30 Years Young

Tonight was our wonderful friend James’s Birthday. He turned the big 30!!!

My BFF D did such a great job decorating 🙂

She is so crafty!

Way to go D!

The birthday boy at the Taco Bar! Yes, there was a taco bar at the party 🙂

Plus all of this goodness!

I went with a little bit of both (I will be starting the plan tomorrow).

There was even a Hanger 24 Keg! Only my favorite beer!

This was the perfect night for an Orange Wheat 🙂

Yep, this is why I live in California 🙂

The pool party was really for the kiddos…

Love it!

D made such a wonderful cake. It was home made vanilla with the most delightful candles.

Old Man 😉

The cake looked like it was on fire!!!!!

I had a bite 🙂

And I gave Addy the rest 🙂

Love these sisters 🙂

This was the best way to end the work week and start of the weekend. Did I tell you guys I have another party tomorrow night at our house?!!! Just call me the Party Queen!

Tomorrow morning I am taking Easton for a 20+ Mile Bike ride with a friend., it’s been toooooo long. Off to bed 🙂

P.S. Here is the brownie recipe you all have been dying to get your hands on!

Okay, so here’s the recipe you’ve all been waiting for. Sorry it has taken me a couple of days. But now you can stop “yelling” at Bobbi.

First you must know I’m the type of baker that doesn’t follow recipes well. I’ll give you the base recipe and then tell you some modifications you can do to it indicated with an asterik.

Brownies:
2 1-oz squares unsweetened chocolate
1/2 cup butter
2 eggs
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup all purpose flour
In a microwave, melt the chocolate and butter; stir until smooth. In a large mixing bowl beat the eggs, sugar and flour until blended. Then stir in the chocolate mixture.
Pour into a greased 9-in square baking pan. Bake at 350-F for 20-25 minutes.* Let cool.
*I don’t cook mine all the way because I like them to be fairly moist, almost more of a fudge-like consistency.

Filling:
3 tbs butter softened
1.5 cups confectioner’s sugar
2 tbs milk
3/4 tsp of peppermint extract*
3-4 drops of food coloring if desired
Mix together and spread on brownies evenly. Then let stand for some time to solidify a bit.
*I do not like mint, so for this one I actually use vanilla extract.

Glaze:*
1/2 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
2 tbs butter
Spread on top of the filling
*I usually up it to 3/4 cup of chocolate chips and 3 tbs of butter. I also tend to add either white chocolate or peanut butter to jazz it up. Probably about 1/2 cup of either one with 2 tbs of butter, and then I swirl it into the chocolate glaze after it’s spread on top of the filling.

These Glazed Brownies must be served with vanilla ice cream to get the full effect of their goodness. (This could just be a Jones opinion because we love ice cream, but trust me it’s good.)

Enjoy!
Cj