Butterbeer Love

Ever since we got home from Universal and sampled the magical sweetness of Butterbeer, Ms. B and i have been on a quest to find a recipe to make our own. Well, what we found on line, wasn't anywhere near as tasty as what we had sampled at Hogwarts. However, she did find this incredible recipe for Butterbeer cupcakes. Holy moly sister, i think i'm hooked!

The recipe is LONG and my typing skills are limited to the 'hunt and peck' style, so if you're interested, contact me and i'll print you off a copy!

After the cupcakes cool, you poke a hole in the center and pour in a butterscotch ganache.

Then top with a buttercream frosting. {confession- i ate a lot of the frosting. It was even better the next day for breakfast...lunch and dinner...}

Then you drizzle on the ganache. Oh, momma, just look inside...

Needless to say, they disappeared pretty quickly...and mysteriously re-appeared on my bee-hind! That's the magic of Hogwarts!

I have to go work out now. Like all day.

Happy Wednesday!

Spring Cleaning

When i get it, i get it bad. The cleaning bug, that is. With Ms. A's Bat Mitzvah 8 weeks away, i've entered into the panic zone. Haven't dropped those twenty pounds yet {and it's not gonna happen any time soon!} nor have i gotten the kitchen painted yet. I've taken on really important projects like organizing my make-up and jewelry drawers! Hey, a lot can happen in 8 weeks!

I started with emptying everything out, tossing those ten neutral shades of lip gloss that all look the same and washed out the drawer bottoms and their contents. I used this darling scrap book paper to line my drawers.

I love these coordinating patterns. I have eight drawers all together, so i was able to use a different paper in every drawer.

Any time i see these glass dishes, i buy them up! They're great for holding brushes, eye shadow, jewelry, anything small you want to group together.

I can separate my make-up so i can find what i need { and i need it all!}

Yeah, i kind of got a thing for "Bare Minerals". The sundae dish holds these powders perfectly.

Small dishes hold my costume jewels, too.

Now that i've gotten that very important task out of the way, it's on to the kitchen. I did get Ms. A's invites in the mail though...that's something, right?

Have a great Monday!

O.K there are gremlins in my blog...ignore the mess below.

Sorry!

Books, Butter Beer, Burgers and Besties

Last week we took the girls to Universal Studios in Orlando, to meet up with their cousins.

We had an amazing time exploring the world of Harry Potter. We rode the Hippogriff, took the Forbidden Journey, and drank Butter Beer. Oh, Butter Beer, your sticky sweetness has added numerous inches to my rear, but i love you so.

Sweet man stopping for a snack {just kidding}

With the amount of traveling we've done in the past few months, it's given me a chance to catch up on reading. I'm still not totally sold on using my ipad as a book, i miss the feel and smell of a paper, but it is lighter in my carry on. I LOVED "The Help" It is beautifully written and gives an incredible insight into the life of maids in the South. "Wench" was a recommended read. Didn't love it. 

Kate Morton is one of my favorite historical fiction authors. She was spot on with her newest book. I loved every bit of it. I can read her books over and over. Check 'em out!Well, i hear laundry calling my name

New Toy!

Don't you just love new toy's? Now, let's be honest here, i'm not the most techie girl on the block, but i do get a kick of a little throw back instamatic fun  like this! It's called the 'Fuji Instax Mini' and i ordered it on Amazon.com

 It only has four settings and flashes on all settings. The photo's have that weird old school polaroid look...but cuter!

The pictures come out the top and are the size of a credit card- Look how cute! It's obviously not an every day camera, but i thought it would be fun for the girls to play with when they get together with their cousins next week at Universal!!! { hee, yup, we're meeting some family next week in Florida to check out  Harry Potter. Gotta get me some butter beer!}


Let's catch up next week!



 

Joy

Today would be the 114th birthday of my Grandfather. Yeah, i know he wouldn't really be celebrating his 114th {that's a lot of candles} but he did live to be a few months of 102. This picture is of him at 13 {nice knickers}!

He was the joy of my life, my hero, my best friend, my inspiration, my partner in crime. He taught me to appreciate the past, to live for now and not to fear the future.











He called me "The Kid". This picture is of him at his 100th birthday celebration. Here he's holding 'the kid's, kid' {'lil Ms. B at 4 months}
He was a published poet, a world traveler, a grandfather, a father, a husband to the love of his life and a friend to everyone he met. His yard was the neighborhood meeting place, he corresponded with hundreds well into his hundreds, and he wrote with a beautiful old fashioned hand that i always envied.

  

I love being able to look around my home and see little things that remind me of him. His bow tie...old books...
his cane and cap... it's almost like he just stopped by to say 'Hi'

I was lucky enough to introduce him to his third great grandchild, Ms. A, days before he went Home. Before he left, he told me not to be sad, but to be filled with Joy.

Joy

I talked to his sweetheart, my Grandmother today. She misses him too, and says surprisingly she doesn't feel his presence with her. We figure he's too busy questioning God. They were tight : )

Twelve years later, i still miss him dearly, and search for Joy.

I'm still looking.


                                                  
                                                             Missing you,

                                                              The Kid




                                                            

Deep Thoughts- {not really}

 Yesterday we had a snow day {yay} so it was a perfect excuse to goof off. I did a bit of re-arranging in my craft room. I love collecting goodies for future projects, but sometimes forget to use them at all. It just stays...stored. I dug out a few things and played. When i was finished, i came back down to find this message on my chalkboard:

HA! Somebody's been reading our autograph book. I bought a turn of the century autograph book last summer. It has the sweetest quotes, this being one of them.

Just thought i'd share : )

Happy Tuesday!