Nikki's Baby Shower!

One of my favoritest people in the whole wide world - Nikki - had her baby shower this weekend.  We all gathered at my parent's house to celebrate, and had such a wonderful time.  I was having a few camera issues (my focusing was a little off at times, so some of the photos came out a bit blurry), but these pictures still illustrate the event nicely.  

Anna, Meredith & I cooked up some finger foods, and everyone loved everything (we hardly had any leftovers, which is amazing)!  I was very excited about my lemon raspberry cupcakes (that I made from scratch!  I was very excited to tell everyone that), and they turned out scrumptiously.  The recipe is below, so enjoy! 

I made these little owls based on the invitation design.  They looked so darn cute stuck in everything! :) 
 

My grandma & aunt were in town (on my Dad's side), so they joined in on the celebration!
 

 Meredith - miss party planner extroardinare! :) 

OH, and we also did kind of a "tea party" theme, so we served hot tea, and used teapots as decorations.  We also served iced tea & lemonade too.  Funny how the British do teatime every day, and we make it an occasion! ;)

 Doesn't she make the loveliest preggers lady ever?  SO CUTE!!! :) 

Baby charades!!  Meredith put together games for us to play, and they were really fun.  We figured out things pretty quickly, but it was still pretty funny.  When she started doing the celebrity baby names, Nikki won hands down!  Although Lindsey was a close second! 

My kitty, Dimitri.  The only boy allowed at the party! 

 More charades!  Something to do with a bunny, I think? 

Nikki's sister-in-law made these lovely rings as prizes.  They're glass, and really lovely! 

Time for gifts!  Nikki's crafty family made her some amazing gifts, including a patchwork frog, and a crocheted owl hat.  So adorable!!  They are so darn talented, that family. 

I guess those were a teensy bit out of order, but that's okay!  Here's the cupcake recipe - WOOT!

Lemon-Raspberry Cupcakes

Bon Appétit | April 2008

These gorgeous cupcakes have a sweet surprise inside: They're filled with a dollop of raspberry jam. Half of the cupcakes have a pale yellow lemon glaze; the rest are topped with a pink raspberry-lemon glaze.

Yield: Makes 12

INGREDIENTS
3/4 cup (12 tablespoons) unsalted butter, room temperature
3 cups powdered sugar, divided
4 1/2 teaspoons finely grated lemon peel, divided
2 large eggs
1 1/4 cups self-rising flour
1/4 cup buttermilk
4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, divided
12 teaspoons plus 1 tablespoon seedless raspberry jam
Fresh raspberries (for garnish)

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 12 muffin cups with paper liners. Using electric mixer, beat butter, 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar, and 3 teaspoons lemon peel in large bowl until blended, then beat until fluffy and pale yellow. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating to blend after each addition. Beat in half of flour. Add buttermilk and 2 tablespoons lemon juice; beat to blend. Beat in remaining flour.

Drop 1 rounded tablespoonful batter into each muffin liner. Spoon 1 teaspoon raspberry jam over. Cover with remaining batter, dividing equally.

Bake cupcakes until tester inserted halfway into centers comes out clean, about 23 minutes. Cool cupcakes in pan on rack. Meanwhile, whisk remaining 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, and 1 1/2 teaspoons lemon peel in small bowl. Spoon half of icing over 6 cupcakes. Whisk 1 tablespoon raspberry jam into remaining icing. Spoon over remaining cupcakes. Let stand until icing sets, about 30 minutes. Garnish with raspberries.