Saturday Tea in the Garden + Strawberry Lavender Buttercream on a Chocolate Cupcake YUM!

Hello friends.

While I would LOVE to be having tea in my garden this weekend, it has been so chilly in Minnesota that very little is in bloom.

So, I decided to bring the "garden" inside.

This afternoon Sophia and I enjoyed tea made more delightful by the addition of chocolate cupcakes with strawberry lavender buttercream.

I have to admit that I did I could eat this frosting all by itself. :)

Sophia and I often enjoy a tea service on Friday's after school.

It provides a nice time to recap the adventures of the week.

I treasure every moment.

I included a few pictures for sentiment.  I love memories!!

Can you spot our favorite tea friend, Ms. Paris Poodle??

Each cup of tea represents an imaginary voyage. 

~Catherine Douzel

While there is tea, there is hope.

~ Sr Aurthur Pinero

Find yourself a cup of tea; the teapot is behind you. 

Now tell me about hundreds of things. 

~Saki

Sophia wrote this note and took the picture while I was preparing the table.

We do hope you take the time for a nice tea!

And some Chocolate Cupcakes with Strawberry Lavender Buttercream!

The hint of lavender was so divine.

Strawberry Lavender Buttercream

3 large strawberries or 1 1/2 tsp of Strawberry Extract (more or less to taste)
1 stick butter, at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3-4 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup heavy cream
1-2 tsp culinary lavender (depends on how strong you prefer)
Pink Food Coloring

In a food processor, pulse strawberries until pureed. Add in butter and vanilla, and about 2 cups of the sugar. Pulse until well combined. If using extract alone, add liquid to the butter, vanilla and 2 cups of sugar.


In a separate bowl microwave cream at 10 second intervals until it simmers, then place culinary lavender into cream and let steep for at least 10 minutes.

Strain the lavender from the cream.

Incorporate cream into mixture. Add in small amounts of powdered sugar, pulsing after each addition, to reach the desired consistency.
Tint to desired color.
Frosting should be smooth and soft, yet hold its shape.

For the Chocolate Cupcakes I proudly used a Pillsbury Chocolate Cake Mix and doctored it up with some cocoa, mayo and vanilla.

~ Don't Forget to enter my Tea Time Magazine Giveaway. Even if you already get the magazine I am sure you know someone who would be delighted to receive a surprise in the mail.

To visit the entry page click HERE!

~ This is my life having tea with my daughter and making some delicious cupcakes.
These are some of my favorites so far!!

Linking up with:


I am excited to be linking up with Bernideen's Tea Time Blog 
for "Tea in the Garden" today.  Her tea blog is just lovely.

Sweet Tooth Friday

Sugar Bananas ~ Sweets This Week!

Sweets for a Saturday ~ Sweet as Sugar Cookies Blog

Pink Saturday!

My Romantic Home ~ Show and Tell Friday

Saturday Show Off

The Tablescaper ~ Seasonal Sundays

Sweets Thursday at Something Swanky 

A Picture Post ~ Memories from Mother's Day Weekend 2011

Sorry, no cupcakes today...I have something much, much sweeter..........memories.

"Your sacred space is where you can find yourself over and over again." 

~ Joseph Campbell

"To appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to give one's self..to have played and laughed with enthusiasm, and sung with exultation; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived...This is to have succeeded." 

~ Emerson

We can do no great things,

only small things with great love. 

~Mother Teresa

The true meaning of life is to plant trees,

under whose shade you do not expect to sit. 

~Nelson Henderson

We make a living by what we get,

but we make a life by what we give. 

~Winston Churchill

And she was fair as is the rose in May. 

 ~ Chaucer

Always be a first-rate version of yourself,

instead of a second-rate version of somebody else. 

~Judy Garland

"The privilege of a lifetime is being who you are." 

~ Joseph Campbell

Some people are always grumbling because roses have thorns.

I am thankful that thorns have roses.  

 ~ Kerr

SUNNY DAYS

Only count your sunny days

For they are the ones that matter

They are the ones that bring you joy

Upon your happiness platter

Fill your plate with all the smiles you can muster up

And when its full your smiles will flow into a matching cup

Take these days and store them away

for they will keep awhile

And when you're down and need a lift

You take them out and smile

~Written by My Amazing Mother, Jan Fosbinder February 14, 2000 ~

I love you so much Mom.

Fishing Opener........Cupcake Style.

It is fishing opener in Minnesota this weekend which is practically a national holiday.  It also reminds me of my super awesome, totally cool Dad.

Hi Dad!  Here he is with his Chevy Nova Nomad that he totally restored himself.  He is quite the cool cat and my "go to" guy for all car related disasters over the years. (Sorry James, but even YOU call my Dad.)

Anyhoooo, all the hype and hoop-la made me think of these babies I made for my husband this winter….

I know these are for ICE fishing but it does get the point across.

I used a crusting buttercream and a Swedish fish for each one.

For the pole, I cut a straw and used a fruit roll-up cut to size and threaded the little guy into the straw.

I did spray the “ice” with pearl luster spray.  This has to be one of my favorite things to use…I spray anything that stands still long enough with luster spray.  

No fishing outing is complete without beer.  So I cut out little beers from a photo I downloaded off the internet and taped them to toothpicks and slapped them into the cakes.

VIOLA!!

You could easily do this with blue frosting to reflect water instead of iced over water which frankly with the weather we have been having here in Minnesota, I am surprised the ice is even off the lakes.

Sorry about the picture quality..this was before I started blogging but hey, at least I was smart enough to snap a picture, right?

See you tomorrow for Pink Saturday and a wonderful Graduation Party Idea.

~ This is my life in fishing cupcakes and thinking of my Dad today.

Tea Time Tuesday with a Tea Time Magazine Giveaway!!

Welcome to Tea Time Tuesday I am excited to be gifting a one year (6 issues) subscription to Tea Time Magazine this week.

I hope everyone had a GREAT weekend and enjoyed Mother’s Day if that was part of your plan. I spent Mother's Day apart from my mom this year but at least I was with her on Easter! Love ya, MOM!

My Mother's Day was wonderful.  I hosted my Mother in Law, Lucy, for a lovely brunch.

Here is a picture of Lucy on her wedding day with her mom, Arlene.

Unfortunately Arlene died of breast cancer several years ago and I was never able to meet her. 

I am sure her warm heart and spirit lives on in Lucy and my daughter Sophia.

As a result of Tea Time Tuesday and the wonderful tea blogs and tea parties I have joined, I have found a wonderful blog full of incredible "tablescape" inspiration appropriately called, The Tablescaper.  

This site is quite amazing and you can follow her creations just like me by clicking HERE.

Here is a sneak peak at the table setting I put together for Mother's Day.  I will be sharing more as the week goes on.

The china used below was given to me by my Mom and Dad when I graduated PA school.  It is very, very special to me.

The menu was simple. Ham and cheese scrambled eggs, sausage links and a variety of fruit and pastries ~ of course with a little added FANCY.

I have always wanted to make sugared flowers and recently Melissa at My Cake School posted a quick and easy tutorial on her blog. 

You can find it by clicking HERE.  I highly recommend a membership to her online cake decorating school, it is amazing!

On Saturday I took the time to make the little sugared delights and they turned out just great.

I incorporated them into my brunch but was limited on TIME (big shock) so I bought some of these at the last minute...INSERT BIG GASP OF HORROR….

And turned it into these…

Aaaaaawwww…what would I do without you, fast and fancy gene??

The little ‘L’ is for LUCY!!  So fanciful! It is hard to see but I added some pixie dust on top so they sparkled.

Everything was delightful.

After everyone left , my husband and daughter took naps and I took the opportunity to go downtown and meander through “Antiques Downtown”. 

It was relaxing and fun.

I bought some treats…including a bunch of old copies of Tea Time, Victoria and The Tea House Times...what a find!

I also stumbled upon this little treasure…

It was only FIVE DOLLARS!!  The dish is about a 10 inches long. It does have a small little chip on the side but I could care less. SCORE!

To redeem myself for not baking "from scratch" pastries for brunch, I did create a nice little dessert for us at dinner.

It was easy as PIE (or napoleon…J) and I found the recipe and inspiration in the most recent issue of Tea Time Magazine. 

Would YOU like a GIFT subscription for one year (6 issues) to Tea Time Magazine or do you have someone you would like to bestow this lovely gift upon??

Here is what you need to do:

Be a follower of Sweetology ~ feel free to grab my button

Answer the question in the picture below by leaving a comment

For an extra entry you can let me know if you "like" my FB page or follow on twitter ~ click on the links in the right had column above to take you there.

You must live in the US or Canada.  

I will announce the lucky winner next Tuesday ~ so make sure to check back.

I also want to say a big THANKS to CUPCAKES TAKE THE CAKE  for featuring my Gustav Klimt Cupcake on their site this weekend, what an honor.

I have been working on some wonderful cupcake designs and look forward to sharing them with you!

~ This has been my life in sugared flowers, sharing my love of Tea Time Magazine and other simple pleasures. Thank you so much for visiting.

Linking up too...

Hoosier Homemade ~ Cupcake Tuesday!

The Rose Chintz Cottage

Martha's Favorites

Table Top Tuesday

Artful Affirmations

Lady Katherine Tea Parlor

The Silken Purse

Blissful Rhythm Blog

Skip to my Lou ~ Made by you Monday!

Lark's Country Heart ~ Made by you Monday!

Ladybug Blessings

Sweets this Week at Sugar Bananas

A Breath of Fresh Air ~ Teapot and Tea Things Tuesday!

The Tablescaper

Mouthwatering Mondays

Melt in your Mouth Mondays

It's A Blog Party!

My Sweet and Savory ~ Let's Do Brunch Party

Pink Saturdays!
Between Naps on the Porch ~ Tablescape Thursday click on button below..

Gustav Klimt Cupcake for Mother's Day ~ Mother and Child

I love art. 

One of my favorite artists is Gustav Klimt made famous for "The Kiss"

Another one of his well known works is called Mother and Child.

Here is my adaption, cupcake style.....

And here is the print....

So peaceful.

I am pretty happy with how it turned out, considering I did it on a whim.

This is for my mom, Jan, who is truly a priceless masterpiece.

Klimt doesn't have anything on YOU, Mom!

This is also for my two sisters Paula and Marla who are wonderful mothers.

From Left...Paula, Marla and Me!

And for all my friends both near and far who are mother's in one way or another....Happy Mother's Day.  This one is for YOU too!


**For those of you who want to know how I made this:
     1.  Print Klimt picture
     2.  Trace onto wax paper
     3.  Roll out colored fondant
     4.  Cut your wax paper tracing into a "puzzle"
     5.  Lay pieces of the "puzzle" on colored fondant and cut out with exacto 
     6.  A nice trick is to freeze rolled fondant briefly ~ cuts without tearing
     7.  I used wilton premade flesh tone, brown and black
     8.  Americolor markers save the day again for the outlining
     9.  Small flower sugar decorations colored with edible marker
    10. A dusting of pixie dust is always good!

You can find the pixie dust and Americolor markers in my SWEET BOUTIQUE ~ click on the link in my header.

Linking up to these GREAT sites..

Sassy Sites!
Miss Spenser's Tea Cup Thursday
Tidy Mom ~ I'm Lovin It!
TaterTots and Jello ~ Weekend Wrap Up Party
Someday Crafts ~ Mother's Day Party
Sweets on Saturday at Sweet as Sugar Cookies Blog
Sweet Tooth Fridays!
Made by you Monday ~ Skip to my Lou ~

Mothers Day Warm and Fuzzy

With Mother’s Day coming up this weekend, I wanted to post something near and dear to my heart.

Recently on a Sunday afternoon, my daughter, Sophia Rose asked me to “leave the kitchen” so she could.... “Make a surprise for you, Mommy”.

Of course I obliged.

This is what I found when she asked me back to the kitchen:

A chocolate Rice Krispie bar adorned with whipcream and sprinkles.

All by herself, for no particular reason.

FAST and Fancy is clearly rubbing off!

All my feelings of inadequacy and guilt fled my body.  It was short lived but nonetheless a priceless moment in time.

I have always incorporated FANCY into Sophia’s life as much as I can. 

We enjoy tea parties on a regular basis both at local tea rooms, but also at home.  I have quite a collection of porcelain china including teacups, teapots, plates and related fare and we use them all the time without hesitation.   

I am happy to say that we have had so many impromptu tea parties at home, I have lost count.

Memories.

I know we are raising a special, loving, kind hearted, thoughtful child.

Is she perfect? 

No.

Is she perfect to me?

Yes.

Mother’s Day is a day to celebrate being a mom, but also to reflect on the beauty of our children and acknowledge the accomplishments we have made throughout the year.

Happy Mother’s Day

Bidding is OPEN!!!!

 

 

This week I will be sending out a few reminders for this so I hope you don't mind some REDUNDANCY!

 

PLEASE go check this online bake sale

out by clicking HERE!

This national online bake sale will be open up until Mother's Day, May 8th and all proceeds benefit the Susan G Komen Foundation which supports Breast Cancer Research.

Your support is needed and appreciated.

If you are not able to bid, that is OK, just pass this link on to your family, friends, people on facebook, twitter or anyone else who might be interested!

 

The BOOBIE cookies are what I donated.

 

Hugs