Brick

WATCH THIS MOVIE. At least 3 times. Its so so amazing. Every time you watch it, it gets better and better. Oh and it also happens to be my favorite movie. Of all time. Ever.

Crumpets! ;)

Tora's Crumpet Recipe:

1 1/4 Cups all purpose unbleached flour

1/2 Cup white sugar

1/2 Cup brown sugar

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 stick of butter (room temp)

1/2 Cup milk (room temperature important)

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 large cage-free, hormone-free eggs (room temperature important)

4 oz. bittersweet Ghirardelli chocolate chips (melt it and leave it sitting for 15 minutes before using it)

1. Cream together the butter and sugars.

2. Add in the room temp. eggs and mix till smooth.

3. While mixing, gradually pour in melted chocolate.

4. Add and alternate the flour and baking powder with the milk and extract.

5. Use 1 in. ice-cream scoop to fill mini muffin cups halfway and bake at 325 F for about 15-17 minutes.

Once crumpets are cooled, you can fill with plum filling and top with cream cheese frosting OR you can fill them with mushed bananas and top them with peanut butter (I recommend having a glass of soy milk handy though, its pretty rich and thick). Or you could simply leave them plain chocolate and sift some powder sugar over them while they're still moist from the oven.

Enjoy!

Johnny Cupcakes!

Oh goodness.... Johnny Cupcakes! I'm in love!! This is the PERFECT gift idea for me! :D haha

Besides a moon orchid plant. I love those too.

BUT THIS IS SERIOUSLY AWESOME! and it deserved all caps to let the world know.

Ronan From Stargate!!!

Or at least thats who my mom hoped he was the other day in the Logan Airport (Boston).. So she made me walk over and take a picture of him sleeping. He's quite good looking (then again, I've always had a thing for guys with dreads, FYI).

Ohhh Kelly.

You are a crazy one, my dove. Never change.

P.S. - I love turning "blooper" photos into works of comedic art by adding captions.

Yum. Lace.

There's just something about that perfect combination of straps, lace, bows, and shear fabric that just make me feel like the alpha female of the world. Someday when I'm married I'll have a huge collection of these things and I'll just have photo shoots and put together a coffee table book of black and whites for my hubby. And he'll think its the best damn book ever bound.

Heidi Plum Cakes

Missy and I about to start baking her "Heidi Plum Cakes"

Plum Filling:

4 plums (diced)

1/2 Cup water

2 Tbs sugar

1 Tbs cornstarch

1 tsp vanilla

1. Place diced plums and vanilla into a small sauce pan.

2. Once it reaches a boil for a minute, reduce heat and simmer till the plums are a bit mushy.

3. In a separate bowl, combine the sugar and cornstarch.

4. Add the sugar/cornstarch to the plums and mix to combine.

5. Taste test then add more sugar to taste.

6. Once the plum filling is sweet enough for your 'buds, and has thickened up, set aside to cool (I put mine in a bowl in the fridge).

Just plums and water (above).

This is about what it should look like once you're done. The good thing is, I don't think you can over-cook it. But if it won't thicken up, then gradually add in sifted cornstarch.

Vanilla Cupcakes:

2 3/4 Cups all purpose unbleached flour

2 Cups sugar

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

Pinch of salt

2 sticks of butter (1 Cup)

1 Cup milk

2 tsp vanilla

4 Large eggs

1. Cream the butter and sugar in mixer.

2. Add in the eggs and extracts (see picture and detailed instructions below)

3. In separate bowl, whisk to combine the flour, baking powder, and salt.

4. Add the milk and dry ingredients to the mixture (see picture and detailed instructions below)

5. Fill the muffin papers about 3/4 the way full and bake at 350 F. for about 20 to 25 minutes, or until golden).

6. Once they're done baking, remove from muffin tin and set aside to cool.

Cream the softened butter and sugar. Then add the eggs and extract to the mix, one egg at a time, mixing about 30 seconds between each egg.

When adding in the milk and flour (actually the flour, baking powder, and salt you've already whisked together) alternate between the two but end with the flour. Be careful not to over-mix the flour as this will make your cupcakes thick and chewy not light and fluffy.

Vanilla Flavored Cream Cheese Frosting:

1 box cream cheese

1 cup powdered sugar

5 Tbs butter

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp almond extract

food coloring

1. Combine the cream cheese and butter (it helps tremendously if these have been softened a bit. you can do this by letting them sit out for about 30 minutes or careful use of the microwave, but it isn't recommended).

2. Add in the extracts and mix to combine

3. Sift the powdered sugar and combine with the frosting.

4. This is the tricky part... Add red and blue food coloring until you reach a color that you think looks like "plum".

5. Once thats done, scoop it into a piping bag (or a plastic sandwich bag with a very small hole in the corner to be cut before piping onto cupcakes).

6. Place in the fridge to firm up.

Caroline is mixing the butter with the cream cheese. Both have been softened by being left out on the counter while the cupcakes and plum mixture were being made.

Sifting the powdered sugar is an important step because you don't want there to be lumps of sugar in the frosting. That would be bad.

I couldn't find our sifter (maybe we just don't have one?), so I'm tapping a strainer full of P. sugar into a bowl to be added in with the butter/cream cheese mixture.

Mix in the food dyes till you achieve a plum color. (this will require red and blue, FYI)

Assembly:

Once the cupcakes have cooled, scoop out the centers with a melon-baller like I did in my previous cupcake blog. Fill them with the gooey plum filling (i used a 1 in. diameter mini ice cream scoop) to the top. Then place the "lid" back over the hole and smear on a layer of all natural smooth peanut butter, like you would frosting. Next, pipe a large dot of the cream cheese frosting in the center of the peanut butter. Voila!

These really are the best tasting cupcakes I've ever made. I hope you enjoy!

Your Project Today

Go to the dollar store and buy 3 cheap disposable cameras.

Deliver each of these (in person or by mail) to any business or building that experiences a lot of activity on a daily basis, or, that you are interested in. Attach a note to each of the cameras asking that the camera be used to document what goes on in the building for the next week, but not necessarily the people there. Then collect the cameras or arrange to have them mailed back to you.

Scan and e-mail me the photos and I'll put them up on my blog.

"Boston"

"Boston"

In the light of the sun, is there anyone? Oh it has begun...
Oh dear you look so lost, eyes are red and tears are shed,
This world you must've crossed...

You said...
"You don't know me, you don't even care"
She said:

"You don't know me, and you don't wear my chains.."

Essential yet appealed,

Carry all your thoughts across an open field,
When flowers gaze at you,

They're not the only ones who cry when they see you

"You don't know me, you don't even care"

Oh yeah, She said:

"You don't know me, and you don't wear my chains.."

She said:

I think I'll go to Boston...
I think I'll start a new life,
I think I'll start it over, where no one knows my name,
I'll get out of California, I'm tired of the weather,
I think I'll get a lover and fly em out to Spain...
I think I'll go to Boston,
I think that I'm just tired
I think I need a new town, to leave this all behind...
I think I need a sunrise, I'm tired of the sunset,
I hear it's nice in the Summer, some snow would be nice..

Boston... where no one knows my name... yeah
Where no one knows my name...
Where no one knows my name...
Yeah Boston...
Where no one knows my name.

Home Sweet Homeless.

Found this awesome website with homeless bedding! The sheets are made to look like a cement block sidewalk and the bedding is made to look like cardboard. Wow! I really honestly want this set... What a great daily reminder to pray for and help out those that aren't as fortunate as you to claim that its only cotton bedding they're sleeping on. If you buy this bedding, you could be doing that from the start, because a large portion of Le-Clochard duvet set goes to a foundation called SZN that helps homeless kids in the Netherlands.

Halwah!

Its from India!

Its delicious!

And YOU can make it!

Here's how:

Ingredients:

1 cup farina (cream of wheat)
1 cup sugar or succanat
1/4 cup butter or ghee
2 cups milk or water

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp cinnamon

1. Heat a pan on medium low heat, add in the butter. When its melted, add in the farina and fry it about 6 minutes till its golden.

2. Add milk and stir (or else you'll get lumps, but some people like that)

3. Constantly stirring mixture, add in the spices and then the sugar. Keep stirring till its nice and thick (about 8-10 minutes)

4. Remove from heat and add 1/3 cup golden raisins, if you want. Serve warm or press into a square pan to cool and be cut into squares for a dessert (or snack).

bon appétit!

Lyrics + Photos = Love and Bliss

My mom had a great idea tonight that she things I should try. Its pure brilliance, so I think I will! Her idea was to take music (which I can't live without) and photography (which is my heart) and combine them by having a photo tell the story of some lyrics then post them together as art. Brilliant, I know! This is why I love her. haha But I've decided to take it a step further and create an entire photo shoot for a song. So the first song I think I'd like to do is "Gravity Rides Everything" by one of my all-time favorite bands, Modest Mouse.

Here's the lyrics:

Oh gotta see, gotta know right now
What's that riding on your everything?
It isn't anything at all
Oh gotta see, gotta know right now
What's that writing on your shelf
In the bathrooms and the bad motels?
No one really cared for it at all
Not the gravity plan
Early, early in the morning
It pulls all on down my sore feet
I wanna go back to sleep
In the motions and the things that you say
It all will fall, fall right into place
As fruit drops, flesh it sags
Everything will fall right into place
When we die, some sink and some lay
But at least I don't see you float away
And all the spilt milk, sex and weight
It all will fall, fall right into place

I've made bold all the lyric bits I think I could use as parts of the shot since they're more like objects and actions than vague thoughts and comments. Gosh, I love Modest Mouse!

'Bare Feet, Bare Legs' Photo Shoot

I love a simple outdoor wedding: Barefoot, vintage white slips layered for a wedding dress, and a bouquet wrapped in faded vintage lace. Oh so perfect and sweet.

This is a very old, and very loved, see-saw. My dad played on it as a little boy (in the 50's and 60's) and my sisters and I got a lot of use out of it in our childhood as well. So I guess my inspiration for this photo was my childhood. And I wore the baggy striped shirt and little red shorts because thats what children wore in the 50s/60s and it was back in style when I was tyke.

These I just thought would be cool. :) This is what qualifies as a "happy place" to me, and its something I would do.. Just sitting in nature with a friend and talking about life while sipping out of wine bottles. Except I was home alone today. Very sad.. I like it better when I can take photos of somebody else. I sincerely enjoy the company of others.

I love bare feet.

Mmm.. Kitchens.

All this baking has got me thinking about kitchens. I really need to get my own place so I can use all of these awesome decorating ideas. I love love love islands. Especially when they're made of old wood. They just make life so much easier. My mother has this very old wooden butcher's block just sitting in her garage. Its gorgeous. When I get married I'm going to beg her to let me unleash its potential in my own home and then design my whole kitchen around it.
As far as colors go, white walls are a perfect expression of the freshness and crispness you want to feel upon entering a kitchen. Just add white earthenware dishes, an antique china set or two (or you can use one at a time and switch them out seasonally), some mismatched teacup & saucer sets (I have a growing collection of these), vintage hand towels, weathered wood spoons, natural lighting, and an ever present bottle of cabernet sauvignon and BAM! You have yourself a kitchen that feels like home. Here's some of my favorite kitchens I've found on design blogs such as Design*Sponge.

All thus