{Happy Mardi Gras!!!}

My Mom sent us a King Cake from New Orleans on Friday. The traditional favorite in our family is a King Cake from Randazzo's. But, I took a chance and tried something new--and was pleasantly surprised! This particular bakery, Gambino's, has always been a favorite of mine for baked treats when I am in town (their Blackout Cake is insane) & now their King Cake has become my new favorite! The reason this King Cake is soooo good is because they send it to you only partially finished!
The King Cake arrives in a box at your door like this:
This is how it is packaged inside:
When you first see it as it looks below--it looks naked!! But this is a good thing for a couple of reasons. Most King Cakes arrive already decorated in a bag which has bounced around in the box mushing the icing and making the cake a little gooey. Gambino's arrives fresh and ready for you to put just the right amount (for me--a very very thin layer) of white icing on before you get decorative with the purple, green, and gold sugars. My daughter loved helping to sprinkle on the sugars and it was fun for her to get to decorate her own King Cake.

I only spread just enough of a thin layer of white icing so that the sugar will have something to stick to. I actually threw away about 75% of the icing provided. And voila--the finished product!

If you missed out on the King Cake goodness during this Mardi Gras season, I believe that Randazzo's, Haydel's, and Gambino's--all local favorites--now ship them out year-round through their websites. (They may take a hiatus during the Summer months due to the heat.)

Happy Mardi Gras !!!

and you know I cannot let this day go by without saying.....

Who Dat !!!

Way to go Saints!!!

a few cool links:

Mardi Gras World

Float Artist and Specialist Blaine Kern and his studios. His work includes floats from the Krewe of Bacchus and the Krewe of Endymion.

MardigrasPartyBeads.com

Shop for Mardi Gras goods from one of the largest distributors around!

MardiGrasNewOrleans.com

Experience Mardi Gras like a local and get all the facts!

{we are looking to expand our family...}

.....and are ready for a puppy! It's been two years since our beloved Bichon, Chloe, passed away at the age of 15.

We have fallen in love with the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel breed! They are so sweet-tempered, cute, and don't get too big. We think it would be the perfect addition to our family. Finding a puppy from a reputable breeder is a much more daunting task that we were prepared for! There are so many slick websites out there with puppy brokers--it breaks my heart! They usually feature irresistible photos like this one to lure you in (yep--my daughter was very upset when she found out that we wouldn't have Adriana shipped to us from South Dakota (even though the broker was more than willing to ship her that far!) She was on a Florida Cavalier website! Sneaky if you ask me!:

We went to the ckcsc.org website and learned a lot of useful information and now we are seriously hoping to find our puppy by the Summer.

If anyone can recommend any good breeders in the South, any tips, suggestions--I would appreciate it! We are having a hard time finding much out there. Cavaliers are prone to heart problems and luxated patella, so we really want one from a trustworthy breeder.

Here is one pic sent to us from a breeder of a Mom & puppies that we really love. How cute are they?

{Bless You Boys!}

I am so proud of my New Orleans Saints!

SUPERBOWL CHAMPIONS!!!

It's about time!

Wooooooo-hooooooo!!!!

{vintage alhambra}

I am obsessed with the Van Cleef & Arpels Vintage Alhambra collection! I especially love the white gold with mother-of-pearl, and also like the turquoise pieces.

I'd really love to have the 10-clover necklace in mother of pearl:

The turquoise is so pretty, too. Love this bracelet!:

I had this little beauty on my finger when we were in Paris, but didn't buy it and it is still one of my VC&A favorites. The double butterfly ring. They look like two little butterflys just perched between your two fingers--L O V E!!!

Umm....I guess she just said "I'll have one of each!". Not fair! Also not the way I'd wear mine, but to each her own! ;)