Memorial Day weekend

Hope yall have a wonderful Memorial Day weekend!   We are goin tomorrow to a memorial service in our little cemetary down the road.  It is so peaceful and serene there with lots of big ol trees and birds singing.  So many people we knew from when we first moved here and recently lost are buried there, I like to ride my bike thru it or one of our tractors and just say hello to everyone gone. 
Well I got a gift from my hubby yesterday, little stinker didnt let on one bit as to what he got me.  And it is very difficult for both of us to keep surprises from each other very long!! LOL  Anyway he finally found another suburban similar to my old one I absolutely loved loved LOVED!!  I remember the day we both spotted ol blue in a car lot and quickly turned around to check her out.  Bought her the next day!  a 1987 chevy, dark blue with silver trim.  Our new one is welllllllllllllll not so new but in excellent shape and no rust, it wasnt a michigan truck that is for sure.  This one is a 91 burgandy with silver trim and already has a lift on it so it is actually a bit taller than mine.  I had a 4 in lift on ol blue and this one has a 6 in.  It needs some work on the motor and transmission but I cant wait to drive it.

So onto the work for the week!!  I was busy busy gettin ready for market yesterday and it was one of our best market days!!  I had a few new recipes I tried out one being  First I made a big double batch of my grandma Rose's babka.  This time I wanted more coffee cakes so brushed on some apricot preserves topped with some chopped dried apricots

Rolled into a log and shaped into a circle

Once they were baked I brushed some heated thinned apricot preserves on their tops and more chopped apricots added  

finished chocolate babka loaf

we interupt this bake sale to bring you pictures of my boys! LOL Bruno with his frog

Buster playin with a bear

and Mr. Boopie Woopie Boo takin a break from playtime. layin on my leg

Chocolate almond babka ready to be rolled and shaped

rolled out and cut into 8 pieces

ready for rising, I will brush melted butter on the tops before they go in oven

So onto the work for the week!!  I was busy busy gettin ready for market yesterday and it was one of our best market days!!  I had a few new recipes I tried out one being  some mocha tarts filled with chocolate ganache'  not too sure this recipe was from better homes and gardens magazine and I really didnt like the batter of the tart shell so ended up givin them to the chickens, will come up with my own I think.   Susan played with some homemade fondant.  she made some little domed butter cakes. 

they are just too stinkin cute! 

A layer of sealing buttercream frosting went on first then the rolled fondant!  Oh the yummy smell of almond paste!! 

Susan used a mini cutter to cut out dots and attach them to the cakes just some fun and whimsical cakes for market.

Oh and here's my Bruno now all tuckered out from playin with the froggy!  LOL

It was easier to pipe the cake batter in the pan than scoopin it out. 

I made a bunch of coconut macaroons and dipped them in chocolate before market.    I also made some of my rustic cheddar herb biscuit loaf, some of my berry berry banana bread, pineapple upside down cakes, my grandma Rose's recipe from long ago, some cinnamon struesel filled babka loaves, oatmeal raisin cookies, chocolate chip cookies, lemon shortbread cookies, chocolate chip shortbread cookies, peanut butter cookies, cranberry pecan sandwich cookies with lemon cream filling and my peanut butter whoppie pie cookies, chocolate chip brownies, peanut butter cream chocolate chip sandwich cookies.    Oh and some lemon blueberry muffins, butter crumb topped coffee cakes, my loaded carrot cake, cinnamon swirl muffins, and some banana nut bread.  I think that might be all!~~  LOL like I said it was a busy week.  I did also find some new recipes to try out this week in the Joy of Cooking old book, one of my favos!  So will let yall know how they go!!  I am gonna make sure to remember my camera this week!!  LOL

So my boys and I are gonna go outside since the storms are over and sun is coming back outside!

Stay safe and have a great long weekend!!

HUGS

Darlene

HAPPY BAKING!!

 ~~LIVE LIFE JOYFULLY~~and SIMPLY~~

Rainy rainy and rainy day

Cinnamon Raisin Babka

Citrus cheese filled pull apart cake rolls

  Pesto filled bread

Berry Berry banana bread

Rising choc croissants

Berry Berry banana bread

blueberry muffins

Oh the glorious choc croissants! fresh and hot out of oven.

off to eat one brb!! LOL

Hey everyone!   What a week!!  Buster's surgery went very well on monday!  He is doing great which means his mommy is doing great too!!  Thanks for all the well wishes for my boy.
I have been super busy this week trying to get ready for the big weekend market.  Tues night my friend and I went to a new market in Kalamazoo, Douglass Community Center hosted an evening market for the first time and it was so nice to be a part of it.  Plus the atmoshpere was so laid back and fun and relaxing!  Today was to be Allegan market but with this rain and wind I decided to not go SORRY!! It just isnt good for my things to get wet or damp and sugar melts in water so I would melt too!! ROFL!! right!  So anyways that will leave me more options to take on sat.
I did again forget to take my cam to the kitchen so now I must make a note to self and put my cam in my purse the night before goin.  
A few new recipes were tried this week and they all turned out great!!   Caramel apple cake, chocolate cherry pie, banana pineapple bread and a few others.   I will say the caramel apple cake is delish but I think next time I make it I will add more apples to it.  The recipe called for thinly sliced apples on the top of cake and even though it is very pretty hubby suggested to put diced apples in the cake batter too.  I made a homemade caramel sauce to drizzle ontop of cake and oh yummy!!  
I also did up a sour cream coffee cake that has some cinnamon streusle swirled thru it and decided it needed something more so did up a butter crumb topping for them and that really did it!!  I also added a bit of a cinnamon glaze to a few of them.  Susan made up chocolate croissants and some little croissant cakes with choc chips on top and a glaze over that.  There is not much bettter to me than starting the day off at thek kitchen with a hot choc croissant fresh out of the oven, crispy dough, melted choc and lots of buttery goodness!! YUMMY!!
So today is gonna be an extra baking day for me, babka dough can be made, bread dough, some hamburger buns, (which I need to remember to cut down from 4 oz to 3 oz)  and lots of cookies!! 
Hope yall have a wonderful day and I will be back to share more soon!!    SATURDAY SOUTH HAVEN FARMERS MARKET!!  SOUTH HAVEN MI 8-2
HUGS!
Darlene
~~LIVE LIFE JOYFULLY~~and SIMPLY~~

Wed ramblings

Hey yall!!
WOW it is wed already, Sorry I havent been here much I am trying to get used to being back to full time market schedule and it is really hard!!    gotta get my bakery mojo back!!  LOL not in the groove yet! 
I did spend alot of time at the kitchen this week playin, made chocolate chip orange shortbread cookies, my infamous peanut butter whoopie pies, glazed pistchio bread, glazed lemon shortbread cookies, peanut butter cookies, cocoa cinna swirl bread loaves and a few others.
One I did was a new Rustic Italian herb parmesan loaf, it was a recipe I found in one of my favo xmas baking books.  I left the book at the kitchen but will gladly post the title and the recipe for yall for these. I did find though after timsing the recipe x 5 I would add flour, and herbs so will give ya my revised recipe.   Lots of parmesan and romano grated cheese and some dried oregano and sweet basil with just a touch of garlic powder.  It is a no yeast bread so a quick and easy one to make and you just shape em in round loaves and slice the tops.
Another new one I did was my cheese filled crumb cakes with orange marmalade added!! yummo! did these in muffin tins too for an individual cake.  
I will try to remember, well will put my cam in my purse right now so it goes with to market with me and I can take pics of the new items.  
If yall can I would deeply appreciate a special little prayer for my Buster Brown, he is having that lump on his thigh removed on monday.   I am worried bout it but have faith in our new vet and also faith that he will be ok!  I need my market boy around more.  Hopefully it is just a fatty tumor, labs are prone to them and he is lab mix.  THANKS for that it means so much to us! and he does too!
I am off to get ready for bed, market tomorrow so it is an early day!!
Have a blessed evening!!
GO SCOTTY!! our american idol!!! 
~~LIVE LIFE JOYFULLY~~and SIMPLY~~

Happy Wed!!

Hey everyone!!   I have been so danged sick with bronchitis and allergy problems so havent been making anything new.  BUT today I did up a challenge for Scraps Of Darkness site and also it worked out to make it for a challenge over at Scrap Friendzy!!  So using sod bits and pieces of their kits (THANKS AMY!!) I did up this vintage pic of my dear Grandparents Grandma Rose and Grandpa Frank.  The year was 1940 and they were young and so in love!!  You could just see the happiness in their faces!!  Love this pic!! 

As you can see Prima Pearls made their way onto this keepsake and the blue and plum flowers are Prima too!! and the piece of pp on the bottom right corner is the backing from the flowers! 

I am so lovin these butterflies too!! Yall have to check out http://www.scrapsofdarkness/ site for great kits!  Their products are awesome!

I punched holes on the striped paper and stitched the x's on corset style with some great brown fibers. 

And the center button on the blue flower and 1940 are old typewriter keys I cut off of an old royal.  Waited for just the right lo to use them for!!  I am goin to buy a frame and put this on my mantle. 

I so so MISS my grandparents!! I was very close to them.

The black flowers are old vintage seam binding I hand sewn together and attached to the page.  They made nice little rose buds. 

And here are some pics from some mothers day arrangements that went out on delivery sunday.   I wasnt feeling too good but helped my mom at the shop then came home and went to be for the rest of the day.   Hubby isnt feeling good as he has been battling an absess in his teeth and hasnt been sleeping which in turn means the boys and I arent sleeping either.   Friday he has some oral surgery and will have the teeth cut out thank goodnesss. Poor guy has been just miserable. 

Well we are expecting a thunderstorm tonight so I will sign off for now as it is starting to lightning and really thundering now.   Hope yall have a great night and I will be back soon!!

HUGS

Darlene 

~~LIVE LIFE JOYFULLY~~and SIMPLY~~

Busy week

Hey yall!!  I dont have much spare time this week but wanted to share what I did yesterday and sunday.   We have our first week back at market thurs and then it being mothers day week I am helping my mom at her flower shop too. 
Here is a card I made to welcome back someone who was on vacation. 
I used MY MINDS EYE super great terrific new papers here!! so lovin this line!

We went to my inlaws for dinner on sunday so I made some little sugar cookies with a sweet pea flower on them. 

And I love love LOVE trifles so made one up with pineapple for hubby!! he loves pineapple!   I used the juice from the canned pineapple in the cake batter and that was so yummo!  A butter cake which was cut up in bite size pieces, layered in my bowl with some vanilla pudding and whipped cream blended together. 

Just layer it all

I topped this with some cut up slices of pineapple, I think toasted coconut and maybe some toasted pecans would be nice with this too, hubby is just not a coconut fan and doesnt like nuts too much either so left them out.   A pina colada trifle would be so gooooooooooood!!!

It looks pretty when layered in a clear bowl. 

And heres a close up of the flowers on the card.

Lost and Found is the line and they are awesome designs.
Hope yall have a wonderful tues I am off to get ready to head to the shop.  I have my camera in my purse so will snap a few pics of the flowers today.

**ALLEGAN MARKET THURSDAY there are a few of us that will be there offering some great goods!!***
HUGS
Darlene 
~~LIVE LIFE JOYFULLY~~and SIMPLY~~