A Weekend of Celebrations

I had a great weekend full of celebration. It began Friday night when Tony and I hosted our small group for a kick off potluck dinner. We have a terrific time catching up with our small group friends and planning our upcoming study.  We will be reading and discussing "Thinking. Loving. Doing.: A Call to Glorify God with Heart and Mind," edited by John Piper. We joined this group of Christian friends a few years ago and they are such a blessing. It was a perfect beginning to the weekend!

Saturday was a busy day as well and included celebrating a good friend of mine at her baby shower. She's a generous, caring and loving person and it was so nice to have a chance to celebrate her and rejoice over the soon-to-be family of 3. There was also a bit of birthday celebrating going on, including a breakfast specially made by Tony and a fun dinner out later in the day. It's official, I'm now 35! I was reflecting a bit on birthdays and celebrations and remember Tony and I celebrating my 21st birthday. I know that there were several years after that birthday where we did not celebrate together, but it was a reminder of how fast time flies. I can't believe that Tony and I have known each other for so long. :)

Sunday was day #3 of the celebrating. We hosted Tony's family for a birthday dinner -- celebrating my Father-in-Law's birthday as well as my own. As many of you know, I love making desserts. I asked my Father-in-Law what type of desserts he especially liked. I didn't know this before, but he really likes fruit pies! Unfortunately, I'm not a huge fruit pie fan (don't get me wrong...it's a dessert. I will eat it and enjoy it. Especially with ice cream! But I didn't really want to make one). Instead, I took the fruit pie idea....added a bit of gumption...and decided to try the traditional Tarte Tatin. It's a french apple tart that involves caramelizing the apples in a skillet on the stove, topping it with a puff pastry (that's what I used), pie or tart dough and baking it in the oven. This is one of the recipes in Dorie Greenspan's "Baking from My Home to Yours." This cookbook is chock full of delicious recipes and fantastic tips. My favorite tip for making the Tarte Tatin is that you must "quickly and confidently" flip the skillet onto a serving dish, keeping your tart intact. Not only did I manage to keep it all in once piece, but it was also delicious! For more on Dorie Greenspan, check out her blog (and please please please try one of her recipes. They are amazing!): 
http://doriegreenspan.com

Beyond the celebrating, yesterday afternoon also found me switching our house over to fall. Flannel sheets are now on the bed (Tony could hardly contain his happiness at that change), the fall table cloth is on the dining room table, fall dishtowels are hanging on the stove and the fall scented candles are beginning to replace the summer ones. Maybe this weekend I'll whip up the first batch of chili!