my stars are all lined up

I was headed to a BBQ last evening...

and this is what accompanied me...

{besides my family of course}

4th of July star cookies

since I wasn't able to make them for the 4th...

better late than never, right?

 since I received my fabulous galvanized caddy on Monday

perfect timing I may add...

with the gift certificate I won a little bit ago...{and finally used}

I was in love the moment I received it and knew the cookies had to go in it

of which Bobby said "ewww....aren't you going to put something down in it so the cookies aren't right on it?"....

you get my drift...they just don't get it really ever ...

that vintage things can and should be used

it grosses him out sometimes

but I just say whatever...that's the beauty of vintage

And of course I added vanilla bean paste to the frosting and subsituted the paste for the regular vanilla in the cookie recipe too.

I'm obsessed with the vanilla bean paste ever since I used it in those vanilla bean cupcakes

you just don't want to go back after you used it once

and it leaves those pretty little vanilla bean flakes too

I also found a super yummy and easy recipe in my coastal living magazine

because I wanted to bring something else

it is always nice to feel like you contribute more than your company...

Stuffed peppers

{picture is of them pre-grilled}

I actually went to the store forgetting my list as usual...

I'm good at making lists just not remembering to bring them

so I thought the recipe called for pablano peppers and/or anaheim peppers

but it was really cubanelle or anaheim peppers...

Anyway...the pablano peppers were so huge that I just got 3 and 2 others

because there is no way one person could eat all of one

but anyway...

recipe calls for 20 cubanelle or anaheim peppers

1 8-ounce package cream cheese softened

2/3 cup chopped kalamata olives

3/4 teaspoon cracked black pepper

{I probably doubled or tripled the black pepper because our family loves pepper}

Combine the cream cheese, olives, and black pepper and spoon into peppers

Since my peppers were so huge...I used all that filling in those 5

{not 20}

grill over high heat for 5-7 minutes on each side or until softened...

you can grill the peppers before putting the filling in for about 5 minutes

and then fill with the mixture and re-grill again

but I didn't do that simply for the fact that I wanted them filled as I brought them over...

and they worked out just fine