Is Perfect Frosting a Figment of my Imagination?

Well, another week has flown by and it's been days since I've posted anything.  It's because I've been pretty much consumed with preparing for my sister's household shower which was held today.  My mother decided to throw the shower, but as she teaches and this was finals week at school, she really had no time to make the necessary preparations for such an event.  So...since I'm no longer working, I told her that if she wanted to turn me loose on the matter, I would be happy to help. After I convinced her that I was being sincere and that it would help keep me occuppied, she agreed that it would be a big relief. So between me, my best friend, and my grandmother, we shopped (and shopped...) for decorations, party supplies and food the earlier part of the week and spent the latter on the actual preparations. Now, I can't say I have ever thrown a party for anyone, and I don't really consider myself to be a decorator, so this was all somewhat challenging for me. In the end, I think all turned out well and was especially pleased with the flower arrangements I came up with which were earlier causing me great pains and much stress.

Can I also just add that I have made more frosting this week than possibly all the other times in my whole life put together.  We opted to make cupcakes instead of a typical cake, so that naturally meant that making cupcakes means making frosting to top them off. First of all, I hate confectioner's sugar frosting (or what some call American Buttercream), so I began early in the week in search of what I will call the "perfect frosting" (which I am thinking is quite likely a figment of my imagination.)  I wasn't confident that a 7 Minute or White Mountain frosting would hold up for the necessary amount of time, and I absolutely refused to use confectioner's sugar frosting, so I tried a multitude of various frosting recipes that came with the highest of recommendations (all from the internet) and tossed all 6, 8, 10 or...?? in the trash. Sadly, I'm not exaggerating for dramatic effect--I kid you not. (And can you imagine how much weight I've probably gained just from taste-testing all that stuff!?) To make a long story short, I ended up settling on two batches of frosting (both of which I'm pretty sure I could never make again, even if I had to) but was truthfully not pleased with the results. (Key word here is settled.) So, I am still in search of the alleged "perfect frosting."  If you know of one, please be a dear and share your recipe!
The actual wedding is this coming Saturday, so now we have all week to make preparations for that! I have a feeling that this week is going to go by just as fast as the past one. I, however, am not responsible for any frosting-making this week (thank goodness!) as my grandmother is going to make the wedding cake herself. I am looking forward to this little break from my culinary frustration (although there's an excellent chance I will be helping her with the cake) as I'm just not accustommed to having such trouble in the kitchen. So again, please, if you know of a perfect frosting that preferably 1) doesn't use confectioner's sugar and 2) doesn't use shortening, I beg of you--please share the love!!

I hope you all have a wonderful week!