1. House Party
We had a house party recently. We had such a good time hanging out with friends and the weather was perfect- sunny, not too hot, not too cold. I managed to snap a few quick photos of some of the food I served.
Top row: Mini cucumber sandwiches with cute bear and frog imprints and Fruit Cornucopias.
Bottom row: Mini pumpkin donut muffins and big cookies and cream cookies.
Top row: Veggie bread bowls and ice balls. The ice balls were for the drinks. I recently bought these molds from Amazon so that we can make large ice that takes longer to melt, like the ice used for whiskey. My friends seemed to really enjoy how these looked. You can also fill them with mint or fruit, which we did as well.
Bottom row: Before and after shots of some steak skewers I made. I interspersed the meat with bell peppers, nectarines and peaches. I really loved how the nectarines and peaches tasted grilled. That little bit of heat brought out the sweetness of the fruit.
There were also various drinks and marinated chicken which I forgot to take pictures of.
2. Tonymoly
I recently was introduced to this Korean line of cosmetics by Darlene. When she showed me some of the products, I nearly fell out of my seat because everything was so darn cute. I love the fruit packaging, and the lotions really smell like the actual fruit they are supposed to represent. The products are available at Urban Outfitters. I purchased mine from some third party sellers through Amazon.
So far, I’ve gotten the Honey Apple lotion, and the blueberry and cherry chapsticks. I love how the apple lotion looks and smells. It really has a fresh cut apple scent. The blueberry and cherry chapsticks, I was a little disappointed with. While they smelled nice, they didn’t smell like the actual fruits the way the lotion did. Also they have a reddish-pink tint which I didn’t really care for. I still love how cute the containers are though.
3. Cotton Candy Grapes
Cotton candy grapes has been trending and I got my hands on a box from Sprouts. A 2lb box was $5.99, which I thought was pretty reasonable. Some people have been wary of the idea, but these grapes are not genetically modified. You can read more about it here. Verdict? They really do taste like cotton candy. Especially the first one you bite into. After you eat a few, you start to lose the cotton candy sensation and they just taste really sweet, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. These were definitely the sweetest grapes I’ve ever tasted and it made my other grapes taste quite watery in comparison.
The grapes are quite limited and I didn’t realize how short the season was. I got mine about 2 weeks ago, and I went this weekend to get more and I couldn’t find them anymore. I was told the season is probably already over. Sob. Next year I’m going to stock up and put some in the freezer. The grapes are sold at Sprouts, Sam’s Club, Whole Foods and some other stores. You can view here for a store locator.
4. Food gifts
Having food blogger and food loving friends means lots of food gifts, which I really love. Here are some of the treats I got recently.
From CC:
I loved all of these. The mini Oreos with matcha cream were sooo adorable. I have had the cakey type ones, but these were the regular crunchy cookies which I like even more. The top right bag had matcha chocolates with a gummy center which was pretty neat.
From Jinxi:
I loved trying this variety of goodies. I especially liked seeing the Taiwanese crackers that I always get when I go back for a visit (top left).
From OGP:
Can’t wait to try out these oils!
From my friend S:
These were from Thailand. The crackers are topped with dried pork sung. I really enjoyed these. I wish they sold them here.
5. New kitchen knickknack: two peas salt and pepper shaker set. I’ve been eyeing these for a while and I’m glad I finally pulled the trigger. These are so cute!
6. Book stuff
A few friends who bought copies of my book brought them over when they visited and asked for some custom sketches by Mr. K. They requested pandas and I love how cute these came out.
I went to my local Barnes and Noble and found my book on the shelf! So exciting!
It’s been so fun seeing people’s photos of the book or of the recipes they made. Please keep them coming!
7. If you haven’t already entered, I’ve got a $100 gift card giveaway going on the blog right now!
Have a great rest of the weekend!
Loved the grilled fruit on the kabobs. Those huge ice balls are so cool. Am contemplating getting the molds for future parties.
they have other varieties of the ice molds on Amazon, like ones where it’s a tray of four rather than individual balls. I liked the individual ones because I can stick them in separately rather than having to do a big tray.
how do you have time to make all those snacks?! you’re an amazing host!
my friend loves to freeze her grapes for a cold snack, especially in the hot summer heat! she also has the same peas in the pod salt and pepper shakers!
it did take quite a lot of prep time! which is why I don’t have house parties too often. hehe.