Wonderland

I belong to a Dinner Group with 12 other ladies who live in my neighborhood. Two people pair up and once per year we host a dinner. We go all out with invitations, place settings, menus, etc. It is one of my favorite nights out. On April 18th, my amazing partner, Jennifer, and I hosted an evening with 'The Critters of Wonderland'. Our original idea was a mad-hatter tea-party, but it morphed into a full dinner, and it was so easy, I couldn't have been more pleased. Of course we couldn't have done it without her amazing husband, Brent, who helped us by making 48 boxes, set up, clean up, plating, technical effects, and moral support, big kudos to my friend Brent!

Here are the pictures and the recipes we used.

Our menu was:

The Ladybug and Butterfly

The Caterpillar

The Cheshire Cat

The Doormouse and Turtle Tea

At her front entrance we propped a mirror next to the doorbell, and this sign:

The sign reads: Step through the looking glass and Ring the Bell to take a trip down the Rabbit Hole!

We hung up a plastic black tablecloth at the end of the hallway and used red flashing lights to create the "Rabbit Hole"

We had her son dress up as the White Rabbit (it took a bit of 'promises' to encourage this activity), he answered the door and was supposed to say "I'm late for a very important date!" and run down the hall, but I think most of the time it ended up as a conversation about how the rabbit hole scared him.

For Appetizers we did Ladybug Appetizers and Butterfly Cheese Sandwiches

Using the boxes that Brent made we stamped a label to put on top of each box that read "Eat Me". We removed the labels from bottle of sparkling juices, and stamped a label that read "Drink Me". We refrigerated these and set them up on the appetizer table next to the food.

These crazy teapots were 50% off at Hobby Lobby, and they were just too perfect to pass up!

Jennifer bought some adorable colored paper lanterns and Brent hung them up with some out door lights around her gazebo. We also used them and some perfect butterflies and dollar store pink and yellow placemats for the place settings. We made Mango Lemonade, Kiwi Limeade, and Blackberry Lemonade and put them in these beautiful curvy carafes that Jennifer had as part of centerpiece.

Each person was given a menu card with a colored dot, representing the color of a lantern. next to the name of each course. Between courses Brent piped to the outside speakers the sound of the Mad Hatter yelling: "Clean Cup, Clean Cup, Move Down!" from the Disney movie. Everyone had to get up between courses and move to the colored dot shown on their card.

Our salad course was The Caterpillar. We took mixed baby greens, melon balls, carrot slivers, and Mint Dressing for Fruit

To the dressing we did add some honey since the vinegar was a bit overwhelming, salt and pepper, and substituted parsley for the cilantro because we have parsley in one of the other courses.

The Cheshire Cat was our main course. We used Greek Pork Loin, Greek Browned Butter Pasta, steamed baby squashes, pita bread toasted with olive oil, herbs and Parmesan cheese. We arranged the pasta in the shape of a cat with a tail, used the pork loin as the face, which was resting on pieces of pita for the ears, green olives for the eyes, a kalamata olive for the nose and extra pasta for the whiskers.

We pan seared the pork before putting it in the slow cooker and let it rest for several minutes so that it would slice up easier without falling apart.

For dessert we had the Doormouse and Turtle Tea

We used Carrot Souffle cut in a round to look like cheddar cheese. I was really unsure of the idea of carrot souffle but Jennifer made it for me a few weeks before the party and it really is tasty. It had a strawberry dipped in white chocolate and painted on eyes, nose, and feet. Brent was a master at plating it with fruit, caramel, and some delicious cinnamon whipped cream that he made himself. I didn't get a picture of the turtle tea, but we used Mascarpone Brioche Sandwiches with Chocolate Soup as the Tea, we drizzled it with caramel and sprinkled it with pecans to make the 'turtle' part. Jennifer was really unsure of the idea of chocolate soup but I made it for her a few weeks before the party and it was a hit. We made the chocolate soup the night before then just stored it in the refrigerator and put it in a crock pot the day of the dinner to get it warmed through.

We approached the evening with a modest budget, and a really relaxed perspective and I think it turned out perfectly. Everything was just as I'd hoped for and there wasn't a huge amount of rushing around last minute. We actually had the opportunity to sit with our friends and enjoy the dinner. And everyone said that we served food that they would make again, so it was a big success as far as I was concerned.

I love Gourmet Group!

Random Monday

I turned the air-conditioner on for the first time in 2009 yesterday, glad I did, it's warm out there.

We had a garage sale over the weekend. It's amazing the junk people will buy if it's cheap enough.

Reading Isaiah is like reading poetry: sometimes you come across something that is a literary feast, but other times it's just confusing.

We've had visitors for almost 11 days straight, I'm ready for things to get back to normal.

An evening in Wonderland turned out exactly as I'd envisioned. I kept a clear head this time and a positive attitude about it, and it went so smoothly, I couldn't have been more pleased.

I'm grateful for the oranges that Suzette gave us with produce co-op this weekend, and especially grateful to Deirdre for letting me use her juicer, we'll be having a super yummy treat tomorrow for breakfast.

I really need to clean my house, that's at the top of my list of goals this week.

Only 24 more days until I get my travel fix. Going on a cruise with my favorite girls in the whole world!

I rented the whole series of "My So Called Life", a great blast from the past, I feel like calling Erika, who I haven't spoken to in about 11 years, she would get a good laugh from knowing I'm watching it again.

My other Erica and I are determined to go to the Galapagos Islands with Alex Trebek. (Don't laugh at my dream).

I'm ready to stop waiting for change.

Outrageous Brownies from Barefoot Contessa = $11.60 per 20.8 oz box at AJ's still waiting to see if they're worth it. But the house smelled AWESOME while they were baking.

It Just Makes Sense

2 Nephi 2 is on my list of favorite chapters in the Book of Mormon. Lehi explains the Plan of Salvation so perfectly: It Just Makes Sense.
Also one of my top ten favorite scriptures is in this chapter: 2 Nephi 2:30, it voices my sentiments about the way I teach my children and the reasons I teach them about the gospel. I'm sure parents everywhere can echo his words in this verse. -- Love it!

Here a Little, and There a Little 1 Nephi Chapter 11

The concept of line upon line, precept upon precept has been reaffirmed to me again today. When the Spirit of the Lord Nephi if he understood the mission of the Savior his reply in verse 17 reads: "And I said until him: I know that he loveth his children; nevertheless, I do not know the meaning of all things."
Even Nephi, a spiritual giant had to learn little by little.
He started our first knowing that God loved him, and from there his knowledge was taken to unimaginable heights. By knowing just that very basic principle so many other things can be unfolded to our minds.
First: Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ -- The rest after that comes as we are ready for it.

What Time is It? 1 Nephi Chapter 10

In today's reading I thought about the children of Israel, how they wandered in the desert for 40+ years, how they were carried captive in to Babylon and how they have been scattered over the earth.
Verse 3 reads: "That after...the own due time of the Lord, they should return again...and possess again the land of their inheritance."
I think about my own trials and experience that I'm gaining; I know they only end or become fully understood after the due time of the Lord. And I think that I probably echo the sentiments of the house of Israel in asking periodically: OK Lord, what time is it exactly? 'Cause I'm pretty sure I'm done with this one... (sigh)... Only to wait it out just a bit more.
I was also thinking about a testimony that I heard in church on Sunday from Brother Johnson where he stated that the church is so true that we are asked to gain a testimony of our very own. I really like that! Even the great prophet Nephi practiced this. In verse 17 we learn that after his father had prophesied regarding the house of Israel and the coming of the Messiah, Nephi was desirous to know by the Spirit if what his father said was true, so he took it to the Lord to find out for himself. Based on several years of reading the scriptures, I know what comes next chapter, so I can tell you that the Spirit confirms all that his father had told him. What a huge blessing it is to have that ability. To have a member of the Godhead come and tell you stuff, personally, without having to rely on the word of others. I can know for myself. I DO know for myself! What a special blessing!

I need to digress just a moment to clarify my thoughts/intent of my last post.

My point of Sam v. Nephi is not to suggest that emulating Nephi is not a valuable idea. He is an amazing person and had tremendous faith, he even saw the Son of God, which I haven't since I've been on the earth, so it goes to show that his experiences working towards salvation are at a rate that are vastly different than mine. I'm sure the reason we have the books that he wrote are because he is such an amazing individual, and the lessons we learn from his wisdom are vital to salvation, or they would not have been included in the scriptures. My point is this: Nephi's best is different than the best that is expected from me. We are not required to complete the exact same tasks in mortality. He was called as a prophet of God, I have been called as a Mother in Zion in the dispensation of the fullness of time. I don't know what Sam's calling was during his life, but I know based on the scriptures cited yesterday that he fulfilled that calling to his utmost, or he would not have been saved. I love the great prophet Nephi, he is a huge example of a true believer and I want to be like him, but I always felt like Sam got the shaft in the whole experience because he wasn't a prophet, therefore, since I'm not exactly like Nephi, I am just not worth noting. But this is not true. Sam was saved, just like Nephi was. They each did their best and the Savior made up the rest. I'm doing my best and the Savior will make up the rest.

Being Sam?

I used to write the things I'd learned while studying my scriptures in a journal and I ran out of pages. I've used not having anywhere to write thoughts down as an excuse for not being as diligent in my study as I need to be for a few weeks, but then seeing Amberly's post regarding integrity helped give me the boost to recommit to being better at studying the gospel. Since I have no paper, I'll record my thoughts here.
Several years ago I heard a talk in sacrament meeting about asking if I was a Nephi or if I was a Sam. The gist of the talk (I might get it wrong since it was a long time ago, but what I remember it being) was that Sam was the elder brother, but since Nephi was the prophet it appears that Sam was not measuring up to his responsibilities and they therefore fell to his younger sibling. And the question was posed: are we living our lives as Sam, not equal to our potential, or are we striving to be like Nephi.
I have struggled with this concept. Mostly because I feel my own inadequacies cause me to fall in the category of a Sam. And feeling that Nephi-hood is a bit unattainable, and therefore I am falling far from perfection. But I don't want to be a Sam and not live the noteworthy life of a Nephi.
This morning I was reading in 1 Nephi 8:3 and Lehi says:
"And behold, because of the thing which I have seen, I have reason to rejoice in the Lord because of Nephi and also of SAM; for I have reason to suppose that they, and many of their seed, will be saved."
This statement coupled with the fact that God is no respecter of persons suddenly clicked together to liken themselves to my own life. I don't have to be a Nephi; being an Alicia is just fine. And if I find in Sam a kindred spirit, what's the harm in that? Sam partook of the fruit, just like Nephi, and remained faithful, even if he wasn't a leader. He was a disciple, and will be saved. I have partaken of the fruit and am working at remaining faithful. Heavenly Father doesn't expect me to be Nephi, or Sam for that matter.

The other thing that I learned today, might be of particular interest to my friend who told me yesterday that she was asked if Laman and Lemuel ever had a testimony. My gut reaction was yes they had, but they just didn't care enough to do what was right. But read here, friend, and you'll see that they never did.

Chances Are

If the tape deck in your car won't play tapes. (Yes we had a tape deck, a CD player too, though, I'm not that out of the tech-loop).
If the clock keeps resetting itself, even when the car is turned off.
If a 1-year-old battery dies.
If an 8-day-old battery dies.
Chances Are you have $.11 in your tape deck.
Resulting in no more tape deck, but a big gapping hole that is waiting for a new radio to be installed when our neighbor recovers from back surgery he just had....

Feeling Let Down

A couple of years ago I wrote a post about my woes with the postal system here in the sunny ghetto, and this morning I went to the mailbox and discovered that one of my letters had been delivered to the wrong address and opened. Apparently, when the opener discovered that it was not a letter for them, they wrote a note to the post office and put it back in the mail. My glee at learning that I won a $5 gift card was quickly replaced with disgust when I found that while they were nice enough to forward my winning letter to me, they decided, however, to keep the gift card.
It's not a huge loss since I didn't pay for the giftcard, and it only had $5 on it. But the point is, it was MINE not theirs. Why didn't they just keep the whole letter rather than sending me it on to me incomplete? I would have been none-the-wiser. Instead, I'm feeling sad at the dishonesty of my neighbors (no one in particular, since I have no proof of who actually took the giftcard).
Sigh...

My E is Funny

At dinner last night:
E: "We don't play very much at school."
Me: "You do sometimes."
E: "You're not allowed to do Karate in class."