I thought I’d celebrate the end of the school year with a fun and cheery cupcake. Nothing puts a smile on my face like a sweet cupcake with lots of fluffy frosting. I found this “Tropical Trio” of dried fruit at the store, and immediately started scheming up an islandy cupcake.

I also had a box of white cake mix on hand, so I turned to the Queen of Sweets for a little guidance. Jenny at Picky Palate makes the most mouth-watering desserts you could ever dream of. I used the base of her Cookies and Cream Cupcakes for my tropical concoction.

Oh momma. I love coconut. What’s better than coconut? Toasted coconut. Yes, please. The sweet fruit were like chewy little nuggets of gold inside the already delicious cupcakes.

These cupcakes will make you feel like you’re lounging on a tropical beach, even if you’re miles away! I hope you enjoy. The Duchess

The shower was at 2 in the afternoon, so we didn’t need a full meal. Instead, I made a bunch of cute finger foods, starting with cucumber sandwiches.

Nothing fancy here, but Ashley (the bride) was adamant about these classic finger sandwiches. I also made pimento cheese sandwiches, using my Granny Flash’s recipe, which calls for crumbled bacon. YUM!

The secret to really good pimento cheese is EXTRA sharp cheddar and lots of cracked black pepper. To brighten up the color palate, I made an awesome and super easy grape tomato and feta salad.

I made this salad for a different shower back in August. It’s light, fresh and quite the crowd pleaser. To keep things fun, I filled some tiny phyllo cups with curried chicken salad (another request of the bride).

These flavorful cups turned out really cute! And since curry is such a strong flavor, this was the perfect amount. Lastly, I made a beautiful fruit salsa, loosely based on this recipe from Our Best Bites.

We all took our plates outside and dined in the garden. The weather was just perfect!

I worked up quite the appetite while prepping for the shower, so I pretty much filled my plate.

I was busy refilling mimosas while everyone ate, so I didn’t even eat the whole plate. On the bright side, check out our precious place settings, which doubled as favors.

I just loved them!

I snapped a quick picture of Ashley (on the left) with her sister, and my dear friend, Elizabeth.

Aren’t they beautiful? They’ve got Greek blood in them, and you know how gorgeous people from the Mediterranean are.

After lunch, we munched on some white chocolate and lemon cookies while Ashley opened gifts.

I also made frozen banana pops from Picky Palate, but failed to take a picture. The ladies loved them, though. I mean, how can you not like bananas, peanut butter and CHOCOLATE???

Ashley was showered with plenty of wonderful kitchen gadgets.

I gave her that picnic basket with a “C” on it. How cute is that??

Cooking for the shower was tons of fun and I can’t wait to do it again. I guess that means the rest of my friends need to find men and get engaged quick! The Duchess

I’ve been salivating over PW’s Baked Lemon Pasta for about a year now and finally broke down and made the darn dish over the weekend. All I can say is Oh, Baby. This stuff is goooooood.

This dish involves lots of lemon, parsley, sour cream, and my good friend, butter.

Since I live on the Gulf of Mexico, I decided to saute some fresh shrimp on the side. Don’t hate, but I never devein my shrimp. Living in the South, we eat everything. Not even the digestive tract of shellfish can scare us! And honestly, I think the vein adds a little somethin’ somethin’.

I followed P-Dub’s recipe exactly, but used whole wheat pasta (instead of white) and lite sour cream (instead of whole fat). Gotta keep it healthy, folks.

If that doesn’t look good, then I don’t know what does. I could have just eaten this creamy and citrus-y pasta straight out of the pan, but I was nice and decided to share some with the Duke.

I suggest you make this dish at your earliest convenience and lock yourself with it in the closet with a fork and and a loaf of garlic bread.

I secretly hope that one day the Pioneer Woman and I can be friends. We’ll do each other’s hair and stay up late talking about Taylor Lautner. Until that day, I’ll just continue to live vicariously through her mouth-watering kitchen creations. The Duchess

I really want to share this simple recipe for cookies with you. I got an original recipe a while back from Laura at Real Mom Kitchen. The great thing about the recipe is that you can make it your own, and make it completely new each time. It starts out with a box of cake mix, and you add in a few simple ingredients. I mean, could it get any easier? I think not. You can use any combo of flavors for the cookies, but I had Classic White cake mix on hand, so I went with that. Remember my dad’s Meyer Lemon I told you about? Well I had that on hand, also, and wanted to use it up before it died. Look how juicy and delicious:

I love the lemon/ white chocolate combo, so I knew I wanted to fold in some white chocolate chips. I also had almond slivers and shredded coconut on hand, so I “toasted” them on the stove. I just threw them both in the same pan for ease, and it turned out great.

You add a couple of eggs and a little bit of oil to the cake mix to make it more cookie-like. Look how amazing this batter is. I could have eaten the entire bowl. Don’t think I wouldn’t have….

So after they bake a few minutes, the finished product is a perfectly cakey, yet crisp cookie. It really doesn’t get any better (or easier)!

I love the combo of lemon and white chocolate, but you can mix in any ingredients you want. Chocolate cake mix would be great with a swirl of peanut butter, chocolate chips and crushed peanuts. You get the idea.

Well, I’m off for another long day. The Duke and I are having dinner with his boss tonight. Tootles! The Duchess