June 2014

JUNE 2014

I'm finding it really hard to believe summer is finally here and the 4th of July is next week!  Sunflowers just seem to spell summer to me. 

Also my flamingos...  

Three members of our family celebrate birthdays in June and July so birthday wishes stay out almost the whole summer.

Memorial Day weekend we spent the day in Portsmouth, NH.  We happened to hit a really cold day.  People were in boots and sweaters.  The next day was a heat wave.  That seemed to be a pattern for a while this spring.

I love the little shops and all of the painted signs.  They inspire me to create.

 

This was one of my favorites.  I would have bought it but for the life of me I couldn't figure out where I would ever put it!!

Here's what came out of that trip.  I had this little saying in my head for so long I finally released it with this embroidered piece.  I always have a few old frames hanging around the house just for this reason.  I painted the frame first with an ocean blue and then crackled it with an off white to look worn and distressed.   

Sandy from quilt/craft group made these beautiful patriotic quilts for the Vets.

All of her quilts are so beautiful.  I'll never understand how she so generously gives them away.

This photo doesn't do this wall hanging justice.

So I'm done with my obsession with Civil War fabrics.  I got this Downton Abbey coffee table book for Mother's Day and all of a sudden I'm obsessed with Downton Abbey fabric.  Of course I'm way too late because most fabric shops are out of it or just have a few bolts left because the craze is over.  But that's  me - after the fact I've caught the bug!  I'll be looking for this fabric wherever I go for a while until something else peaks my fancy.  Problem is there's always something else after all of these collections that gets in the way with actually doing something with all of this stuff!

I love Pinterest.  I have created boards for all of my favorite things and one of them of course is dessert.  The fabulous part of pinning for me is I don't need paper anymore.  I used to collect recipes and photos of everything I love but I could never find anything.  Now I simply pin.  It's a lot quicker to look on a board then all over the house!  One night I was pinning some desserts I found on Facebook and came across this recipe for Hawaiian Wedding Cake.  It looked so good I decided to ring in the start of summer by trying it.    

This cake was really easy to make.  Mix the batter and pour it into a 9x13 pan.

After the cake came out of the oven I put some coconut on a foil lined baking pan and toasted it for a few minutes.  

Sometimes I don't like to frost cakes and I've never used whipped cream in frosting before but lately I've gotten more daring.  This cake looked so amazing I wasn't going to skimp on the frosting.  I'm so glad I decided to follow the recipe exactly.  The frosting is so light and refreshing.  The cake tastes like summer.  It's to die for REALLY!

Looks exactly like the recipe photo!  That doesn't happen all that often!  This ones a winner!

Hawaiian Wedding Cake

Yields: 1 servings

Ingredients

1	cup white sugar
½	cup brown sugar
1	tsp baking soda
2	cups all-purpose flour
2	eggs
1	(20 ounce) can crushed pineapple with juice
1	cup finely chopped (or crushed) walnuts
¾	cup flaked coconut
1	tsp cinnamon
⅛	tsp nutmeg
1	tsp salt
1	tsp vanilla

Directions

Mix all of your dry ingredients together in a bowl. Then mix in the eggs, vanilla and crushed pineapple with all of the juice. Pour into a well greased pan 9″ round or 9″X13″ rectangle Bake for about 35 – 40 minutes at 350 degrees (or until toothpick in the center comes out clean). You can serve it this way if you want…or you can kick it up a notch with a simple creamy whipped cream-cream cheese frosting! 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese (let it come to room temperature for easier blending) 1 cup white sugar ⅛ tsp salt 1 tsp vanilla extract 1½ cups heavy whipping cream In a small bowl beat whipping cream until stiff peaks form; set aside.In a large bowl combine cream cheese, sugar, salt and vanilla. Beat until smooth. Gently fold the cream cheese mixture and whipped cream together. I topped mine with a little toasted coconut.

This recipe printed from Key Ingredient. 
Direct recipe link: http://www.keyingredient.com/recipes/540950697/hawaiian-wedding-cake/

It's depressing when it rains on the weekend.  But I light my candles and sit in my sun room that screams beach and I feel better.  It gets me through till the sun comes out again.

Hope the rest of the weekends this summer are sunny!  Thanks for visiting and hope to visit again soon!