Baby Einstein up at ParentHacks

One of my most clever ideas is up at Parenthacks.

This was Miss J.'s first halloween costume, 2 years ago.

Impact Austin Coffee

I hosted a "coffee" to introduce some friends to Impact Austin, a women's philanthropy group in Austin. Impact Austin is a great organization -- every member gives $1000, and then vote on which local nonprofit grant applicants gets our "high impact" $100K+ grants. I love it because I don't have to do any work -- writing a check doesn't take that much time, and even hosting a coffee to help recruit more women wasn't that much work. (And it looks like it recruited 6 women -- with a couple more to come, I hope!)

And since putting together menus is one of my talents and pleasures, I wanted to mention what I served -- not that my guests ate nearly enough! I went with an "Autumn Treats" theme, with apples, pumpkin, and pomegranate as the focus foods. (I was trying to keep it simple -- I think I ended up with too many things, but it was easy.)

Pumpkin Bread (Krusteaz mix from Costco)
Pumpkin Empanadas (from HEB)
Dried Apple Chips
Homemade Rice Bread and Oatmeal Bread (thanks Mom!)
Sliced Honey Crisp Apples
Caramel Sauce (to dip the apples in)
Natural Peanut Butter (to dip the apples in)
Chestnut Butter
Apple Butter
White Cheddar
Colby Jack
Crackers

For drinks:
My "signature" drink was Pomegranate Juice mixed with Champagne
Pomegranate Juice
Coffee
Pumpkin Spice Flavored Creamer
Water
Blood Orange Soda

If you're an Austin woman reading this that I managed not to invite -- apologies! If you're interested in finding out more about Impact Austin let me know and I can tell you about it and take you to another event.