Good Friends, Good Food, Good Fun.

Muncie Gras.  I know what you are thinking... well, actually I don't because you could be having a variety of thoughts regarding the faux Mardi Gras held in the streets of one of Indiana's most thriving metropolis'.  Are you thinking ridiculously tacky?  Horribly fun?  Outrageous? Wild Party?  Drag Show?  Street so packed that you can hardly move?  All of these thoughts/assumptions would be accurate.  Amidst the Mari Gras beads, bad costumes, and blinking headgear that various Muncianites that probably isn't a real word was a group of girlfriends having a really good time and not because of the afore mentioned happenings.

But because we were together.

The theme of the weekend was a Mardi Gras themed celebration of our friends Dianna and Tyler's engagement.  It was a great excuse to get together, have a little fun, eat too much food, and congratulate the couple.  We get together too few and far between, but when we do we know how to have a good time.

Here we are.  Guilty as charged.  You can tell we are wild by our cardigans and racy outfits.

No matter how old, professional, maternal, or busy we get, its always amazing to get together and celebrate the fact that we are friends.  Now, being the planner that I am... I couldn't stand to have just a simple get together.  Jess (purple cardigan on the right) co-planned this celebration of epic proportions with me.  Let me just tell you that she makes an amazing Jambalaya! 

No Mardi Gras::: Ahem Ahem::: Muncie Gras celebration would be complete without a few sparkly decorations and a King Cake.  Now, I would like to take this opportunity to brag on myself just a little.  I made that Kind Cake from scratch... it involved yeast so I think a little bragging is in order considering the amount of time I had to wait for that sucker to rise and fall and rise and fall and rise before putting it into the oven.

Those are Mardi Gras coins and I am still a little unsure of their purpose... aside from
the fact that you throw them at people...

Here it is... a purple and green wonder.  Okay, so it really looks kinda nasty in the picture, but it was pretty tasty... I promise.

Lets have a closer look....  if you have never had a King Cake it is like a giant cinnamon roll, but even more amazing... and don't forget the baby.

Oh the baby... how exciting to be the one to get the magical slice with the baby.  There she is... or he... Apparently the person who finds the baby in their slice of cake has to plan the party for the next year.  What a strange tradition.

Jess obviously found the baby and seemed pretty excited about it.  Doesn't this seem dangerous?  What if the baby gets eaten?  Seems like it could cause a whole host of problems....

But the highlight of the evening was definitely the mask wearing.  The feathery wonderfulness and mystery that they added to our cardigans can be rivaled by none other...

Congratulations to the happy couple!