Festive Weekend and Gluten Free Cupcakes

Happy Labor day Monday!

Believe it or not, this past weekend was packed with festivity after festivity.  My sister’s birthday on Friday night, another birthday on Saturday, and the same with Sunday right after church service.  Haha!  It was awesome and quite a unique experience to have so many birthday celebrations back to back.   (Sorry for the terribly blurry picture up on top)

I just love this shot of Greg and my nephew!  It’s just  priceless, wouldn’t you agree?  Well, maybe if I sold it for a few good bucks….kidding.   After  eating at Duke’s Restaurant in Huntington Beach, which happens to be the sister restaurant of Keoki’s where we dined during our stay in Kauai, we strolled down the pier for some fresh air.  Spending time with loved ones simply by walking around in nature is such a treat and a blessing in itself.  Hey, having loved ones in our lives is enough of a blessing, no?

And just when you thought that the fun ended there…

We also had the honor to attend one of Greg’s close friends’ wedding.  Chris and Laura are a super lovely, fun, and artistic couple that truly complement each other’s talents.  I’ve met with Laura personally once about 2 years ago, and then she was at our wedding being her sweet, caring self.  Those two latter words are exactly what everyone at the wedding used to describe the bride, and I couldn’t agree more.  It was probably one of the most unique weddings I’ve ever been to, and probably a close second to my cousin’s wedding.  Why is that, you ask?

First of all, their wedding venue was so beautiful and new to me!  It took place in the parents’ backyard and everything was gorgeously decorated with lights and Japanese paper lanterns.  Then second of all, they included in their ceremony the cutest and nicest poodle we’ve ever seen in our lives, and third, their music was pretty awesome.  Think, swing meets blues meets rock.  We got there around 5:30 for refreshments as we chatted with some of our friends and acquaintances.

I could not stop gawking at this dog (his name is Niles) and kept raving about how much I wanted to take him home with me!  Ack!  He was so well-behaved and friendly that Greg and I kept joking about how he probably thought he was human.  It almost seemed as though he was the butler of the party and kept making rounds to check up on everyone.  When I first saw him I thought of all the comical illustrations that Julie portrayed in her posts about dogs being included in wedding ceremonies.  Thankfully, Niles performed perfectly!  He’s a natural.

But it didn’t go so perfectly for this cute little guy…

The poor child got confused and started to pick the rose petals!  Hehe.  But that’s what made the ceremony cute and light-hearted.  I’m telling you, the more funny expected moments there are in a wedding, the better.

Oh yeah, and Laura had a vintage dress on!  It was my first time actually seeing that in person as I’m used to the traditional mermaid, ball gown, or A-line dress.  She looked gorgeous that night, and we’re so happy for this marriage that was a long long time a-comin’.

By the time that dinner rolled around I had already eaten a good share of hors d’oeuvres, so I had a small plate of veggies and a piece of chicken that came with green olives.  I love anything with olives!  I also appreciated the fact that Laura and Chris included as many vegetable as they did meat in their menu.

Now let’s talk about their cake!  Ohhhh the cake….It was so pretty and luscious looking that even Greg wanted to stick his face in it, and he’s not exactly a cake lover either.  Haha!  Later we found out why it was so tasty and moist (plus, it was a tiny bit coconutty).  It was a special order from Urth Caffe!  Urth Caffe is only like, one of our favorite cafes in the world.  I had no idea they made specialty cakes and we’re definitely thinking of using their service in the future.  Well, only if we can afford it.  *cough, cough*

If you already know a little bit about me, you may be aware of the fact that I love to make things for people, especially if it includes baking for them.

For my sister’s birthday I took the risk and “experimented” different gluten free flour mixes and whipped up this beauty!

I was so thankful and relieved to know that on my first try, the cupcakes tasted good and had great texture with the perfect amount of moisture.  I even prayed that they would turn out edible or else I’d be in trouble, hah!

I’ll be sharing this recipe with you soon so if you’d like please stay tuned.  Till then, have a great marvelous Monday and love you all!

What’s the most unique wedding you’ve been to, and what made it so unique?

What are your thoughts on including kids and dogs in ceremonies?

What makes your Monday fabulous?

Love,

Ellie <33

Tagged as: baking, cupcakes, family, friendship, life, marriage, relationships, urth caffe, Weddings