Oh dear. You’ll have to excuse me if this post isn’t filled with my trademark exuberance (?) and humor (??) – I woke up this morning with what I now think was a quick-moving case of food poisoning. It came on suddenly (while I was in the shower, gross!) and lasted for an hour or so, leaving me exhausted and disgusted. Needless to say, I didn’t make it in to work for my first day back after the holidays, and calling in sick was terrifying because I kept thinking I’d have to throw down the phone and go throw up! Yuck. Luckily I’d already taken the afternoon off as a flex holiday, so I happily rested up for the entire day. S graciously did some errands after his half-day, including picking up some bread because our cupboards were bare after our vacations.

So, with all that in mind, you’ll excuse me if I don’t feel inclined to talk about food for too long! I suspect it was last night’s dinner (a panang curry from a place that’s never made me sick) that did me in, and I’m not yet ready to eat much more than toast and crackers. However, I feel up to a brief chat about one fun food-related event during my Christmas vacation: my sister’s baby shower! My not-so-little sister and her fiance are expecting their first child in March (just a week before my birthday!), so my mom and I planned a surprise shower for her just after Christmas, when all the family would be in town. It was a big success; my sis had no idea! Even the impending snowstorm (which ended up starting halfway through the shower) didn’t deter friends and family from attending, and it was a really nice afternoon. I, of course, was in charge of dessert. I used a Christmas gift – a tiered cupcake stand – to display the three dozen cupcakes I made.

I made three varieties: coconut (with toasted coconut on the frosting), plain vanilla, and chocolate with crushed candy-cane Joe-Joes. All were topped with vanilla frosting, and the top layer had pretty blue pearl sprinkles to match the whale/nautical theme of the shower (and possibly the baby’s future room!). My mom and I also made some really cute whale toppers for the cupcakes after failing to find any appropriate ones for purchase at the craft store.

We didn’t just serve cupcakes, however. We held the event at Lemongrass, an Asian restaurant near my parents’ house. They did an excellent job of preparing a huge selection of food for us, all peanut-free (to accommodate my sister’s allergy) and quite a few vegan (to accommodate me, my mom, my aunt, and my brother). I wasn’t terribly hungry, but did enjoy one plate at the event and one later, because we got to bring home lots and lots of leftovers.

On that plate is an eggless fried rice, eggless egg rolls, veggies with tofu, and lo mein. It was your standard Chinese food – a little bit greasy, but totally satisfying.

Y’know, looking at these pictures hasn’t made me feel at all queasy – maybe I’m ready for more substantial food. I think I’ll see if some spaghetti sits okay with me. In the meantime, here’s one last photo of my cupcake creations.

Happy New Year, all! Be safe and have fun.

S and I are canceling our party-going plans because we’re both under the weather, so we’ll have a quiet night in with the pup. :)