We believe in Fridays...

9 Grain Crostini with Italian cheeses toasted on top, White Bean Spinach Dip (again with the green stuff), and Watermelon Margaritas.

This is a recipe, not my creation. Want? Check it out here.  I heart Real Simple.

So the Watermelon Margaritas came from an independent post that made it onto the Cooking Light website. Thanks to my mom for discovering this recipe first. She's always on the look-out for stuff we might like around here. Here is the recipe if you feel like giving it a whirl. (Ha! Blender joke.) I found that it was a little light on the tequila and you could barely taste it. I would suggest upping that to 3/4 cup. Also, a little more than a quarter of a watermelon will be enough. I was about half a cup short on watermelon, so I substituted half a cup of strawberries that I'd chopped and frozen earlier this month. It added a light hint of berry sweetness. Also, who doesn't love frozen strawberries in their glass? Mmm. Don't drink? This would be just awesome minus the alcohol too.

Thanks to Leanna Criss for being my taste-tester (once again)!

Sugar loves company...Happy Birthday to Me! Part II - So Entertaining!

I love my friends, therefore, I feed them. (Most of the men were in the back yard with Paul, being men.)

I love that this table has leaves. If only we had a bigger dining room.

The much-discussed meringues. Like the signs? That's leftover wedding invitation paper. Waste not want not!

This was a dessert party. The fruit was just to ease the guilt.

Flower from my amazing husband. (Before the cat started to snack on them.) As a matter of course, the adorable LED paper lanterns came from The Dollar Store. Yes, the were probably made in China, but I'm on a budget and could they be any cuter? My husband is lucky that I don't leave them up all the time!

Weight Watchers One-Point Cocoa Powder Brownies (Ha ha. I fed you W.W. and you didn't even know it!)

The also much-discussed cookie sandwiches. This? Was a great idea.

Strawberry (pink, duh) and lemon (yellow, also duh) sunshine cookies.

The few things that weren't sweet. White Bean Spinach Dip with crostini, chips and salsa, crackers and pub cheese. (Gasp! Holy processed dairy products, Batman!)

The guest of honor. Yes, we do wine about it.

The spread. Are you noticing a theme? The green was our wedding color and the pink is my signature color (insert "Steel Magnolias" reference here.) I swear, at some point you'll see something that's not pink and green!

A good time (and sugar shock) was had by all!

Sugar loves company...Happy Birthday to Me! Part I - Party Prep

Semi-sweet milk chocolate

Almond meringues as a base

Paint the bottom with chocolate, dip in almonds and...

"Almond Joy" meringues!

White beans, garlic, olive oil, sea salt...

Spinach and a food processor...

White bean spinach dip! To go with crostini. And it looks like the picture! Thank you, Real Simple!

Sugar cookies, evenly shaped

Remember the margarita and coconut frosting from Paul's party? It freezes beautifully.

ZipLock bag as a make-shift icing bag...

Grown up cookie sandwiches! (Yep! The green ones are still the best.)

Oh...and there was fruit too.

I'm not sure how we amassed this wine charm collection, but we have.