Frozen Concoctions

Hopefully, I'll be eating one of these frozen treats this weekend. It may even be time to bust out the ice cream maker. What are your plans?

[Country Living]

Vase to Vase

First, I need more flowers in my life, then I'll find the containers to put them in. Or is it the other way around, you know, Field of Dreams-style?

[images: marthastewart.com]

Shoofly Pie, Oh My

Last week, I mentioned a local pie shop I'd be paying a visit to. It's called Shoofly Pie Co., and they have just about every type of pie you can think of, both savory and sweet, including their namesake, a fluffy molasses-based pie.

On this visit, the husband and I opted for the apple crumble and the strawberry-rhubarb. I've decided pie is just about the most pleasant food you could eat. This Jack Handy quote comes to mind: "When you die, if you get a choice between going to regular heaven or pie heaven, choose pie heaven. It might be a trick, but if it's not, mmm, boy."

Under the Sea

If I had a beach house, I'd fill it with whale plates and octopus curtains and sit around eating boiled shrimp all day.

[whale platter, octopus curtains, crab knob, marine plates, whale cookie jar]

Weekend in Pictures

So last week, my new zumi digital camera arrived. After seeing what this little guy could do on Dandelion & Grey, I thought it would be a fun toy for my burgeoning interest in photography. I love that it's smaller than my hand, I love the vintagey look of the images, and I love that it captures video. It's nice not to lug around a DSLR everywhere I go. In fact, the camera is so small, I kind of feel like a secret agent.

[Pike Place Market, baked goods from Le Panier, Bookstore Bar, and a rainy day baseball game]

Pop Goes My Heart

Now this is a food trend I can get behind. If I were in New York this weekend, I'd totally be hitting up Popbar, but alas, I'm in Seattle, where we don't have Popbar and the current weather is very un-popsicley. Fortunately, there's always pie. Have a fantastic weekend and treat yourself!

[Spotted on: Natty Michelle]

Chocolate for Breakfast

When I was a kid, we would occasionally buy those variety packs of muffins from Sam's Club. They came with blueberry, banana nut, and chocolate, which is what I always went for, even if it was 7 a.m. They were essentially un-iced cupcakes, and I loved them. Eating chocolate for breakfast was the best thing in the world.

These little babies give me the same sense of breakfast rule rebellion, but they seem a little more acceptable. I mean, they do have zucchini in them.

By the way, thanks for all the sweet anniversary wishes yesterday. Y'all are the best!


Chocolate-Zucchini Cakes with Walnuts
Recipe from Everyday Food

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup finely grated zucchini
3 tablespoons sour cream
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup (3 ounces) bittersweet chocolate, chopped or chocolate chips
nonstick cooking spray
24 walnut halves

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large bowl, stir together butter, sugar, salt, and egg until combined. Add vanilla, zucchini, and sour cream and stir until incorporated. Sift flour and cocoa powder into bowl and stir until combined. Stir in chocolate. Spray mini muffin pans with cooking spray. Fill each cup with 2 tablespoons batter and top with a walnut. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center of a muffin comes out clean, 15 to 17 minutes. Let muffins cool slightly in pans on wire racks before serving. Makes 24.

3

Three years ago today, I married my best friend, and I'm not even a little bit sick of him. Thanks for all the little moments, my love.

Precious Pages

Aren't these journals adorable? They just beg to be filled with happy thoughts and doodles of daisies. The Etsy seller behind them, Steph Hagen, is donating 100 percent of her May sales to flood relief in Nashville. So many good things happening here!

[Etsy shop: preciouspages; Spotted on: Oh, Hello Friend]

Sweet Nothings

Sweet tea goes so well with a sunny Saturday. What did you do over the weekend? I read in the grass, shopped online for new camera-related toys, did my best to avoid the crowds at Seattle's Cheese Fest, and listened to this happy little song over and over.

Chalk it Up to Experience

I'm seriously contemplating spending some time outside this summer with a bucket of chalk. I already found the perfect kit. It comes with polka dot chalk, striped chalk, marbleized chalk and chalk holders, which are genius. Why weren't those around when I was a kid? To think, I spent all those afternoons scraping my knuckles on pavement for the sake of art.

[photos: Fotos by Flo, curious illusion, thezidane and eklektick]

Exotic Illumination

I kind of love this pendant lamp from West Elm. It looks like the beginnings of a Muppet, which may be part of the appeal for me. It's also made from dried coconut strips, and I'll support anything in the name of coconut.

At Home in the Water

Thanks to these images from Sunset magazine, I'm convinced I need to live on a houseboat. Commuting by kayak, beautiful views, getting rocked to sleep, a legitimate reason to wear boat shoes, and no grass to mow.

Spot On

Apparently freckles are in this year, which is great news since my face bursts forth with them come summertime. I'm actually a big fan of freckles. They're so friendly. And the way Sawyer calls Kate "Freckles" on Lost. Love that!

[photo courtesy of sadandbeautiful]

Dunkable Dessert

After spotting this recipe on one of my favorite food blogs, honey & jam, I knew I had to give it a try. It was my first time making biscotti, and it was a breeze. I gave a batch to my mother-in-law for Mother's Day, but set aside a few -- okay, more than a few -- for myself. I proceeded to dunk them in cups of coffee and tea over the course of the weekend, making for one happy and overly caffeinated girl.


Cinnamon Sugar Biscotti
Recipe courtesy of epicurious and Joy the Baker

2 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup granulated sugar
6 Tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 egg
1 egg yolk
1 teaspoon vanilla

Topping:
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 beaten egg (for brushing biscotti before baking)


Preheat oven to 325 degrees F and arrange two baking racks in the upper portion of the oven. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cinnamon, baking powder and salt. Set aside. Also whisk together the cinnamon and sugar for the topping and set aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer, fit with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Scrape down the down and beat in the egg followed by the egg yolk. Beat in the vanilla extract.

Add the dry ingredients to the creamed butter all at once. With the mixer or just with a spatula, bring all of the ingredients together until a somewhat stiff dough is formed. Divide the dough and place on baking sheet. Shape each half of dough into a 9-inch long and 1 1/2-inch wide log. Brush with the beaten egg and sprinkle very generously with cinnamon sugar. Bake for 20 minutes. Flip the baking sheet around for even baking and bake for 20-25 more minutes until golden and firm to the touch. Remove from the oven but keep the oven on. Let biscotti cool until able to handle. Using a serrated knife, cut logs into 1/2-inch wide diagonal slices. Place biscotti cut side down on baking sheet and sprinkle with more cinnamon sugar. Bake again until pale golden, about 10-15 minutes. Store in an airtight container for up to one week.