were there in the morning and ended up taking a picture later that night as we were walking by):

I have to admit that I've loved all the dresses (wedding and bridesmaid) that I've seen in their ads. I didn't even try going there for my wedding dress, because I didn't want to fall in love with a dress that was way out of my budget. But their bridesmaid dresses were surprisingly affordable. They offer three lines, the most expensive being their Priscilla of Boston line, followed by Melissa Sweet and the most affordable, Vineyard Weddings.

I have to admit, we were running a little late for our appointment. I felt very apologetic but I was still shocked by how many times our bridal consultant mentioned the fact that we were late, especially since she herself didn't show up right away. I now understand why PoB gets mixed reviews on Yelp (they seem to be nicer to brides buying 4 - 5K dresses, hmmm).  Anyway, I think we surprised her with how many dresses the girls pulled, as she didn't realize that I was letting each bridesmaid pick their own dress (only restrictions being that it had to be knee length, the same deep gray color and the same fabric). Here is a quick look at all the sample dresses waiting to be tried on:

I promised everyone I wouldn't post any pictures of them trying on dresses, mostly out of modesty but also, so the bridesmaid dress is under wraps for the grand reveal. Amazingly enough, the girls ended up liking the same two dresses and picked one as their favorite. I kept reminding them that they didn't have to wear the same dress, but again, in some magical way, the same dress looked fabulous on each of them.  Keeping in mind that we had a second appointment in the afternoon, we didn't buy the dress right away.

Next came brunch on Newbury Street, literally a block away and within view of the Prudential Center:

Two good reasons to have Brunch at Charley's (also famous for its burgers) - the bread basket (with their signature warm loaf of bread and delicious corn and raisin muffins) and the free drink (such as a mimosa or a bloody mary) that comes with brunch:

Here's a shot of my bridal party plus James (poor Andrew was busy feeding quarters into the parking meter):

Amy enjoying her bloody mary and showing off the glass of olives that she and Amanda requested for their drinks:

Andrea ordered some sort of frozen concoction that had "Peanut butter cup" in the title. I was surprised to see her pulling out her ID for it, but yes, apparently it does have some booze hidden somewhere in there!

Next, we headed into Watertown to check out a shop that was run out of a woman's home. It sounds a bit sketchy but she had gotten rave reviews on Yelp for the large number of dresses she carried and her competitive pricing. I have to say when we pulled up to the house and saw the dentist's sign in front, along with the crumbling steps, we were all wondering if we were in the right place. Luckily, the door was open and we could see another group trying on dresses upstairs.  We spent another hour trying on dresses (by we, I mean everyone but me did, I got to sit on my butt and give reviews), including a bright pink dress that matched Amy's socks:

My assessment of Bridal Reflections? The owner Anita was very friendly and patient. Her prices are indeed good, so good that I'd like to buy dresses for future formal occasions from her! However, while she carries a wide selection of dresses, they're all crammed into one room that is stifling hot.  I don't think it was a wasted trip to check her out, and it actually helped confirm the fact that everyone in the bridal party was still loving one of the dresses that they had picked out at PoB.

Testing the patience of the guys (who were kind enough to give half the party a ride into Boston and to Watertown, and who were willing to come pick us up whenever needed), we added a quick trip to JCrew at the Atrium mall right after just to see if we could find any dresses that resembled the first dress from PoB in a better fabric and for a cheaper price.  All I can say is that I was truly exhausted by the time we were finished, shopping surprisingly took a lot out of me although we had a blast hanging out together.

Bridal Scam?

I was sad to see this story on the Boston.com homepage tonight (Today's update on the story here):

I feel like most brides are "scammed" out of their money in the whole wedding planning process, because prices definitely rocket up when the word "wedding" is mentioned. And I know $15 isn't a lot in the grand scheme of things but still, as the article pointed out, I'm sure there were many brides who were looking forward to the bridal show and had already made travel plans.

What amazes me about this story is the amount of planning that went into the scam and the sheer audacity of someone to pull this off and fool dozens of vendors and hundreds of brides. I easily could've been among this number if I hadn't been turned off to bridal shows on the basis of what I would hear from other brides on The Knot discussion boards.

So for what it's worth, here are my random observations on bridal shows:

• I wouldn't pay to go to any of these (the whole idea of paying to see people that you're going to hire blows my mind). In addition, I've definitely received free offers of tickets through emails from The Knot, so hold off for one of these deals.
• The most annoying thing about the shows (what turned me off) is the telephone harassment afterwards. I'm sure not all vendors will do this, but apparently, brides get fooled into giving their contact info through a "drawing" at a booth for a free prize like a honeymoon. After the bridal show, they will get called incessantly (as in, 3 - 4 times a day) by someone claiming that they've "won" a prize, but they will need to attend a presentation or provide some cash to collect it. As with most things in life, if it's too good to be true, it usually is. So save your number for the reputable vendors that you're seriously interested in pursuing and use a fake phone number for entering drawings.
• Bridal shows seemed to happen mostly during the winter - when I was newly engaged, I remember being excited about attending a bridal show but I was bummed when they all seemed to be in January and February which meant I had to wait months. I don't know if it's because a lot of people get engaged in the Christmas to Valentine's Day stretch or because it's cold outside and it's easier to get people to attend on a weekend when there's snow outside.
• Above all, bridal shows may be good to experience a large number of vendors all at once, but I still believe in doing plenty of research online at first, paying special attention to opinions of other brides, and meeting with vendors one on one to make sure your personalities mesh, that they're professional, and that they're reliable.

Magic Seven Layer Bars

I don't know why it's taken me so long to make magic bars (aka seven layer bars). I've always loved eating them when people have made them in the past - after all, they contain an amazing combination of coconut, chocolate chips and butterscotch chips. I adore anything with butterscotch chips in it. And the best part is, they are amazingly easy to make.

It was Sunday morning and I knew I wanted to make something to take with me to my cousin Andrea's facial party. My eye happened to catch a can of Eagle condensed milk in my cupboard, then I checked and found half a bag of sweetened coconut in the freezer and a half used box of graham cracker crumbs and decided it was time to try making them.

Magic Bars (recipe from the Eagle can of milk)
Ingredients

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 (14 oz.) can Eagle Brand® Sweetened Condensed Milk
2 cups (12 oz. pkg.) semi-sweet chocolate chips (I decreased this to one cup and added a cup of butterscotch chips)
1 1/3 cups flaked coconut
1 cup chopped nuts (I went with my favorite baking nut, pecans - toasted, of course)

I'm not quite sure where the seven layer name comes from because there's technically only seven "layers" or ingredients when you count butter as a layer and use two types of chips. I like the name "Magic Bars" since they do taste good enough to earn that title!

I also have to add that this recipe would be great to make with kids, since I can imagine them having as much fun as I did scattering the different ingredients.

Instructions

Heat oven to 350°F. Spray 13 x 9-inch baking pan with no-stick cooking spray.

Combine graham cracker crumbs and butter in small bowl. Press into bottom of prepared pan (I used the back of a spoon):

Pour sweetened condensed milk evenly over crumb mixture. Layer evenly with chocolate chips, coconut and nuts. I put a lot of thought into what order my ingredients should go.

First came the butterscotch chips:

Next came the toasted pecans:

A liberal sprinkling of coconut on top - I was worried that I wouldn't have enough but a half bag of the standard size was the perfect amount. Having it on top would allow it to get toasted.

Finally, some chocolate chips on top to melt and hold down the coconut. Don't forget the important step of pressing down on the layers firmly with fork.

BAKE 25 to 30 minutes or until lightly browned. Loosen from sides of pan while still warm; cool on wire rack. Cut into bars or diamonds. 

What you will end up with is chewy perfection - Andrew and I could not stop eating these. I kid you not, after taking most of the bars to the party, there ended up being only one bar left by the time I could take a picture. And that's only because I warned Andrew to leave at least a bar for a picture!

Next time, I'll do as the Eagle recipe suggests online and line entire pan with foil, and coat lightly with no-stick cooking spray. I think this will make it easier to pry the bars from the pan.

Facial Party Fun

On Sunday, my cousin (and one of my bridesmaids) Andrea hosted a fun, girly day featuring a facial and a foot soak that she won featuring Arbonne (swiss skincare) products.

I'll admit it, I attended with some trepidation. I've never been a girly girl in terms of slathering myself with tons of product. In fact, I tend to pefer simple, non-scented products that can be quickly applied. So the thought of spending a whole afternoon applying stuff to my face wasn't at the top of my list.

However, from the minute I walked in the door, I was impressed by my "little" cousin's hostessing skills. She had recruited my aunt Rena to make ziti for the meal, accompanied by a fresh salad and breadsticks that she had bought at work (the OG). In addition, she had gotten green skewers from work and made these adorable strawberry and orange garnishes:

...that were the perfect accompaniment for the freshly made Sangria (Andrea's truly related to me, as that's one of my favorite drinks to make for gatherings!)

Then it was time for the "spa" portion of the afternoon, which I thought was going to be torturous. Eating, I could handle. Girly stuff, not so much.

But Amber, our spa expert, wisely eased us into the activities. First we had our choice of three different face scrubs (I chose anti-aging, ahem, as I do turn 30 this year). That was nice enough but the next product had me really amazed. It was this great sea salt scrub (could be used anywhere where you want to slough off rough skin, like your feet) which we used on our hands. It left my hands feeling very smooth yet moisturized, and had a pleasant light scent. Stephanie (Andrea's friend on the left) and Andrea (rocking red highlights to the right) clearly approved of their soft hands:

Next came the scary stuff - and I'm not talking about the winter feet that we all soaked in tubs filled with a sea salt bath. We all applied a detoxifying mask that made us look like Shrek. Seriously. I was laughing my butt off at everyone (as I was the last to apply it). We left this on for 20 minutes, which was a good thing since it was strong enough to give our skin a tingly (slightly burning) feeling. It doesn't sound very comfortable but it didn't hurt and actually dried quickly.

Seriously - are you ready for the close-up? I looked like an extra from the Mask!

Next, came hot towels to lay on our faces which helped to loosen the masks, allowing us to wipe every speck of mask off:

Amy looks very relieved to get the towel and gook off her face!

Mask off, Amy's face was glowing and clean! Be gone toxins!

The rest of the party, we literally put five different products (such as toner, eye cream, moisturizer, etc) on our face and tried different lotions on our hands. Amber was pretty funny and such a good spa hostess that I ended up buying that sea salt scrub from her (seriously, the stuff is amazing) but it really was a fun environment with no pressure to buy anything (I've avoided these types of gatherings in the past since I get uncomfortable being pressured to buy things that I don't need). Then we stuffed our selves with lemon cake and magic bars and called it a day. Amy and I headed home stuffed, with great looking skin, thanks to Andrea event planning skills.

Staying Local on Saturday

I believe there was a good chance that I wouldn't have made it out of the house on Saturday if Jen hadn't been a good friend and suggested dinner at a Newton favorite, The Local. Andrew and I had been motivated on Friday night to do some cleaning and throwing away of junk for one of our many cluttered rooms, but Saturday, I hadn't accomplished much more than watching the Winter Olympics and reading a book. In partial defense, I was suffering a particularly bad headache that wouldn't go away and made me feel too run-down to do more cleaning.

All it took it took was some fresh air, good companionship and tasty food to get my spirits up!

I won't go into too much detail about the food, since I ordered the same (dee-licious) homemade potato chips and Jen and I both opted for a cheeseburger, but we were happy to find new desserts on the rotation.

Jen went with the pound cake with crystallized berries and sour cream and proclaimed it delicious. She offered me a taste but I was honestly too full to even attempt a bite, despite my love of blueberries:

As for me, I ordered a pudding parfait with fresh berries that sounded nice and light but when it arrived, I realized what I had essentially orderd was breakfast. It was fresh berries (raspberries, blackberries, strawberries and I think blueberries) with vanilla and banana pudding and granola (it wasn't called this, I think it was described as nuts but it was definitely granola).  It was pretty good and I have to admit, the type of light and somewhat healthy dish I was looking for, but definitely not a "dessert" really, especially since the pudding had the consistency of yogurt.

The highlight of the night? Realizing that The Local carries my favorite Dr. Loosen Reisling,.

February Office Potluck

It had been a while since we had an office potluck, in fact, I think our last one had occurred in 2009. Unfortunately, another coworker's departure prompted this occasion but it was still jolly in tone!

I was pretty lazy in the dessert I made. I was prompted by a recipe on the back of my cake flour box, but I was too tired to make a cake from scratch. Instead, I made a gold cake from a mix but followed the other recipes directions for frosting and layers to create a Strawberry Jam cake. As you can see, my handiwork is a little sloppy but I had fun decorating it. I think it is more suited for a little girl's tea party rather than an office potluck!

For the interior layers, I alternated layers of strawberry jam with a layer of strawberry buttercream frosting. This looked very pretty but was a little too sweet for my tastes. I think you need a fairly unsweet cake base to balance out well with the sweetness of the jam and frosting:

For dessert, we also had ginger cookies and chocolate chip cookies:

Coming as no surprise, it was the food (as opposed to the dessert) that was the real show stopper of the meal. I didn't get a shot of the buffet table but we had a ton of different choices as usual! A look at my plate shows arroz con pollo (rice with chicken), a vegetable salad, bacon wrapped scallops (to die for), sausage with peppers, homemade artichoke and spinach dip with tortilla chips and one of my favorites, an orzo dish with tomatoes and chicken.  Yum!

This had definitely not been a good food eating week for me (as in, not eating healthy!)