The Princess and The Pea Tea Party

This year, for my daughter's birthday, I decided to get a little creative. I've always loved the story, "The Princess and The Pea" and a tea party seemed the perfect thing so I combined the two into my theme.

The weather cooperated and we were able to have the party outside.

I found mis-matched tea cups and accessories at Goodwill; each child was able to pick their own tea cup to use and take home. The teapot ended up being wildly popular among the kids, they all took turns pouring a "tea" of raspberry lemonade.

Lunch included various cheeses & crackers, a caesar salad, assorted veggies with dip and three types of tea sandwiches (salmon, chicken salad and cucumber). I gave the moms the option of dropping off but there was plenty of food for everyone and champagne for the moms.

A friend gave me a delicious cupcake recipe (below).

Elissa Strauss' Vanilla Cake, Confetti Cakes, New York
2 c cake flour*
1 3/4 c plus 1 1/2 tsp all purpose flour
2 1/4 tsp baking powder
1 c (2 sticks) unsalted butter
3 c granulated sugar
3/4 tsp salt
1 T pure vanilla extract
1 c (8 oz; 7 about 7 eggs) egg whites or 100% pasturized liquid egg whites
1 1/2 c milk
Preheat oven to 350 F.

In a large bowl, sift together the cake flour, all-purpose flour, and baking powder. Set aside.

In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine the butter and sugar and beat on medium speed until light and fluffy.

Add the salt and vanilla.

Set the mixer to low speed and gradually add the egg whites, scraping often.

Alternately add the flour mixture and milk to the butter mixture in two batches, starting with the flour. Scrape down the bowl between each addition and beat until thoroughly combined. set the mixer to medium-high speed for about 20 seconds then stop and scrape sides of the bowl.

Divide the batter evenly between paper-lined muffin tins and bake 20 to 25 min.

Allow the cake to cool for 20min. once the cake is cool, release it from the pan by running a metal spatula or knife along the sides of the pan.

The recipe makes approximately 26-28 cupcakes. *You can make your own cake flour using all-purpose flour & a bit of corn starch, if you don't want to purchase additional flour to store.

Once the cupcakes are cool, frost with Cream Cheese Frosting and top with a "pea" (in this case, I used green Holland Mints).
1/2 pound cream cheese, at room temperature
1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/4 + 1/8 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/8 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 3/4 - 2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
Double the above if you like heavily frosted cupcakes. The cupcake recipe above is fairly sweet and moist so you don't need a lot of frosting to make them good.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine the cream cheese, butter, vanilla and almond extract on low speed. Add the confectioners' sugar and mix until just smooth.

In addition to a tea cup, each child took home a paper crown and bag of Holland mints with stickers.

What to do with 7 egg yolks?

Favorite Communication App!

My latest favorite app (available for iPhone, Blackberry, Android and more) is What's App.

A friend from London introduced me to it and now I'm addicted. If you travel or have friends that travel or live out of the country, this is a must-have app.

What's App allows you to text message, leave voice messages, and more, for free, using data. In order to use it, you do have to allow the program to sync with your contact list and those you want to communicate with, will also need to use the program but the money you save avoiding international texting charges and the convenience the app provides make it worth it.

The app costs 99 cents, and while I generally don't use apps that cost anything, this one I'd put on a Best Buy list.

Home Remodeling / Construction

A number of people around me have been remodeling and building homes lately, so I've got construction on the brain.

Here, I'm going to keep a list of things I don't want to forget if the opportunity presents itself in the future; it will pair nicely with my Pinterest account. Not everything on the list will be feasible but I can always scratch something off my list as long as I remember it.

* Electrical outlets in kitchen pantry, bedroom closet(s), bathroom cabinet(s) for various appliances, hand vacs, outside for various things, including holiday lighting. Also in floor of living & family rooms
* Charging station for cell phones, etc, near entry
* Appliance cabinets for certain appliances
* Small refrigerator / coffee station - near MB
* Small closet for cleaning supplies in pantry, laundry room & other as necessary.
* Solar tubes / skylights where options
* Dual-zone a/c & heat
* Pre-wiring for security system
* In-line lint trap, if necessary (for dryer)
* Vac pans for kitchen & bath (central vac) -- discuss with mom since she had a c.v. & hated it / also retractable hose
* Pre-plumb basement even if we don't plan to put a bathroom in immediately
* Plan for future electrical needs from basement to roof via wiring
* Plan for furnace vents / so furniture, curtains & other needs don't conflict, no overhead vents to blow air in face, yuck.
* Wiring for speakers on all floors, outside in various areas of yard so you don't have to turn the music up super loud to hear it if you decide to sit in another area
* Heated tile floors (love ours but avoid the area for a hamper -- no need to the hamper)
* Multiple refrigeration units in kitchen (one for beverages, in addition to wine fridge and food fridge). Love my freezer drawers
* A drawer dishwasher in addition to a regular-style dishwasher; great for entertaining, small loads, etc
* Consider wi-fi needs, technical needs
* An "office space" in the kitchen for bill paying, etc
* Drawers for extra storage in the toe-kick area of cabinetry
* Upstairs laundry closet in addition to laundry room

Exterior Only
* Hot / cold hose bib outside
* Sensors for some outdoor lights.
* Solar panels?
* Gas line for bbq
* Safe place for deliveries without entry to home (dry cleaning, packages, etc when no one is home)
* Car charger for electric / hybrid car?
* A drain in the garage
* Proper drainage in back yard & driveway
* Irrigation system for plants, including those potted & on upper deck areas
* An outdoor storage area for pots and other things that can stay outdoors but should be covered

Coconut Cake

For the 2nd time in my life, I decided to bake a cake from scratch. The first, was a chocolate cake. This one, for my husband's birthday, was coconut.

It turned out well, moist and coconut-y, albeit a bit dense for my personal taste. The frosting was definitely a keeper; my mother-in-law has mentioned to me, numerous times how much she liked it (yay!).

I made the cake & frosted it on a Friday, refrigerated it overnight and served it Saturday evening and it was not dry at all, although the refrigeration may have contributed to the density. I think the quantity of butter also was a factor; don't get me wrong, it wasn't overwhelmingly dense, just moreso than I was hoping for. Even after cutting into the cake, it wasn't dry, despite refrigeration 2 nights in a row.

I adapted a recipe from Ina Garten, that I found on The Food Network website.

Coconut Cake

3/4 lb (3 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus more for greasing the pans

2 c sugar

5 extra-large eggs, at room temperature

1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

1 1/2 tsp pure almond extract

3 c all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting the pans

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1 c milk

3/4 c TOTAL sweetened & unsweetened shredded coconut, mixed*

For the frosting:

1 pound (2 blocks) cream cheese, at room temperature

1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature

3/4 tsp pure vanilla extract

1/4 tsp pure almond extract

3 - 3 1/2 confectioners' sugar, sifted

1 c TOTAL sweetened & unsweetened shredded coconut, mixed

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour two (9-inch) round cake pans.

In a bowl, using the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar on medium-high speed for 3 - 5 minutes, until light yellow and fluffy. On medium speed, add the eggs 1 at a time, scraping the bowl while mixing. Add vanilla and almond extracts and mix well. 

In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. With the mixer on low speed, alternately add the dry ingredients and the milk to the batter. Mix until just combined and mix in coconut.

Pour batter evenly into the 2 pans and smooth the top with a knife. Bake in the center of the oven for 45 to 55 minutes, until the tops are browned and a toothpick comes out clean. Cool on a baking rack for 30 minutes, then turn the cakes out onto a baking rack to finish cooling.

Frosting: In a bowl, use an electric mixer to combine cream cheese, butter, vanilla and almond extract on low speed. Add the confectioners' sugar and mix until just smooth.

Assembly: Place 1 layer on a flat serving plate and spread with frosting. Sprinkle frosting with coconut. Add second layer and frost the entire cake. Finish by covering with coconut. Serve room temperature.

* My favorite unsweetened coconut is by Bob's Red Mill; the original recipe called for 100% sweetened coconut but I was afraid that would lead to an overly sweet cake. The combination of unsweetened and sweetened provided the right balance with the cake and frosting.

Misc Memories

Word of the day (courtesy of 5 year old, Q): 
Slooch. 
Also known as move, specifically when referencing a iPhone or iPad, as in, "It's difficult to slooch the icons over to another page."
-July 6, 2012

Q: WE (referring to herself and me) are the boss! 
YOU (referring to Husband) have to do what WE say!
-July 25, 2012

Today's lesson from Q: "Convertibles have fat butts." 
I still haven't figured out what she means by it but she's quite convinced.
-July 26, 2012

Q: I dont have veins
Daddy: do you mean wrinkles?
Q: dad, you're so silly
-July 29. 2012

Me: super heros eat lots of super foods
Q: I dont want to be a boy!
Me: girls are super heros too
Q: woohoo! Give me more super foods!
-July 31, 2012

Milkshake...
Q: you better drink faster or I get all of it
Daddy: it's MY milkshake!
-August 12, 2012

I told my child that Chuck E Cheese is ill so we can't have her birthday party there.
-August 13, 2012

Listening to Q explain to her dad that "in real life, Hello Kitty speaks Spanish".
-August 15, 2012

Dresser

Love this dresser from Eco First Start

Demobaza

Lace Up Hooded Jersey Dress