daisy cake

i leave you with a cheery cake. happy weekend!

making a home

We bought a house, which is slowly becoming a home. porch swings and planting flowers help in that process tremendously. Happy Monday!

catching up

it feels nice to be back here more regularly again. life got pretty crazy there for a while. it actually still is a little crazy. but i have a few more quiet moments to come here and reflect a bit now. these wee little hat and booties are for a dear friend. i made them a couple of months ago, but just realized i hadn't mentioned them here. same patterns as the set i made earlier this year. booties from the purl bee and hat from ravelry . its been a baby booming year. so many friends and acquaintances are expecting children. exciting times. so here's to catching up a bit. having a bit more time for the things that bring me joy!

our melting pot!

on sunday night, we had our first dinner guests at our new place! my brother and sister-in-law came over for a fondue dinner, we had promised them as a christmas present. somehow i managed to pull off a 4 course dinner. its was actually a lot of fun to prepare. not to mention stuff myself with cheese, meat and chocolate. we started out with a cheese fondue, followed by a salad, then onto meat and vegetable course cooked in coq au vin broth . we finished with chocolate amaretto fondue with fruit and cheesecake. yum yum.

in other cake news...

cake hats! how tacky and oh so adorably cute all at the same time. ikea, i love your little random treasures. yes folks, i'm still a cake decorator and yes i did set up this blog to chronicle my adventures in baking and decorating... its just that life and other hobbies have taken a little more priority lately and i have been a little lazy at photographing my cakes. so here we go. two cakes i did recently. enjoy!

things to enjoy...

bright colors... color in general. cheery spots in my home

peach blossoms, that bring promises of fruit to come

finding crazy daffodils in my yard

picnics on the front porch almost every evening

the sereneness of our new surroundings

our home

we are settling in nicely at our new home. busy as bees setting up house, working and trying to find time to be outside as much as possible.

some things

i'm hoping to begin these very soon...

1. pick daffodils and bluebells
2. start a compost bin
3. bicycle everyday
4. make a butter cake
5. identify all the vegetation at our new house
6. use the dryer less

waiting

dear march,
you have been such a good month, what with the warm weather earlier than normal and all the rain that's going to make for some beautiful flowers next month, but i'm really done with you! i am eagerly awaiting april!
you see, april holds a new house, spring flowers, green grass, a trip to washington d.c. and warmer weather.
my friend and i went to spy on our house yesterday. to look fondly, and imagine what life will look like when we move there.
in two short weeks, we will purchase and move into this lovely 1800's brick colonial house! a big front porch, an attached store space, sun porch, 3 car garage, .75 acre, situated next to an old railroad , that they turned into biking trails which can take you straight into the city, beautiful mess of a house. i say this with much enthusiasm though. the house needs lots of love, but we believe it will be quite worth the effort. so many fulfilled dreams and potential, all in this one space of a house.

packing and pie

i have been reluctant to tell people we bought a house and are moving at the end of the month!
we had put offers on two other houses that fell through. so this time we thought we'd be a little more reserved, as to not get our hopes up and those of loved ones excited for us. but the time has come near and we believe we have our ducks in a row for this house. so in a mere 18 days we will move into our first home. (more details to come about the house)

chocolate raspberry mousse pie! yum! its my favorite dessert we make at the restaurant i work at. i finally asked the baker what was in it. she told me, and so with only a knowledge of what was in it, and not exactly how much, i successfully recreated this dessert! it turned out great. i haven't written it down yet, so i will try to do so here, so i can remember and you can make this yummy treat too!

chocolate raspberry mousse pie

1 chocolate crust
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 package cream cheese
1 small tub cool whip
4-5 T. raspberry jam
1/2 c. fresh raspberries ( plus some for garnish)
whip cream
1/4 c. chocolate chips melted

mix milk, cream cheese and cool whip together. add raspberry jam and fresh raspberries. mix until well blended. pour into crust. let set in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours. make whip cream , melt chocolate chips. pipe whip cream and drizzle chocolate. garnish with fresh raspberries.