Nashville Cake Pops: My New Obsession

If given a choice, would you eat the cake or the icing? People fall into 2 categories: a cake person or an icing person. I...am a cake person. And a chocolate person. So, I have the best of both worlds in cake pops. Don't worry, you icing fans will still get your icing. It's inside. Making for a moist, delicious little piece of cake on a stick.

Nashville Cake Pops is located right here in Nashville. I first tried these yummy little things at a Tennessee Titans tailgate party. They were red velvet (um...yes, please) with cream cheese icing inside and light blue white chocolate on the outside. Nicole, owner of Nashville Cake Pops, is the creator of these little bits of heaven. Trust me, you will crave them once you've had just one.

Nicole and I started collaborating about her new business, and she asked me to create some cake pop tags (above) to match the bunny shower invitations we did for a shower she hosted. That lead to more and more cake pop tags, and eventually we designed her company logo. Nicole wanted something retro and fun - like a retro sign from a vintage soda shop. I love the colors and the vibe this fun logo implies.

Other flavors include Chocolate, Devils Food, Vanilla, Coconut, Oreo, Lemon and Carrot Cake. Is your mouth watering yet?

Nashville Cake Pops is offering Valentine's Day & Easter specials, shipping nationwide. Order some for your sweety...or for yourself (guilty!).


...how cute would these be for wedding favors?!?

Check them out at www.nashvillecakepops.com or on Facebook here.

An Affair to Care: Southeastern Young Alumni

Southeastern Young Alumni is a Nashville organization, founded by several alumni of the Southeastern Conference to raise money for pediatric cancer research. Each year, they host Affair to Care, a top-notch, black tie event to help support their cause and the Monroe Carell Jr.'s Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt.

Live music, a silent auction and a myriad of food and beverage sponsors are the backdrop to a fun evening. For the past two years, aVenue on 3rd Avenue downtown (next to Past Perfect). aVenue, owned by Nashville Event Space, hosted the event. It is the perfect venue for a wedding or social event. I am a little partial to Nashville Event Space because they planned my wedding reception. We held our reception at previously known as Global Cafe, which is now the new Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville. I haven't eaten there yet, but it might be weird to eat fried pickles where we cut the cake. Laurie and her team did a fabulous job on my wedding reception as well as the 2 friends I referred to her. Highly recommended. Plus you can bring in your own alcohol, saving for you to splurge on other fun things. But, I digress...


Some of my favorite restaurants were sponsors of the event.

Sambuca: my favorite place for toffee bread pudding and port wine

Buffalo Trace: what can I say, I love good whiskey. Like any southern girl who loves football would

Yolos: I have not eaten here yet, but it is now on my list. If they can do buffet shrimp and grits this good, then you know it is delicious at the restaurant.


Local Taco: I seriously ate here every Saturday for lunch for months when they opened their first location in Sylvan Park.


Nashville Cake Pops: my favorite way to eat cake...mostly cake dipped in chocolate instead of icing. And it's on a stick. Yum.


This year, SEYA really rolled out the red carpet - literally. A very special event for a very special cause.


p.s. from one foodie to the next...go try Past Perfect for Sunday morning brunch. Three words: Bloody Mary Bar.

Around the House Shower Pics.

This turned out to be a great party - perfect weather, perfect food, perfect couple. The food was AMAZING. My parent's friends are great cooks! We had ham and Sirloin Tip Roast with Horseradish Sauce for little sandwiches, potato salad, cole slaw, 7-layer dip, fruit, chicken ball, relish plate and a Marinated Cheese Platter - which I am working on getting the recipe for - it was delish! All the food was inside, while the party was outside. Dad brings his Jimmy Buffet Margarita Machine everywhere.

The completed dessert table...

We had vanilla, chocolate and strawberry ice cream. The strawberry went first, surprisingly. M&M's, Heath bar, Reese's Pieces, sprinkles, Oreo, nuts, cherries, chocolate and caramel were our toppings. We did Twix and Cupcakes as well - the bride's favorite. The cupcakes turned out so great. I got the black and white mini cupcake liners from Cupcake Social online through Artfire.com. I had leftover white cake mix and bought pink sprinkles. Mom and I iced the cupcakes just before the shower.

After socializing, dinner and dessert, we opened gifts. this I thought was hysterical!

They walked away with some great stuff! Including an ice cream maker, ice cream bowls...you see the trend? It is a well know fact that my brother loves the stuff.

Community Supported Agriculture (CSA).

We just joined a CSA for 2010 and are SUPER excited about it. Being passionate about supporting local businesses, especially restaurants, we are excited that we can also support local business while eating at home too. Check out what Local Harvest has to say about it below, and check out their site to learn more about CSA's in your area. Sign up now to get in before May!

From LocalHarvest.org...

Over the last 20 years, Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) has become a popular way for consumers to buy local, seasonal food directly from a farmer. Here are the basics: a farmer offers a certain number of "shares" to the public. Typically the share consists of a box of vegetables, but other farm products may be included. Interested consumers purchase a share (aka a "membership" or a "subscription") and in return receive a box (bag, basket) of seasonal produce each week throughout the farming season.

This arrangement creates several rewards for both the farmer and the consumer. In brief...

Advantages for farmers:

• Get to spend time marketing the food early in the year, before their 16 hour days in the field begin
• Receive payment early in the season, which helps with the farm's cash flow
• Have an opportunity to get to know the people who eat the food they grow

Advantages for consumers:

• Eat ultra-fresh food, with all the flavor and vitamin benefits
• Get exposed to new vegetables and new ways of cooking
• Usually get to visit the farm at least once a season
• Find that kids typically favor food from "their" farm – even veggies they've never been known to eat
• Develop a relationship with the farmer who grows their food and learn more about how food is grown

It's a simple enough idea, but its impact has been profound. Tens of thousands of families have joined CSAs, and in some areas of the country there is more demand than there are CSA farms to fill it. The government does not track CSAs, so there is no official count of how many CSAs there are in the U.S.. LocalHarvest has the most comprehensive directory of CSA farms, with over 2,500 listed in our grassroots database. In 2008, 557 CSAs signed up with LocalHarvest, and in the first two months of 2009, an additional 300 CSAs joined the site.