Veterans Day Weekend is an important weekend to us. A tradition was started by Babs that once a year a group of very special ladies would join together for an annual "Girls Weekend." We keep that tradition going even though this year Mom (Babs) could not join us. We know she was thinking about us from
Liberia, probably sharing a story or two about former Girls Weekends with Dad. This year, Girls Weekend was held in San Francisco and we attended a wonderful cooking class as our "main activity." (A special thanks to Aunt Cathy and to Terri for making all the fun arrangements!) Our group keeps growing as marriages happen---(if you marry one of "our guys," you automatically have to endure Girls Weekend!) This year, Lindsey joined us for her first Girls Weekend (she married into the group this past September---hurray!) Lindsey actually made all the cute aprons you see in the photo above. What a nice surprise that was! So, not only did we learn some cooking tips, but we all looked pretty darn cute while we did it, thanks to Lindsey. :)
We enjoyed our cooking class in the home of Emily Dellas who owns
First Class Cooking. What a wonderful treat this experience was! Emily was kind, warm, and definitely patient. She was full of great tips---secrets about ingredients and cooking utensils. The menu was delicious and all of us left with the recipes---and the confidence to try them again. We had roasted corn chowder with jalapeno, a butternut squash gratin (to die for!), pomegranate-glazed pork tenderloin, and we finished off with a decadent creme brulee. It was a very fun evening!
We hope this post encourages you to do two things:
First of all, gather the beautiful women in your life and begin a yearly Girls Weekend. We do something different every year, but it's really the getting together and having a weekend of good, old-fashioned belly laughs that makes it special.
Secondly, if you are in the San Francisco area, look up Emily Dellas and arrange a cooking class! Her website is at
First Class Cooking, and you'll see lots of options for classes. It was a wonderful evening and we all learned so much. If you don't live near San Francisco and you aren't looking to take a trip to the City by the Bay, look in your immediate area for opportunities to take a private cooking class with your girlfriends!
Thank you, Emily, for a wonderful evening!
Above, Emily teaches the group some tricks for cooking a perfect pork tenderloin.
Our sister-in-law Meagan with her sister, Katie---washing hands before getting them in the ingredients!
Jill, serving up delicious corn chowder.
Sisters-in-law Lindsey and Katie. (Lindsey is responsible for those darling aprons!)
Jill and cousin Heidi showing us their stirring skills. (Or, Jill was stirring and Heidi was supervising...)
Cousin Heather, washing the leeks. Or at least holding the bowl for Meagan...
Heidi, rewarding herself for something...must be her supervising skills...
Terri, Meagan, and Jill
Emily teaches Heather how to properly cut an onion
Heather, attempting the cutting skills on her own
Emily teaching the group how to get the good stuff out of a vanilla bean
Terri and Jill at the helm of the stove
Heidi, serving up the creme brulee
Katie, showing her torch skills
Meagan does her best Julia Childs impersonation
The leftovers of our labor...amazing butternut squash gratin and pork tenderloin
Creme brulee...delicious!
Christmas is a time for smiles. :)
Silver is great. Really, it is. Very pretty, dresses up a table, etc. But you have to polish it, which tends to be labor-intensive. That's why we fell in love with these pedestals from Sur la table. They are very pretty and give that dressy appearance...but they are crafted from aluminum. Genius! No polishing needed, so they are guaranteed to look shiny and fabulous whenever you need them (not just when you plan ahead so there's time for a good polishing). They come in a variety of heights and sizes and are guaranteed to be your favorite go-to pieces for entertaining. Trust us on this. :)
When throwing a party, it can be difficult to pull all the little details together in the last minute. One of those details is music. We recommend keeping your playlists up-to-date so that when you throw a last minute gathering, you have the right music to put on. It can really be an effortless thing, but you must have your music "organized." Owning an ipod helps, for sure. And, using itunes means that you don't have to buy entire albums but can customized the playlists you keep for different parties.
How lucky we were to find this wonderful Etsy shop, called Dutch Girl Fabrics! Elizabeth is one of Jill's good friends from highschool and has set up this fabulous Etsy shop where you can go to glean the most fun fabric for your projects. Elizabeth also has a fun blog called "Late Night Over Pancakes" where you can see some of the fun things she works on. Check these sites out!
The Babs Blog has been gaining popularity! We are quite excited about this and are thrilled (yet somewhat baffled) that people are actually reading our ramblings! The Babs Blog has readers in almost every state of the Union...but we are asking for your help.
Stumped about how to wow the relatives with your Thanksgiving table? Check out Martha Stewart's quick and easy "Thanksgiving Workshop" for ideas. Her ideas range from simple to simply insane (but if you have time for the "simply insane", go for it and make sure to send us photos!) The placecard ideas are pretty easy and could have great impact on a holiday table. Keep in mind, though, that if you provide a hospitable atmosphere, your guests won't be disappointed if you don't whip up the gilded pumpkin place markers that Martha suggests. :)
If you haven't noticed by now, the two of us Babs Blog sisters are BIG fans of Ebay and Etsy. There are many reasons for this, but the biggest reason is that these two sites allow us to buy fun and creative items without breaking the bank. Face it, folks: Budgets are tight these days and people are paying a lot more attention to dollars and cents. However, you needn't sacrifice style in these days of decreased expendable income. Instead, be creative!
Veterans Day Weekend is an important weekend to us. A tradition was started by Babs that once a year a group of very special ladies would join together for an annual "Girls Weekend." We keep that tradition going even though this year Mom (Babs) could not join us. We know she was thinking about us from Liberia, probably sharing a story or two about former Girls Weekends with Dad. This year, Girls Weekend was held in San Francisco and we attended a wonderful cooking class as our "main activity." (A special thanks to Aunt Cathy and to Terri for making all the fun arrangements!) Our group keeps growing as marriages happen---(if you marry one of "our guys," you automatically have to endure Girls Weekend!) This year, Lindsey joined us for her first Girls Weekend (she married into the group this past September---hurray!) Lindsey actually made all the cute aprons you see in the photo above. What a nice surprise that was! So, not only did we learn some cooking tips, but we all looked pretty darn cute while we did it, thanks to Lindsey. :)
Above, Emily teaches the group some tricks for cooking a perfect pork tenderloin.
Our sister-in-law Meagan with her sister, Katie---washing hands before getting them in the ingredients!
Jill, serving up delicious corn chowder.
Sisters-in-law Lindsey and Katie. (Lindsey is responsible for those darling aprons!)
Jill and cousin Heidi showing us their stirring skills. (Or, Jill was stirring and Heidi was supervising...)
Cousin Heather, washing the leeks. Or at least holding the bowl for Meagan...
Heidi, rewarding herself for something...must be her supervising skills...
Terri, Meagan, and Jill
Emily teaches Heather how to properly cut an onion
Heather, attempting the cutting skills on her own
Emily teaching the group how to get the good stuff out of a vanilla bean
Terri and Jill at the helm of the stove
Heidi, serving up the creme brulee
Katie, showing her torch skills
Meagan does her best Julia Childs impersonation
The leftovers of our labor...amazing butternut squash gratin and pork tenderloin
Creme brulee...delicious!
