My Very Nice Dragon

"Mom, look at me!!!! I'm a very nice dragon on a BIG BIG mountain! Will you take my picture?!"
How could I pass up such a request?

Then Madeline wanted to join the fun! And boy, he really IS a nice dragon:

Awwww!

Favorite Things

I'd like to introduce you to one of my new favorite things:

They are the perfect size for little ones:

And they really don't melt as fast as normal popsicles so there really is less mess!

Madeline and Ethan both loved them, and so did I! Yummy!

Corny Cupcakes!

Corn on the Cob anyone?
I made these cupcakes for the Memorial Day BBQ I hosted in my backyard today.

The idea comes from the book Hello Cupcake (which I highly recommend!) They were so fun to make!

Jeeps, Bikes, Cars, and Cousins!

Let's just say that Ethan has been having a very fun weekend at Grandpa's house and with his cousins:

Bird Mobile!

Madeline's bird mobile is finally finished!! I got the idea and pattern here. When I saw this a few months ago, I immediately wanted to make one for Madeline. It took longer than I thought, but I'm really happy with it!

Cute birdies!

Making it hang balanced was surprisingly difficult, especially when one of my branches broke AFTER I had already sewed on all the birds, BUT I finally got it.

I can't wait to hang it in Madeline's room.

The little cherries on the branches are a nice touch and match Madeline's quilt. The pattern came from here.

mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm . . .

. . . .OREOS are gooooooood!!!!!

Key Lime Pie

Key Lime Pie

From The Gourmet Cookbook

For Crust:
1 ¼ cups graham cracker crumbs
2 TBLS sugar
5 TBLS unsalted butter, melted

For Filling:
1 (14oz.) can sweetened condensed milk
4 large egg yolks
6 TBLS fresh or bottled (preferable Manhattan brand) key lime juice

For Topping:
¾ cup very cold heavy cream

Make the crust: Put a rack in middle of oven and preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9-inch pie plate. Stir together graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and butter in a bowl with a fork until well combined. Press crumb mixture evenly onto bottom and up sides of pie plate. Bake crust for 10 minutes. Transfer pie pate to a rack and leave oven on.

Make the filling and bake the pie: Whisk together condensed milk and yolks in a bowl until well combined. Add juice and whisk until well combined (mixture with thicken slightly). Pour filling into crust. Bake for 15 minutes. Cool pie completely on rack. Refrigerate pie, covered, for at least 8 hours.

Just before serving, make the topping: beat cream in a medium bowl with an electric mixer until it just holds stiff peaks. Spread pie with cream or top each serving with a dollop.