Happy Mother's Day!

This is the card I made for my mom for Mother's Day this year. I think it's pretty and girly, though I wish I'd cut the pink panel a little smaller so there wasn't so much empty space. I of course didn't come to that realization until everything was adhered, so too late!

I used my Swiss Dots cuttlebug folder to emboss the card base and my SU scallop edge punch along the pink strip on the right. Everything else is pretty self-explanatory, though I do want to add that the flourishy sentiment was traced with a black glitter pen, so it's nice and sparkly in person even though it doesn't show up here.

My parents come down today for a quick visit and it was so nice to have them here. The honeymoon period in my new condo has not worn off and I am still so happy to be here every day and so thrilled to finally have a place where I can have family and friends over. I love to cook and bake for people and to play hostess, so this has been a dream come true!

I planned a great menu if I do say so myself! When my parents arrived, I had a homemade spinach and artichoke dip and some cheese and crackers waiting for them. Then the first course was this delicious crab and avocado salad. It was so refreshing with such bright flavors. The main meal was a slightly healthified twist on my friend Suzanne's Imperial Chicken - a fabulous butter and garlic soaked chicken breast that is then dredged in parmesan cheese and bread crumbs and baked. Mmm! I served that with an orzo salad that my dad said was a definite keeper and some green beans sprinkled with fresh parmesan cheese. And for dessert I made Ina Garten's lemon cake, though I left off the glaze and drizzled each serving with a strawberry coulis (scroll to the bottom of that page for the coulis recipe) instead. Everything was fantastic!