Sometimes life and circumstances beyond my control collide in such a way I’m left feeling overwhelmed, exhausted, and anxious. This pretty much sums up the last two weeks spilling over to this week, too. Last Tuesday my youngest sister gave birth to her second son and I was busy caring for my nephew for a couple days. Then, my husband with our kids left for Ohio and Michigan for a family reunion while I stayed behind. Initially I stayed behind because of my sister’s pregnancy but then, my sister stationed in Germany was able to fly home and my other sister from Spokane is also arriving soon. This will be the first time my five siblings and I have been altogether since my dad passed away six months ago. For those of you who have been following my journey of having my mom move in with s on Everyday Alice, then you know it’s been a difficult transition for me. And if this week wasn’t already busy enough, we decided to unexpectedly make an offer on a bigger house to accommodate our growing family better. With mom living here now, one bathroom will not do for a family of six people, not to mention we are a bit cramped. As a result I’ve been spending practically zero time on my computer and all my time working on clearing blackberry brambles, laurel bushes, de-cluttering, and cleaning the house. Who knew getting a house ready to sell was so much work!? [click to continue…]
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Dishes made with puff pastry have a special place in my heart. Perhaps it is all the flaky, buttery layers of puff pastry which makes just about anything taste really good – especially desserts. Today I have a special treat for you. My eight year old daughter, Mimi, is featured in a cooking video I created and posted for PBS Parents Kitchen Explorers. In the video, Mimi shows you how to make a beautiful fresh fruit tart using strawberries and blueberries. It’s the perfect dessert for Memorial Day. [click to continue…]
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Last year I posted my recipe for
Classic Vanilla Buttercream. It’s the recipe I use for decorating cupcakes and birthday cakes, especially if I know kids will be the ones eating it. For wedding cakes I like to use a more silkier type frosting that I’ll share with you in the near future. But for everyday cake frosting, the vanilla buttercream is what I use. From that post, I received many comments and emails requesting a chocolate buttercream frosting which could also be used to frost cakes and for piping decorations.
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Some days all I want to do is be completely lazy. And let me tell you, laziness has its privileges. Spending the entire day in my pajamas, sleeping in, and selfishly setting aside my normal routine in order to experience the type of instant gratification becoming of a six year old child. Yep, that was me the other day, except without the tantrum but complete with dancing to Beyonce’s Crazy in Love (booty shake included) while kicking my daughters’ butts in Wii’s Just Dance 2. I held no prisoners and proved once and for all, I still got game. No…. not really. I can’t dance. But the three of us had a lot of fun with my oldest daughter commenting how surprised she was with my moves. I’m still trying to figure out if she meant that as a compliment or as an insult. Either way, for one moment in time, I was a kid again. [click to continue…]
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Savory Sweet Life has always been a creative outlet for me. A place for sharing home style dishes with engaging photos. But as the blog grew older, SSL transitioned into a beautiful community of wonderful people (like you!) who shared their results from the recipes, or a personal story of similar dishes, or just encouraging words. In many ways, this site and everyone who supports it has ministered to me way beyond me just sharing recipes. Together we’ve been sharing life as it happens.
We’ve celebrated anniversaries, birthdays, and achievements on SSL. You’ve also walked along side of me during tragic events such as the earthquake in Haiti, my friend Ivory Hut’s (Erika) house burning down, and the loss of my father. When my dad passed away just after Christmas I tangibly had a revelation on how wonderful YOU truly are. All your support, encouragement, and prayers have sustained me. And now I find myself feeling a bit lost and out of sorts. [click to continue…]
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