tory burch, two ways

hello! happy monday (oxymoron?) monday is actually my tuesday, which i think lessens the blow a bit. how was your weekend? mine was really nice, if a bit exhausting - my parents came into town on friday night, so we went out for really good senegalese food and then came back to my place for fresh fruit galettes. (a recipe i've been meaning to post for some time, actually - i have this amazing recipe now for really buttery, flakey galette dough. will post this week.) (in fact, as i think over this post, i'm pretty sure it's going to remind me of several recipes that need posting asap, so stay tuned!) saturday afternoon my mom and i met up to do some bridal shopping. i was so happy to get to see her and getting to do a bit of wedding shopping was really wonderful, since i just bought my dress online and didn't get the experience of dress shopping with my mama. we checked out the j crew bridal shop first, which i have to say was a bit of a disappointment - very small, with a very limited selection. i'm letting my bridesmaids choose their own dress, and i already have mine, so there wasn't much for me to see there. my shoes, i think, will be a challenge; we're getting married outside, in my future in-laws backyard, in fact, so i want to be careful to get shoes that won't turn their lawn into swiss cheese - but sam is a good 6 or so inches taller than i am, so a little height will be helpful when it comes to that whole "you may now kiss the bride" part. any suggestions?

we DID find a perfect place to get a veil. bridal veil falls is run by a very sweet woman named margaret who makes all of the veils and headpieces herself; i walked in there with no clue what i wanted. i showed her my dress and she immediately showed me some lace that matched it almost perfectly; within twenty minutes we'd come up with a design for a perfect little veil. i'm super excited.

stayed up late last night baking stuff for a meeting i had this afternoon with tory burch. the meeting went really well and i think (and hope!) i'll be working with them in one way or another soon. here's a peek of what i made. . .



malted vanilla cupcakes with white chocolate buttercream and a sprinkle of peppermint



cinnamon thumbprints with caramel apple kisses



apple pie lollipops

along with some others. coincidentally (or is it?!) this is national women's business week, and i want to mention the tory burch foundation. the non-profit helps provide loans to women who are trying to open their own small businesses, which is certainly a cause i believe in; take a look, shop or donate, and just leave a comment below to be entered to win their cd.

okay. so much more to come, i promise!

xo audrey