440 Days and counting

I have a count down on my desktop. It's actually 439 days to go today but 440 sounded better.

On Saturday, I went to Paper Zone to pick up some paper to make another mock invitation. When I arrived, I found that the store was closing and everything was 50% off. After a quick call to my mom to confirm that she would reimburse me for the cost of the paper, I went in and bought all the materials needed for making the invitations, including envelopes. I did have to make a change due to the lack of choices but the invitations still look good. Now I just need to find a balloon stamp and design address labels.

I also made more cupcakes on Saturday. Orange vanilla from cake mix. The cake was good but I wish I could have made the frosting taste more like oranges. I think I'm going to get orange extract for the frosting next time. I much prefer this recipe to the Martha Stewart one because it's more orangecicle-y and easier to make. The frosting, on the other hand, is labor intensive but one batch of frosting frosts multiple batches of cupcakes. The frosting is, if you recall, a Swiss meringue buttercream which requires you beat egg whites until stiff then beat in butter, one tablespoon at a time. My arms get really tired using only the hand mixer. I've got to find someone with a stand mixer to help.

After much discussion about the menu, Lawrence and I have decided to go with Mexican food instead of BBQ or picnic food. Mexican is something I know we can easily make ourselves, offers vegetarian options (my dad doesn't eat meat), and is a menu that has lots of room for people to help out. I need to get a hold of a friend of mine who has worked as a caterer. I really need his help figuring out how much to buy and how much to make of everything. Another thing on the food to do list is find out what it would cost to rent or buy those food heating things for serving (I'm sure they have a name, I just don't know what they're called). If it'll be too expensive to get those, we'll probably end up using Crockpot borrowed from friends and family.