Guess Who's Four???

Our puppy is four. Craziness. We celebrated with a little yogurt on our dinner, a nice walk and a bone. Can't get much better than that!

Happy Birthday Sampson!!!!

Homemade Twix Bars

Dark Chocolate Nutella Twix Bars


I made these the other night for bookclub. They were DELICIOUS!!! They are super rich so next time I'm going to cut each in half before dipping. Let me know if you try them!!

Cooking with the Hubster

Okay, maybe he can't really cook. But boy oh boy does he make a meeeeeean chocolate malt. I love chocolate but have never cared for chocolate ice cream. That is until I stole my first sip of his chocolate malt at Mr. Freeze. Ever since then I've been converted. Now we live oh so very far away from Mr. Freeze and have to fend for ourselves. Nathan has taken to making his own malts. Simple and goooood!

- vanilla ice cream
- chocolate malt powder
- a splash of milk
- stainless steel bowl
- hand mixer



Everytime they taste divine. Especially when we whip us some fresh whipped cream for on top!

Hard, Soft or Chewy?

How do you like your chocolate chip cookies?? We're fans of soft and chewy.

Baking Bust

For my bookclub this month I decided to make a gluten-free dessert. One of my girlfriends has a gluten allergy and rarely gets to eat the sweet goodies people bring to bookclub. So this was my attempt at satisfying her sweet tooth.






The recipe basically consisted of cooking shredded beets in agave nectar then pureeing them and baking them.

It. was. awful.

Even with a sprinkle of powdered sugar...



And a strawberry...



Just plain awful...

Graduation Caps

I made these for a high school graduation party a couple weeks ago. The client at first wanted some sort of graduation cupcakes for her sons party but once I found this idea she was on board for these instead. Then the fun began...finding the perfect tassel (I had to cut strands of really skinny candy), the perfect candy piece on top (I sorted through the bulk candies to get 20 yellow mini m&m's) and the perfect chocolate (lordie this took four stores and six different chocolate squares before finding the right ones). It was a fun challenge and they turned out pretty cute...I would love to do one next year and incorporate it onto a cupcake or larger cake!

Strawberry Season Scones

I decided to make something because I had soooo many strawberries and vanilla yogurt to use up. I remembered seeing this recipe for strawberry scones on one of my very favorite food blogs and thought I'd give it a try. Well I am so thankful that I did because they were delicious! I only made two of the eight and froze the other six. I was able to make the remaining six scones when my parents were here just a week later and they tasted just as good.

I also made the oatmeal raspberry scones while my parents were here and froze half of them to bake later. So nice to know that we can have a yummy homemade breakfast treat straight from the freezer!

Sweet Caroline

A few weeks ago I made the favors for a baby shower. The baby-to-be has the sweetest name, Caroline! I hope her mama liked the favors...

Pre Father's Day Cupcakes

This past weekend we celebrated Father's Day with my dad since he and my mom had come for a visit. I saw this recipe for black forest cupcakes on Annie's Eats and thought we'd try them when my dad was here. My mom will often buy a black forest cake when we celebrate his birthday so why not try a cupcake version for father's day? I wasn't too thrilled with how dry the chocolate cake turned out but nobody seemed to mind! I think overall everyone enjoyed them.

Ketchup

I promise you will NEVER meet anyone who loves it more than this guy!



We had an oyster festival near our neighborhood today and I really wanted to go because they were having a Journey cover band perform. So after dropping off my latest cookie order (for a baby shower) we stopped by Chickfila because I was dying for a split (that's half tea/half lemonade in cfa language...we call it an arnold palmer) and the mister decided waffle fries were a must. Well we were both pretty excited by the ketchup they gave him...so convenient in it's new container that is both dunk and squeeze friendly!

Here's a sample of the music we got to enjoy...they are SO good! This is our second time seeing them...I love hearing live music and they are great to listen to! Trial by Fire

A Wedding in Paradise

One of Nate's dearest friends got married in early May. We were so glad to be a part of their big day but also excited to have a mini-vacation. I took an extra day off of work so we could spend an extra day in paradise. We were in Ocean Reef, Florida. You need to be sponsored by a member of the club in order to enter the island/resort so it's suuuuuper safe. They give you one card that doubles as a room key and the "credit card" for anything. Literally, every restaurant, shop and bar took the room key as payment...I don't think you can really use cash much at all. It was super convenient to not have to worry about your id and credit card/cash when you were out and about.

We started our vacation playing croquet. The game itself is so fun but way more difficult than your average backyard experience. At the club where we played with the other wedding guests you have to wear all white. What a challenge for Nate but I was super excited to buy a white dress that I'd been eyeing at Anthro. Here's a picture of us in action...sort of.



We spent most of Saturday riding bikes around the island. We rode by the homes of many ridiculously fortunate people! Then we spent a bit of time in the pool area before the big event. Could you ever leave this place?



Here's us during the main event...the wedding was held just down the little path on a place called "the point."



The water surrounds the point so 3/4 of your view are water water water. So pretty and peaceful.



The happy couple...I "borrowed" this picture from Bryan...gorgeous, right?



We took a walk on the piers after the main course of the reception. Nate fell in love with every yacht he saw. I told him to keep his fingers crossed and it might just happen. He's so very literal.



We took one more picture after the brunch on Sunday before we left paradise.



Hoenstly...how could anyone be unhappy when they woke up to this gorgeous water everyday?

Chocolate + Raspberry = AHH-mazing!!!

I had two different "orders" for birthday cupcakes last week. One request was for something chocolate so I knew I had to throw in some seasonal fruit to lighten it up on these hot Carolina days. If you love chocolate and raspberries then you will loooooove these cupcakes! I think they are my new favorite.

ganache filled raspberries...


raspberry infused buttercream frosting...


the finished product...


just one bite...


cupcakes:
9 tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups cake flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. baking powder
8 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1/2 cup strong coffee (or water)
1/2 cup whole or low-fat milk

raspberry truffles:
2 pints fresh raspberries
5 oz. semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
1/4 cup seedless raspberry jam
1/3 cup heavy cream

frosting:
16 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
6 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup seedless raspberry jam
Pink icing color (optional)

To make the cupcakes, preheat the oven to 350° F. Line two cupcake pans with paper liners. In a small bowl sift together the cocoa powder, cake flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Mix in the eggs one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl between additions.

In a liquid measuring cup, combine the coffee and milk. Add half of the dry ingredients to the mixer and mix on low speed just until incorporated. Stir in the coffee-milk mixture and mix until combined. Add in the remaining dry ingredients, again mixing just until incorporated. Divide the batter evenly between the cupcake liners, filling the cups about 3/4 full. Bake for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the raspberry truffles, rinse fresh raspberries and transfer to a baking sheet lined with paper towels. Gently shake the berries around to remove excess water. Place the chocolate and jam in a small heatproof bowl. Bring the cream to a boil in a small saucepan. Remove from the heat and pour over the chocolate and jam. Let stand for about 3 minutes. Whisk together gently until smooth. If any unmelted lumps remain, microwave a few seconds and whisk again. Let the ganache cool a bit until it has thickened slightly (enough to be piped through a pastry bag). Once it has reached the right consistency, transfer the ganache to a pastry bag and pipe into the center of the clean raspberries. Refrigerate at least 15 minutes to set.

To make the frosting, place the butter and jam in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Cream on medium-high speed until well incorporated, about 2 minutes. Sift in the powdered sugar and mix until smooth. Tint with icing color as desired.

To finish the cupcakes, frost with the raspberry jam buttercream and top with a few of the raspberry truffles.

Source: adapted from Annie's Eats

Finally Home

Nathan witnessed something terribly sad and yet beautiful this week on his way to Vancouver. A fallen soldier was finally brought home. Nate watched the procession at the Charlotte airport but didn't know until afterwards just exactly what he had witnessed. This particular soldier was a prisoner of war in the Korean War. He was taken prisoner in 1951 and just this week his remains were finally brought home to North Carolina.

Here is a more detailed article about this brave soldier and his family.
Pfc. Samuel Kelly Watkins

In reading more about this war veteran my heart ached for his family, especially his parents, who so badly wanted to believe that he was in fact alive. I can only hope that they found peace when he met them in heaven and finally ended their search for him.

Peanut Butter Cookies...or not...

I was making treats for Sampson the other day and the instructions said to flatten the dough. I grabbed my potato masher to help out...do these look like mini peanut butter cookies or what?

Frosting Frosting Frosting

I got a new tip for decorating cupcakes.

Now all I want to do is practice.



Any takers...I mean, eaters???

Many Moons ago...

My neighbor asked me to make some baked good for her church. Here are some pictures of what I chose to do.

Inside each of these boxes...



Are four butterfly cupcakes!



I also made two different kinds of doggie treats that Sampson definitely approved of!

Baptism Babies

Last weekend I had the great honor of becoming a godmother. I prepared for this role very seriously as it combines two of my favorite things: babies and buying gifts! :) Our little niece and nephew did so well...no tears and only a few funny "who are you?" faces. There was a nice little luncheon afterwards filled with family and good food. Once things had a died down a bit I was able to give our goddaughter her first piece of Tiffany's. We had searched and searched for a practical yet unique baptism gift and were thrilled with the piggy bank we eventually settled on. When I wanted to take her picture with the piggy bank AJ's mother had the funny idea of putting her in the T&Co bag. I thought this shot turned out pretty darn cute.



This is AJ's twin brother, Rich. He is the calmest, most reserved baby that I've ever met. I still can't get over how upset he was in his car seat as he hadn't made a peep all day long. I think he was just done being passed around!

Extreme Lawn Makeover

We had the sincere pleasure of redoing our lawn this month. We had to pull out all the past years of pine straw (ugh) removed many MANY dead bushes (bigger ugh) and finally had to remulch (ugh ugh ugh). But, it's done, cleaned and a nice fresh start for us!

Before we touched anything:


After we removed the pine straw and many MANY dead bushes


I think these weeds were in shock after we came through the flower bed!


Clear of most of the weeds.


The aftermath of sorts...thank heavens for a city that doesn't have a limit on yardwaste!


P.S. Pleeeeeeeeeeeease don't say you can't tell the difference. It'll break our hearts. :)

Over the Meadow...

As promised here are some photos of our meadow...I swear it looked even worse in person!

Mama Love...

My grandma once said "he has a face only a mother could love." I didn't realize that Sampson fit that statement to a tee...



Here's another view if you couldn't see above. The drool coming off this sweet puppy of mine definitely makes his face full of drool only one his mama could love.

Hummingbird Cupcakes

I had book club on Monday night so I was in search of a tasty yet visually appealing dessert. Something different. Something complex. Thanks to Annie's Eats I found the perfect treat! I even had enough left over to give some to the back door neighbors (Hi Lisa!) and a few more to our next door neighbors with an apology note. You see they are trying to sell their house and our yard looks terrible! We live in a meadow right now. We had plans to buy a lawnmower and mow the yard last weekend but it rained. rained. rained. so we have to wait until this weekend. I'll have to take a picture to prove just how ridiculous it looks.



Anywhoooo...the cupcakes were fun to make but I was disappointed that the cupcake itself tasted too much like banana bread...I couldn't even tell that there was pineapple and coconut in the cake. But the pineapple flowers on top were adorable!

Another Find

Nate wins the prize for this weekends purchases! He found this beauty for sale on Thursday night from San Francisco. Just 24 hours, a Lowe's rental truck and some heavy lifting later it found itself at home in the corner of our family room. We can't wait to get the couch we ordered since it will complete our family room set up.

All Things New (to us)

A friend of mine suggested some wonderful consignment stores here in Charlotte to us. Since then we have spent a few hours every Saturday looking for good deals. Here are some of my favorites!

Ethan Allen solid cherry kitchen table with four coordinating chairs and two captains chairs. This kitchen table is from the 1960's and was sold by the couple that bought it in the 60's! They had it in their kitchen that entire time...I love knowing that their family spent so many years sharing meals around it.



Thomasville dresser - an good find considering the end tables we'd purchased below...



Notice the "end table??" Turns out it's the nightstand that compliments the dresser. So we now have two new nighstands with a matching dresser!

Oh, and the chair/ottoman we purchased as well. It's soooo comfy!



We really enjoy the hunt and have found so many quality pieces! You just never know what you'll find when you walk in...

Hello? Is Anybody There?

Sorry for the lack of blogging. It isn't for a lack of stories...just a bit of craziness coupled with some computer malfunctions. Here's hoping for consistent posting starting this weekend!

Oh, and just in case you forgot what my favorite puppy looks like while we were away...