Catching Up: April - Sunshine, Cupcakes, Wedding Parties, and A New Car!

Chicago had a few sneak peeks of warmer weather and happy days at the beginning of April.

I got to escape work a little early one sunny Friday afternoon to see some sunshine and play "wedding planner" at my friends' tasting at Carmichael's. Divine. It was so much fun!

{Photos from my friend}

And there was even more sunshine at her garden party-themed shower the next day.

{Photo from my friend}

Her maid-of-honor's mother's was one of the nicest houses I've ever seen. And the food was EXCELLENT! I am so jealous of people cool enough to pull off big meals without panic. This was the shower at which I had my triumph over Crate & Barrel boxes.

Also in April, I took a "Cupcake Boot Camp" class at The Chopping Block with my friend VP...and Emily from A Windy City Wedding. I spotted Emily standing outside and did the awkward blog-friend-that-you've-never-met thing of, "Excuse me, are you Emily?" And it was her! The class was a blast and I had so much fun with Emily and her hilarious friend, Christy. Emily has a good summary and excellent photos on her baking blog, baking up for lost time.

{Photo by Emily}

I *totally* recommend this class. I can't wait to do another. Sadly, I had to leave for Atlanta the day after the class, so I only got to try one of my cupcakes.

Oddly enough, after spending $90 learning how to bake fancy cupcakes, I made boxed cupcakes for my brother's 32nd birthday.

And, finally, we bought a new car in April…a Volvo station wagon! I know, right? It was originally a dealer loaner so it was an incredible deal. Andy and I both had about three weeks of “WTF have we done?” moments, re: buying a station wagon, but after my first trip to the storage facility it had officially won my heart.