Awwww...cupcakes with baby faces and teddy bears! (Just for the record my sister decorated these and the thing in the baby's mouth is a pacifier!)

I am a big fan of decorating cakes with real flowers. For one, I am out of practice with my froasting flowers and two, nothing can mimic God's design and beauty like the real thing!

Yes, I am still very much alive, even after the first week back to college! Not only was my week a bustle of activity, my weekend was as well. Last Saturday I made a cake for a baby shower. Let me just say that bakeries have it much easier because they have everything there on hand (unless someone hasn't done proper inventory but that is a different story altogether). None of this "Oh gee we ran out of eggs" or "do you think the neighbors will let me fit the cake in their fridge? It won't fit in ours?!"

My poor cake had some structural errors which required a major patch up. Let's just say that a party bag full of frosting fills up long cracks across the top. No really, it works!

Take a look at the pics (you will see the crack)

This very appealing "culinary sauce" is a gift for one of my friends. It seems that you can drizzle it onto anything: goat cheese, angel food cake, yogurt parfaits, the list is as long as your imagination.

When I saw this hat at the Culinary shop in Cambria, I told something I do not often say..."I have to get this!" You must admit, it is just too cute! The pink chef coat look was even more adorable but outside my budget. Besides, where would I wear a pink chef coat?

On The Road Again..!

The best chapter of summer is, hands down, the one where our family takes a vacation. This year, we traveled to California's central coast (San Louis Obispo, Santa Barbara etc). White capped waves, giant rocks so alluring there is nothing to do but climb them, Food Network on the TV at night, swimming, milkshakes... Sigh. We were even surprised by an unexpected whale watching opportunity (why is it that you never see them when you are on a whale watching trip but somehow they decide to appear when you are eating lunch at a turn out?) The largest guffaws came on Thursday when we rented a little bike-surrey. With yelps of laughter and cries of "don't steer into the bushes" we jovially peddled down the broad walk.



I am not a big spender but I did pick up a few souvenirs and gifts. Take a look at some of my treasures:

These cuties are going to be my little housewarming gifts. You see,I was taught how to write thank you notes and give small tokens of thanks to the hostess of a get-together or party. It is always nice to be invited to a new acquaintance or old friend's home and I think the art of simple gratitude is lost these days. Yup, I was raised right by my mamma!!

Baby beans

Small beginnings...

Green Thumb

Gardening... it is something I have always aspired to but was always to lazy to accomplish. Until 3 weeks ago.

I started when my mom complained that she could not afford to support my healthy eating habbits. It must be said that I am an avid consumer of vegetables and fruits. Five apples, a bunch of bananas, three bell peppers, and a head of letuse is certainly NOT enough to sustain a house od 5. Ok, a house of 5 inhabited by one who eats fruits and/or veggies with every meal and sometimes with every snack.

I couldn't believe my dear mothers remark. After all, obesity is super size problem in my state so you would certainly think that any mom would be more than ecstatic to be the mother of so ferocious a greens and fruit eater. Of course my mom is, but going to the store more than once a week for expensive produce items does not give her the warm fuzzies.

Enter square foot garden.

Mom brought it up. About the book I mean. The book she used to own that gave insight to gardening in raised boxes. I marched to the library and found that book, plunked down, and by the time 30 minutes had slipped away, was resolved to start growing my own produce. The title of this inspiring read is, All New Square Foot Gardening by Mel Bartholomew. The idea behind SFG (square foot garden) is to grow plants or produce in a very do-able manner; namely by the square foot.

So my father and I built a box 4 feet by 4 feet. The beauty of this design is that you can reach any part of this box without straining your back. We filled the box with our own soil mix, set it on the back lawn, and roped out a foot x foot grid. The grid assists in the plant boundaries. With the grid, I easily saw that two lettuces fit in one square while 16 baby carrots fit in another.

So far I have planted: lettuce, baby finger carrots, long emperor carrots, red onions, onion-chives, green bell pepper, green onions, sweet basil, tomato, and bush beans. All of this in a raised 4 X 4 box!!

This garden is a small wonder. Such a small plot. Such minute seeds. Yet with a little water, sun, and worm-picking, growth is occurring. Take a look at the photos…

As for you "would be" gardeners out there (or maybe old timers too) I would highly recommend the All New Square Foot Garden book to you. Buy it or barrow it or do something to take a look at it. It is a wealthy resource!

Earthworm Wonder - The babysitter files

This is my most recent addition to the babysitter files. This little conversation transpired on July 31st when two of my little charges were searching for earthworms and caterpillars:

Caleb: Look an earth worm!

Me: OOOh, look at that.

Caleb: whoa it's really wiggly and floppy.

Me: Yeah it's looking for the dirt to dig into. Did you know that earthworms are good for plants and flowers?

Caleb: How are they good for the plants and flowers?

Me: Hmm (thinking of how to explain this to a 7 y/o)

Well, when you eat dinner you start with a full plate right?

Caleb: Uh uh

Me: The earth is like a full plate too. It has food for the plants and flowers that we call nutrients. Just as your plate is empty after you eat off of it, so the earth's food or nutrients "gets empty." It needs to be "refilled" too. The earthworm's, um, poop helps put those nutrients back into the dirt and "fill up the plate again" so that the plants can eat more.

Caleb: But how does the poop help the earth?

Me: You know buddy, I don't exactly know how it works but I know it does!

Caleb: (in complete awe) I didn't know that earthworms were so good. I won't collect them anymore.

The conversation was simple. My explanation rather inadequate. Yet the ability to pass on a little sliver of God's amazing plan of creation; to see the wonder in those young keen eyes... there is just nothing like it!

But now um, if you will excuse me, I need to do a wee bit of research of earthworms...