Friday Flowers

A view of the altar.

Just wanted to send some floral eye candy to you for your weekend.

These were all from a wedding ceremony back in February. The wedding reception was at Becker Vineyards, a very beautiful and quaint place to hold a reception. They also make some pretty stellar Texas wine...I recommend the Viogner. It has a strong nose and taste of Texas peaches, mmmm...

In case you need some entertainment, visit www.cakewrecks.blogspot.com, it made my sides cramp I was laughing so hard. You will see what happens when professional cake bakers get it very wrong. It was crazy...the longer I looked the funnier it got. It is my mfln or fml, meaning it sucks you in and the next thing you know you've been reading for an hour.

Have a wonderful weekend.

Business cards

The much anticipated business cards are finally done and I love them. It was so exciting to mix and match the vintage European stamps on the different color "envelopes." I found these great stamps here. They were wonderful to work with and I can't wait to continue to unveil some of the ones I bought. There are just so many wonderful stamp designs out there!

Scallops + Corn= Magic

Scallops aren't something that I grew up with eating. I don't really know why that is but it seems as though most of the meals growing up centered around chicken. Not that we didn't have the occasional fish or shrimp dish, scallops just didn't ever seem to make the cut.

As of late, it has been so blasted hot here that I have not been inclined to heat my kitchen up by cooking for longer than about 15 minutes. This scallop dish has turned out to be the perfect thing.

note: Scallops are kinda pricey so I tend to by one (I select the largest one out of the case) and treat it if it were a fillet Mignon, meant to be a buttery, small, heavenly part of the meal. The most recent scallop I bought cost $2.30.

Scallops and corn have a natural affinity for one another therefore the clean, simple flavors of this dish work perfectly.

Scallop on a bed of corn

For the corn:
3 ears of corn (for one I used yellow and one red...both delicious)
butter
salt and pepper

Cut the corn off the cob. Over medium heat, melt butter (I really don't use very much, just a swipe) and add corn. Season with salt and pepper to taste and cover until corn is tender but still vibrant, about 10 minutes.

For the scallop:
4 very large (2-3oz.) scallops
salt and pepper
butter
white wine (what you will be drinking with dinner), if desired

Dry off the scallops very well and season with salt and pepper. Melt butter (again another swipe) in a skillet over medium/high heat. Once the pan is nice and hot, sear scallops, forming a crust on both sides. Once scallop is cooked, off the heat, pour a bit of wine in the pan and let cook out.

Place corn in a bowl or on a plate and top with scallop. Garnish with olive oil, basil or parsley and a lemon wegde if desired.
Serves 2-4

Then, Let them Eat Cake!

I like cake, yes the band...but especially the food. I mean, put it in a bowl with some ice cream and I am darn near heaven.

Ready to drool?
This cake is a three layer sour cream cake, filled with homemade lemon curd and iced with a lemon mascarpone frosting.

This cake got its start about a year ago when I planned and catered my grandmother's 90th birthday party. I was cake testing to figure out what sort of flavor combination/s I wanted to do and I stumbled upon this. I knew it was the perfect trifecta when, sitting at my dining table, fork in hand, I couldn't stop eating it. It took my mother (who was visiting me at the time/taste testing) prying the fork out of my hand and promising me that it would still be there tomorrow. It was a sheet cake meant to serve 75 people and I devoured about a fourth of it (no joke).

Here is a photo of the original test cake.

After this experience and the sugar coma that ensued, for me, recipe testing, especially baked goods is a mighty dangerous thing.

Gabrielle

I am pleased to announce the arrival of my first posted invitation suite, written in a fun whimsical style, Gabrielle. This writing style was created to update the traditional styles of calligraphy and give a different option to make your event unique.

This style is also perfect for bridal showers, luncheons, baby announcements, really anything that needs a special touch.

Inspiration Tuesday: San Diego

A little bit of inspiration for you this morning all the way from San Diego. I recently visited and came back with so many thoughts scurrying through my head. I thought that I would share some of the magic.

It's very nice to meet you!

Hi my name is Bailey and I am the owner and founder of Amon Design Studio, a fine hand lettering, illustration and stationery studio.

Ever since I was a small girl I have been consumed by pattern, textures and techniques. My mother constantly grew weary when she would take me to a store (especially stationery, fabric or hobby stores) and would have to drag me out kicking and screaming. Since then, I have taken on many hand crafting techniques (knitting, sewing, embroidering, quilting...just to name a few) but the moment I tried writing with a dip pen and ink I fell in love. Never have I been so enamored and consumed by a craft. It now makes since to me why I was never much of a computer person and preferred instead to write on paper. I would always be renewed at the sight of the beautifully light blue lined notebook paper that I would buy for school supplies at the beginning of every year.

Since graduating from The University of Texas with a Bachelor of Science Degree in retail merchandising, I have focused on product, floral and event styling. I am so glad to meet you and that I am able to share my work, passions and insight into design with you.

When I am not in my studio, I enjoy cooking (a lot), knitting, taking pictures, gardens, flower arranging, museums and last but definitely not least, coffee.

This week I would like to let you get to know me a bit and I would love to get to know you!


First...












A little jewel of mine...my first canning experiment went right!

I have always been fearful of canning due to common known complications (botulism anyone?) and the stigma of it being difficult portrayed ever since convenience foods took precedence in America. I am here to attest that this was truly a wonderful and rewarding experiment. So much so that I will definitely be doing this again this weekend to begin early on Christmas gifts (sorry for spoiling the surprise).