Happy Easter! This post is popping up a little later than planned, but I suppose that’s life with a newborn and a toddler in the house. And a puppy. Yep, that puppy is wild, too. In case any of you are still on the lookout for an Easter-ready dessert (or a feels-like-spring dessert for that…
Taste of sunshine: Lemon sandwich cookies
When I’m in the thick of summer, smack in the middle of the steamy heat and mosquito-ridden evenings, I have a hard time appreciating the season for what it is. I love cold weather, and my grumpiness level automatically shifts up a few notches when the temperature reaches 80. I know, I would have had…
Delicious endings: Easy chocolate sugar cookies
I’m pretty sure that cookies are one of life’s great triumphs — at least in the world of dessert. Where else are you going to find a sweet that’s so universally loved? A treat that can be baked quickly, travel easily and please grandparents and toddlers alike? They’re like the stuff of fairy tales, really….
Strawberry tarts forever
Our farmers market basket overfloweth! It’s a happy problem indeed, though it’s one that necessitates a rather concentrated effort to cook, bake and nibble our way through the abundance of produce as fast as our tummies can take us. Our kitchen always feels more creative in the warmer months because we tend to do a…
A reason for messes: 10-minute strawberry jam
I could talk on and on about the value of simplicity — simple ingredients, simple work, simple living — but sometimes, I can honestly say you just have to make a royal mess of things to appreciate a job well done. Last night, while I scrubbed a few dishes and Jared helped tend to a…
A tale of time and taste: Sour cherry cream cheese coffee cake
Some recipes are wonderfully simple and can be whipped up in a flash. You don’t really have to plan for them (aside from having the ingredients), they’re easy enough to make while your mind juggles other matters, and you can mix them up in the time it takes for your toddler to pull out everything…
Wrapping Week 2012: Martha-Inspired Shopping Bag Bows
It seems the holidays just aren’t the holidays without a little Martha Stewart-inspired craftiness, and this wrapping idea from the woman in blue was actually months in the making. Back in early spring, I watched as Martha and a fellow crafter fashioned amazingly fancy-looking bows of out stiff paper shopping bags on an episode of…
Let’s go camping: S’mores cupcakes and a campfire baby shower
Having a little girl is the best, most fun adventure I’ve ever been on, and I sure wouldn’t trade our little Beany for anything in the world. I happily shop for hair bows, dresses and bunches of pink, and I dare say there’s nothing cuter than our girl in a tiny pair of jeggings. But…
Sweet reflections and hopeful cookies
Life has a funny way of dealing us its highs and lows simultaneously. It’s probably for good reason. Without the lows, we might not appreciate how good we have it. And without the baby smiles and sweet husband’s birthdays, getting through the tough times would feel infinitely more difficult. Seasons come and go, and as…
The best things in life are sweet
Ah, dessert. Whether it’s icy cold outside, you’ve had a rough day, you’re feeling under the weather or you’re incredibly sleep-deprived, sometimes all you need is a little something sweet to make all seem right in the world. The older I get (yes, it’s all relative, I know), the more I’ve come to appreciate the…