Silas' First Swim

Actually

this is the

recovery

after his

first swim.

A mini cake stand...

 

...that

would be

perfect for

cupcakes!

Posie

Cupcake

Stand

via:

Poppytalk.

Or you

can

check out

the

Etsy site

 dahlhaus.

Posted 1 Year Ago: "Nelle"

Relaxing Break

Oh how

I would

love

to have a

relaxing

mid-day

break

here...

Photo

grouping

created by

the wonderful:

dress, design & decor.

Ruche Vacation

I found this 

in my

email inbox

this morning!

And since
I will be
leaving
for a
vacation in
California
today...

I thought
a post
about
vacation
wordrob
by Ruche
would be
appropriate.

Romantic Rendezvous

is my

favorite!


Posted 1 Year Ago: "On my last trip to Seattle"

Pineapple Upside Down Cake

When I

was a

child...

I would
get so
excited
whenever
my mother
would make
this desert.

 

It was

always

so yummy!

So, when

I was 

planning

last night's

dinner party

I decided

that I

wanted

to try

to make it

myself.

And it was

just as

wonderful

as I

remembered.

Pineapple Upside Down Cake

Adapted from Curtis Atkins

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 can sliced pineapple
1/4 cup dark rum
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 cups flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 1/3 cups sugar
3 eggs, separated
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 cup pineapple juice (reserved from the can of sliced pineapple)
1/2 cup buttermilk

1. Combine butter and brown sugar in a 12-inch cast iron skillet and heat until bubbly. Add pineapple and caramelize to a deep golden brown, turning once. Remove from skillet and set aside.

2. Pour rum and cream into a skillet and cook over low heat 5 minutes, until thickened, stirring constantly with a whisk. Remove from heat.

3.Butter a 10-inch round cake pan. Arrange pineapple rings to cover bottom of pan. Pour cooled sauce over pineapple and set pan aside.

4. Sift together flour, baking powder, soda and salt. Set aside

5. In a large bowl cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg yolks, one at a time, beating after each addition. Add vanilla. 

6. Combine pineapple juice and buttermilk. Alternately add sifted dry ingredients and juice/buttermilk mixture to creamed mixture (begin and end with dry ingredients.) 

7. Whip egg whites to soft peaks and fold into batter. 

8. Bake at 350 degrees about 1 hour, or until a tester comes out clean. Invert onto a serving platter. 

 

Posted 1 Year Ago: "Butter by Nadia"

Hummingbirds

I bought

a cheap

five dollar

Hummingbird

feeder

last week...

in hopes

that some

of these

fast beaters

would come

to my 

kitchen

window.

Now

after

four days

of having

the feeder

out...

I have

Hummingbirds

lining

up to

eat!

Posted 1 Year Ago: "Snickerdoodles"

Sewing Room

I desperately

want to

learn

how to

sew.

Will

anyone

teach me?

And

when I

do learn

to sew...

I would

love a

little space

like this!

via: Thompson Family-Life


Posted 1 Year Ago: "I just want to say..."

Growing Puppy

He just

keeps

getting

bigger

and

bigger!

Posted 1 Year Ago: "Coffee to go please"

Fresh Lemon & Herb Potato Salad

I am like

a lot

 of people

in the

fact that

I am

NOT

a fan

of regular

potato salad...

But this

potato salad

is different.

This

potato salad

is super

light and fresh

and perfect

for a

summer

BBQ.

Fresh Lemon & Herb Potato Salad

Adapted from Bon Appitet

3 lbs red potatoes

3 tbsp rice vinegar

3/4 cup olive oil mayonnaise

4 chives, thinly sliced

1 tbsp fresh oregano

1 tbsp fresh thyme

2 tbsp fresh basil leaves, chopped

1 1/2 tsp lemon zest

salt and freshly ground pepper

1. Wash and cut the potatoes into quarters. 

2. Bring a pot of water to a roiling boil then add the potatoes to cook (about 15-20 minutes).

3. When fully cooked drain and toss in the rice vinegar. Set aside to cool.

4. While potatoes are cooling, mix the mayo, chives, oregano, thyme, basil and lemon zest together.

5. When potatoes are cooled, mix them with the mayo mixture and season with salt and pepper.

6. Cool in the refrigerator and serve!

   Silas

has been

enjoying

the dinners

outside!

Posted 1 Year Ago: "Sorry for my absence..."

Coffee Tasting

As usual
I am up
early
Saturday
morning
enjoying my
cup of coffee.

But as
I was
sipping
I stumbled
upon this
little
party...


A coffee

tasting

party!

What a

wonderful

idea.

Via: Design*Sponge


 Here is
another
weekly
round up
of some
lovely
things
that I
found
this week.

A quick guide to London.

How to make your own Lemonade Party.

Beautifully engraved laptop.

Amazing sunset.

Another kitchen to die for.

Creative sandwich bags.

They Draw and Cook

Look

at this

wonderful

recipe

blog!

They Draw and Cook

On a

quick

side-note...

It finally

stopped

raining

yesterday!

Caramel Banana Cupcakes

I have

been

having a

sweet-tooth

lately.

So among

other treats,

I enjoyed

these

yesterday.

Caramel Banana Cupcakes

Adapted from: Love & Olive Oil

1 tablespoon cider vinegar
1 1/2 cups milk
2 1/8 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 1/8 cups sugar
1/2 cup mashed ripe banana
1/2 cup canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon almond extract

For Frosting:
1 cup butter, room temperature
2 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar
2 tablespoons milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2-3 tablespoons caramel topping


1. Preheat the oven to 350º. Line muffin tin with paper cupcake liners.

2. Combined apple cider vinegar and milk in small bowl. Stir well and set aside.
 
3. In a bowl, mash banana with canola oil until incorporated. Add extracts and mix well.

4. In a large mixing bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add the milk and banana mixtures to the dry ingredients and stir until smooth.

5. Fill each muffin cup with a small 1/4 cup of batter. Bake for 20-22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of a cupcake comes out clean. Let cool in the pans for 5 minutes, then remove and place on a wire rack. Cool completely before frosting.

6. For frosting, whip butter with electric mixer until fluffy. Add sugar, 1/2 cup at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add milk, vanilla, and 2 tablespoons caramel, and beat 3-5 minutes until thick and fluffy. Add more sugar if needed to achieve proper consistency. Spread or pipe onto cooled cupcakes. Drizzle with remaining caramel and enjoy!

I am also

experimenting

with trying

to pipe

the frosting

onto the

cupcakes

in the

shape of

flowers.

It's a bit

harder

than

it looks.

Lisa Mitchell - Coin Laundry

Oh so

cute!

(And

I think

I want

to get

my haircut

like this

too).

Silas to Glacier

We took

Silas to

Glacier

Park

a few

weekends

ago!

He loved

playing

in the

still water

of the

lake.

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.