Pretty Paper Blog

We heart cupcakes!  Izabelle wanted to make some Red, White and Blue Cupcakes for the 4th of July.  My first thought:  I’m going to have to use A LOT of food coloring to make red and blue frosting.  Then, inspiration hit.  While at the store I had picked up some raspberries and blueberries - perfect. 

I cheated a little on the cake (thank you Betty Crocker) but Belle and I made homemade cream cheese frosting.  Yum - so good with those berries!  Did I say Yum?  YUM!

Our family went to a party at a friend’s house to celebrate.  This kids had fun playing in the water and eating carnitas.  The best part of the party for Izabelle and Parker was the fact that they got to keep the flags that had been placed all over their yard! 

We drove to the fairgrounds to watch the fireworks.  Well, not exactly the fairgrounds…we parked behind the Costco right next to the fairground (along with half the town).  We ended up with the best seats ever! Although, we almost left at 10:30 pm (the kids were tired, OK I  was tired) but we decided to wait it out .

 The fireworks did not go off until almost 11pm - the kids had fun with their glow sticks (and fighting over the blanket) while they waited. 

I am always amazed at how beautiful fireworks are.  This year our family decided that the green and purple fireworks were the loudest.  And the white fireworks with the second explosion on the end were the prettiest.

I hope you all had a fun a safe fourth!

…thank you so much for reading and commenting on my blog!  It is so much fun to share life’s little details with all of you…I can’t believe you all are actually interested in viewing my projects (and my life for that matter…since I can’t help but share that too).  I appreciate your comments and all the “blog love” and hope you keep coming back to visit!

In other random news…

Orange Crush is my all time favorite soda.  I’ve always enjoyed a good soda, I admit I’m kinda a Pepsi girl too.   That is I was a Pepsi girl until about 2 minutes ago when I read THIS.  Now, Readers beware…if you click on the word “THIS” above you will most likely be shocked into never drinking soda again.  I’ve officially sworn it off myself…goodbye beloved Orange Crush.  *sniff* 

P.S.  - Enter to win, for details click HERE.

I first met Sandra Sage while scrapbooking at Paradise Scrapbook Boutique.  My Mother and I sat at the table next to her and chatted all day long.  Sandra just happened to be catering the “All Day Crop” we were enjoying so much.  We learned about the restaurant Sandra used to own, her catering business, the Memory Books she makes for her elderly friends and most of all her daughters and grandchildren.  Sandra’s food was amazing and my Mom and I begged her for recipes!  That is when we learned about her Cook Book.  At that time it had not been released yet but she did jot down our addresses so that she could inform us when it was published. 

Less than a year later I received a beautiful invitation to her book signing.  My Mom received one also and called me at once!  I was taking a night class at the time and had to miss the book signing but my Mother and Sister went.  They told stories afterwards of how beautiful the tables were, how wonderful the food was and how touched they were when they listened to Sandra talk about her book. 

My Mom purchased my signed copy of the book and then held on to it for a couple of weeks (I think she was trying to torture me a little).  When I finally got my hands on the book the anticipation was so great that I had to starting reading right away. 

Sandra’s Cook Book is not only full of fabulous recipes, the first half of it is made up of her personal stories.  Sandra talks about her life’s journeys and inspiration while paying tribute to those she has served and have touched her life.  I mush admit, I didn’t get through very many pages without being touched to the point of tears.   While reading her book I felt an overwhelming need to serve love to my family.  I started serving our dinners at the table again, no more meals in front of the television.  I was amazed at how much my children responded to this.  Dinner time has become such a treasured time of closeness and conversation for me and my family.  Sandra reminded me how important that family time is.

Soon after I got my hands on Sandra’s book my family left on a trip to Idaho to stay with my parents.  I took “Love on a Plate” with me and read it cover to cover.  I felt an immediate bond to Sandra through the love of her Grandmother.  My relationship with my own Grandmother (Louise Crabtree) is so similar, I almost felt as though she was telling my story. 

I have had the oportunity to get to know Sandra because of our similar interest in Scrapbooking.  I’ve been blessed to spend time with her, talk to her about her book and witness her acts of selflessness and kindness. 

Over the weekend Sandra catered my brother’s wedding.  The tables were gorgeous, the presentation of the food was breathtaking and the food was incredible!  Best of all…I took pictures!

You asked for it…Seriously people, this is the BEST cake ever!  It smells WONDERFUL when it is baking.  This recipe is a treasure from the kitchen of my Grandma Louise Hobbs Crabtree.  Enjoy! 

Banana Cake with Lemon Buttercream Frosting

The Cake:

Preheat Oven to 325 degrees

1/2 cup shortening

1-1/2 cups sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

2 cups flour, sifted

1/2 tsp. baking powder

3/4 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 cup sour cream

1 cup mashed ripe bananas

Beat shortening, sugar, eggs and vanilla until fluffy.  Sift together flour, baking powder, soda and salt.  Add sour cream to batter, then add flour mixture alternatley with mashed bananas; beating at low speed until blended.  Batter will be thick.  Pour into greased 9×13 pan.  Bake for aprox 35 minutes. 

When the cake is cooled completely, make THE FROSTING!

Lemon buttercream frosting:

1/2 cup butter or marg. softened

1 box powdered sugar (not sure how many ounces…I use the blue C&H box)

1 tsp. vanilla extract (you can’t leave this out…it’s MAKES the cake!)

1 tsp. lemon extract

2-4 Tablespoons of milk.

Beat together with electric mixer adding milk slowly until the frosting is the consistancy you prefer.  I usually start with very little milk and add a little as needed.  Spread this lovely frosting over the cake and take a bite!  Mmmm mmmm  yummm mmmm  ohhhh  good!

…They’re just so cute!

I love the way my cuties are salivating over the homemade chocolate butter cream frosting (yes, I actually use real butter). Both my kids helped make this cake for my son’s “Birthday Celebration”. Basically we ended up going out to my parent’s ranch to BBQ, ride horses and eat cake. For my boy…that was a “celebration to remember”.

DON’T FORGET ABOUT YOUR CHANCE TO WIN! 

I just wanted to give a shout out to my sweet husband…he surprised me this morning by making my favorite breakfast dish “Country Potatoes” and served it to me in bed! What a sweetheart, right? Yeh, that’s my man.