Post Vacation Vacation Post.
I'm back! Finally right? Have you ever had one of those vacations where you need another vacation just to recover from it? Yeah, that was me.
I had all these lofty ideas to post updates for you about how the visit was going salt and peppered with cute shots of chocolate daisy toppers, polka dot baking cups and an army of cupcakes. That didn't happen. That was a stupid idea. I'm stupid.
I barely had time to sleep let alone have the energy to post devilishly clever blog posts or keep my eyes open for Photoshop. The week was a whirlwind of events from a little firearm education with dad to lions and tigers and bears at the zoo. Manicures and pedicures with the ladies to Sandbanks with mom. A little Indonesian cuisine with the family to girly movies and giggling with my best friend. Curling, speeches, tours, appointments, photos, new friends, old friends... Cupcakes and lots of 'em!
I thought it would be too soon if I never saw another cupcake in my life. After a full day of baking twelve dozen cupcakes, filling twelve dozen cupcakes, frosting twelve dozen cupcakes, topping twelve dozen cupcakes and packing twelve dozen cupcakes I wasn't interested in eating even one. The three flavours were a hit at the wedding and they were nearly devoured before the photographer could snap the traditional cutting the cake photo. It was a beautiful wedding and Lisa and Jamie were the sweetest couple!
I was really excited about this particular cupcake because I personally considered it the signature flavour being that it was a fall wedding. Since I never tried it, or posted anything about the wedding like a good blogger would do, I decided just one batch wouldn't kill me. This time I took my time and planned ahead. Unlike last time when I forgot the jam entirely and accidentally bought a kilogram of whole wheat flour. This time there was no hair pulling, no exploding piping bags, no mountains of tupperware, no assembly line, no late night trips to my brother's new refrigerator. Just a little Ani DiFranco and a lot of love.
In Mint Condition.
You remember my friend, Kristin from Idle Wife. She did those adorable polka dot napkin folding tutorials a little while ago. Well today you can find me on her beautiful blog with some delicious Vanilla Mint Chocolate Chunk Ice Cream.
It's got real vanilla bean, fresh mint and luscious chocolate pieces. So if you're hungry for more make sure to click on over to Idle Wife to check it out.
Thick As Thieves.
Two of my very favourite things are in season right now. Cherries and lilacs. To celebrate I thought I'd combine the two.
I made you a Chocolate Hazelnut Cherry Tart and planted my very own lilac bush.
The latter was no easy task. Let me explain.
First you must know that you should consider me a frugal person. Not cheap. Frugal. If I can spend little to no money on anything I'll go for it. Who wouldn't, right? There are things I do not scrimp on. Cream cheese for one – why anyone would put anything other than Philadelphia in their mouths is beyond me. Eyeglasses – Gucci, Armani, Versace yes please. Laptops – sorry, but I'm not going to let an off brand hard drive anywhere near all my photos, videos and documents for fear they might spontaneously combust.
Pretty much everything else is up for grabs. All the clothes hanging in my closet were either very reasonably priced or very much on sale. I compare prices on flour. All the boxes in my pantry are generic brand or the next best thing.
So you can understand why I was not about to spend money on something like a lilac bush when they grow free and wild. I was also not about to be caught cloak and dagger in my neighbour's backyard absconding with their precious lilacs, pail and trowel in hand. So we took a drive. A long drive. And wouldn't you know, the further we got outside the city the less and less prevalent the tiny little flowers became. We drove down muddy roads, over potholes and through neighbourhoods we had no business being in. No luck and no lilacs.
So after all that we ended up spending less money on a lilac bush at the garden center than we spent on gas to fuel our little adventure. Maybe I'm just not cut out to be a lilac thief.
Biting into this delicious tart makes me feel loads better though. At least I have that.
Bloomin’ Cake.
Today you can find me over on The White Library. I made a super pretty super tasty Chocolate Covered Almond Cake for Sandra and her beautiful blog.
It seemed only fair after she revealed her secrets to designing the perfect dessert table. If you didn't visit The White Library yesterday then make sure to stop by and see the details of this bloomin' cake.
Jumping The Gun.
It's time for Bermuda shorts and flip flops, campfires and s'mores, picnics and late night sunsets. Sunglasses that are both ridiculously huge and fabulous. Freshly mowed grass and the adorable buzz of bumblebees. Tan lines and the feel of warm sand between your toes.
It might seem like I'm jumping the gun a bit here. It wasn't a week ago we had bits of stubborn snow clinging to the ground. Canadian Summers are short so we have to make the most of it. We had our first campfire over Easter weekend while there was still a chill in the air and snow on the ground.
In the spirit of the beautiful weather I hope we can hang onto for as long as possible I made S'mores Cookies. For those of us with long or short Summers, now we can enjoy a little piece of it all year long.
Play.
All around is the sound of trickling water. Icicles shrinking and dripping. The wind blows as though breathing a long baited sigh of relief. The birds sing again. The sun burns red through closed eyelids and thaws the chill from the interminable Winter.
Spring is here. In case you didn't know, Spring is my favourite season. It's when Winter fades and slowly life begins again. Winter is like living on pause. Life is frozen in place. It's time for play.
Speaking of which, I was playing with my original Banana Muffins recipe the other day and transformed it into Chocolate Banana Cinnamon Muffins. I think you'll like it.
Taste Test.
Have you ever had such a bad head cold that you can't seem to taste anything?
You're just so congested your ears are popping every time you swallow. The softest, fluffiest lotion lined tissues still feel like sand paper when you're blowing your nose every five minutes. And as if that isn't bad enough you're favourite batch of cookies taste like dust in your mouth.
Because I'm sick and I need to bake me up some medicine, because I'm afraid I might become permanently anosmic and ageusic, because I've spent way too much time feeling sorry for myself and because the kind people at California Walnuts sent me a generous sample of delicious walnuts. What better way to jump start your taste buds than with some of the most potent flavours? Chocolate, caramel and toasty walnuts.
Who needs chicken noodle soup when there's Walrus Bars?
Simple Pleasures.
Last night my dinner consisted of a handful of popcorn and half a Toblerone. Unhealthy, yes, but you have to marvel at the restraint it requires not to eat the entire Toblerone. Tonight's dinner was by far an improvement.
And by improvement I mean I ate it all. Since when have you not been able to finish a bowl of delicious ice cream? Granted it normally follows the meal instead of preceding or encompassing it, but hey I'm proud of myself.
Anyone who's ever been to Dairy Queen knows I'm telling the truth when I speak of the beauty that is the Peanut Buster Parfait. I wouldn't lie about such things.
Layers of creamy soft serve vanilla ice cream sandwiched between thick hot fudge and salted peanuts. Just when you think it's all gone you break through to a whole new layer of chocolate peanut bliss.
Now you might be wondering how on earth you could possibly make that any better. Well it's simple, my friends. First you make your very own French Vanilla Ice Cream, you top it with homemade Hot Fudge Sauce, salted peanuts and, the crowning glory, sliced bananas. Aren't the simplest things the best things?
Chocolate. Cherries. Whipped Cream.
I find myself pondering the things in life that I simply could not do without.
Everyday ordinary things that somehow have become integral to my very existence.
Like my iPhone. If I couldn't check my Twitter every hour you might find me shaking in a corner somewhere in a cold sweat. Or if I just couldn't play Tap Tap Revenge I'd probably start obsessively drumming three fingers on every and any surface I could get my rhythm deprived hands on.
My camera. Being a self-professed shutter bug I snap photos of lots of pretty things edible or otherwise. If it broke or got stolen one day I'd probably cry. Like ugly-face-desperate-air-gasping-cry.
My laptop. I've filled this baby to the brim with photos, music and videos. When people aren't looking I stroke it and whisper sweet nothings into its air vents. One of these days we're going to have a disagreement regarding the location of some very important files and I want to put that off for as long as possible.
My hair straightener. Without it my hair get's poofy and I will not walk through life with poofy hair. I just won't. I refuse.
Burt's Bees pomegranate rosemary lip balm. I can't stand lipstick and it makes kissing my fella far too complicated. This lip balm makes my lips just slightly redder and smooth plus it's pretty much all natural which is nice.
My fella, of course! You saw that coming right? Who else would laugh at my bad puns, warm up my feet when they're cold or eat the bits of leftover cake I levelled off the top?
Chocolate.
Cherries.
Whipped cream.
Lucky for me this cake has all three of those last things. Now if it was just filled with iTunes cards I'd be laughing.
Sweetheart.
I thought that on this most auspicious day I would share with you mine and Lee's favourite poem. Sometimes no matter how hard you try to express your feelings someone has already beaten you to the punch.
A Rhyme of the Dream-Maker Man
Down near the end of a wandering lane,
That runs 'round the cares of a day,
Where Conscience and Memory meet and explain,
... Their quaint little quarrels away.
A misty air-castle sits back in the dusk
Where brownies and hobgoblins dwell
And this is the home
Of a busy old gnome
Who is making up dream-things to sell,
My dear,
The daintiest dreams to sell.
He makes golden dreams of wicked men's sighs.
He weaves on the thread of a hope
The airiest fancies of pretty brown eyes,
And patterns his work with a trope.
The breath of a rose and the blush of a wish
Boiled down to the ghost of a bliss,
He wraps in a smile
Every once in a while,
And calls it the dream of a kiss,
Dear heart,
The dream of an unborn kiss.
Last night when I walked thro' the portals of sleep
And came to the weird little den,
I looked in the place where the elf-man should keep
A dream that I buy now and then.
'Tis only the sweet happy dream of a day--
Yet one that I wish may come true--
But I learned from the elf
That you'd been there yourself
And he'd given my dear dream to you,
Sweetheart,
He'd given our dream to you.
-William Allen White
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