Heart & Stroke Ball

Last Saturday Mr. D and I attended the 23rd Annual Heart & Stroke Ball in Lexington.  They American Heart Association was honoring our family friend, Ralph Hacker "radio voice of the Kentucky Wildcats", and a few of us went along to support him.  Ralph is a Heart Disease survivor and the AHA honored him with a great video chronicling some of his accomplishments and his battle with Heart Disease. 

Hearing the testimonies of Ralph (and unfortunately another local man who recently lost his battle with Heart Disease) really made me aware of how serious this disease is.  Did you know Heart Disease is the leading cause of death for men and women in the United States?  Please, please, please do not take this issue lightly.  If your friends or family ever feel pressure or unlike themselves always make them go see a Doctor.  Life is too precious to take chances with your health.  The only reason Ralph knew he wasn't feeling right was because his hand suddenly started tingling every time he would play golf.  I went to the event because I thought it would be a fun party...but I'm grateful it also made me realize how important it is to take care of my health and encourage my family and friends to do the same.

Overall we had a great time (even if our Florida Gators lost our big Elite 8 game just minutes before) and here are a few pictures from the evening.

Arriving at the ball.

Overview. Wish I had a better pic of the multiple centerpieces. I loved them.

With my handsome date, Mr. D.

Ralph accepting his award.

Wishing you and yours a happy & healthy life - always!

xoxo,

Mrs. D

Congrats Dana & Danny!

In November of 2010 two of my closest friends got married and today their wedding is being featured on the Southern Weddings blog.  I have wanted to share my photos from their wedding with y'all (as it was ahhh-mazingly gorgeous!) for quite some time but hadn't had the right opportunity.  Today seems like the perfect day to highlight their beautiful wedding day in Amelia Island, Florida.  Stop by the Southern Weddings blog and check out the gorgeous photos of Dana & Danny's wedding shot by the incredibly talented Melissa Schollaert.
Dana & Danny - Southern Weddings, part I.
Dana & Danny - Southern Weddings, part II.

Dana and Danny were together for ten years before they got married; and we were so happy, honored and blessed to share their wedding day with them.  These two are perfect for one another and their love is contagious. 

Here are a few of my photos from the big day:

The dress.

Our shoes.

FOB seeing his daughter in her wedding dress for the first time.

Dana was such a gorgeous Bride!

The Fab Five

Goin' to Chapel

Such a sweet photo during the Father/Daughter dance.

Kim & Mr. D - looking fab!

The last dance.  So sweet!

I'm not exactly the best photographer, so if you would like to see some real photos from the wedding please check the Southern Weddings links posted above with images from Melissa.   

Happy Tuesday, y'all and Congrats (again) to my wonderful friends, Dana & Danny! 

xoxo,

Mrs. D

THE 12 LAYER CAKE

For over a year I have been dying to attempt the 'ole southern favorite...a Twelve Layer Cake.  As a cake addict, what could be better than twelve layers of sugary goodness, sandwiched between chocolate frosting.  The Twelve Layer Cake is an old southern recipe and seems to have disappeared a little over the years.  Perhaps it's due to the labor associated with making such a cake?  I don't know the reason; however, I do know I plan to bring this cake back into circulation...IT.IS.AMAZING! 

I don't know why I've waited so long to attempt this recipe.  Maybe I was intimidated by the numerous layers?  Or because the cake required so much time and work?  What ever the reason, I decided this weekend would be my first attempt and my sister, Tara, was here to help.  Definitely an added bonus to have Tara in the kitchen because she inherited all of Mom's culinary skills and can pretty much do it all.  I certainly owe her a lot of credit for this cake and keeping me sane in the kitchen on Saturday as we whipped up the batter, baked the cakes and made two different kinds of frosting - all from scratch. 

We started with a few of these...(definitely easier than trying to wash cake pans several times)

 Working on the cake batter...

 The cake batter in progress...

 This was the silkiest, most wonderful cake batter I've ever tasted (& yes, I did taste it)!

 Icing #1 in progress, this is the icing used between the layers & also goes around the entire cake.

 Starting the layering process...

 Two layers thick...

12 layers thick & after icing #1 has been spread between each layer & all over & around the cake...

The finished product, after icing #2 has been applied...

Looks delicious doesn't it?  You should smell it! 

I was pretty proud of my cake & channeling my inner Betty Draper, a la Mad Men...

(okay, okay...we were going to a black tie event and I threw my apron on for a pic before we went out the door.  Yes, I'm a huge nerd like this.  What did you really expect?)

Mr. D & I couldn't wait to cut into the cake...

All 12 layers were there & lookin' good...

And this is what we have left at our house...c'mon over & have a piece (or I'll be forced to have another!).



I read a great article about the Twelve Layer Cake and a sweet little old lady in the New York Times.  Check it out and read for yourself. 

(credit photo to New York Times article)

I highly encourage y'all to try making this one yourself.  All your guests will be so surprised when you cut into the cake and SURPRISE! there are twelve layers instead of two or three like they expect.  Just keep in mind, this recipe is a labor of love but OH SO WORTH IT!  You can find a recipe for the Twelve Layer Cake in any old southern cookbook or online by googling the title.  I used the recipe Bakerella suggested and adapted it a little to fit my own needs. 

If you decide to attempt this recipe and have any questions definitely let me know.  One thing I will do differently next time is 1) use a cake board to support the height and weight of all the layers and 2) let the layers cool longer after removing them from the oven.  If the layers aren't cool enough your cake will be wobbly and lumpy looking like mine was.  This was just a learning process and now I know for next time.  :)  The cake may not look as pretty as I wanted...but it tasted absolutely incredible.  I couldn't stay away from it all weekend.  Even Mr. D had rave reviews.  This meant a lot because he doesn't quite share or understand my obsession love for cake and he proclaimed it to be the "best cake he's ever had." 

My name is Mrs. D and I am a cake lover.  I hope you are too!

xoxo,

Mrs. D 





Oven Baked Parmesan Chicken

Perhaps you remember one of my goals for the current year is tacking a new recipe every month.  So far I've managed to keep up with this goal and we're already 3 months in to the new year.  Go me! 

Mr. D and I have both been attempting to eat a little healthier lately (but not too healthy...y'all know how I luuuurve my cake! and unfortunately for my butt, I've added Orange Leaf to my dessert repertoire.) so I was on the lookout for a healthy new chicken recipe I could try.  I found this recipe online, thought it sounded pretty good and easy, so we gave it a try.  The breading is Italian dressing, fresh Parmesan, garlic pepper and parsley flakes.  It was seriously one of the easiest dishes I've ever made and so so so good!  I highly recommend you try it.  Mr. D even declared after dinner "it was the best non-fried chicken he's ever had!"  Quite an accomplishment if I must say so myself.  :) 

I made a simple broccoli salad to accompany our chicken and all was complete.  It was a super simple, yet delicious new dinner.  You can find the Oven Baked Parmesan Chicken recipe here and definitely let me know what you think if you give it a try. 

Anyone have any fun plans this weekend?  We have a weekend packed full of stuff and I'm defitely excited it's finally Friday (has this week been long for anyone else?  Sheesh!) 

Tonight, my sister, Tara, is coming to town (Hi, Tara!  I know you're a HIWTHI reader.) and we have a baking project planned.  There's a cake recipe I have been wanting to try for over a year and I figured this weekend with Tara would be perfect timing!  Tara loves to bake too, so we plan on turning my kitchen into a little sweat shop bake shop.  Hopefully all goes according to plan and then I can blog about our little baking adventure next week.  Tomorrow night Mr. D and I will be attending the Heart & Stroke Ball in Lexington with some family and friends and lets not forget all the basketball I plan on watching this weekend!!!!  How are your brackets doing?  What about your team?  Sunday we plan to rest up for next week and do some much needed work around the house. 

Cheers to a wonderful weekend to you and me! 
xoxo,
Mrs. D

Spring Has (Almost) Sprung!

These last few days have been beautiful here in the Bluegrass and I couldn't be more thankful.  Oh, how I have missed the way spring and summer "smell" and the warmth of the sun on my face.  Don't get me wrong.  Spring isn't officially here to stay (yet) and I have a feeling we haven't seen the last of the cold weather...but we might as well rejoice in what we've been able to enjoy thus far, right? 

This past Sunday evening we celebrated the first day of spring and had a toast to the start of "cookout season" on our patio with Ben and Katherine.  Last summer the four of us (well, five us if you count McGruff) cooked out several times a week and they were some of the most fun nights Mr. D and I had.  It's always nice when you can relax on the patio, spend time with friends and share a good meal - all at the same time.  :) 

Jerk chicken & veggies.

Mr. D manning the grill & conducting business all at the same time.

Another way I know spring is finally on it's way?  The daffodil's in our back yard are blooming!  I love pretty spring and summer flowers and was delighted to see these the other day.  

McGruff has also been enjoying the rising temperature and has wanted to spend more time outside lately.  He's so cute in the back yard.  He loves to run and play and we love to watch him have so much fun.

(ignore the giant patch of dead grass...fixing this is on our ever growing to do list.)

Have y'all been enjoying any warmer temperatures where you are?  I am loving the weather change and looking forward to even warmer days spent by the pool, evening bicycle rides to Orange Leaf and more cookouts with friends and family!  

Get excited!  It's nearly the weekend!

xoxo,

Mrs. D

The Lincoln Lawyer

Another great movie!  This past Friday Mr. D & I went on a double date with our friends, Shena & Derek, to see the new movie The Lincoln Lawyer.  We all loved it!  Matthew McConaughey was flawless, as always, and oh-so-dreamy.  It was also nice to see Marisa Tomei and Ryan Phillippe in a new, successful movie.  Although, has anyone else noticed Ryan Phillippe is pretty much type cast in the role of spoiled, over-privileged, jerk face?

Back to my review, the movie was great and kept us all on our toes (which is a huge feat for a nine o'clock movie because I definitely like to go to bed early) and I could barely blink for being afraid I might miss a moment.  Before the movie I thought I knew exactly how every scene and detail would play out; however, there were a couple plot twists and turns I really wasn't expecting.  Moral of this story?  Go see The Lincoln Lawyer!  I think you'll like it too.

The Lincoln Lawyer: Two thumbs up from both Mr. & Mrs. D!  Go see this one in theaters!


xoxo,
Mrs. D

Wellington Recap & Shower Pics

(Better late than not at all...I apologize for my delay in posting this.)
When I arrived at the Palm Beach airport the Saturday before last, Kim picked me up and the two of us hit the ground running.  We had many wedding errands to accomplish and just a couple short days to cross it all off our list.  I accompanied the Bride to her airbrush makeup trial, hair trial, florist appointments, venue meetings, multiple dinners and got to visit with her wonderful family (whom I love so much!).  While I can't share all the details with you (for obvious reasons) I can share some pictures from the Bridal Shower hosted by Kim's Sister (the MOH), her Aunts and cousin.

Can I just go ahead and say it was the prettiest Bridal Shower I've ever attended.  Not to mention all the food was out of this world delicious!  Kim's Mom made the centerpieces (which cleverly matched the invitations) and they were so cute!  I loved them!  Kim's Mom is super crafty, creative and amazing.  I worked all weekend to convince her she needs to start blogging her ideas. 
They sure set the standard high unreachable for the shower I'm helping to host in April.  Are y'all ready for some pictures? 

The Invitations.

(minus the personal info, obvs.)

Aren't these tables adorable? 

Some of the oh-so-delicious spread.

The Bridal Doll Cake, complete with up-do.

The beautiful Bride-to-Be & me.

The Matron of Honor & her sister, the Bride.

The Favors.

Cranberry Orange Bread to mix & bake at home.

Kim's Mom is an incredible cook and she happens to make the best pound cake I've ever had.  Of course Kim's family knows my crazy obsession with cake so her Mom happened to have her mouth watering pound cake on hand for me during my visit.  Kim even packed me a lil' to go bag to tote home with me on the plane (what a great friend!).....which I may have enjoyed the very night I got home while laying in bed watching a movie...

Sorry it has taken me so long to blog about my Welly weekend.  Last week was just a tad bit crazy and I didn't have much time for blogging.  Don't worry.  I'm back to blogging regularly.  :)  My weekend with Kim was perfect.  While we were on a tight schedule, there was plenty of time for laughing, catching up and being our silly selves. 

Hope y'all enjoyed the pics!  Maybe they helped inspire a party you are hosting in the near future.

xoxo,

Mrs. D