pictures from the weekend

Trying hard to stay awake for fire works:

Running through the sprinklers:

playing in the water:

peek-a-boo!

Ava at a park play date:

Making Daddy proud:

happy birthday america...

let's celebrate by lighting things on fire and watching them explode!

princess tea party

Yesterday was a day to recover from our long and crazy weekend, so the girls and I stayed home and relaxed. Ava decided that baking would be fun, and Emily kept bringing me the tea set, so I decided to bake some tea cakes with the girls and then have a fancy tea party.

We made Strawberry Filled Tea Cakes and had pink tea (leftover watermelon lemonade from our 4th of July party). A fancy table cloth and tiaras for everyone (I wore the one from my wedding)!




Strawberry Filled Tea Cakes
Martha Stewart Cupcakes

Makes 16

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, plus more for tins
3 cups all purpose flour, plus more for tins
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 tsp finely grated orange zest
4 large eggs, separated, room temperature
1/2 cup milk
1 cup strawberry jam

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brush standard cupcake tin with butter, dust with flour, tap out excess. Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt.

Cream butter, sugar and zest until pale and fluffy. Add egg yolks, one at a time, scraping down sides of bowl if necessary. Add flour mixture in 3 batches, alternating with milk until everything is incorporated.

In another bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed, whisk egg whites into soft peaks. Fold gently into batter. Spoon 2 tablespoons batter into each prepared cup. Make an indentation in the middle of each, fill with one tablespoon jam. Top with 2 additional tablespoons batter, covering jam completely.

Bake 30 minutes, rotating pans halfway through. Remove from oven, turn cakes out onto cooling rack, and cool completely.

Ayelet's notes: Martha suggests a citrus glaze over these, but I thought that they were sweet enough without. In fact, I only used half the amount of sugar and they turned out pretty sweet. I also used lemon zest because that's what I had and they were super yummy.

I definitely suggest making these (with or without little helpers) for your next tea party! Ava basically made these herself (the only thing I did was separate the eggs and put the tins into the oven) so they were pretty easy.

the queen paying tribute to the king

can't wait...

i just finished rereading this charming book...if you haven't read it, it's a must! the movie looks so cute. can't wait to have a date with my mama and see this!

ice cream

cool salads for hot nights

4 Bean Salad

1 cup cooked garbanzo beans

1 cup cooked kidney beans

1 cup cooked organic edamame beans

1 cup raw green beans, trimmed and cut in half

1/2 red onion, sliced very thin

12 cherry tomatoes, cut in half

Lemon Mustard Vinaigrette:

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon rice vinegar

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

2 tablespoons prepared mustard

1/4 teaspoon salt

Whisk all of the vinaigrette ingredients together and pour over the beans & vegetables. Mix gently. Refrigerate for at least an hour.

Brown Rice and Black Bean Salad

1 (15 ounce) can black beans, rinsed, drained

1 1/2 cups chopped tomatoes

1 1/2 cups cooked brown rice

1 (3 1/2 ounce) package crumbled reduced fat feta cheese (I use the kind with tomato and basil)

1/2 cup celery, chopped

1/2 cup green onions, chopped

1/2 cup Italian dressing

2 tablespoons fresh cilantro or parsley, chopped



Mix all ingredients. Refrigerate at least one hour before serving.

Creamy Cucumber Salad

2 large cucumbers, peeled and thinly sliced

1/2 cup sour cream

1/4 cider or champagne vinegar

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp ground black pepper

3 T chopped fresh dill

Combine all ingredients. Refrigerate before serving.