chocolate ice cream {& peanut butter} on a pretzel stick

Chocolate + Peanut Butter + Pretzel = Love

Chocolate Ice Cream + Peanut Butter + Pretzel Stick = Genius!

About four years ago I encountered this amazing concoction at a place caller Junior Ambassador's. I was pregnant with Clementine at the time and when this was handed to me by the very talented ice cream maker extraordinaire, Rudy Speerscheider, well, it kind of blew my mind.

Sadly, Junior Ambassador's sweet awesomeness closed up and all I had was a lovely memory that visited me from time to time in the form of chocolate cravings.

I happened to have a bag of pretzel sticks. They were a fine snack just as they were but their nakedness seemed to be beckoning me to become more; to reach their ultimate potential in deliciousness. It was time to make this dream a reality. Peanut butter? Check. Chocolate Ice cream? Check. Now it was time to assemble.

Sure, Rudy handed me a small masterpiece made with delightful, small-batch, hand made chocolate ice cream, but I think I did a good job with what I had. It's not easy to get that scoop of ice cream on that pretzel stick, but with a little finesse it all came together. 

Pure joy and yumminess.

Who needs cones or spoons when you have pretzels?!

{The GREAT news about all of this is when I was looking up Junior Ambassador's again I found out that Rudy has been making ice cream at Salt & Straw on Alberta Street! How did I miss that? Yay!}

raspberry pockets

My new favorite snack is to stuff bittersweet chocolate chips or almonds into a raspberry. Little pops of fruity sweetness. Perfect little treat! 

Just had to share.

handprint butterfly

For Mother's Day

I'm finding lately that Clementine isn't as interested in craft projects as she used to be. When I asked her if she wanted to make mother's day cards she replied, "No, maybe next week." This certainly wasn't the answer I was looking for! Pretend play is all she cares about: role playing, princesses, reenacting stories, singing songs putting on shows are all her priority. I needed to find a way to make this a fun project. Here's what happened:

She pretended to drive her imaginary car to a 'craft class' which she paid me one pretend dollar to attend. I, in turn, talked in a funny voice which somehow combined english nanny, old hollywood, and crazy lady into one. I introduced her to her imaginary friends that were seated in the chairs next to her. She giggled and covered her face when I told her Henry was in attendance. (That's a boy in her class that she likes because he's one of the only ones, according to her, that doesn't "go cwazy")

The "craft class" had to be broken into sessions in order to complete the project. We had 5 butterflies to make. The project is very simple.

  • Trace hands onto a sheet of paper which will serve as a pattern (a pattern is not necessary if you are making only one butterfly!)

  • Cut them out and label them.

  • Use your pattern and cut out hands from thicker paper.  We used watercolor paper. Card stock would also be fine.
  • Decorate your wings!  We used watercolors. Paint, marker, crayon, stickers, jewels, pompoms, glitter, collage or whatever else you can think of would also work.

  • Cut out the body of the butterfly.

  • Glue wings to body.

  • Punch small holes at the top and use a chenille stem for the antennae

  • Draw on eyes or use google eyes!

  • Add a mouth, or a nose, or whatever you like! 

Here she is happily painting butterfly wings. Between two "craft classes" she painted two sets of wings. It seemed too much to ask her to paint five sets so I went to the stack of art that she has made in preschool. I used the hand pattern to cut out three more sets of wings out of a watercolor painting that she had done last week. Perfect!

Once we had our wings taken care of and glued them onto the butterfly bodies we could add google eyes and antennae to all of them. Lastly, with a crayon in hand, Clementine added a mouth to each specially made butterfly; a big ol' smile. That definitely gave them some character! Our Mother's Day cards are finished!

a perfect day

tulip festival 2013

tulip festival 2013

The sun has been shining down on us in Portland which makes us stop everything and play outside. The trees have gone from glorious blossom to full green leaves. The petals have fallen off the tulips and the baby ducks have hatched at school.

I wanted to share a note that came home attached to Clementine's school bag today. It pretty much sums it all up:

"What a glorious day to be a preschooler. Clementine is just so gentle and sweet when holding a baby chick! The little chick didn't even "peep" under her calm care.

Two containers of caterpillars arrived yesterday and we all are hoping to watch the process of butterflies hatching.  We will later release them in the garden.

We all had a lovely snack picnic sitting on the stumps in the backyard and Clementine was a big help watering all the seedlings in the driveway and she just loves riding on the green tree swing.  She's able to get on and off by herself.

Today was just a perfect preschool day!"

Aloha!

Just back from Kaua'i. It was a much needed dose of sunshine, relaxation, and good ol' family time. Swimming, sand cake making (no castles here!), surf watching, sun basking (with sun block, of course!), hula dancing, and sunset viewing were our daily activities. 

The little miss and I took two lei making classes. One where I learned how to make a braided tai leaf lei, which is pictured above where I'm holding it in between my toes. I was very excited to learn this new trick. The second, Clementine and I worked together. She strung the beautiful crown flower (all by herself!) and I added the orchids. It was definitely a proud mom moment for me. 

We did a little bit of exploring to see some of Kauai's beautiful sites, and we attended a luau per Clementine's desperate request. You know those times you can look at someone and witness true bliss? Well, I saw it in her sparkling, smiling eyes that night. From the plumeria lei that she was greeted with, the excitement of staying up late, watching those dancers and then joining them up on stage, being mystified by the man who danced with fire; she was so happy. It was palpable and contagious.

That's what we all need, right? A little bliss.

Okay. Time to do laundry. 

Our Easter Table

What a weekend! It was filled with excitement, sunshine, sweets, friends, and love. 

The weather was sunny and 75 in Portland! I know, I can't believe it either. Our good friends shared their lovely yard with which was the ideal setting for our easter table! My vision this year was white with tiny pops (or sprinkles!) of pastel. The fact that we could make that vision come to life out on the grass with sunshine on our faces was just amazing.

Here are the details...

I made white paper nests for every place setting and put a nonpareil covered egg and some yellow, white, and pink cadbury mini eggs in each. The little miss got a special coordinating sugar cookie in the shape of a flower in her nest.  My vision for the nonpareils went beyond just the eggs: I covered some glass candles and a small vase as well! I used the same method of painting on the glue and then sprinkling on the nonpareils. So easy! AND it all washes off!

For flowers: a tiny white cup filled with slightly blushed creamy white tulips cut down very short, white ranunculus and white freesia in a tight bouquet placed in a vintage vase that sat high in the tablescape, and lastly a tiny POP of  yellow ranunculus placed in the small vase covered in nonpareils. Remember the eggs that I grew grass in last year? Well, this year the grass was replaced with a tiny succulent. 

There were also a few all white hard boiled eggs on there, some sitting upon a small pile of nonpareils. 

It was fresh and sweet and just perfect for our alfresco dining. It really couldn't have been a better way to end the weekend after all the excitement of the MSLiving contest.

Oh, and did I mention the bunny cake?!