summertime is made for lounging in the pool after a long day at work.

hope everyone is enjoying their summer so far!

love, laurie

lemon cupcakes with fresh raspberry frosting

for the fourth of july ryan and i were in the mood for something a bit different for dessert.  so, we decided to make lemon cupcakes with fresh raspberry frosting.

i am absolutely obsessed with fresh raspberries (as seen here) so in my mind, there's nothing better than pureeing them and whipping them into buttercream frosting.  the combination of the raspberry buttercream and the tart lemon cake was absolutely divine.  the perfect dessert for summer, for sure!

lemon cupcakes with fresh raspberry frosting
adapted from the family kitchen blog
prep time: 10-15 minutes
baking time: 20 minutes
yields: 24 cupcakes

cupcake ingredients:
2 sticks of salted butter (softened)
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
4 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 cup skim milk
zest of 2 lemons
juice of 1 lemon

frosting ingredients:
2 sticks of salted butter (softened)
2-4 cups powdered sugar
1 cup fresh raspberries

directions:
preheat your oven to 375 degrees F.  line two muffin tins with 24 paper liners.  in the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter, sugar, and lemon zest together until light and fluffy.  beat in the eggs, one at a time.  beat well after each addition.  beat in the vanilla.

in a separate bowl, combine the flour and baking powder.  add the flour mixture to the butter mixture in small increments, alternating with small amounts of the milk and the lemon juice.  beat until combined, but do not over beat.  pour the batter into the lined muffin tins.  bake for 20 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the center of the cupcakes comes out clean.  allow the cupcakes to cool completely before frosting.

while the cupcakes are cooling, puree the raspberries in a bowl of a food processor until smooth.  strain the pureed raspberries through a sieve to remove the seeds from the puree.  in the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter and 1 cup cup of the sugar until smooth.  add the raspberry puree, and gradually add the rest of the sugar in small increments until the frosting is fluffy.

enjoy!

love, laurie

a sunday outdoor adventure

we spent our sunday enjoying the beautiful weather outdoors.  we traveled to several different parts of northeastern pennsylvania in order to try out three new-to-us biking and hiking trails.  in total, we did 9.8 miles of biking!  the first bike trail was so nice and calm.  we even saw a kitty lounging along the trail.  however, the second bike trail sure gave us a good work out.  it was ridiculously rocky and all uphill.  

we took a short lunch break, then we hiked around a trail at a small local state park.  afterward, we were so exhausted that we came home and jumped right into the pool to cool off.  even though our bodies are a bit sore this morning, we had such a good day yesterday spending time together in the beautiful area where we live.

hope everyone had a great weekend!

love, laurie

*sparklers*

when i was younger, my great aunt would always buy sparklers in the summertime.  i have so many good memories of dancing around her yard while making shapes and spelling out words with sparklers.  there was just something so special about drawing with sparklers on a perfectly warm summer night.  (don't worry, we always had adult supervision and an old metal coffee can filled with water nearby too.)  

since it has been so long since i have played with sparklers, i knew i wanted a few this year for the fourth of july.  ryan and i had so much fun making shapes with the sparklers.  i felt like i took a step right back into my childhood.  as it turns out, sparkler shapes and letters are easy to photograph once you figure out the right settings (a.k.a. we have a ridiculous amount of outtakes from our sparkler photo session).  here's what you need to do . . .

how to photograph sparkler shapes and letters:

1. use a tripod to keep your camera perfectly still

2. set your camera mode to manual

3. set your white balance to tungsten

4. set your f/stop to f 5.6

5. set your shutter speed to 4" (4 seconds) or slower depending on the amount of detail in the shape and how fast your subjects move their arms (a simple circle will photograph well at 4" but a star will photograph better at 5" or 6").

6. tell your subjects to stand still and to write their letters backwards.

now that i figured out how to photograph sparkler shapes, my next adventure will be to get a bunch of people together to spell out words.  i have seen a few examples on the internet, and it looks so cool.  we have a few sparklers left over from the fourth of july, so we will have to practice!

have a great weekend!

love, laurie

check it out

today i'm featured as a sponsor on lauren's blog, choosing joy.

be sure to check it out here!

love, laurie

red, white, and blue

raspberry and blueberry pancakes.
red, white, and blue nails.
homemade steak and cheese stuffed focaccia pizza.
hiking along the river trail.
tiki torches in the yard.
swimming in the pool.
iced tea, bbq ribs, salad, and watermelon.
patriotic cupcakes.
colorful clouds at sunset.
sparklers.
s'mores.
fireworks.

we had an awesome fourth of july!
hope everyone had a wonderful independence day too!

love, laurie

happy fourth of july!

bring on the watermelon, the s'mores, and the sparklers.
have an awesome fourth of july!

god bless america. 

fresh raspberry sorbet

today, i'm guest posting over on elease's blog the little lovebirds and i'm sharing one of my favorite sorbet recipes!  in the summer time, nothing beats desserts that incorporate fresh fruit.  since raspberries are one of my all time favorite fruits, i wanted to share my recipe for fresh raspberry sorbet.  this sorbet is so simple to make, and it only requires a few ingredients.  the tang of the raspberries together with the lemon juice is so bright and refreshing in the warm weather months.  it will make you feel like you will never want summer to end!  be sure to check out my guest post and recipe here!

fresh raspberry sorbet
prep time: 20-25 minutes
freezing time: 1-2 hours
yields: 6 servings

ingredients:
12 ounces fresh raspberries
1 cup water
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

directions:
in a saucepan, bring the water and the sugar to a boil, stirring constantly in order to dissolve all of the sugar.  reduce the heat to low, and simmer without stirring to make a syrup (about 5 minutes).  pour the syrup into a bowl, and add the vanilla extract.  place the syrup in the freezer to chill (about 15 minutes).

in a blender, puree the raspberries, the syrup, and the lemon juice, until smooth.  strain the raspberry puree through a sieve and into a bowl in order to remove the seeds.  pour the strained raspberry puree into an ice cream maker, and freeze according to the ice cream maker's instructions (about 30 minutes).  remove the sorbet from the ice cream maker and transfer to a freezer-safe container.  freeze until completely set (about 1-2 hours).  serve the sorbet garnished with fresh raspberries and a sprig of fresh mint.

enjoy!

love, laurie

a cake to celebrate forty years

for fun, ryan and i absolutely love decorating cakes for our family and friends.  over the weekend, we made a cake for ryan's mom and dad to celebrate their 40th wedding anniversary.  for their anniversary this year, ryan's parents took a trip to chincoteague, virginia (one of their all time favorite vacation spots).  so, we thought what better way to celebrate their 40th wedding anniversary, than with a chincoteague-themed cake!  

ps: you can check out other cakes that ryan and i have decorated here

love, laurie