Little Things

Simple shots (iPhone) of our life this past week. Tune back next week for a similar post! I’d also love to have you follow me on Instagram (@cakestand) if you’re interested in more photos of food and baby!

We went to Houston to visit my sweet grandmother–the original Lucille.

Despite 80-90 degree weather, Texas still has its version of fall. Love these delicate yellow petals.

Traveling with an infant is EXHAUSTING.

But without her, I wouldn’t get to experience mice booties.

And this: her sweet sweet smile.

Monet

Anecdotes and Apple Cores

Sour Cream Muffins

In case you were curious…we survived our first airplane trip. Despite two, yes two, blowouts at 30,000 feet, we arrived in Houston bearing big, tired smiles. I can’t thank Ryan and my mom enough for their help. Between the three of us, we kept our very active 15-week-old baby occupied and happy. She charmed us with her yawns and whimpers, and I watched, captivated, as she stared out the airplane window as we descended through the clouds. There is nothing like watching your child experience the world new.

And did I mention we came to Texas to introduce my baby Lucy to her great-grandmother Lucille Babbitt? My sweet Grammy developed a rare and debilitating kidney disease two years ago, and she’s fought bravely over the last months. The look on my Grammy’s face when she saw her namesake was one I’ll never forget. They live about thirty minutes from my aunt’s house (where we ‘re staying) and my Papou said he’d never seen Grammy drive so fast.

We spent Sunday taking pictures of four generations, and I know Lucy will hold this captured legacy close to her heart in the years to come. We’ll be in Texas for a few more days, so I’ll only be sharing one recipe this week. These sour cream muffins are a classic in my family. With high domes and moist interiors, these whole grain muffins should grace brunch and breakfast parties most every weekend. They serve as the perfect base for plump berries or fall fruits, but if you’re like me, there are days when simplicity wins out. I topped these unadorned muffins with crumbled oatmeal cookies, which added the perfect amount of crunch.

Sour Cream Muffins

1 cup white whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup sour cream
4 store-bought oatmeal cookies, crumbled.

Lightly grease a standard muffin tin. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flours, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

Cream together the butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl until light and fluffy, about four minutes. Scrape down the bowl to make sure all the butter is incorporated, then turn the mixer back on and add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the vanilla and sour cream, and mix until incorporated. Add the dry ingredients, mixing on low speed just until the batter is smooth. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl once more, to be sure everything is evenly combined. Refrigerate dough for at thirty minutes to one hour.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Scoop the batter by the 1/4-cupful into the prepared pan and sprinkle with crumbled oatmeal cookies. Bake the muffins until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 22 to 26 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow the muffins to cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then turn them out onto a rack to finish cooling.

Monet

Anecdotes and Apple Cores

Little Things

Simple shots of our life this past week. Tune back next week for a similar post! I’d also love to have you follow me on Instagram (@cakestand) if you’re interested in more photos of food and baby!

This necklace. A beautiful gift from a friend to commemorate Lucille’s birth. Antique french relic (from the 1800s!) on a necklace of fresh-water pearls.

Lucy loves her hands…and rarely stays on her back for long now. She’s perfected the art of rolling over.

See?

We had a lovely dinner party with one of my best friends from my MFA program. Lucy looked lovely on their blue chair.

Lucy caught her first cold, but handled it like a champ. Breast milk down the nose = quick recovery. Seriously, guys: it works.

And as of Thursday at 1:50 pm, Lucille Amelia turned 100 days old.

These cookies are quickly becoming one of my most PINNED recipes. Do you follow me on pinterest? Maybe you should!

Monet

Anecdotes and Apple Cores

Very Hungry Caterpillar

Never fear, I’m doing much better now. Thanks to everyone who read and responded to my overly emotional post on Monday. Your words were little rays of light, as always.

We’ve been busy around the homestead, prepping for Lucy’s first BIG trip. We’re flying to Houston on Saturday so we can introduce baby Lucy to the original Lucy, my sweet maternal grandmother. I’m partially excited, partially terrified. Right now, traveling with a newborn seems about as easy as giving birth.

So in light of our impending travels, I’m sharing this bright and fun birthday cake (in hopes that it will bolster my courage!). This was the first cake I’ve decorated since last fall, when I was in the middle of my first trimester. Decorating cakes while in the thick of morning sickness isn’t fun, but decorating cakes with a newborn is an entirely different type of challenge! This Very Hungry Caterpillar Cake was delivered to a birthday party on Sunday for two very lovely little girls. I hope they enjoyed it…and you know I’m already plotting and planning for Lucy’s first birthday fete!

In the past, I’ve used rather expensive food dyes to color my cakes, but with a tight budget and timeline this year, I was thrilled to find that McCormick food colors worked wonderfully! Not only was I able to find them easily at the grocery store, but I loved how I was able to emulate Eric Carle’s overlapping layers of color in the caterpillar’s body. I used this standard pack of colors, which allows for an impressive variety of shades if you’re willing to mix and experiment (and isn’t that the best part?).

I wish I could tell you an exact formulation for this colorful fondant caterpillar, but I had too much fun experimenting to keep track of how many drops of food color I used. What I can tell you is this: a little goes a long way and these colors work great for fondant and frosting.

Monet

Anecdotes and Apple Cores

Classic Chocolate Chip Cookies

I shattered my iPhone on Saturday night. After a long and stressful day, I left the house for what was supposed to be a relaxing walk. Instead, Margot jerked my hand and my phone flew, making quick contact with the concrete. I know I’m not the only one who has anxiously reached down to pick up a dropped phone, praying that somehow it survived a hard blow. I turned it over and my stomach dropped. Shattered glass is breathtaking in its beauty and its destruction.

I stormed inside the house, tears filling my eyes. I even flung Margot’s leash across the front foyer. My behavior was childish…it’s a phone after all…but I felt such a strong rush of emotions that I could barely contain my anger.

As often happens with Ryan and me, it took a few hours for the dust to settle before we were able to analyze behavior. By that point, I had called T-mobile and ordered a replacement. We live in a world where broken phones are almost as catastrophic as a failing pace-maker and my new iPhone 5 was already on its way to Colorado Springs by the time we went to bed last night. But even though the problem was fixed (for a relatively nominal fee), I couldn’t shake the uneasiness of the evening. A long walk with Ryan was what I needed, and as we paced our dark neighborhood I discovered what was at the root of my emotions that night.

Many of you know that Ryan and I recently walked down a very dark road. We lost his father to suicide in January 2009 and then my 2-year-old nephew drowned in October of that same year. In the Spring of 2010, my oldest sister and her family were in a catastrophic and fatal car accident. We lost three family members from that collision, my sister included. To say that Ryan and I learned about the uncertainty of life is an understatement. We were ripped away from any illusion of safety, and it’s taken years for us to feel somewhat secure again.

When my iPhone flew out of my hands and shattered on the concrete on Saturday night, I went back to a place of no control. I was reminded how quickly everything can change and how devastating one small action can be. Yes, it was just an iPhone (and thank God for that!) but it evoked the same feelings that I contended with again and again during our season of tragic loss.

And with the addition of Lucille to our family, I think I’ve grown to feel even more vulnerable. Because beneath a rather cheery surface, those fears of loss and tragedy still run strong inside of me. They came out last night as I stormed through our house.

As Ryan and I walked around our neighborhood last night, my reaction began to make sense. I cried when I thought about how much I love Lucy and I confessed that I’m scared, no petrified, that something terrible might happen again. The tears I shed with Ryan were needed tears. Tears that I had tried to swallow up with activities and planning and baking and parties. Sometimes we need these moments of emotional rawness to get at the core of whats making us less-than-human. I know I did. Because by trying to cover up my pain and fear, I was hiding a big part of me (a beautiful and broken part of me).

I can’t tell you that I now know how to grapple with the lingering pain of loss. I can’t tell you that my breakthrough last night alleviated any of those fears. But I can tell you that the only way wounds can heal is if they’re exposed to fresh air. And I’ve decided it’s time to let them breathe again.

These chocolate chip cookies are a classic around my house. I’m sharing them today because I know that I, at least, need a little bit of comfort.

Classic Chocolate Chip Cookies

2 cups and 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

12 TBSP butter, melted and cooled

1 cup brown sugar, packed

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 egg + 1 egg yolk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups chocolate chips

In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside. In a large bowl, cream together melted butter and sugars. Stir in egg and egg yolk. Stir in vanilla extract. Fold dry ingredients into wet ingredients until dough begins to form. Stir in chocolate chips. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and allow to chill for at least 30 minutes up to 24 hours.

When ready to bake, preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Allow dough to sit out for 15 minutes at room temperature before attempting to scoop. Scoop dough out in 1/4 cup increments, spacing cookies at least 3 inches apart. Bake for 10-13 minutes. Cookies will look slightly undercooked. Remove from oven and allow to cool on cookie sheet for ten minutes before removing to a wire rack to finish cooling. Best enjoyed immediately with a tall glass of milk.