Final Sailing for Pirate's Cove Tablescapes

Alright, we be stickin' to the Pirate's Code on this

table.

This be the last one of three weeks of fun.

Before we gets to the table though

I be sharin' this gas fired pizza oven

that is at Pirate's Cove.

Ye have all seen me wood burnin' one

but this here one was plenty fun too.

Fire her up and in an hour ye be crankin'

out hot crusty pizzas.  Ye think we could

put one on the ship Captain?

Speakin' of the Captain, he heads up this 

cozy table fer four,

and yes, ye be seein' right.  We used the

same plates.  None of the other plates here

at Pirate's Cove met the Captain's approval,

these bein' so appropriate and all.

and since the Captain be reignin' over this table

we hung a beeyoutiful chandelier

in his honor.

Fancy ruffled placemats sit under our

metallic skull and bones dishes that ye

saw before.

We wandered the high seas to get these

beeyoutiful goblets ye will be drinkin'

from tonight.  We be lovin' the dark green - 

straight off one of her Majesty's ships, I reckon.

Or ye can be drinkin' from your little silver

mugs if that be yer fancy.

Ye think that fancy gun marks the

Captain's spot?

He says, "Don't ye be eyein' my place matey!"

Notice in the background a keg built into the

wall?  Well, that there is a secret passageway.

(Just thought ye'd like to be in on that one!)

More fancy flatware.  This is a true Pirate's hoard

of fancy silver.  Must be booty from ships

they looted.

Ooh, the wenches be gettin' fancy with the napkins these days.

Thought ye'd like a peek at the carved chairs at this

table.  

There be so much fancy stuff here, ye just can't imagine!

'A course this mate loved the chandelier the best.

Them purple and red jewels are mighty fine.

Ye think the Captain might notice if some of them

jewels went amissin'?

Yup, guess he would and I'd be walkin' the plank.

(Just havin' a little fun with my new Canon G15 - love the bokeh effect.)

Well, I guess I'd best be movin' on before the real

Captain shows up and wonders why I'm in his quarters.

Fearsome lot those pirates!

But fer all the fun talk of Pirates

cute Captain Kirk

(yes, that be his real name)

declared

"The Family Life For Me!!!!)

Ye seen this motley crew last time,

but here be one legged Ty and his crew,

and this scabby bloke, Marco Polo,

and the two that been stirrin' up all the fuss

lately with weddin' plans.

Next week is the big day, along with our

youngest settin' sail for an LDS mission to

SeoulKorea

so this wench be sayin' good bye for a bit to

focus on her scurvy lot to see if they can

whip up a bit of weddin' and missionary fun!

but before I sail off, here was the feast for

our 34th anniversary, made for us by friends.

We feasted on grilled tri-tip, 

tortellini salad

and funeral potatoes

and it was topped off by some of the thickest,

most delicious brownies ever.

(Yes, we asked all the guests to bring Pirate

outfits for the anniversary night.  It was the

greatest 34th anniversary I have ever had!!!!

If you missed it, click on the link above.)

Aye aye until some of the ruckus

settles down around here.

I will be posting this with

Let's Dish

Tablescapes Thursday

Fudgy Chocolate Chip Toffee Bar

Let's be honest, every girl wants to look 

great in their wedding dress

and every Mother of the Bride wants to look 

pretty good in her dress too

so we haven't been having a lot of 

luscious goodies around the house lately,

but I saw this on the Internet

 and fell in love with

Shannon's story on Bake. Frost. Repeat.

about

how her mother loves that she has a blog

 and searches the internet for

things she wants her to make. 

 I have a niece who does that - she pins things

and tells me to bake them for her!  Besides her pictures look so so yummy

that I was hooked in immediately.  

Shannon said her mom found it on the Pillsbury website.

Well, let me tell you that Shannon's picture

 wants you to make them, more

than Pillsbury's and certainly more than mine.

  (I am thinking she used milk

chocolate chips, because mine

 were a lot darker chocolate than hers).

But even though mine aren't as pretty

 as hers, they will make your mouth water

as you raise one to your lips!  

These are incredible and disappeared so quickly.

Fudgy Chocolate Chip Toffee Bar

(from Pillsbury.com)

1/2 C. butter, melted

2 C. graham cracker crumbs

8 oz. bag Heath Bits o' Brickle toffee bits (1 1/2 C.)

2 C. semi-sweet chocolate chips

14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk

1 T. butter

16 oz pkg. refrigerated chocolate chip cookie dough

(I used the Nestles - the flat one that cuts into squares)

1 tsp. vanilla

Heat oven to 350.  Spray 9x13 inch pan with Pam.

Place the refrigerated cookie dough on the

counter to warm up about 10 minutes.

In a bowl mix the melted butter, 1 1/2 C. graham 

cracker crumbs and 3/4 C. toffee bits.  Press

firmly into the bottom of the pan.  I used the

bottom of a measuring cup to do that.  Place

in the fridge for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile in a microwave safe bowl, place

the chocolate chips, sweetened condensed

milk and butter.  Microwave for 30 seconds,

then stir and microwave in 30 second 

intervals, stirring each time, until the

fudge mix is smooth.  Stir in the vanilla.

Remove the pan from the fridge and spoon

on the fudge center.

In another bowl, place the softened cookie

dough and the remaining 1/2 C. graham 

cracker and blend that together with your

fingers.  Crumble it evenly over the fudge

center and then top with remaining 3/4 C.

toffee bits.

Bake for 25-30 minutes.  Let cool

on counter completely before cutting.

(Even when you have cooled it 

completely, the fudge center is pretty soft.)

Let me just say that hanging around with

Shannon's mom could be dangerous-ly fun! 

Looks like I need to spend some more

time on Pillsbury's site too!  

Super duper Yum!

Tool Shower - Wedding Fun for a Man

Have you ever heard of a tool shower for the

prospective groom?

My friends Ann and Sue Ellen have given 

 the men in our family a tool shower when

they have gotten married.

(From left to right Mike and Ann and Sue Ellen and Steve - 

ours hosts.)

I think this was a tradition in Ann's neighborhood

growing up and she has brought it to our neighborhood.

It is such a fun idea because the wedding focus always

tends to be on the bride - and a man does need some tools!

The theme was men's tools.  I just loved this little twig

tree decorated with tools.  Notice the runner on the counter?  Doesn't it look like peg board?

No, this wasn't dessert, this was a darling centerpiece for 

the table.

Magleby's sheet cake was for dessert.  Sue Ellen's 

family owns Magleby's restaurants - yes I have

very influential friends (if you are from around here

you know how wonderful Magleby's is, especially

their chocolate cake.)

There was also pasta with blackened chicken and

a choice of red or white sauce and these wonderful

cheesy rolls that Ann made.

They not only got spoiled with good food, 

but he got spoiled with fun tools. 

Why shouldn't the man have some fun 

with wedding preparations too.

                           The guy gets to invite his family and friends

to shower him with tools that he might need

-----

everything from hammers, to rakes, to screwdrivers

and more!

We chose to give him BBQ tools to go along

with his new gas grill that he got for his birthday.

Really a fun idea for your next wedding.  I bet nobody

will have been invited to a tool shower before.

Thank you to such wonderful friends

who would spoil us like this.

A little after that we just had our final shower

 for family

and as the Bride's Dress made of

cupcakes was such a hit at the neighborhood

shower, I thought

I would try to make one this time.

I made the cupcakes the day before

and covered them with plastic wrap to keep

them moist.

Then looking at a picture of the 

number of cupcakes for each row I

laid them out on a tray.  Then I frosted each

one using a 1M tip.

So easy to make!  I made the frosting and frosted them

in about half an hour.

Almond Frosting Recipe

1/2 C. softened butter (no substitute)

4 C. powdered sugar

pinch salt

1 1/2 tsp. almond flavoring

3-4 T. water

Place the butter, sugar, salt and flavoring in a mixing 

bowl with the whip attachment.  Add 3 T. water and

begin to beat the frosting.  Add more water if needed.

The amount of water differs greatly depending on the

humidity in your air.  Let the frosting beat about  5 min.

The frosting should be fluffy and creamy.  

Place it in a large pastry bag with the 1 M tip.  Begin

at the center and pipe a little mound then circle 

around and out until the whole cupcake is frosted.

Frost all the cupcakes and pipe in stars or an

extra row around the cupcake to fill in any gaps.

Use jewelry to decorate dress.  This was a

bejeweled ribbon I had and a brooch.

I will be posting with

Seasonal Sunday

Little Pirate's Birthday Party

Not only did the Pirate's manning the 

ship at

Pirate's Cove have an 

Anniversary Party,

but we celebrated a 4th birthday for

one of our favorite pirates

with a Pirate Pinata, masks, 

a cake with sparklers and candles

and  Pirate booty - gifts.

There still be a lot of innocence left in this

here pirate's face.  Notice the pirate candles

on the cake. And all of the little pirates

dressed in their pirate best.

This be the rough crew he be sailin' with these days!

The little guy's party took place right outside

this dining room.  There be four houses

on Pirate's Cover property and this

house be named 

Port Royal.

Beautiful windows make it the best

spot for a view out on the Captain's crew.

This be the newest of the houses located right

by the fort and kiddie swimmin' hole.

The rustic wood and massive size of this

table speaks that the

Captain of the Ship

dines here.

The scurvy fellow must have left his

favorite boots right here in the center

of his table.

Pardon me language Captain!

Looks like there be plenty comin' to dine tonight.

He ordered his black skull flatware to be used.

We be using' our favorite silvered skull plates

again found here on the property.

They be a great match with the flatware,

his suite,

and with his bed!

 

The salad plate has smaller skulls

and the matching large bowl be just as fine.

We be likin' the blink of the metallic silver!

Two serving wenches stand ready in the corner

to obey the Captain's every command.

They be dressed in some mighty fine clothes.

Must be some of his favorite wenches on board.

Again, we be fixin' to use the skull mugs -

nothin' but the best for our Captain.

A little skullduggery bedecks the center of the table too.

We be hopin' that the Captain removes his

boots from the table before dinner starts.

Now to end this post 

with a little swingin' fun!

Kind of reminds you of that monkey in

Pirate's of the Carribean!

(This here be my youngest monkey!)

This ends part 2 of a three part

tablescapes series brought to

you by way of 

Pirate's Cove.

We will be postin' this with

Let's Dish

Tablescapes Thursday

Seasonal Sunday