Milly & Grace: Pink Cake Stand Giveaway!

Hello Gorgeous.

Before we begin, I have been missing.  Travel, sickness, broken computer, mom-of-two, do I need more commas?  You get it.  Even if you don't get it just say, Siri, I get it.  Say it to your iPhone, and she'll be like, whaa?  (That idiot gets nothing.)  But anyway, I woke up early to bake a little cake.  And once I bake my little cake, I'm going to display it on my new little cake stand:

Is there anything more gorgeous than that?!  Yes.  And I'll tell you what it, this entire website.  A dear friend of mine from college, Tim, recently moved to Nantucket and found himself working at Milly & Grace: a lovely inspired clothing and home decor boutique on the island.  The owner, Emily, named the shop after her two grandmothers, Milly and Grace.  As someone who named her daughter after her own grandmother, I find that very sweet.  If you peruse the online store ("peruse" makes you sound smart), you will find all sorts of items you suddenly "NEED" like I just did.  I mean, this woven plate with glass dome??  I need that.  This is the perfect online shop for unique holiday gifts, my friends.  Check out their Christmas Shop and Gift sections, and you will understand why.

Are you ready for the best news?  Emily is giving away a 10-inch pink cake stand to one of YOU!  All you need to do to win is 'like' Milly & Grace on Facebook and comment below, letting me know what else you love on their site.  I will pick a winner on Monday, 11/18 at 8am PST.  (Only residents of US and Canada eligible to win.)  Good luck and thanks, Milly & Grace!    

Brown Sugar Apple Cookies

I have been ignoring you.  I'm sorry, you don't need to yell!  Listen up, my little brother is GETTING MARRIED this weekend!  The little brother of Sirious Sips, by the way, whatever happened to those?  Anyway, my focus has been elsewhere.  But yesterday, my focus was on making a scrumptious fall cookie, and you should totally use the word "scrumptious" more often.  No seriously, try saying it out loud, right now.  Scrumptious!  Doesn't it make you feel joyful?  I found this recipe for Brown Sugar Cookies and I thought, why not add some apples?!  Two peeled, diced Honeycrisp apples to be specific.  I also added 1/2 tsp of vanilla to the recipe and a cup of oatmeal.  I had EVERY intention of drizzling caramel on top and sprinkling them with sea salt (Salted Caramel Apple Cookie anyone??) but my focus faltered.  YOU'RE YELLING AT ME AGAIN.  They were delicious on their own.  

Scrumptious!  

Gender Reveal Cupcakes

Are you familiar with 'Gender Reveal Parties'??  They are all the rage these days, and remind me never to say "all the rage" again because it makes me sound ancient.  Anyhoo (ancient-er), if you are not hip to the Gender Reveal (oh dear god), then let me give you the 411 (make it stop): it's a party where an expecting couple reveal the sex of their baby to friends and family (and many times themselves) in a fun manner, like cutting into a cake or biting into a cupcake that's pink or blue inside.  Well, I was not only recently invited to one for my dear friends, Beth and Brad, but they asked me to bake the cupcakes!  And in this instance, they didn't know the sex either.  Their doctor wrote it down, sealed it in an envelope and gave it to me!  Talk about your head exploding with knowledge that you can't share with anyone, oy.  In full disclosure, I told my four-year-old son, Jack.  And he probably told a couple of buddies at school.  And they were like, "meh."  

    But, I was able to keep the secret, and I didn't even play a prank and swap genders like Carson wanted me to.  I had never baked stuffed cupcakes before, and decided to go for a homemade Hostess Cupcake following this recipe.  Every part of it was perfect.  Super moist, chocolaty cake, a sweet and fluffy marshmallow cream center and topped with a rich, chocolate ganache.  My kind of dessert.  I used a paring knife to core out the cupcakes, which was time-consuming but very easy.  And I used a freezer bag with the end snipped off to fill the centers wiiiiith... BLUE icing : )   

The happy couple...

Congrats Beth and Brad!  I can't wait to meet this sweet baby boy.  

(All images by Katy at Chasing You Photo)