We've got a very fruity theme going on in this roundup! And mostly strawberries, which isn't surprising because they're my favorite fruit. I tried a few recipes that were experiments and a couple I've made before. The other two were new but things I've had on my list to make for a while! I have a few more fruity recipes on my list to make, one that I'll probably make this week after we finish eating the beignets.
Strawberry Cinnamon Dutch Baby Pancake
Dutch Baby pancakes are so fun. I'm never a huge fan of how flat they get after they deflate but the flavor is still delicious, especially this one made with cinnamon and served with strawberries. The batter comes together in minutes and bakes in 15 - after pre-heating a cast iron skillet in the oven. It's definitely a showstopping piece if you want to impress someone with your skills.
Lemon Poppy Seed Scones
I've had this recipe saved for quite a while and finally made it when I realized we had leftover heavy cream AND a leftover lemon! They were super easy to make and really delicious. The texture was more like a biscuit than a scone, but that didn't bother me.
Blueberry Crescent Rolls
This was an experiment with some extra blueberries we had. I was originally going to try mini blueberry buckles (we only had a cup of blueberries left) but there were too many ingredients I didn't have. Lack of ingredients is the mother of invention so I decided to open up some Pilsbury crescent rolls. I kept two triangles together to form a rectangle and plopped on some blueberries, powdered sugar and cinnamon. Next II kind of folded them up to make a packet and baked for 13 minutes. When they cooled a bit I drizzled on an icing made from leftover lemon juice and powdered sugar. Tadaaa!!!
Brownies with Freeze-Dried Strawberries
I've had some freeze dried strawberries lying around for a bit and decided I wanted to try and use them for brownies. Didn't feel like trying a brand new recipe so I went with Butternut Bakery's "Better than Boxed" brownies and added some of the strawberries to the batter and sprinkled some on top. The ones on the top were a mistake, they burned, haha! Luckily I only had a few up there. I think I needed a little more of the dried berries to get a really good berry flavor, but I just wanted a hint this time. Overall, they were good. But next time I'll try to get more strawberry flavor packed in. I will also just turn it all into strawberry powder because the bigger chunks were a bit too gummy inside the brownie for our taste.
Strawberry Chocolate Galette
Another Handle the Heat monthly baking challenge! July was Galettes; strawberry chocolate, apple or peach! I chose the strawberry since it felt most summery and brought it to a family barbecue.The crust came out amazing but I did slightly burn some of the bottom because I cooked it on a baking steel (she recommended a stone to avoid a soggy bottom.) Next time I'll move it off the stone halfway through. I also needed to add a little more sugar to the strawberries. But overall it was a hit!
Mickey Beignets
One of the first scary things I made during the height of the pandemic. I kept telling myself I needed to make them again - only took three years, haha! This time I used butter instead of shortening because I never use shortening. I bought it for that first time I made beignets in 2020 and then never used it again, ha ha. I like to get Christian involved when I make anything fried because he likes the challenge of getting it to come out the perfect color.
I have bought so many dainty rings for all occasions from Aurate the past few years. They're the perfect thing to wear on those hot Sumner days where you don't want anything bulky on. I wore a bunch of my jewelry from Aurate with this slip dress on a particularly hot day recently. It added some more interest to my outfit without adding any weight. The pearl necklace in particular is light as air! I'm glad last week we finally had some cooler weather, that hot snap was crazy!
You might recognize the print on this dress. It's because I have the camisole version and wear it A LOT. I got it in December 2015 (first outfit post with it) and it slowly moved up the ranks in my closet. I bought this dress version for $7 in 2019. I don't wear it often but when I do it's always on super hot days. It doesn't cling to the skin and is nice and breezy!
Christian and I finally bought a new parking pass so we can park and walk at our favorite park every morning. They recently updated it with new walking paths, including a path that goes a little closer to this brook, perfect for photos! When I used to live with my parents and/or my cousins the parking stickers were included in our car taxes. Sadly Christian and I don't live in that town so we have to buy one, but it's worth it because we enjoy it so much. We also have access to beaches in the town we live so there are multiple options for walks and bike rides.
Dress: eight sixty V Cami Dress in "Black Crea"
Sandals: Ancient Greek Sandals 'Apteros' in Crosta Wine (bought in Athens)
Italian Leather Bag: Bought in Venice
Jewelry: Aurate Toi et Moi Gemstone Mini Vintage Ring with Yellow Citrine & Purple Amethyst, Endless Pearl Station Necklace, Infinity Hoop Earrings and Stackable Twist Ring
A couple weekends ago Christian and I headed to the beach on a cloudy but warm day. We hoped it would mean less crowds at the beach, and we were right! After the beach we decided to head to oour traditional spot for a meal - George's of Galilee. I've been going here once a Summer since I was little and my family used to rent a beach house in Narraganset, Rhode Island. After dinner we attempted to take some photos, but it was rather windy, so this is what we got, ha ha.
Dress: Edun (same print)
Sandals: Ancient Greek Sandals 'Apteros' in Crosta Wine (bought in Athens)
Bag: Marc by Marc Jacobs 'Natural Selection Mini Messenger Bag' (Saks Fifth Avenue)
Sunglasses: Gucci Aviators (bought in Rome)
Jewelry: Aurate Gemstone Station Necklace, Aurate Crossover Ring, Aurate Vintage Emerald Ring (London Blue Topaz), Sofia Zakia wedding rings
How is it already the end of July?? This month flew by. Before we know it, it will be September. Crazy! But I could definitely do with some slightly cooler temperatures. I haven't even been in the mood to shop because it's so hot. Good for my wallet, I suppose. I could use some more Summer dresses or tanks, but I always revert to my favorite few anyway.
THE (modified) RULES
- Be mindful of purchases
- Quality over quantity
- Basics are best
MY PROGRESS
Clothes:
- VERMONT Sweatshirt in light gray via the Weston Village Store ($20, retail $50)
Basics:
- None yet
Shoes:
- None yet
Handbags:
- None yet
Accessories:
- Apple Watch 8 Midnight Aluminum Case with Elderberry Sport Band (gift from Christian)
Activewear/Swimwear:
- None yet
Gifted from Brands:
- Aetrex Maui Orthotic Flip Flops in Matte Black
- *NEW!* Aurate Crossover Ring in Yellow Gold
- *NEW!* Aurate Toi et Moi Gemstone Mini Vintage Ring in Yellow Gold with Amethyst and Citrine
- *NEW!* Aurate Birthstone Baguette Studs in London Blue Topaz
Spent in July: $0
Spent in 2023: $20
Spent in 2023 - counting ad money: $20
In Summer the last thing I want to think about is putting on heavy, clunky jewelry. Aurate carries a ton of unique gold rings, like this crossover ring, that are light as air and perfect for Summer accessorizing. I paired it with my london blue topaz ring and gemstone station necklace, also from Aurate. I think at this point half my jewelry is from them. I love that they're sustainable and really high quality. Most pieces are made to order and shipped directly to consumers so there isn't a heavy markup on pricing. Most of my pieces are gold vermeil but you can also get 14K, 18K and platinum gold pieces.
I wore this to a family bbq at my brother's this weekend. It was a perfect Summer day, not too hot, but not cold. This dress is also perfect for that weather. It's a knit fabric but super breezy. It's not quite sleeveless but the sleeves are not very long, I wouldn't even call it a cap sleeve. I've had it for over 10 years now and I feel like I wear it more and more each year. It's so easy to put on with minimal jewelry, I don't need much, just a few sparkles here and there.
I paired my look with these super fun embellished sandals from my favorite brand - Ancient Greek Sandals. I don't wear these as often as I'd like because they are quite noisy. I don't need people staring at me in the grocery store, hah! But when I know I won't be doing a lot of walking/be around strangers I have to break them out. Bonus is the name if the style is my middle name. I'm always drawn to pieces like that, see: my Chloe Faye bag. Speaking of, I need to wear it again soon. It's been too long!
Dress: LAUREN Ralph Lauren (Lord & Taylor)
Sandals: Ancient Greek Sandals 'Faye' embellished sandal (Net-a-Porter Sale)
Bag: Madewell Medium Slim Saddle Bag in Croc c/o Shopbop
Sunglasses: Chanel 5285 in dark plum butterfly (bought in Greece)
Jewelry c/o Aurate & Grandma's topaz
*This post was made in partnership with Responsival. Thank you for supporting brands I feature*
I've had these shorts for over 10 years and I don't think I've ever paired them with this tee (that I've had for seven.) Surprising considering how perfectly the purple matches one of the flowers. Speaking of older pieces, this bag has been around for 10 years too. It's traveled all over with me because it was the perfect small bag for carrying my camera while sightseeing. It doesn't get used too much these days, because it's showing it's age, but I will never get rid of it.
Tee: Vince (The Outnet)
Tank: Vince (Marshalls)
Floral Shorts: Zara
Sandals: Ancient Greek Sandals 'Clara' Sandal c/o Shopbop
Sunglasses: Chanel
Bag: Marc by Marc Jacobs 'Natural Selection Mini Messenger Bag' (Saks Fifth Avenue)
Jewelry: Grandma's Topaz, Aurate Lioness Pendant, Shashi Princess Leia Necklace c/o Shopbop
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| Photo fun at the California Tunnel Tree. |
Earlier this year, my husband and I went to California for a week. It was my first time visiting so I had a lot of places to check off. Our trip started with a day in Los Angeles, a day at Universal Studios Hollywood, two days at Disneyland and our last 3 days was spent visiting a couple National Parks. It was the end of April, meaning there was lots of melting snow creating rivers on the paths. While the parks are certainly less busy this time of year, and not boiling hot, there's more of a chance of certain areas being closed due to road conditions. That was true of many of the areas we would have visited had there been more time to explore.
Here we are with another baking roundup! We've got a mix of fruity and chocolatey recipes this time around. Now that Summer is here I may try out more light recipes that I usually gravitate toward. My two favorite bakes of this roundup are the strawberry bundt cake and m&m brownies. YUMMM.
Glazed Lemon Cookies
These glazed lemon cookies were Handle the Heat's May baking challenge. I had bought some lemons to make her lemon pound cake for my niece's graduation party and this recipe was perfect for using the rest of the lemons. I made them at my in-laws house so I didn't have all my usual tools, always funny baking in someone else's home, nothing ever comes out how you're used to. So while they aren't the prettiest/most round, they were delicious. I will definitely make these again for my lemon loving husband.
Coconut Brownies
We have a bunch of shredded coconut and rather than make coconut chocolate chip blondies again I decided to search for a coconut brownie recipe. I want to make homemade mounds next but we didn't have sweetened condensed milk. I wanted something fast with what we had on hand. I trusted the google gods and used the first recipe that popped up from a blog I had never read. Luckily, they came out great! Anyone else have a fun coconut recipe they like? Nothing super tropical (hence my issue with using up what we have, there's only a few recipes so far that have been easy/with ingredients I have already.) I might try lamington at some point too, they're always so tasty when I have them at EPCOT food festivals!
Chewy M&M Brownies
These have been on my list to make for a while but it took me forever to buy the M&Ms because they are just so darn expensive now! I couldn't stop thinking about them so I finally bought some after our trip to Missouri. They are definitely the most expensive brownies I've ever made, the MINIs cost almost as much as the big bag of regular M&Ms because I didn't want to spend $7 on a big bag of the minis, haha. But they came out of the oven and I actually gasped because they looked and smelled so good!
Mounds
Mounds are one of my favorite candies so I finally made some homemade. I deviated a bit from this recipe and did it by feel for when I thought there was enough coconut to sweetened condensed milk ratio. I was in a bit of a rush coating them so they are NOT the prettiest, but they tasted good! I used Bob's Red Mill coconut and Ghiradelli dark chocolate wafers for coating.
Strawberry Bundt Cake
My sister invited my siblings and I over for a last minute Memorial Day BBQ so I decided to finally make this cake I've had saved for a while. It was very easy to make, but a lot of dishes to clean since you have to puree strawberries for the cake AND freeze dried strawberries for the icing. But for a special occasion it's definitely worth all the cleaning. The cake was a hit at our get together with multiple people having more than one slice.
Brown Butter Blueberry Muffins
This is my second time making these and I did it slightly different from the first time. To begin with, I used frozen wild blueberries instead of normal sized because I prefer them small. The first time I made these I followed the tip to chill the batter for 8 hours before baking and added the blueberries after. It was really hard for me to add in the blueberries because the batter was a little too firm so I decided to just add them in before the rest this time. I don't mind that it turned the batter blue, I actually think they're more fun that way! I also doubled the crumble on top because Christian and I love the crispy texture.
