second chances

Remember Tallulah and Delilah? Ya. They didn't make it to the new house.

Instead, Katie planted two beautiful flowers on our stoop. Then, the following day, she accidentally knocked one of the pots off with her suitcase, spilling the soil and happy flowers everywhere.

Is my bad luck with plants rubbing off on her?

She didn't have time to repot it before she left town, so, unaware of my [lack of] skills, she asked me to do it. I went for it this weekend, and am going to put all of effort into not killing them before she gets back into town.

I'm also putting all of my effort into not naming them, since they're her plants and it should really be her choice. It's a big decision.

But if I were going to name them, I would probably pick Marcy and Minty. I'm just saying...

when life hands you lemons...

Yesterday was unusually gloomy and I found myself in need of a little pick me up.

I saw this Martha Stewart recipe for Lemon Meringue Cupcakes on Cupcakes and Cashmere and decided it was the perfect evening project.

The lemon tastes summery and they are incredibly moist and delicious (if I do say so myself).  My apartment also smelled amazingly fresh and happy - mission accomplished!

PS: In case you're going to try them, I replaced the buttermilk with nonfat yogurt to make them a little bit healthier.


via cupcakes and cashmere

Cooking with Skippy

My dad is easily one of the most precise people I've ever met. He measures spaces before he buys furniture for them, he researches products, he tests paint colors...

And all of this creates a stark contrast to my mom and me.

So, when my dad and I decided to host a little HGC cooking show, it was bound to be entertaining. While he suggested I look at the recipe, measure, and test before taking action, I was more into the idea of just dumping in the ingredients and seeing how it all turned out.

However, while I may be impulsive, I'm not afraid to admit his accuracy typically leads to him being correct. So, I let him play chef while I played sous.

First, we made Court's Dried Fruit and Nut Clusters and, for the second batch, we tweaked the recipe by adding peanut butter and vanilla, switching out a few of the fruits, and turning the whole shabang into a dessert.

The actual rolling of the clusters was up to me and the combination of my patience and disliking of sticky hands led to the little guys looking a funny (compare them to Ashley's gems if you dare). But they still tasted decent and we got to take the old Cuisinart for a nice spin. And, of course, it was a lovely activity Skip.