Lovely Breakfast

I am

back from

Idaho...

and like

always

I am up

early

enjoying the

morning

and

taking

care of

Silas.

He grew

so big

in just

1 week!

And

as I

begin

to think

about

what to

have for

breakfast...

I am

dreaming of

having it

here...

How lovely

would it be

to have

breakfast

here.

via: Pia

Glass of Wine

Micah...

when I

get home

we need

to go out

for a

glass.

I miss
you.

Image via:
littlebrownpen



Posted 1 Year Ago: "Strawberry Lemonade Cupcakes"

Sabrina

Isn't this

vintage

poster

just

lovely!

It makes
me want
to watch
Sabrina
all over
again.


Posted 1 Year Ago: "LaLah"

BaBook

Look

at these

fun

clutches!

And guess

what...

they are

recycled.

Made by

Babook.

I'll be in Idaho...

I am

heading

off to

Idaho

for the

week

for a

teaching

opportunity.

I will

try to

continue

with my

regular

posting...

pending

internet

availability.

But this

morning

I will

leave you

with a

picture

of the

last party

I threw.

We planned 

to host 

a outdoor 

bbq...

but the

weather

went

south.

So we

brought

the outside,

inside!

I just

added some

freshly

potted

herbs

as a

centerepice

and voila!

So simple.

And we

dinned on...

Kickin' Beef Burgers

Oven Baked Herb du Provence Fries

and 

Chocolate Honey 

Peanut Cupcakes

Gingered Pear Muffins

Good Morning
and
Happy Saturday!

I woke up
early
today
so that
I could
make
yummy
Gingered Pear
Muffins...

These
muffins
are full of
spice
and not
super sweet...

which is
nice
when you
are not in
the mood
for a
super sweet
breakfast.

Gingered Pear Muffins
Adapted from: goodLife {eats}

3 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup ground almonds
1 1/4 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cups brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs, beaten
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
3 cups grated fresh pear, drained of excess water

Streusal Topping 

1/8  cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup sugar
5 Tbs cold unsalted butter, sliced
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons ground almonds

 

 

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

2. In a small bowl, combine the streusel ingredients until crumbly.  Set aside.

3. In a medium sized bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, salt, almonds, cinnamon, ginger, and cardamom. Set aside. 

 

4. Using a mixer, beat together the sugars and butter sugar until creamy, about 3 minutes.

5. Add the eggs, vanilla extract , and almond extract to the butter mixture, beating to combine. Stir in half of the flour mixture followed by half of the grated pear, and repeat.
6. Line muffin cups with paper liners. Divide batter evenly among cups. Sprinkle the tops of the batter with the streusal mixture.
 

7. Bake until muffins are golden brown, about 20 to 30 minutes. Enjoy!

Here again

is a

wrap-up

of lovely

things

that I

have

found
this week.

I am loving this rain wall-paper.

Beautiful Spring photography by Rocky Top Studio.

I now want to go to Shanghai.

The Impossibly cool Christopher Walken.

Brussels in Bloom.

45 things to do with fresh sage.

Living in Pride & Prejudice

Every now

and then

Design*Sponge

posts about

what it would

be like

to live in
the scenery
of a movie.

And the

other day

they

featured...

Pride & Prejudice

Posted 1 Year Ago: "Chicken Chili Tacos"

Cupcake Stand

I would

love

to have

a little

trailer

like this...

So I could

bake and sell

cupcakes!

Via: Green Wedding Shoes

Ming Makes Cupcakes

Oh my!

A blog

devoted

to

cupcakes...

Yum!

Cupcake

creations

by:

Ming Makes Cupcakes


Posted 1 Year Ago: "Jon Klassen"

Ice Cream Parlor

Oh my

goodness!!!

These look

amazing...

Neapolitan

 Mint Chocolate Chip

 Orange Cream

I just

wish

there was

a holiday

for presents

in the 

summer.

Godiva is

simply

wonderful.

Coriander Girl

I want to

shop at...

Coriander Girl.

What a

wonderful

shop idea!

It would be

so fun

to open

a shop

like this

where I

live.

Posted 1 Year Ago: "Wisteria"

Tuscan Eggs on Toast

I woke up

at 6am

this morning.

I usually

wake up

that early

and casually

sit around

and sip

my coffee.

But this

morning

I was

ravishingly

hungry.

So I

made this!

Tuscan Eggs on Toast

Adapted from Martha Stewart

5 large eggs

1/4 cup olive oil

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

1/2 dried oregano

1 (24oz) can whole tomatoes

1/2 tsp salt

fresh ground pepper (to taste)

6 slices toasted bread

1. Separate the eggs. Make sure not to break the yolks!

2. In a skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add the garlic, red pepper flakes, oregano, salt and pepper. Cook for 2 minutes without browning the garlic.

 
3. Raise heat to medium-high, then add the tomatoes (with its juice). Break up the tomatoes and cook for about 5 minutes, or until the sauce has thickened and become less watery.

4. Lower the heat to medium-low and stir in the egg whites. Cook until the whites have been all cooked and are not clear.

5. Turn to low heat, make 5 small wells in the egg mixture. Then drop each egg yolk into the wells. Cover the skillet and cook until the yolks are at your desired texture.

6. Serve over toasted, buttered bread.

7. Delicious!

On another

note...

Look

how big

Silas is

getting!!!

 

Posted 1 Year Ago: "Not a ring person"

Micah....

Micah...

Created by:

Vol 25


On another

note...

Here
is a
weeks
wrap-up
of some
lovely
things
I found
while
browsing
the web
this week.

Enjoy!

A cute little friend coming to visit Pia.

Track Pants that actually look beautiful.

House Crashing done right.

What a lovely breakfast.

My worst fear.

Realizing how awesome Diane Kruger is.

Inkadinkadoodle.

Wish I could vintage shop like this.

Loving Carrie's hair and outfit.

Dreaming of this Veranda Stripe Skirt from Leifsdottir.

Chez Chanel

The Cherry Blossom Girl

got a peek into

Coco Chanel's

Paris home....

I am so

jealous. 

Posted 1 Year Ago: "On my last trip"

Family Tree

This 

would be

wonderful

to have

hanging
in my
home.

I just

love

family

trees.

Found via:

Cardgirl Invitations

First for Silas

 Silas,

being a

Newfoundland...

is a

water

dog.

Which

was the

reason

we had to

get him

to the

lake

as soon as

possible.

Eventhough

it was

super cold...

we had

fun!

Emmentaler Peppered Turkey Panini

I think

I found

my new

favorite

cheese...

for hot

Panini

Sandwiches!

It is

Emmentaler

Swiss Cheese

and it is

delicious.

Emmentaler Peppered Turkey Panini

2 slices bread (I use flax bread, but any country style bread would be good too)

olive oil for brushing

mayonnaise

sliced peppered turkey breast (from your local deli)

slice of Emmentaler cheese (I found mine at the local grocery in the specialty cheese section)

leaf of Romain lettuce or Arugula

1. Brush one side of the bread slices with olive oil. Lay that side on the panini press.

2. Then layer your sandwich with mayonnaise, turkey, cheese, and lettuce. Top with other slice of oiled bread.

3. Press and then eat! 

Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day!

I just

love

looking

at old

pictures

of when

my mom

was young.

My mom

is the

girl

on the

right.

I love you

mom...

Happy Mother's Day.

Cotton Flowers

How cute!

Using

Cotton Flowers

for Party

decorations
is such a
wonderful
idea.

via: Lauryl Lane

Toasted Coconut Cupcakes

Remember

when I

bought

this

cookbook.

Well,

I finally

made

another

batch of

cupcakes

from it!

Toasted Coconut Cupcakes

Batter:

1 cup flour

1/3 cup cocoa powder

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 cup coconut oil

1/4 cup coconut milk

3/4 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 tsp coconut extract

Buttercream Frosting:

1 cup butter, softened

4 cups powder sugar

2 tbsp milk

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/2 tsp coconut extract

1/2 cup toasted coconut

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2.  In a small bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt.

3. In a separate larger bowl, mix together the coconut milk, sugar, vanilla and coconut extracts. 

4. Melt the coconut milk in a small saucepan over very low heat. Add to the coconut milk mix.

5. Slowly add the flower mix to the coconut mix in batches.

6. Bake for 25 minutes. Then cool completely before frosting.

7. To make the frosting: beat the butter and powder sugar together until very smooth. Add the milk and extracts. Beat again until very smooth.

8. Spread (or pipe) onto cupcakes then roll in the toasted coconut.

Posted 1 Year Ago: "Red"

Cinco de Mayo

How

did you

celebrate

Cinco de Mayo?

Our day

started off

with snow...

But by

the end

of the

day

the sun

came out

and all

the snow

melted.

So...

we had a

fiesta!

I only had

about

10 minutes

to decorate

for this

party.

So my

decorations

consisted of

making 

streamers and

drink garnishes

out of

napkins!

And we

feasted on

Carna Asada Tacos

and 

Guacamole,

Pico de Gallo,

and Chips.

Posted 1 Year Ago: "Annie Leibovitz"

Kate Spade's Spring

Oh Kate....

I love

your

clothing.