Ladies Luncheon

Today was a very fun day with (most of) the ladies from Mom's side of the family. I decided to host a "Ladies Luncheon" so we could all get together and hang out without the guys, and so everyone could see our new place. A couple people had prior engagements and weren't able to make it, and it ended up being the seven of us that took a trip in October 2006 to Amish Country in Pennsylvania for a long weekend. It was a wonderful trip. And we haven't done anything with just the women since! Here's our favorite group photo from the last trip (yes we're wearing matching shirts...) : 

And here's one from today: 

So much fun! We laughed, we cried, we planned our secret family winter project, and started talks for our next "Mothers and Daughters Gone Wild" trip. I made custom invitations for the lunch. The fronts were all different and the back had all the details for the day. Here's one: 

And then continuing the pink and black theme, I made food tags for everything! I love making these little tags. And the more I make the faster/easier it gets. 

Pink Champagne Cupcakes with White Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting

I also made chicken salad, and decided to actually cook two whole chickens instead of buying prepared chicken breasts. I just don't think anything beats chicken that's cooked on the carcass in a big pot of water. I somehow had the foresight to make chicken stock as well. So now I have approximately 20+ cups of chicken stock that is cooling in the fridge so I can skim off some fat in preparation for freezing it. Killed two birds with one stone on this one (haha get it? Chickens are birds...) and now I'll have great organic chicken broth (that isn't $3+ a can) for chicken noodle soup, chicken and dumplings, etc. Not going to lie though-I cannot wait for the house to stop smelling like chicken. Here's my epic tower of chicken stock: 

I know this made me nervous, too. But don't worry, Brian was standing at the ready just to the left in case something went horribly awry. 

And finally, here's a photo of me and my mom from today. Without whom, it should be noted, this day would not have happened! My brain would have probably exploded trying to tie everything together in the last two hours before everyone arrived. Thanks Mom!! Best mom ever!!!