Grove Square Sip and Savor Party

With the holiday season rolling in, weekends are filling up already. Wedding season is giving way to family get-togethers, so I wanted to get in a nice, lazy, Saturday morning brunch in before the madness of turkey, menorahs, and mall Santas hit.

For me, brunches are best when everything is ready to go. The last thing I want to do is be in the kitchen, flipping pancakes, while everyone else is sipping coffee and socializing.

And that's saying something, because I really love pancakes.

I was lucky enough to win a Grove Square Sip and Savor party from HouseParty.com . We received over 48 Keurig cups of various cocoas, coffees, and cappucinos. All I had to do was supply the Keurig and other treats and boom! Instant brunch.

I did bake up a storm... Pumpkin muffins, challah bread filled with apple cranberry butter, fruit, mini frittatas, and yogurt. Lazy, perfect, and caffeinated.

Sometimes, there's nothing better when it's getting chilly than just sitting, enjoying the Saturday sunlight, and curling up with a hot beverage. The peppermint cocoa was definitely the biggest hit!

We even had a little visitor!

Cheers to great coffee, friendship, and simple Saturdays!

A temporary hiatus from food blogging...

Hi, friends!

Just wanted to let you know that posts will be a bit infrequent over the next few weeks as I (attempt) to job hunt.

In the meantime, I came in this morning to find my good friend and coworker, Shannin, had succinctly outlined my dating requirements and tacked them to the wall of my cubicle:

Pin there, done that!: Chocolate Orange Cake

Well, I'm still here, and still recovering from the wedding cake experience! You'd think I was sick of cakes after that, but here I am, back with another one!

Okay, okay. I'm cheating. I totally made this cake back in August for my brother's graduate school graduation. He's a big fan of citrus and chocolate (and loves the two together), so I made him this lovely orange cake from Sweetapolita and topped it with my favorite chocolate buttercream from Our Best Bites. I'd call it a success!

The combination of the super-rich chocolate frosting and the dense orange cake brings to mind one thing: Terry's chocolate oranges. I wouldn't advise smashing this cake to get started on eating it, though (unless you have a dropcloth!)

Happy Monday, friends!