On the calendar . . . the actual Spring weather half woke up with its alarm then slapped the snooze and dived back under the covers. Kind of like what we wanted to do the five mornings after daylight savings/sleep deprivation day.
So, in an effort to encourage Spring to make leap out from under her gray covers I have added a little more color and vibrancy to our dwelling. Even if the message doesn't make it to Spring herself, it has at least improved my mood. .
Wanna see?
Scroll on.
I didn't actually buy these flowers, they were a gift from school for a parent night that we helped out with. The great thing about both working at the same school is often you get double the flower bouquets! (K, so it's not THE great thing, but it certainly is a perk.)
Some of the bouquet fit better here.
While cleaning off our dining table in anticipation of company I came across family photos and a pile of construction paper that were as good as a match made in a scrap-booking class, and while this wall decor is more suited to a photo book-- it's doing a good job of a) not making more holes in the wall b) covering up some existing holes in the wall and c) costing $0. Plus, you can't see it, but it matches perfectly with our other wall hanging to the left. Does it sound like I'm trying hard to justify decorating my walls with plain construction paper?
Time to change the subject.
CUPCAKES!
We had a great 'woman's event' with church where the women got together and decorated cupcakes with fondant for the Easter Sunday coffee snack. I made this floral beauty, but I was also greatly impressed with the artistic talent that surrounded me.
You can't see them well, but there were some really impressive creations among the 80 some cupcakes that we decorated.
Unfortunately some things look better than they taste.
Unlike a batch of cookie I made lately.
Those have looked AND tasted horrid.
Pre-baking these salmon colored lumps are actually a heart healthy concoction of carrots, bananas, whole wheat, rolled oats, flour and dark chocolate for redemption.
(That's right, no added sugar, or butter.)
It was one of those things I just had to try -- inspired by foodgawker and Pinterest to make something delicious yet impossibly good for you I thought they would be worth a try.
One try, yes. Two tries? no.
(Unless you're going to just make 8 or so to eat very, very fresh.)
When warm the chocolate did lend a slight element of edibility to these lumps, but now that it has been a week since they came out of the oven they are pretty gag-worthy.
Why are they so terrible?
Well, they're a cookie and they have some of the texture of a sea food-- like squid, and the taste of raw oats. Maybe the reason they're so health is because they are appetite reducers.
That's a terrible place to end a blog post, so to ease your troubled minds and restore my reputation as a baker, take a look at this piece of winning banana cake.
Alright, so all the banana cake won was a few Dutch hearts at a party,
but that was all the affirmation I needed.
