Over the weekend we participate in our very first Pop Up Shop ~ hosted by Cate from the Wild Ruffle fashion blog.  During the Wild Ruffle Pop Up Shop we had YET ANOTHER Plush Pumpkin Giveaway ~ What can we say?  We feel generous about sharing the Pumpkin love!  We have a winner for that latest giveaway and it’s – Penelope! Yay! We think think she will enjoy finding a place for them on her table!

Cate did a great job getting the word out for the Wild Ruffle Pop Up Shop.  It was a great opportunity to meet readers of LoveFeast Table face to face and visit with other bloggers and small business owners we have met along our journey!

Here’s what our LoveFeast Table looked like~

It was overflowing with Plush Pumpkins and jewelry.  There was even a sneak peak and a tasting of a product we have not yet launched ~ our Coffee Cakes! (More to come on that!  But just know–they are on our table because the quality is supreme and the packaging is beautiful!)

One of the highlights was sharing our new Late Fall LoveFeast Capsule Collection by jewelry artist, Liz Oie.  She has created a collection exclusively for us filled with beautiful blue Roman glass, fresh water pearls and antique coins as charms found in our LoveFeast Shop.  Find something now and put it on your wish list!  It was also fun to help people try on our different leather cuffs to find just the right accent for themselves or as a gift!  Our leather cuffs are a great gift for a girlfriend or sister!

Quite a few of our blogger friends were present!  Check out their blogs and businesses ~
Choosing Beauty ~ Gussy Sews ~ Urban Halo ~ Wild Ruffle ~ Noemi Photography ~ e.kate designs ~ Stella & Dot ~ Spoils Of Wear

Then guess who showed up at our LoveFeast Table?  Elle our Mother’s Tree Of Life winner!  It just happened that I had her necklace on me and was able to give it to her right on the spot!  (We also got to meet the sister of yet another Mother’s Tree of Life winner – Anna ~ That Girl Blogs who won a Mother’s Tree of Life necklace at our Spark & Style event. – how’s that for coincidence?)

Elle chose the Mother’s Tree Of Life necklace in silver with 2 real gem birthstones, including a gem for her new little one!  And speaking of gems ~ isn’t she sweet?  She’s already got a handle on good taste when it comes to jewelry too!

It was a FEAST of friends, shopping and gift giving inspiration!  And, another different kind of chance to gather around a table!

We invite you to visit our online boutique ~ we have chosen what we think is special, high quality beautiful gifts!

What’s in our shop now? Jewelry ~ Our Leather cuffs, Mother’s Tree Of Life Necklaces in gold or silver, the Liz Oie LoveFeast Capsule Collection and velvety beautiful Plush Pumpkins!

What’s coming?  Tabletop, Coffee Cakes, Coffee, more jewelry and special Holiday Plush Pumpkins!!

*****

Where do you go for gift giving inspiration?

We are so excited to be a part of Buzz Your Biz*.  Kristin will be speaking on “Pursuing your passion and why it pays off.”  We want to hear from you.  What is your passion and what are you doing to work towards turning that into your career? Where are you on the journey?  Are you in the just dreaming stage…the discovery stage…the leaping  stage or the in flight stage?  We would love to hear from you!

You know it’s going to be the beginning of a great summer evening when it starts off with an icy cold “adult beverage” snow cone from the Pegu Club.

We were at the 26th Annual Chefs’ Tribute to honor James Beard & benefit Citymeals-0n-Wheels at Rockefeller Center with our “NYC-friends” Ken & Elyse.

Did you ever wonder what it would feel like to get a tasting from every great restaurant you could think of?  That’s just what this event was all about.  Great chefs gathered together for a great cause to benefit the Citymeals-on-Wheels in the fabulous gifted venue of Rockefeller Center.  The event themed “Taste of Home” featured the chef’s chosen flavors of home.

Here’s a bit of fancy food and fun we had that evening ~

One of the fun highlights was finding that Proof on Main from Louisville, Kentucky was present.  Kristin and I had recently enjoyed the restaurant while we on the GE Momsperience trip at 21c Hotel.  (Take note:  I did not see any red penguins by their table.)

One of my favorite stops was this delicious dessert from Daniel ~

The evening eventually sighed to a full finish, our senses were overcome with the sights, sounds and food stories of the passions of the artists that surrounded us.

We snuck in the last sip and dance of a wonderful event.

We tasted more favorite restaurants in one night than we ever thought we could.  It’s so fun to try new tastes and check out new talent.  What are some of your favorite restaurants?  Leave your comments below!

The red penguins are on the move everywhere at the 21c Museum Hotel.  They greeted us at the door, welcomed us to the GE Momsperience and loitered in the lobby, restaurant and everywhere in between.

They get around those penguins.  One night plumb tuckered out after some fancy hat making they wandered around (or were they carried?) until they found themselves a place to rest.

Meanwhile, while the penguins were getting comfortable, the LoveFeast girls were downstairs at the 21c Museum Hotel with Aaron, the evening security guard, enjoying the contemporary art museum and getting an escorted tour of art that might not be as handy to view if your are not of the right sex.  Such as, visiting the mens’ restroom to see art that can only be seen from the user-friendly side of the urinal.  Just sayin’, we needed an escort to feel OK about crashing the mens’ restroom and Aaron was our man.

We were getting to know Aaron as we walked the rooms and galleries at 21c and were exchanging the friendly facts that one exchanges in those situations, like yes, we have 9 kids between us, where you are from (Minnesota and Maryland) and yes we co-blog.  And, then from Aaron that he had been in the army, had lived in many places, and that Lady Gaga was a really a down-to-earth cool chick and that a red penguin almost made it onto Justin Bieber’s bus.  Then suddenly as we were standing there we saw something shift in Aaron’s eyes and his comfortableness with us dissipate.  Suddenly he began walking backwards away from us and we heard him utter, “oh, you’re thooossee bloggers” and disappeared leaving us to fall into the elevator laughing as the doors closed.  We head back to our room, amused and kind of weird-ed out.

Arriving at our room, this is what we found.  Birds in our beds.  Birds in our derby hats!!

OK, in a normal less sleep deprived frame of mind we might have thought other bloggers might have done this prank.  Maybe the sign about twitter attached to one penguin might have been a clear giveaway.  But, there were other facts to consider.  We had been tweeting quite a bit with 21c Museum Hotel and we had just been with Aaron the security guard who had backed away from us with some kind of secret.

At 2:30 a.m. our conclusion was drawn.  We had been punked by the 21c Museum Hotel!!  To our sleep deprived minds there was only one choice and one choice only…we must punk them back!

And, like anyone else would do, we spent some time (we could sleep later!) dressing them in something that would be appropriate if they were to visit the spa.  Again, this made perfect sense at 2:45 a.m.

First a quick drop of joe and an orange envelope tucked in a pocket with a message for the front desk.

The penguins leave our room…

and wait for the elevator to take them downstairs to the lobby.

They seem to be getting along, although they are quiet in the elevator.  We speculate they might be a couple.

Turns out that we found out via twitter our real pranksters were the bloggers of Mommy’s Camera and Creative Kristi with a little help from Aaron, the security guard.  But, again, like I said at 3:00 a.m. there was no turning back.  We were headed for the front desk.

Here’s where we show the 21c Museum Hotel how to punk and what real-art-meets-pop-art-meets-real- tired-mama-fake-performance-art is all about.  Take that!

Word is they are training other birds in so the penguins can go on vacation.

Can you spy who with your little eye?

And so we didn’t.  Kristin made hers…

And, I made mine…

On our first evening at the GE Momsperience we were treated to hat making led by the lovely ladies from Dee’s Crafts.  What a treat.

It was fun to get to know everyone’s personal style and flair right off the bat!

Word on the street or at least in the 21c Museum Hotel is that later on that evening two crazy hat ladies were caught in the art gallery mixing with the artwork!

Then, on the following evening all the lovely blogging ladies were able to enjoy a dinner and a bit of horse racing history at Churchill Downs.

This was our first time at Churchill Downs and we made a promise to come back and watch a race some day.

Then we landed in our beds ~ tired out from painting the town red!

Here’s to Fancy Hats!

This is where we’ve been hanging around the last few days.  It’s the stables at Churchill Downs where we’ve been sipping on mint juleps.  Well, not just that, lots of other things too~

We’ve also been hanging out with red penguins, GE Appliances and other bloggers this past weekend for the first GE Momsperience.  GE Appliances hosted a fabulous weekend for a group of bloggers and their guests.  It was a time to learn more about the brand, share ideas and start a conversation.  We had a creative itinerary full of time to meet, mix, share and learn.  We had a wonderful time and have stories to tell!

We stayed at the 21c Museum Hotel.  The hotel was just the right environment to feel that perfect mix of being well taken care of and getting your creative juices charged.  The hotel holds a contemporary art museum that is open to the public 24/7 and a wonderful restaurant called Proof On Main.  We fell in love with the red penguins which are the the hotel’s “mascot” of sorts.

Kristin flew in from Baltimore and I flew in from Minneapolis.  As soon as we arrive we settled in the bar at Proof for lunch.  It was good to be together in real life again!

The LoveFeast gals took a little break that afternoon to work on their brand new web site.  We were multi-tasking to the max, catching up, meeting new friends, making plans, reviewing fonts and meeting with our graphic designer.

The official GE Momsperience began that evening with introductions and apps’, art, drinks and hat-making!

Tomorrow we will share what the next day’s agenda brought us…time at the GE Monogram Experience Center and Churchill Downs.  With hats in tow the evening ended…it was going to be a whirlwind of an experience and we had just begun!

We’d love to hear your GE Momsperience story too!  If you were on the GE trip link your post and share your story!

The LoveFeast girls have found themselves in Louisville, Kentucky.  We’re here at the inspiring and modern 21c Museum Hotel.  The hotel is truly a place to get your creativity peaking.  We’ve had delicious meals at the hotel’s restaurant Proof on Main, lively conversation with smart women, fine dining, hat making and interacting with the art that surrounds the spaces.  We’ve got some stories to tell already. We’ve friend-ed one of the bartenders who has spilled some restaurant cocktail recipes for LoveFeast ~ perfect timing with our summer “theme-making” underway.  We can’t wait to have our Monogram Experience tomorrow!!  We’re already amazed at how GE Monogram has tapped into such creativity and  inspiration to provide such a memorable experience ~ filled with possibilities!  So ~ hold onto your hats and keep and eye out for red penguins!!  With those two combination and the LoveFeast girls in town ~ anything can happen!!

Not too long ago, Devon and I attended a Baltimore food blogger’s get together hosted by Dara at Dining Dish, in Julie from Kitchenography‘s home.

The event was held in honor of Nick Malegieri and was an introduction to his new book Bake!.

Nick is the former Executive Pastry Chef at Window’s on the World.  His credentials and awards speak volumes of his talent and commitment to the art of baking.

This event was wonderful, in that it was casual and informal.

(My kind of event!) We gathered and mingled.

Then Dara introduced Nick.  He shared some of his passions, a bit of his story and then opened up the floor for questions.  He fielded questions about his opinion of baking bloggers and super expensive cookbooks, to what inspired him to start baking and how to get published.  He was gracious and humble.  He was a wealth of information and listening to him, you realized this is a man who understands baking inside and out.

Nick then introduced two items that he made for the evening.  One was this,

Chocolate Bourbon Cake.  Seriously…can you go wrong with this?

The surprising item for me were these little babies.

They look unassuming and non-descript…but, let me tell you, when Nick followed up the event with a letter and the recipe for these Tozzetti: Roman Anise, Almond and Hazelnut Biscotti, I was over the moon with joy.  I couldn’t stop eating these.  Julie filled a bag for us to take home at the end of the night.  Let me just say, I couldn’t wait to wake up the next morning and have these with my coffee.  I’m thinking I need to go buy a new cookie jar, to keep it full of these.  They need to be a staple in my home.

Nick shared the recipes with us and not wanting to keep for myself, something so divine, I want to share them with you.  I promise you, neither of these recipes will disappoint.  Neither will Nick Malgieri’s cookbook Bake! We picked one up for our son.  (He wants to own a bakery when he gets older.)  He has already made Kyra’s Hot Milk Sponge Cake recipe that is found in the book and it was delish.

I’m so grateful to have found such a wonderful and talented group of friends through blogging.  Thank you for sharing your own wonderful dishes with us that night.  Also, Dara and Julie, thank you for hosting such an inspiring night and Nick, for sharing with us your talents and recipes.

TOZZETTI:  ROMAN ANISE, ALMOND, AND HAZELNUT BISCOTTI

Unlike most biscotti that are formed into narrow loaves before baking, tozzetti are spread in a pan.  After the initial baking, they are cut into narrow strips and dried in the oven until shatteringly crisp.

Makes about 80 thin biscotti

2 cups all-purpose flour (spoon flour into dry-measure cup and level off)

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 1/2 cups whole blanched almonds, lightly toasted

1 cup whole blanched hazelnuts, lightly toasted

3 large eggs

1 1/3 cups sugar

2 tablespoons Sambuca liqueur

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 tablespoon aniseed, crushed

One 9 x 13- x 2-inch pan, buttered and lined with buttered foil

1.  Set a rack in the middle level of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees.

2.  Stir the flour and baking powder together, then stir in the almonds and hazelnuts and set aside.

3. In a large mixing bowl, whisk the eggs, then whisk in the sugar, continuing to whisk for a minute until somewhat  lightened.  Whisk in the liqueur, vanilla, and aniseed.  Use a large rubber spatula to stir in the flour and nut mixture.

4. Scrape the mixture into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake until just firm, about 20-25 minutes.  Cool in the pan on a rack.

5. When completely cool, slide the slab of baked dough to a cutting board.  Use a sharp serrated knife to cut into three 3-inch wide bars, then cut across them to make 1/2-inch thick biscotti.  Arrange the cut biscotti on 2 paper-lined pans.

6. Dry the biscotti until very crisp but still light in color at 325 degrees for about 20 minutes.  Cool and store in a tin.

Copyright © Nick Malgieri 2011, All Rights Reserved

CHOCOLATE BOURBON CAKE

The sweet, mellow flavor of Bourbon has a great affinity for chocolate.  Serve this unadorned cake with a little unsweetened whipped cream.

Makes one 8-inch cake, 8 to 10 servings

2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, cut into 12 pieces

8 ounces bittersweet chocolate (70%), cut into 1/4-inch pieces

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup all-purpose flour (spoon flour into dry-measure cup and level off)

Pinch of salt

5 large eggs

3 tablespoons best-quality Bourbon

1/2 cup dark brown sugar, firmly packed

One 8-inch round 2-inch deep pan, buttered, bottom lined with a disk of buttered parchment

1.  Set a rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees.

2.  Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat, allowing it to sizzle and get really hot.  Remove from heat, add chocolate and whisk smooth.

3.  In a bowl, whisk the granulated sugar, flour, and salt together; add all the eggs and Bourbon.  Whisk together smoothly

4.  Stir the brown sugar into the butter and chocolate mixture and stir into the batter.

5.  Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top.  Bake the cake until the center is still soft, but no longer liquid, 25 to 35 minutes.

6.   Cool the cake on a rack.

7.   To serve the cake, invert to a platter and remove the pan and paper.  Cover loosely with plastic wrap if not serving immediately.

Copyright © Nick Malgieri 2011, All Rights Reserved

Last Saturday night Kristin and I hosted our 5th BlogLove™ event.  This was our 3rd event in Minnesota.  Our BlogLove™ events bring bloggers, businesses and brands together for what we hope is an inspiring time.  Kristin and I were so happy to have so many guests join us for BlogLove™ Spark & Style!

DJ Kane kept the Houndstooth energy popping!!

Thanks to our models who worked their own “Spark & Style” walking the room in Houndstooth fashion.  Amber from Houndstooth, dressed the “Spark & Style” blogger models who were:  Missy ~ Marketing Mama, Jennifer ~ 30 Days of Honey, Jilene ~ Be Put Together, Kristin & Chris Ann ~LoveFeast Table, Kristin ~ High Heels And A Hammer, Kara ~ LaunchHER, Sasha ~ Fabuliss. These gals all have tons of their own spark & style!  And, they were gracious to help us out!!

The evening was upbeat and fun!  There were familiar faces and new faces.  We hope you all got to meet someone new and reconnect with a bloggy friend in real life!

Thank you to Christina representing Therapon, who sponsored our evening networking event.  Therapon is a clinical grade skin care line that knows that beauty and quality comes from within.  We were excited to be able to shared the quality of their product that we believe will give you that outside spark!  We were inspired by all the spark and style reppresented at this BlogLove event.

We hope your time at BlogLove™ left you inspired as well!  (Cristina ~ Therapon, Kristin & Chris Ann)

Bloggers who attended BlogLove™ “Spark & Style” are invited to link their recap posts here.  “Spark & Style” recap posts by bloggers who attended this event that are linked to this post will be entered into a giveaway for our LoveFeast Mother’s Tree Of Life necklace with birthstones.  The giveaway will be drawn on Sat, April 9th.

You don’t know how excited Kristin and I are for this upcoming BlogLove™ event.  For one thing Kristin gets to fly in and we get to have some fun!  Who says our little plan for more time together IRL (In Real Life) isn’t working?!  Yeah, so we had to incorporate, start a business and plan a big party to do it!!  But, that is just what we love to do!!

Our latest BlogLove™ “Spark & Style” event was actually planned almost 8 months ago.  Houndstooth had added some gift cards to our BlogLove™ “European Marketplace” swag bags.  We came in to thank Amber and do some shopping and spend our gift cards!  Our shopping trip then blossomed into a full out Houndstooth Fall Fashion vlog.  (We’re excited to do our next vlog for spring fashion!)  One thing led to another….and well, our next event is coming up this Saturday, April 2nd, 7pm at Houndstooth!  You can get your BlogLove™ “Spark & Style” ticket HERE!

Here’s what to expect~ Kristin and I are looking forward to greeting new and old blogging friends at the Houndstooth door!  We will be happy to offer you refreshments from Shakers Vodka and the local Crofut Family Vineyards and other drinks and of course yummy bites to nibble on!

Therapon is our sponsor!!
We will be introducing you to our friend, Christina from Therapon.  You will have an opportunity to talk with Christina about Therapon’s facial skin care line and test some of their products!!  (We are trying it out now and can’t wait to share about it!)  Therapon skin care is a high quality pharmaceutical grade product the restores your skin’s radiance.  It is a gentle effective clinical product that works!  Here are what some of our friends have to say about Therapon.

Our event will be a relaxed, fun and fashionable get together of local Twin Cities bloggers from all sorts of blogging interests.  During the evening we will have an informal blogger-model fashion show with gals from these blogs & business:  Sasha from Fabuliss, Kara & friend from LaunchHER,  Missy from Marketing Mama, Kristen from High Heels And A Hammer and Jilene from Be Put Together.  They will strut the runway with their “Spark & Style” to the music of DJ Kane!  Amber will be on hand to offer advice and shopping help for spring fashion.  She is an expert on helping you pull together an up to date look!  There will be a 20% off discount for the evening and time to shop as well! And, there will be a jewelry trunk show by Oie Jewelry.  So, bring your purses!!

Also on hand will be Carrie from the Chanel counter at Bloomingdales at the Mall of America.  She will be giving us tips on pretty spring make-up as well as bringing an awesome product swag bag representing the cosmetic counters at Bloomingdales including of course Chanel!!  She’s also bringing a Chanel gift basket to give-away worth at least $250!  (Word is she tends to go over board!!)  Can’t wait to see what she brings!

And~like all of our other BlogLove™ events we work hard to find quality brands and business that we like to be represented in our BlogLove™ swag bag.  We find many times these items or products are represented or made by women!  Women owned businesses are something we definitely support and believe in!  There will be swag and giveaways from these business at BlogLove™ “Spark & Style” ~

Therapon Skin!  Christina will be doing hand treatments, handing out samples and giving everyone the Skin Renewal System for you to take home and try!  There will also be some great Therapon Skin giveaway kits!

Amber ~ Houndstooth Boutique along with a special BlogLove™ 20% off discount will be have giveaways and swag!  There will adorable swag from Gussy Sews, My Urban Halo and Red Stamp!  SavvyMN is going to represent with some special giveaways as well!  (By the way~they did a great feature article on us here!) And~ like always Erin from The Vintage Pearl has made us a custom “BlogLove” charm.

We can’t wait to see you!!  We are looking forward to hearing all about you and what gives you your “Spark & Style”!  Because we believe you have it!!

See you soon! Chris Ann & Kristin