Soon those days will be here again. I really can't wait. There is an overwhelming sense of joy that I get seeing those fruits and vegetables in all their freshness piled high in lush textures and colors. A sensory overload! I imagine the rich soil and the sturdy plants soaking in the rain and the spring sunshine. Grow, grow, grow! I eagerly await the fruits of this labor of love.
Market pictures from our trip to Italy.
belly-and-birthday-cake
That's me and my birthday cake. Sure, I made it for myself, but it's just not a birthday without cake. No need for presents, balloons and streamers, even candles (although I won't object to those!) but please, cake is a birthday necessity!
I stood in the market contemplating my big question of the day. Should I top my chocolate cake with creamy, chocolatey frosting or fresh whipped cream and berries. Decisions, decisions. Pondering my place in the world and the meaning of life would have to wait. There was cake to be made.
Lovely semi-sweet in one hand and fresh red, ripe, fragrant strawberries in the other, the berries won. Their sweetness was too hard to resist. Perhaps if the chocolate wasn't wrapped so tightly in saran wrap it would have stood a chance.
oh-berries
I decided to use Ina Garten's beatty's chocoloate cake recipe from the barefoot contessa at home. I was in search of a cake I could be excited about. A cake that was moist and rich in chocolate flavor but not too decadent. My go-to for chocolate cake in the future. I was not disappointed!
moist-cake
Her recipe calls for chocolate frosting, but instead I whipped up some fresh cream with a little sugar and vanilla and layered in some fresh sliced strawberries. I love this combination. Eating for two has it's benefits as I feel a little less guilty going back for seconds, plus it's my birthday!
glowing-berries
Sometimes we need to search through old dusty, rusty things. When upstate, we would head to Hoffman’s. From furniture to dishes to tools, you never know what you’ll find. Over the years we have foundmany unique things here, even if it’s just a little creative inspiration.
Hoffman's Barn Sale is located at 19 Old Farm Road, Red Hook, NY
Be sure to say Hi to Roger for us!
We miss those days upstate when we would drive 10 minutes for a cup of coffee and a little something sweet fresh from Mikee's oven. Check this out to see this baker man in action.
Just a baguette?
But no! A little chocolate surprise.
Tivoli Bread & Baking is located at 75 Broadway in Tivoli, NY.
Hot pink, orange and polka dots were the theme for my baby shower held this past Saturday. Look, the tablecloth is finished! I had a little help (ok, a lot of help!) hand sewing these owls on.
Adhesive dot labels stuck together on bright embroidery thread make for a great garland to add a little dotted texture in front of the window.
Slightly twisted punch…
A silly game of guessing what kind of ‘poop’ was in the diaper. Different varieties of melted chocolate bars acted as poop. It was funny to see ladies smelling (and sometimes licking!) the ‘dirty diapers’. Especially Great Grandmas.
Another shower game where you freeze a plastic baby in an ice cube. Melt your ice cube first and shout “My water broke!”. I just like the photo.
A fun day!
owl-baby-quilt
Little did I know that when I asked my mother to help me sew on the owls to my tablecloth, thinking it was such a great idea that I came up with, she had already hand sewn many owls on this fantastic quilt she made for her granddaughter. It's a quilted replica of the shower invitation! I think it's pretty funny that 3000 miles away from each other our two similar but separate owl projects were started. I guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree!
owl-quilt-close-up
This is what the back of my baby shower invite looked like from Polka Dot Press...
Searching on line for baby shower favors was a bit disappointing for us. We're just not crystal pacifier, rubber ducky candle, baby feet soap kind of people. We had to come up with something else. Of course we went with something edible!
We ordered a tray of cinnamon buns from our favorite bakery in Tivoli. We put each in a hot pink bakery box and tied it with orange 'wraphia'.
Bun in the oven!
