Blog Archive

Tuesday, June 30, 2009

A few new pieces in the Etsy shop

I haven't done a big update to my Etsy shop for a while, so I've added three new pieces. Each one is very different, one of a kind, and fun. Enjoy!



Blue bloom



Blooming



Bridal headband


These ones are all finished and ready to adorn a pretty head.

Tuesday...

Hooray for short weeks!
Just a quick announcement, but Matt and I are giving ourselves a mini-vacation this weekend. We are leaving Thursday evening and will be back Sunday. Pieces purchased on Thursday/Friday that are not made to order will ship Monday.
Random photos...


garden2


We've been working on the yard quite a bit over the past few weekends. Here's a bit of our new lawn and some shade plants including hostas and viburnum. You can't see the hydrangea in this photo, but it's pretty big and blooming already.


garden1


Our new sidewalk full sun garden. We wanted it to look a bit natural and wild, while providing color. There are a few zucchini and tomato plants here as well. Low maintenance was our goal.


garden3


The alley garden I planted with a wild flower mix that is suppose to be good for butterflies and requires minimal watering. There were already some daylilies planted by the previous owner. Lots of lovely poppies. This side of the house gets tons of weeds for some reason. I see some in this photo and it drives me nuts.


garden4


We also planted bell peppers in the sidewalk garden. Did I ever mention that our sidewalk garden is big? We haven't planted it all quite yet.


garden5


I planted a bunch of pots again this year, and this woodland-esque one is my favorite.


garden6


The loyal dog (holding a down position until "released"). We've put Indy on a new training program. Have you seen those Perfect Dog infomercials? Well, we decided to get it for Indy because the one problem we have with her is that she wasn't coming when called in some situations. Well, after watching the DVD series (per the recommendation of a vet assistant who said it was really effective), we realized we had to totally re-program Indy because the traditional method of training with treats was all wrong (according to the DVDs). It really works! I can go on and on, but just wanted to mention because until the training is finished, she has to wear the special collar and leash that you can see in this photo.
Happy Tuesday!

Kathleen and Nick at Belle Mer in Newport, Part One

So the hot topic all week was the weather of course, and really it has been for a while, what is the deal?! But Kathleen and Nick got a bit of luck and it turned into a beautiful evening after pouring rain all day!

The girls got ready at Castle Hill in Newport. Check out this awesome bling shot!





More bling, because really you can never have a enough! I'm sure Kathleen will find reasons to wear these shoes again, they are so awesome!





Rub a dub dub, bouquets in the tub! These were done by the fabulous Stoneblossom crew headed by none other than Joyce.






How cute is Kathleen 'jumping' into her dress, she looks so happy!







They were running a little bit late so she had to run...







But there is always time for a spin or two...







Here are the guys before the ceremony which was held at the Cathedral of Peter and Paul in Providence.







These girls were having the best time all dressed up as the flowergirls, always a highlight of a little girls life I think. I guess it's bride-practice, see you in 20 years girls...







WOW! This is a grand entrance for the bride and her Dad. The isle is nice and long so you get the chance to really enjoy the moment.






This church is so dramatic and beautiful, this is such a serious photo, you can feel the nervousness.






Isn't this little boy the cutest, I just want to squeeze him! As I'm sure all the other ladies do too!







Even though you can barely see them there at the alter, they are there amongst all of the amazing ornate detail in this church.






A cool detail shot at the back of the church that was irresistible.






There they go, cascading back down the isle...married!







Always time for a smooch...






Shiney happy bridesmaid!








Oooooooh!!! Thank you awesome sunlight and veil combo gods!







Too bad Kathleen is so unhappy.







Getting back into the limo to head back to Newport for the reception...







Here is the fantastic detail that Kathleen had added to her dress, LOVE IT! Again, never too much sparkle!







What a hot couple!







Aww, how great is this moment!







Wow, more miracle sunshine...it was beautiful and dreamy for sure.






The ladies...







Maybe all that sunshine was coming from inside Kathleen?!







The men...







A very fun wedding party!







More 'hot stuff' from these two...






They had a lot of laughs together and really were having a great time at their wedding!







Whoa. Love this shot! It's so great when it all comes together for that perfect moment.







They even got crazy clouds in the sky, very cool!







Ya hoo! What a great time we had doing the formals, we just kept snapping and snapping. So much good stuff!

See you tomorrow for part two!

Melissa is the bomb!

So says Stella...we just got this thank you note from her yesterday, it was so nice!!!

"Dear Melissa, I can't even begin to thank you for such an incredible job you did. Never in a million years could I have imagined how stunning my wedding photos would be. I've gotten countless compliments from everyone. Someone said, "Every photo belongs in a magazine". Shane and I will remember our wedding day for the rest of our lives and you are the one who captured all the special details and moments. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts." Love, Stella and Shane

Well if that is not a good endorsement I don't know what is. Great job Melissa!!!

A Collar for Ned







I just came across these very cool Mascot dog collars and leads. I think I am going to have to order one in for Ned. Only problem will be trying to decide on which colour.....probably Navy.

Monday, June 29, 2009

TWD's Party Cake...Confetti for Everyone!!!

The wonderful baking members of Tuesday with Dorie Baking Group delved into the Perfect Party Cake recipe chosen by Carol of mix, mix... stir, stir. The cake is a light, tight crumbed cake with a brilliant white coloring. The flavor is superb, with a lemony background flavor to be coupled with so many different flavor combinations.


Overwhelmed with the choices, along with the slight altercation with limited time to bake, fill, and frost; my choices became greatly reduced. I was going to fill the top of the cake with pretty frosting daisies. A beautiful tribute to summer time and lemons. I could not because I did not start the cake until after work last night. The frosting had me wiggling by eyebrows in a knitted sort of way.

Recipes of buttercream frosting have drifted in through my kitchen mixer and never to be made twice. I am not a buttercream frosting fan. A hot-meringue buttercream intrigued my curiosity. Heating egg whites and sugar in a double-boiler, the whites get whipped for 3 minutes. I thought my arm may fall off after the first 45 seconds. I was trying not to watch the timer count down so I switched arms. The bowl almost flew off the pot of simmering water. Okay, coordination does not run in my left arm. This was like being at the gym, telling myself that 15 seconds more is really not going to kill me. Great! I have an out -of-shape arm. Timer goes off and I get to take a break. Where's my water bottle?

Next, the mixer gets to do the rest of the work. Love the mixer! 3 sticks of butter dropping one at a time into a mixer brings in large quantities of guilt. Do I get to nibble on a small slice or be completely rebellious and eat a full-sized slice?
I had to finish making the frosting to decide just what I was going to do. Blueberries and raspberries. I had a jar of wild blueberry preserves dying to be opened and the beautiful blue color would stand out from the white of the perfect party cake. I was stingy with using buttercream as a filler on top of the wild blueberry jam, consequently, I had plenty to frost the rest of the cake with. Smooth frosting on the sides and spoon swirls on top, using dabs of extra wild blueberry jam to give a slight blue hue to the top of the cake only. Fresh blueberries were in order along with bright red raspberries to give the right summer coloring. The cake is a quick, evening masterpiece and now I think I will take it to work to share so that I stay away from over nibbling.


I love the texture, flavor, and color of the cake. This recipe has won my heart and taste buds over as a permanent go to cake recipe. For those of us that constantly try new recipes, this is a huge compliment! The frosting was yummy but I still have problems with buttercream frosting. Some of the problem stems from knowing what ingredients went into the recipe and the other is texture. The frosting is just to slippery and buttery feeling in my mouth. Great go to recipe Dorie...Thank you for sharing with the rest of us! To see the other TWD baker creations using the Perfect Party Cake, go here.



For me, I already am a faithful parchment paper user from way back for the bottom of a cake pan.













King Arthur Flour had a cake flour that I wanted to try and so I did for this recipe.









The sugar smelled delicious while rubbing the lemon zest into the sugar. Pretty little yellow flakes could be seen throughout.








I had plenty of batter for two 9" baking pans. I refuse to show the bowl that held the batter because there were a few finger markings where I may or may not have licked the leftover batter clean.






The cake had a perfect golden brown coloring when done baking.







Very easy to slice and add fillings. Overall, great recipe...LOVED IT!