Bunting and Cupcake Toppers.

When we arrived home from the winging, I had cupcakes baked and the house decorated to make the occasion feel really special. Travis was surprised and I could tell that it meant a lot to him.  I made the cupcakes in cute little gold cupcake wrappers and then took paint chips from Home Depot in gold, red, and yellow and cut out little flags and attached them to toothpicks with double stick tape. I thought they turned out really cute for something so easy.  I also sewed this red and yellow bunting to hang, which was also very easy. I opted out of hemming them, because it wasn't the look I was going for. I got the fabric at Wal-mart along with the white bias tape. It was so quick to cut them out with a rotary cutter and then sew them on with the cute zig zag stitch. I had a ton of triangles left over and will for sure make more of this for future celebrations. It's great that the bunting is reusable for other times in Travis' career. It would be so easy to also make this in different colors for birthday parties and such.  I really enjoyed getting to see everything come together.

Key Lime.

Travis' parents were here last week for the winging and we cooked dinner for them one night. We tried to make it a little Southern with sweet tea, green beans, smoked gouda cheese grits, baked grouper, a baguette, and key lime pie for dessert. The grouper came from Southern Seafood, a little seafood market in Milton that actually has pretty good stuff and the baguette came from Bodacious Pies and Bakery in downtown Milton. It turned out being the perfect local meal and his parents approved.

White Russian Cupcakes

I always pin recipes to my Pinterest board and never make them... until now. I couldn't resist giving these cupcakes a try and they were awesome! Mine actually turned out a little dense... my fault entirely... but the kalhua buttercream frosting was scrumptious! If you like White Russians, try these! 

July 4th Pies

I am probably the worst blogger in the world, but that's okay... I have a lot of other really good things going on.  One thing that I have been doing a lot of is baking. For our two year anniversary, we were sent a bright and shiny Cobalt blue Kitchenaid mixer.  See it over there in the corner? It doesn't get much better than that! ...but I think it also means that I gained 20 pounds... not really, but close.  Have you ever made a pie crust with a Kitchenaid... hardly any work at all. It's amazing... so for the dessert contest at our church's July 4th picnic, I made a strawberry/blueberry pie. Delish! And amazingly it won second place. I was thrilled.  Here it is in all of its' sugary goodness! MMmmm...

Pies to actually share.

This is what became of those beautiful strawberries I picked! One to keep and some to give!

Pies to share.

Along with my prayers for a husband, I also prayed for a great father-in-law... and when I married Travis, that is exactly what I was blessed with.  Travis' dad is loving, kind, and patient and I am so honored to be his daughter-in-law.  This week, I received a package in the mail from him.  I was happy to find out that he had made me a pie taker to take my pies places.  I am really proud of it and know that I will have it forever.  I told him that my only problem with it is that my pies never get to leave the house.  Travis and I are so stingy with them! haha, so now it looks like I will be baking them two at a time. One to eat, one to give.

Akers of Strawberries.

I went strawberry picking with Erin this week and it was an absolutely perfect, beautiful Spring day.  I picked about 3 pounds of berries, which I am about to turn into Spring perfection... Strawberry rhubarb pies and maybe some strawberry rhubarb fools if I have any left over.  We picked at Akers of Strawberries in Baker, FL.  They also serve delicious strawberry shortcake with strawberry frozen yogurt that is divine. You must go get some if you live in Milton or Pensacola! Now, I am looking forward to blueberry season!

Strawberry Rhubarb Mini-Pies

Last year, my husband introduced me to rhubarb and I immediately fell in love with strawberry rhubarb pie.  I think it is my favorite pie. I love it for it's sweet and tart filling and the flaky, buttery crust.  This week, I found rhubarb in our commissary, which is rare in the South and scooped up enough for some of these sweet, little mini pies like my friend, Emily, had made.  Although mine overflowed and are not nearly as pretty as hers, they tasted like little bits of heaven.  I have given away several and eaten just as many.  They are great little desserts for after dinner... also wonderful sinful with a small scoop of vanilla ice cream.  

Fresh Mint & Lime

It's really starting to warm up here in Florida and I am beginning to shift my diet towards things that are cool and refreshing, like salads and smoothies.  One of my favorite Summer drinks is a glass of club soda, with a squeeze of fresh lime and either a sprig of fresh mint or crushed mint... depending on how minty I want it to be.  I love being able to go out to my garden and cut a little fresh mint.  It is so satisfying when it is really hot and a great alternative to soda. 

Do you have a favorite Spring or Summer time drink?

Cinnamon and Butter.

One of my favorite coffee shops in Pensacola has these little cinnamon rolls that just melt in your mouth.  While a little cinnamon roll is good, sometimes you just need a little more.  I decided to try my hand at making them at home again.  Last time, they weren't the best. I think I had problems with the yeast rising, so this time I went on a search for a good yeast-free cinnamon roll recipe and found the perfect one at Sugarlaws.  They are delicious, creamy frosting, savory butteriness (Is that a word?) perfection.  Try them! 

PS. I have terrible lighting in my house. Don't judge the photos!

Crab Cakes at Home.

My husband and I met in Annapolis, Maryland... home of the very best crabs and crab cakes that you can find  and we miss them terribly.  We have found some really good crab cakes here at The Piano Cafe in Milton, but I decided yesterday that in celebration of Travis finishing his flights in the Bravo and graduating up to the Charlie that I would treat him to home made crab cakes.  I guess I was feeling adventurous.  

After perusing the web for a long time and looking at numerous recipes, I actually went for Martha's. I had all of the ingredients, minus the crab, and it seemed like it would work well, not too much filler.  I headed up to Joe Patti's fish market in Pensacola, my new favorite place, and purchased a pound of lump crab meat and some cole slaw.  I baked these puppies up and served them for dinner.  The cole slaw was really good and the crab cakes were tasty. I think next time, I will back off the salt some.  With the Old Bay and salt, they were a little salty, but definitely edible.  After a little tweaking, I think that I could pull off great crab cakes next time.

Coffee and Pecan Sandies.

Although the sun is not shining nearly as bright as I would like it to be, it is still a beautiful morning.  I am enjoying a cup of coffee, leftover from my husband's pot, and some pecan sandies from Milton Bakery. I know, I know... not the best breakfast. I already had cereal.  We will call this a mid-morning snack.  Being military, we move a lot and one of my favorite things to do every time we move is to find local coffee shops, bakeries, and restaurants that I can frequent and make the place feel like home. Pensacola and Milton, have proven themselves to have plenty of cute places.  It took a little digging, but I have my favorites.  Milton Bakery is one of them.  They have the very best blueberry cake and cream filled donuts. I am pretty sure they are sinful, especially when you eat two in one day!

kumquats, honeybells & airports.

Today, I dropped one of my best friends off at the airport.  While there, I remembered how much I love airports.  I watched as several people said goodbye and several others said hello and I was reminded of a quote I saw recently on Blinks of Life.

"In every language, how to say hello and goodbye are taught at the same time for a reason.  Because the hardest times in your life will revolve around these two phrases."  

I think that the hello's and goodbye's at the airport are so touching and I always want to know what is going on in their lives.  I know that in the upcoming years, these two words will come to mean even more to me.  I look forward to saying hello to Emily again this Summer after her little lovey is born.  

After leaving the airport, I had some time to waste so I stopped by Bailey's Farmer's Market to check it out.  A sweet man highly recommended the Honey Bell tangelos and they were delicious.  I get excited about mouth-watering local fruit coming into season.  I also bought some sweet looking kumquats, but the verdict is still out on those.    

At home now spending some time alone and reflecting on the weekend and looking at the upcoming week.  I have become so content with where I am now in life.  I love both the reflecting and looking forward as much as I love the present.