Fancy cooking

Had to whip up a cake worthy of a wedding reception dessert table on Saturday afternoon and only had a few hours to do it. I settled on a brownie berry torte recipe that uses a brownie mix layered with fresh berries and pudding/sweetened condensed milk/whipping cream.

I didn't get to stick around and try some, but I hear it was pretty tasty. It sure was pretty to look at!

catching up

I spent last week at a writing retreat in the NC mountains. Here's the waterfall on one of the many hikes I took:

And here's the view from the porch of the mountain house where we stayed.

And here's the view from my bedroom, where I did some excellent writing which I plan to share eventually. It's not ready yet!

I was a little skeptical about spending an entire week in the mountains without web or cell service just writing and hiking, but boy did time fly. It didn't hurt that the kitchen staff made some killer cookies (among other more healthy offerings). I came home feeling creatively recharged and ready to tackle the world.

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Since my hair has the perpetual look of a bird's nest, I decided just to embrace it. Went to a benefit last night and wore a canary in my hair. I thought it went well with my 50's dress. And with the gigantic flowers women are wearing these days (not to mention those audacious hats at the Royal Wedding!) I figured no one would fault me for pinning a feathered friend to my crazy curls.