Straight from the CIA a piece of cake in the form of a terrarium. Those culinary students! I have never seen anything like this! Everything is edible, including the micro greens used on top. This was more of a personalized size but imagine a full aquarium size for a party?
I found this in a magazine at some point. I thought it was such a great idea for growing gourds. You know how those vines get so long and can take over a garden that is cramped for space so why not let them grow up and over an arbor of some sort. Imagine walking through at the end of the summer with birdhouse gourds and mini pumpkins popping through the vines. If only I had a bit more yard to work with than a box for my tomatoes to grow in. One day!
I have a tiny little grandmother named Annabelle. We call her grandmabelle. She has a thing for strawberries. Her small apartment is a strawberry shrine. She makes tea in a strawberry shaped teapot, serves it in a strawberry cup and she'll set it upon the strawberry tablecloth with the napkin holder painted with strawberries. If you ask her what time it is, she'll look over at her strawberry clock. The curtains are adorned with her favorite red fruit as well as the pillows, blankets, towels, dishes, some of her shirts and sweaters, her slippers and all of the artwork hanging on the walls. Countless strawberry knick knacks, always dusted, are on display on her shelves. Her purse is a lovely strawberry pattern and her little earrings? Strawberries of course.
Yesterday she was treated to a manicure for her birthday. How do you think she had her nails painted? One guess....
Allium in mass at the Boston Public Garden. Wow!
These fantastic photos were taken by my husband when he was in Boston this past weekend. Wish I could have seen it in person!
After searching for the right crib set (that would be the crib bumpers, sheet, dust ruffle and quilt for those not in the know!) and not finding one that I loved, I decided I would have to make it myself. I've never done anything like this before and for a short period I even tried to talk myself out of it. "Bumpers," I thought, "they make cribs differently now. The bars are closer together, the baby won't get her head stuck. We don't need those!" Well, I reconsidered. How hard could it be. First I had to find the right fabric. I wanted turquoisey blue, orange and pink. Not an easy task. To my delight I found fabric that fit my needs and a package of bumper pads already cut to the right size and meeting all safety requirements. Best of all, they came with directions. I wouldn't have to wing it!
Cut twelve pieces 27" x 11 3/4. I had 6 of the blue birds for the front and 6 pink polka dot for the back. I found that cutting one rectangle the right size on parchment paper and using that for the pattern was really helpful. Instead of making ties from the fabric, which seemed really time consuming, I found coordinating grosgrain ribbon. Perfect!
crib-pin-the-two-right-sides-together
After pinning on the ties to the corners, you put right sides together and sew all the way around leaving a space at the bottom open so you can insert the padding. Trim the corners and turn right side out. Insert the pad. Stitch up the bottom edge and you're done! Now repeat for the other 5.
crib-bumper-pads
These are the bumper pad inserts.
The bumper pads are up. I love the blue birds. Although with our grey crib it looks a bit like they are caged. I also made a dust ruffle. I kept it really simple. Nothing too ruffly. Just an orange polka dot.
crib-quilt-getting-a-rough-idea
Now for the quilt. I pinned pieces of fabric together and put them in the crib just to get an idea of what it would look like. Then I took it out and properly cut the right sized pieces and sewed it all together attaching a cotton batting to the back side. A cute soft floral print is on the reverse side.
Not bad for my first try at this kind of thing! It's not perfect but it has character! The colors and prints are bright and sweet.
As for the fitted sheet, well, I won't be attempting to sew that! I ordered one and it's on its way.
blueberry-lemon-cake
I have had great success with the lemon yogurt cake from barefoot contessa at home. It is so moist, lemony, and delicious not to mention quick and easy to make. Her recipe is made in a classic loaf pan, which comes out great.
Today I decided to make it but use a mini loaf pan instead and since blueberries were screaming out to me at the market I thought, mmm...I love blueberry and lemon...why not add some!
prepare-your-pan
Here's the recipe:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Grease the bottom of your pan. Line with parchment paper. Grease and flour pan.
lemons-and-blueberries
In a small bowl sift together the dry ingredients:
1 1/2 cup flour, 2 tsp. baking powder, 1/2 tsp. salt.
zest-the-lemon
In another bowl, whisk together
1 cup plain whole-milk yogurt
1 cup Sugar
3 extra large eggs
2 tsp grated lemon zest (2 lemons)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
slowly-add-flour
Slowly whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients.
fold-in-oil
With a rubber spatula, fold in 1/2 cup vegetable oil.
add-blueberries
Add blueberries. I decided to make half of my mini cakes plain lemon and half with blueberries, so I only added a little over 1/2 a cup. I bet a little over a cup of berries for a whole loaf or all of the mini loaves would be good. (Obviously add more if you love your blueberries!)
Raspberries might be good too! Or skip the berries. You won't be disappointed either way.
Pour into prepared pan. If you are using a regular loaf pan, bake for about 50 minutes or until a cake tester placed in the center of the loaf comes out clean.
For a mini loaf pan of 8 loaves, bake for about 25 minutes or until a cake tester placed in the center of the loaves comes out clean.
time-to-bake
Meanwhile...
juice-the-lemon
Juice the two zested lemons.
Heat 1/3 cup lemon juice and 1/3 cup of sugar in a small pan until sugar dissolves and the mixture is clear. Set aside.
lemon-cups
When the cake is done let it cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Carefully place the mini loaves (or loaf) on a baking rack over a sheet pan.
pour-lemon-mixture1
While the cakes are still warm, pour lemon-sugar mixture over the cakes and allow to soak in. Cool.
top-with-glaze
In a small bowl combine 1 cup of confectioners' sugar and 2 tablespoons of your fresh squeezed lemon juice. Pour over your cakes (or cake).
trio
Yum! The blueberries are such a great addition, I wish I put them in all of my mini cakes!
I thought the mini loaves would be a great idea so I could throw some in the freezer for a later date or give them to friends. Now I'm afraid I may consume all eight myself!
