cupcake experiment #1

I recently received the most incredible cookbook ever made - Martha Stewart's "Cupcake" cookbook! In the spirit of the spooky season, I decided to go candy shopping and attempt to re-create the monster cupcakes that Martha so creatively decorated in her book. I stocked up on marshmallows, tic tacs, m&ms, gum drops, chocolate chips, icing, and gel paste for coloring the icing. It took a lot longer to create these fun little guys than I thought it would, but it was fun! I'm hoping to make my way completely through her cookbook... but I imagine it will be a couple years before that happens!



tic tacs and marshmallows make great monster teeth

giant corn!

Craig is enjoying his second week in Des Moines, Iowa! He sent me this picture tonight... and he never wants to take pictures without me there to make him, so he must be having the time of his life! :)

fall has arrived in georgia!

Fall is finally here and it feels oh so good! Thursday night, some coworkers and I went to the Atlanta Botanical Gardens for "Fest of Ale" and Scarecrows in the Gardens. We had a girls' night out that included a special guest - our friend Sara's little girl Miriam... who was dressed in her ballet outfit, complete with mini tutu!

Our friend David Stephens, who is also a guest artist puppeteer at the Center, has an awesome banjo band called "Banjolicious" and he is the entertainment at the Gardens every Thursday night. We had a great time dancing to his music in the midst of lots of beautiful scarecrows. The highlight of the evening was getting to witness Miriam's incredible dance moves! She was such a sight... I think all the little kids there secretly wanted to dance with her. When they left last night, she told Sara that it was "the best day ever!" How cute!

I have also started playing in a Bunko group one Thursday a month - and it's much more fun than I would ever have thought! For those who aren't familiar, Bunko is a dice game that is played in groups of 4 people and everyone switches tables for each round... it's totally a game of luck and I've discovered there's really no way to have any sort of skill at this. It's a really fun way to meet new people (all girls, of course!) and just have a fun night with friends. We've gotten into having themes each month, and obviously October was a great opportunity for our hostesses to pull out all of their spooky Halloween decorations, including two "dead" guests at one of the Bunko tables. We also got to celebrate our good buddy's 27th birthday. Happy bday, Karen!

And happy fall to you all!


i liked this white pumpkin...
he was surrounded by little white spiders


dragon!


a ballerina just like miriam


miriam was such a fun friend to bring along!


what fun pumpkin sculptures


our entertainment hard at work


this "scarecrow" was made of nothing but plastic bottles and caps!




we made friends with lots of the scarecrows... or scaresheep?


kathryn, me, hilary, elizabeth, miriam, and sara at the gardens


meet elvira, our creepy bunko guest!

slight change of plans...

Update: Craig is safely off to Des Moines, Iowa...but with a (slight) change of plans. We found out 2 weeks ago that he's now going to be gone till mid-February (thankfully just Monday-Friday). Instead of being stuck in Iowa for the duration of the "special" project, he's now going to Iowa for 2 weeks, Dallas for 7 weeks, and then back to Iowa for another 6 weeks. We weren't too thrilled with the sudden change, but I think it may end up being better than we thought!

I for one am much more inclined to visit Texas than Iowa (especially in the dead of winter). We also realized that Austin is just a 3-hour drive from where he'll be living, and we've been wanting to travel there for years. Sounds like the perfect opportunity to me!

So anyway, please keep Craig in your thoughts and prayers as he is flying high above us twice a week for the next 4 months!

kc + jamie get married in the mountains

On October 10, 2009, our cousin KC Smith married his fiance Jamie Kovach and it was one of the most beautiful weddings I have ever seen. The entire weekend was spent at the Brasstown Valley Resort in Young Harris, GA. The ceremony took place outside amidst the changing colors of fall and the sun peeked out just long enough to shine down on us as they said their vows. A fun band played music that was very fitting for the mountain wedding. The pastor even included trivia about KC, Jamie, and their parents, which had everyone laughing and was a fun touch to the ceremony.

After the ceremony, they had an outdoor reception at the sunset pavilion. It overlooked the golf course and the mountains and gave us a spectacular sunset that night. I'll let the photos do the rest of the talking. Congratulations, KC + Jamie! Best wishes on a lifetime of love, happiness and many great blessings.


morning walk. what cuties.


the sims family


my wonderful husband poses for a million pictures with me


some of the sims cousins
andrew, courtney, stuart, alex, and me


the bride and groom


the back of the pavilion. such a great wedding venue!


lauren and drew at the reception


what a view


andrew and me with the groom


and they will live happily ever after!