Speechless Sunday

 

I love Audrey Hepburn. She said a lot of good things. And I thought this one was particularly appropriate as I'm driving back from a friend's wedding today. 

Via, but I don't know who the original artist is.

The One With the Portland Art Museum Tour

I've mentioned before that I've been taking some photo tours with Jennifer Costello to try and improve my skills. She won't be offering them anymore after this month, so I wanted to squeeze in one final session with her before that. My final tour focused on low light photography at the Portland Art Museum.

My friend Stephanie (you may remember her from this post), went with me because I won a free one. We had so much fun trapsing about the Museum. It was really too bad we had to leave early.

If you've never been to the Portland Art Museum you should go. For a few more weeks they have an exhibit on Californian Impressionists that is pretty cool. I'm a big fan of impressionism. It's my favorite. What about you? What's your favorite genre of art?

The One With the Vacation Recap

Yeah... so I already did this Instagram style. But I took a few pictures on my DSLR I wanted to share. Fun stuff.

Livvy enjoying her Stars and Stripes Cupcake

Fireworks over the lake. Boats glimmering on the water. My favorite way to spend the 4th.

Teeny tiny little Livvy shoes

Ellie and Daddy

Mommy and Liv

Tired of looking at pictures yet? Because there's more coming up. Gotta get these down for record keeping's sake. And then soon I'll be back to more interesting posts.

The One With Liam's First Birthday Party

This is mostly for the sake of my sister-in-law, Emily. And because this kid is pretty cute!

The Birthday Boy

Big brother Cyril is ready to party

Liam's not so sure about having everyone sing to him

"Cake? Yeah, it's ok, I guess."

Mom's gotta get her instagram pics

"Yumm! Hats are much better than cake!"

Can't believe this kid is a year old already! Time is just flying by. Happy Birthday, Baby Boy!
Next up: a few more pictures from our vacation!

The One With the Vacation Instagram Recap

Well hello! It's been a long three weeks full of road trips, visiting family, more road trips and vacationing at the lake. It's been a lot of fun. I thought I'd share my instagram recap of the past week where we celebrated the 4th in my favorite way: at my grandparent's lake house near McCall, Idaho. If you've never been there... it's a pretty magical place, if I do say so myself.

 

So... a little recap, instagram style. I'll be back soon with more pictures from recent adventures and some tips on road-tripping with toddlers. Thanks for hanging in there! I'll try to be a bit more consistent over the next few weeks.

The One With the Stars and Stripes Cupcakes

Independence Day is one of my favorite holidays. And we'll spending this Fourth in one of my all-time favorite spots. Think beautiful lakehouse and a gorgeous lake and fireworks over the tops of the moutains. Yep. I'm pretty excited.

In the spirit of the upcoming fun, my sister, Georgia, and I came up with a celebratory cupcake (of course). We thought we'd be super cool and stripe the batter red and white, then top it with some blue frosting and white stars.

It didn't turn out quite as perfectly as I had envisioned, but I still think they look pretty cool. I like that they kind of look wavy, like a real flag. To make some yourself, follow the recipe below:

Stars and Stripes Cupcakes
(Makes about 24 cupcakes)

Cupcakes

• 2 boxes Pillsbury White Cake Mix
• 4 egg whites
• 2/3 cup vegetable oil
• 2 cups water
• Red food coloring
• White paper cupcake liners

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 
Mix each cake mix in separate bowls according to directions. Leave one batch white and color the other red with the food coloring. Place the cupcake liners in your cupcake tins.
To stripe the batter: Fill a disposable  pastry bag or Ziplock bag half way with white cake batter.  Cut the tip off, leaving only a small opening, so that the batter doesn't come out too quickly. Pipe about 1 1/2 Tablespoons of batter into each of the cupcake liners. Use a baby spoon, or some other small spatula to even out the batter, creating a smooth surface (and your first stripe!). Do the same with the red batter for the second stripe, then white and then red again.
Place in preheated oven and bake for 18-22 minutes, until a fork inserted into the middle of a cupcake comes out clean. Allow to cool on a wire rack.


Here is Georgia demonstrating her mad batter spreading skills. (Also, don't pay attention to the messy kitchen. Have I mentioned before that I am the world's messiest cook? Because I am.)

Frosting

• 2 pounds powdered sugar
• 1 cup (2 sticks) salted butter, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon almond extract
• 2 teaspoons clear vanilla extract
• 4-7 Tablespoons milk, water, or almond milk
• Blue food coloring (I used Wilton Gel Food Coloring in Sky Blue plus a little generic blue liquid that you can find at any grocery store) 
• White star sprinkles (I found star sprinkles with multiple colors at Fred Meyer and sorted out the white ones)

In a medium mixing bowl, cream the butter on low. Still beating on low, gradually incorporate the powdered sugar, almond and vanilla. Add the milk or water, one tablespoon at a time, until you have reached your desired consistency of frosting. Add the blue food coloring, still beating on low to keep air bubbles to a minimum, until you have the blue color you desire.
Using a large star tip and a pastry bag, frost your cupcakes as desired and sprinkle with the white stars.

Ta da!

Do you have fun plans for celebrating Independence Day? Is it just me, or is it one of the best holidays? I'm almost jumping out of my skin with excitement to spend it at the lake house. And of course come back with lots of pictures.

Speechless Sunday

This is pretty awe-inspiring, if I do say so myself. 

Via.