A HAPPY FATHER'S DAY BIRTHDAY

Hope you had an awesome weekend everybody! It was my birthday yesterday. I can tell I'm getting older because I seriously have to really think about how old I am when people ask (am I 26? or am I 27? wait, i'm 27, no wait, I'm 26). I kid you not when I say someone asked my age recently and not only did I have that conversation in my head, but I had it out loud. And I think rather than sympathizing with me, they definitely thought I was a. a wee bit crazy or b. not too bright.

Well, now I can say I'm 27, whether I want to or not (It's seems like just yesterday was my 17th birthday when my friend Erin and I spent the whole year quoting Josie Gellar in Never Been Kissed, "I'm 17, I'm 17...I'm 17"). Chris and I spent the weekend with my family in Charlotte eating good food, more good food, momma's homemade chocolate cake with peanut butter icing and enjoying time with my mom, dad, sister, brother, sister-in-law, and one of my two nieces. When we arrived back on Sunday, Chris gave me this card that he made me, along with some fantabulous other gifts! So, if you need a Birthday card, we have just added it to our Etsy shop.

My birthday, being on June 20th, has occasionally fallen on Father's Day and this year it did again. Being a Daddy's girl, I personally think my dad is the greatest, hardest working, funniest dad in the universe. It was very nice sharing my birthday with a day that celebrates him because without him, I wouldn't have a birthday. So hope ya'll enjoyed your days with your dads or remembering your dads or loving the men who you consider your dads.

PIZZA PARTY, DEEP DISH STYLE

Devon: You know, revenge is a dish best served cold, Jack; like shashimi or pizza.

Jack: You prefer cold pizza?

Devon: The morning after. It's the best.

Jack: Better than hot pizza? That's insane!

Devon: You don't tell me what kind of pizza to like!

------------------------------------------------------ — 30 Rock

We love pizza. I mean, we really, really love it. Just about every Friday night we can be found eating pizza from one or another of our favorite pizza joints. We typically go for a New York style pizza, but often crave a nice, thick, deep dish pizza that screams, "Chicago!" We've even gone as far as to order pizza from Chicago and have it shipped to us on dried ice. But the shipping alone costs more than the pizza!

So, we decided to make our own deep dish pizza, and make it a bit healthier as we regularly do in our kitchen. We used this recipe for the dough. We made some tasty sauce from San Marzano canned tomatoes. We didn't feel like making the journey to the store, so we used what we had for toppings—grilled chicken, caramelized onions, orange peppers and mozzarella.

Our only regrets were making this in an 8x8 dish because after finishing it off we wanted more! But we did save half the dough so we could make another pizza next week, which can't get here fast enough.

Photos and text ©2010 Dapper Paper unless otherwise noted.

THESE AREN'T THE DEVIL'S CUPCAKES

Hello world! It seems appropriate that our first post would be about food. You'll come to know just how much we love to cook in what we call a "cozy kitchen", a mere slice of square footage in an already small quaint bungalow.

We were somewhat snowed in today. Well, the snow melted quickly and the rest of the people in the world were out and about, but we took the opportunity to stay indoors. But you need to know that staying indoors isn't something that is foreign to us. We love it. Mainly because pajamas are completely acceptable.

While in our pj's and glued to the sofa, we tuned into Food Network's The Best Thing I Ever Ate (warning: do not watch this if you are hungry or bored) and immediately craved, well, chocolate!

So, we made these cupcakes. Not only were they semi-healthy, but were chocolaty to the max and yummmmerz! They're supposedly claimed by the devil but are too darn good to be bad.

Photos and text ©2010 Dapper Paper unless otherwise noted.