County Fairs and Cardamom Cake

Phew, another weekend sped by at lightning speed. I'm sitting at the end of it, in my pajamas, belly full of wine and cake, wondering if 8:30 is too early to call it a night and hit the "hay". Saturday Baby Pumpkin checked out the cows, horses, pigs, and all manner of farm animal at our county fair. It was pretty awesome. He even got to ride a pint-sized tractor (we had to pull him away screaming he loved it so much).

Afterwards, Hubby and I got a craving for this wonderful cardamom cake we'd had at Bread and Chocolate a few weeks ago. I made this recipe, but it didn't really cut it. Too doughy, not sweet enough, and without the glaze it was a little blah. Anyone have a good recipe? This week I'm making strawberry pie for Little Pumpkin's birthday party, but maybe another week I'll have time to give it a second try. It did turn out beautifully, though, didn't it? Looks like a snow-covered mountain! Oh, and the SMELLS from my kitchen...DEEeee-licious!

Saturday is the big first birthday party, and we have relatives coming from all over to celebrate with us. Funny how I thought we'd totally not make a big deal out of this birthday. Now I'm wound up all in knots about making it perfect. I already ran out to the store to buy every kind of soda and for those who don't drink soda, there's iced tea, plus chips, and for those who don't like chips I got pretzels, and the list goes on. Not to mention all the Gourmet-magazine side dishes I'll be attempting...it's a recipe for a mama meltdown, most likely. Thank goodness I'm also planning to load up on a Martha recipe for sangria.

Because I'm a glutton for punishment and hold myself to high standards for entertaining out of town guests, I've also decided that it's absolutely *required* that we have a fire pit to sit by after the party's over. Can't you just see us, smartly dressed, perfectly sun-kissed, drinking sangria in front of our beautiful backyard bonfire? Anyone know how to build one...???