Quiet time

What I've been working on

These sweet little ladies

Three of them are for my niece's birthday and then Natania and Claire each have one. I have some men in the works. The girls told me they need husbands!

Silly Hats, Spun Sugar and Ginger Pear Glutenfree cake

We had a fun celebration for Daryl's birthday. For his cake i tackled spun sugar and was more successful than my previous attempt. Making a dairy free frosting is always a challenge, so this spun sugar was a great alternative to decorating the cake!














We asked everyone who came to wear a fun hat. Here we are with ours!














The birthday cake was a Gluten free Coconut-Molasses-Ginger cake with warm pears. So good! one of the best compliments you can give to a GF baked treat is that you couldn't tell it was gluten free! I made two to have enough for all our guests and everyone really enjoyed it!

On the Menu

All I could think on my drive home today was the chocolate cake. One last piece in the fridge for me beckoning me to finish, although really I think I must split it and share it with my neighbor who claimed on Saturday it was one of the best things she’s ever eaten. I have to agree, it is not your average chocolate cake by any means. In fact I think it’s the first “flourless” chocolate cake I’ve ever made. I don’t know what has taken me so long! This particular recipe from Molly Wizenberg’s A Homemade Life was absolutely wonderful. So light and creamy-great warm from the oven, but even better after chilled overnight in the fridge. We literally had a moment of silence as we all marveled, slowly lingering over each bite! I’m already thinking of when I can make it again. My birthday’s coming up soon, seems like a good excuse. Ah- but who needs excuses to enjoy life and all the wonderful flavors we have. Life is too short for to wait for birthdays for cake! I do believe in moderation but just wait until you try this cake, you’ll see.

Inspired to salvage

I have been reading JunkBeautiful and it has really encouraged me to look at things differently.

I have perused a few different books on this topic and this was by far the most inspiring! The projects are not cheesy and out dated, they are fresh and classy.

So last week when our family was sitting in traffic on the 605 and i looked out my window and spotted this cable dumped on the hillside I quickly recalled a friend mentioning they had used one of these for a table. A coffee table is exactly what we have been missing in our simple home and after a bit of an adventure getting off the freeway and finding our way back to the hillside, my handy husband rolled this beauty up the hill and we loaded it in our car. (i'm so grateful to have a station wagon)

The next couple posts will show more projects around the house as we change how we view things; in an attempt to consume less and create more!