Month: March 2015

cakes

Coconut Cream Gooey Butter Cake

Coconut Cream Gooey Butter Cake
Coconut Cream Gooey Butter Cake

A definite perk of being a teacher is that you never stop getting excited for school breaks. Spring break is usually glorious, since it ushers in the best time of the year. Everything is weaving thoughtfully and productively toward the luxurious summer.

It’s usually glorious. But this past week was my spring break, and I was sick for over half of it. Like, someone’s-stabbing-my-tonsils-repeatedly sort of sick.

I shouldn’t complain. I had a fantastic winter break and winter breaks are notoriously awful for teachers — right smack in the middle of the most depressing point in the school year when no one is quite sure that anything will work out, everyone has the flu, and pocketbooks and patience are stretched thin.

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Coconut Cheesecake Breakfast Braid

Thanks to Philadelphia Cream Cheese for sponsoring this post.

Coconut Cheesecake Breakfast Braid
Coconut Cheesecake Breakfast Braid

So many holiday mornings of my childhood were spent climbing into the car with my dad to drive over to the French Bakery. I think it had an actual name other than “French Bakery,” but that’s all we ever called it. We drove down Sharon Amity Road and turned right onto Albemarle. From there it was a short trek to the little strip of shops out in front of Eastland Mall where the bakery entrance was situated under a big arch. As soon as we walked in I was transported to France.

Really, I had never been to France and didn’t know much about it. But Elliott Erwitt’s iconic print, Provence 1955, hung on the wall and I knew that was quite French. Just look at the bicycle! The baguettes! The beret! And the ethereal perfume of freshly baked pastries — not just any pastries, but the ones with the dark golden sweet crunch on the outside and perfect flaky layers on the inside — was undoubtedly French! So what I mean to say is, I was transported to the France of my imagination.

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Hot Cheesy Shrimp Dip

Hot Cheesy Shrimp Dip
Hot Cheesy Shrimp Dip

I don’t paint, but I do watch old episodes of The Joy of Painting with Bob Ross all the time. I’m totally addicted. I read somewhere that after screaming at people for 12 years in the military, Bob returned to civilian life and resolved never to raise his voice again. Perhaps that explains why on every series of the show, he was peaceful, gentle, and kind. I love listening to him explain each scene he paints, anticipating his Bobisms before they’re spoken.

If you’re not a Bob Ross fan, this post might be lost on you. But maybe it’ll inspire you to take a look. Have you ever heard that saying, “Everything I need to know, I learned in kindergarten”? Well, forget kindergarten. Everything I need to know, I learned from Bob Ross:

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Lemon Blueberry Shortbread Cheesecake Dip

Thanks to Kellogg’s for sponsoring this post.

Lemon Blueberry Shortbread Cheesecake Dip Lemon Blueberry Shortbread Cheesecake Dip

We need to talk about Scattergories and Dessert Dip.

First off, Scattergories. I invited some friends over for a board game brunch to try out party food ideas with the bajillion (roughly) new Town House cracker varieties and we played Scattergories, one of my favorite games. You roll a letter and then have to come up with words that start with that letter for each prompt on your list. The prompts are things like sports teams or things you put in the refrigerator. I’m usually great at it, but have you ever rolled an I? I thought J was the hardest letter, but I gave it a run for its money. About a minute into the round, someone paused and announced, “There are no words that start with I.” Perhaps that’s a touch hyperbolic, but at that moment, I was tempted to agree.

Also, don’t think for one second that you’re the only clever cookie writing down ascot for things you wear that start with “A.” Because every single person wrote down ascot. How does that happen? How is ascot still part of our vernacular?

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cakes

Lemon Blueberry Gooey Butter Cake

Lemon Blueberry Gooey Butter Cake
Lemon Blueberry Gooey Butter Cake

Wow, anyone else feel that? That 180-degree instant shift in mood? Kristen’s post about February blues resonated with me. February is so hard, but I also have the more generalized winter blues. I can feel the doom set in as soon as the blue skies change to gray and the rain, wind, and ice roll in. I can hardly enjoy fall anymore just because I know winter is on its way, and with it depression and lack of motivation. Ugh.

But this morning!!

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