Goodbye Dinner

Micah and I
will be leaving home
tomorrow.

We are heading East
for the summer.

So we had a little
Goodbye dinner
with some dear friends.

Mark
Ashley
Trey
&
Libby

You all have enriched
our lives so much.

You have been wonderful
neighbors, co-workers, and friends.

We love you and we will miss you so much.

Pizza Success

I finally (successfully) made Pizza.

After many many tries,
I found the right recipe for pizza dough....
not to thick, not to thin, just right.


Dough ingredients:

3/4 cup and 1/2 cup separated unbleached white flour
1 package rapid rise yeast
1/2 tsp fine grain sea salt
1/2 cup very hot water
extra white flour for dusting
1/8 cup semolina flour for bottom of crust


The toppings were:

Basil Pesto
Mozzarella
Grilled Chicken
Bacon
Sliced Tomatoes
Ricotta Cheese

Habitat

I love these shoes!

Via: Habitat Shoe Boutique

Picnic Table

Look at what Micah built!

I am so proud of him.

Another Idea...

I would love to have these
sitting in my kitchen window.

Wednesday Dinner

Rosemary Fried Chicken

This Recipe gives just a
slight twist on the classic fried chicken.

Rosemary Fried Chicken

Ingredients:
8 chicken legs and 8 chicken thighs
2 cups of buttermilk
salt and pepper
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 tbsp sweet paprika
1 tbsp finely chopped fresh rosemary leaves
2 cups vegetable oil


Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees, with racks in upper and lower thirds. Line one large rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil; place a wire rack over a second rimmed baking sheet.
2. In a large bowl, combine chicken, buttermilk, 1 tsp of salt and ½ tsp of pepper, set aside (or refrigerate up to 2 days).
3. In another large bowl, whisk together flour, paprika, chopped rosemary, 1 tsp of salt and 2 tsp of pepper. Dredge chicken in flour mixture.
4. Heat oil and rosemary sprigs over medium-heat. When rosemary sizzles rapidly, remove and discard. Fry chicken until golden brown 4-5 minutes per side.
5. Bake chicken for 15-20 minutes.

Wonderful Idea

This is such a
wonderful idea.

Via: Blossom

Strawberry Lemonade Cupcakes

For our Memorial Day BBQ
I spent the day
making cupcakes.

Strawberry Lemonade Cupcakes
and
White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cupcakes.

Both recipes are from
one of my favorite food blogs...
Love and Olive Oil.

Strawberry Lemonade Cupcakes
Makes 12 cupcakes.

Ingredients
Cupcakes:
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1/3 cup oil
1 cup full fat coconut milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
1 teaspoon lemon juice

Frosting:
2 ounces of fresh strawberries
1/2 cup confectioners sugar
6 ounces unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions
Preheat oven to 350?F.

In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add sugar and brown sugar and mix. Whisk together oil, coconut milk, lemon zest, lemon juice, and vanilla. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the wet ingredients. Mix until relatively smooth. Fill cupcake liners with a scant 1/4 cup of batter (should be just under 2/3 of the way full). Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden, and toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Transfer to cooling rack and allow to cool completely.

To make frosting, first wash and hull strawberries and toss them into a food processor. Puree strawberries and set aside. Beat the butter and confectioners sugar together until creamy. Gradually beat in the vanilla and strawberry puree, beating on medium speed until well incorporated.

* I changed the recipe a bit. But for the original you can go to Love and Olive Oil.

Memorial Day

What better way
to celebrate
Memorial Day...

than with a BBQ.

Thank you...

the Smith Family
and
the Garrigan Family...

for celebrating
with us.

LaLah

My friend Lisa
opened up
her own
Etsy Shop.

Here is a bit

she wrote

about her site:

"At LaLah I believe
in reworking all things vintage
and adding a personal touch
to make it new again,
or sewing to my heart's content
to create a lovely item
that I just can't live without."

I think these
are some of
my favorites
on her site.

Thanks Lisa!

Thank You

Thank You
Coldplay

(my favorite is "Death and all of his friends")

Coffee Cake

Blueberry-Banana Sour Cream Coffee Cake w/Maple Glaze

This was so fun to make
for breakfast this morning...
and delicious to eat!

Blueberry-Banana Sour Cream Coffee Cake

Ingredients:

For the cake:
12 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 eggs, at room temperature
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups sour cream
2 1/2 cups cake flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup dices bananas and blueberries

For the streusel:
1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. salt
3 tbsp. cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces (I’ll use 4-5 tbsp. next time)

For the maple glaze:
1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar
2 tbsp. real maple syrup
1 tsp water (if needed)


Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 10-inch tube pan.

Cream the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on medium-high speed for 4-5 minutes, until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then add in the vanilla and sour cream, scraping down the bowl between additions. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. With the mixer on low, add the flour mixture to the batter until just combined. Fold in blueberries and bananas.

For the streusel, place the brown sugar, flour, cinnamon and salt in a bowl and mix together with a fork. Add in the butter and pinch together with your fingers until it forms a crumble.

Spoon half of the batter into the prepared pan and spread it out with a knife. Sprinkle with 3/4 cup of the streusel mixture. Spoon the rest of the batter into the pan, spread it out, and sprinkle with remaining streusel on top. Bake for 65 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Let cool on a wire rack for at least 30 minutes. Carefully transfer the cake, streusel side up, onto a serving plate. Whisk together the confectioners’ sugar and maple syrup, adding a few drops of water if necessary to make it runny. Drizzle as much glaze as you like over the cake with the whisk, a fork or a spoon.

Make sure to use all the advised Streusel topping.
Unfortunately I didn't and I wish I had.

But it was wonderful just the same.

Nebraska

I forgot to mention...

I just got back from spending a week in Nebraska.

I forgot my camera.
So these are the only pictures I have.

Taken on our "girls day out".

Which included:
Coffee
Pedicures
Thai Food
and
Shopping

Peacocks

I love Peacocks.

When I was a little girl,
one of my friends
lived in a part of town
where Peacocks would
walk across their yards
and along the roof tops.

I would never believe her
when she told me about it.
Until one day,
while I was playing at her house,
I saw it with my own two eyes...
A Peacocks running across the yard.

Via:
Cafe Baudelaire

Chicken Chili Tacos

This is a great recipe.

Micah loves it...
I love to make it...
It is super easy...
And it makes the house
smell great.

Chicken Chili Tacos
Serves 4

2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs (about 6)
4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1/2 cup prepared tomato salsa, plus more for serving
1 to 2 tablespoons chopped canned chipotle chiles in adobo
1 tablespoon chili powder
Coarse salt and ground pepper
8 taco shells (corn or flour)
Cilantro, shredded cheese, lime wedges, and sour cream


Directions

1. In slow cooker, combine chicken, garlic, salsa, chiles, chili powder, 1 teaspoon salt, and teaspoon pepper. Cover; cook on high, 4 hours (or on low, 8 hours).
2. Transfer chicken to a serving bowl, and shred, using two forks; moisten with cooking juices. Serve in taco shells, with toppings, if desired.


Thanks to Martha for the wonderful recipe.

Jon Klassen

I love this art
by Jon Klassen.

Check out
his website at:
Burst of Beaden

Green Wedding Shoes

I was searching to find inspiring wedding blogs
for my sister-in-law-to-be Danielle,

when I stumbled upon this....

I love Jen's blog
Green Wedding Shoes.

And I especially love
these vintage inspired
engagement photos.

Wisteria

I love Wisteria.

It is my dream to one day own a house.
And around that house I am going to grow beautiful Wisteria.
So that I will be able to go outside and pick
a vibrant bouquet of the purple flowers.

When I went to Guadalajara a month ago,
there were beautiful purple Wisteria everywhere.

Especially in the historical district of Guadalajara.
Wisteria growing up on the old buildings and cathedrals.

These were just a few pictures I took while I was there.

Not a ring person.

I am usually not
a ring person.

But I would definitely
wear these.

via. Ruche

I will always love...

Kaleidoscopes

image via: ffound

On my last trip...

... I went to Las Vagas.

I saw the lights of this hotel...

I saw thousands of flowers in this hotel...



I saw the fountains of this hotel...

I saw butterflies in this hotel...



I took a picture with Rachel here...

I had espresso here...

I walked by this hotel daily...

I also...

1. Saw "The Phantom of the Opera"

2. Bought a new bikini.

3. Got a sunburn because of the new bikini.

4. Decided to go see a movie because the sunburn hurt to bad
to stand outside in the 100 degree weather.
We saw Star Trek. Love it!

5. Had dinner at a beautiful restaurant in the Venetian Hotel.

6. Gambled in the Balligio.
I put 1 dollar in a slot machine
and lost it 30 seconds later.
That was all the gambling for me.

My favorite director.

I love all of
Tim Burton's
movies.

Here are some pictures
from U.K. Vogue
featuring the director
and his wife.

via: Vogue U.K.