So, one of my besties, Laurel, gets to celebrate her birthday during the first week of the new year.  The past couple of years have been fun, even though they haven't quite turned out as originally planned.  Two years ago, her brother and sister-in-law had a baby, and last year we had a freak snowstorm (again) that almost made us cancel.  But - this year went off without a hitch!

Can you guess how old she is?  (Oops - hope she's okay with the announcement!)

My first attempt at a coconut cake.  Amazing easy, and it tasted like coconut cream pie - only in a cake!  I'll have to work on my construction skills.  It got a little wobbly there at the end!