EAT DRINK PRETTY Dessert Table

Ok, so clearly I absolutely LOVE dessert tables as you can tell. Here is yet another beautiful spread by {Eat Drink Pretty} found at {Style Me Pretty}. From the plates, cake stands and vases to the the desserts and the use of flowers...it is so elegant. I love the vintage touch :) This table was done in celebration of Eat Drink Pretty's blogiversary!

Natalie & Garret's Wedding Dessert Table :)

So this was my first time doing a dessert table set-up for a wedding :) What better than doing it for the wedding of a close friend!

With beautiful table runners made by the bride's mother, awesome DIY cake stands and framed chalkboards made by the bride herself, San Luis Obispo's Cowboy Cookies, a delicious chocolate cake from Claim Jumper that I decorated with flowers, and 188 cupcakes I made and decorated myself...it all came together nicely in the end :) I had so much fun baking and decorating all of them then finding a way to arrange the whole table to make it all work together. Made me really want to do this for a living...ah...someday :)

The beautiful photographs were taken by {Jake and Necia Odening} from {Mike Larson Photography}. They do incredible work - check back in a few days for some gorgeous photos taken from the whole wedding!

My New Baby & Holiday Baking!

Here is my new baby! I am now the proud owner of a brand new "green apple" KitchenAid stand mixer! Here is the start of our journey together ~ a little holiday baking.

Caprese sandwich for dinner :)

Today, I wanted to find another way to use the fresh tomatoes and basil I have, as well as the baguette from the Acme Bread Co - so I decided on a Caprese sandwich. Fresh mozarella, tomato, basil, red onion, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, salt, pepper and BREAD! Mmmmmm. I tried to do that no carb/low carb stuff...and by tried I mean thought about it for a bit then had pasta and a sandwich for two meals of my day :)

Acme Bread Company ~ Est. 1983

Another Berkeley, CA gem is the Acme Bread Co - a nationally acclaimed artisan bread bakery. Steve Sullivan, the founder and owner, says that after all these years, the number one goal is to bake outstanding bread. Acme uses only organic flour as well as working closely with farmers - evaluating and selecting grain varieties for its flour every year. They work around the clock - 3 shifts of bakers a day - seven days a week at the Berkeley bakery to meet the high demands. At its newer and only other location, in the bakery in {San Francisco Ferry Building}, breads are baked fresh throughout the day in the hearth oven. It was 25 years ago, as a busboy at Berkeley's famous {Chez Panisse} restaurant where he worked while attending UC Berkeley, that he became interested in baking bread. Eventually after bread baking became a serious hobby, Alice Waters requested that he bake bread in the Chez Panisse kitchen. In 1983 he and his wife opened their first - now legendary - bakery.

On Monday, before heading back to San Luis Obispo from the Bay Area, I stopped at the Berkeley location to snap a few photos and pick up some fresh breads: Herb Slab for panini-making, a sourdough baguette, and a loaf of olive bread!

Pistacia Vera / Dean & Deluca

Considering the fact that my very extensive package design project during my last year of college was for a boutique bakery of my dreams, when I saw a post about this bakery, {Pistacia Vera}, on {Paper&Inkling}'s blog - I was immediately drawn to it. The packaging soooo beautifully done and so elegant - but that is not all - the building from the outside, the interior design, the dessert displays, the way coffee/desserts are served - everything is down to an art and a gorgeous one at that. Although Ohio might be a bit far for me to travel to go to a pretty bakery (which I am sure serves delicious sweets as well), but this is just what I think all bakeries should be like.

Pistacia Vera - in a way - reminded me a lot of {Dean&Deluca}, another boutique bakery and also market, that carries out wonderful design from their packaging, displays, store decor - interior/exterior design - their website...not so much :(.