Whirlwind Season

Well, I blinked and it turned into mid-August! I'm not totally sure where the summer went, except to a whole lot of really fun adventures and just as many business trips. It's been insane, but pretty awesome!

I haven't had much time to sew with all the work, but I've been making time for some other things. We've had a few parties in the new apartment (all with a 1960s vibe), including a pretty fabulous tropical party based on America's obsession with the South Pacific in the 50s and 60s. I had some pretty fabulous inspiration for that, since my dad was born in Hawaii during that time and all of his baby photos are full of beaches and palm trees!

my grandparents, great grandmother, and father (the baby) in Hawaii

I found a watteau-back dress with bright printed flowers that has a "made in Hawaii" tag inside, which I wore with totally ridiculous beehive hair because my hair is really good at being huge. I will definitely be incorporating this dress into my summer formal wardobe--it is so much fun to wear!

(sorry for the fuzzy photos...this has not been a summer for the camera, and I've almost entirely been shooting on my phone)

giant hair, vibrant colors, and a Blue Hawaiian!

the watteau back

My partner in crime ran the bar, with some super delicious Blue Hawaiians and Mai Tais. I did food, and used two vintage recipes to which I made a couple of alterations.

The first was called "Bride to Be Coffee Cake," from Betty Crocker's Bisquick Cookbook.

my "Blue Hawaiian to Be" cake

 The Bride to Be coffee cake is a lesson in marriage preparedness. "Before your college coed gets married, teach her how to turn out a beautiful coffee cake in a hurry. Here's a scrumptious example that tastes something like pineapple upside-down cake. Perfect for a weekend brunch with her prospective in-law's." 
It calls for "Bisquick baking mix," and then the batter is topped with pineapple cooked in brown sugar and shredded coconut. We didn't have any Bisquick, and so I decided to use cake mix instead. Using a mix felt super period to me, because I always bake from scratch! I ended up using a blue mix, because it was on sale, and the combination of pineapple and coconut was just like the Blue Hawaiian cocktail. It was pretty delicious, but that pineapple topping is super sweet--I don't think I'd serve it for brunch... perfect for post-pool snacking, though!

The crowning glory of my 60s tropical food was a cheese pineapple. 

Yes, you read that right--a pineapple made. out. of. cheese.

cheese pineapple!

Possibly even weirder than the fact that this exists is that it's not alone--magazines have recommended shaping other foods into pineapples more than once. But I think cheese might be my limit--I'm not planning to make a liver sausage pineapple anytime soon. That said, the cheese pineapple was actually totally palatable.

I found the inspiration image (from McCall's Cooking School) on Pinterest, but then had to do some sleuthing to actually find the recipe. I ended up halving it and replacing the original pimento-stuffed olives with sliced almonds, which I thought worked out well. My recipe ended up as:

8oz cream cheese, softened
1 lb shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1/2 cup French's mustard (this is where the yellow color comes from)

Whip the ingredients until the spread consistency is smooth and fluffy, then fold into a ball, cover in plastic, and refrigerate. When cooled, shape into a pineapple. Refrigerate again, decorate, and serve!

Live the original, I also used a real pineapple top on my cheesy imposter.

the original

I would definitely make both of these again!

the cheese pineapple being consumed

 It's been a busy summer, but also a lot of fun. I'm excited to share it with you now that I'm back and blogging!