What a weekend. Another one is coming & I’m still recovering…

Homemade ice cream sandwiches. Next baking project: homemade Its-Its. http://www.itsiticecream.com/

Sun Kil Moon- Lost Verses

One of the saddest and most beautiful descriptions of San Francisco that I’ve ever heard.

yes.

(via madmendaily)

I would like this kitchen please.

(via notmybeautifulhome)

Instagram is FUN.

mmsanwar:

Joan Holloway, Illustration by David Downton for VOGUE UK

(via mrrtist21)

PB&J Cupcakes [from Cupcakes by Shelly Kaldunski]

Cupcakes:

1 1/4 cups all purpose flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

3/4 cup sugar

6 tbsp unsalted butter, room temp

1 large egg plus 1 large egg white, room temp

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup whole milk [or whatever milk you have on hand…2% or 1% is fine]

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a standard 12-cup muffin pan with Pam.

2) In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder & salt. In a large bowl, beat the sugar and butter together on medium-high speed for 2-3 minutes.

3) Add the egg & egg white one at a time, beating well on low speed after each addition, then beat in the vanilla.

4) Add the flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with the milk in 2 additions, beating on low speed until just combined. Beat on medium-high speed just until no traces of flour remain; do not overbeat.

5) Divide the batter evenly among the prepared muffin cups, filling about 3/4 full.

6) Bake about 18-20 minutes, until lightly golden. Let the cupcakes sit for 5 minutes, then transfer to a plate or wire rack. Then let the cupcakes cool completely for 1 hour.

Peanut Butter Frosting:

6 tbsp unsalted butter, room temp

3/4 cup powdered sugar

1-1 1/2 cups smooth peanut butter [adding extra is key]

1/4 cup heavy cream

Filling:

Strawberry preserves

1) In a bowl, beat the butter, sugar, & peanut butter together using an electric mixer. Cream together until smooth and combined, and use right away.

2) After cupcakes have cooled, halve each cupcake horizontally using a paring knife. Spread 1 tbsp [or however much you’d like] of the strawberry preserves on each cupcake bottom, then replace the top. Frost with the buttercream and serve!

It’s…been a long week. I rarely write anything super personal on here, but I wrote this on Sunday and want to share it here with you.

    The last time I saw my Grandma Jo, she was wearing a bright red corduroy jacket. She was a little frail and using a walker, but her spirits lifted upon settling into her chair and seeing her family at our annual March birthday celebration. Everyone hovered around her a bit, especially those of us who hadn’t been able to see her since she suffered a pulmonary embolism about a month before. It was so reassuring to physically see her in front of me and know that she was doing okay. We were able to talk for awhile, and I told her about my new job at the blood bank, and my recent trip to Thailand with Zack, my boyfriend. I sent her a postcard while we were away, which she really enjoyed. My Aunt Peggy and Aunt Mary had half-jokingly looked for a ring on my left hand, which I quickly dismissed with a laugh. “We’re pretty serious, yes, but there’s a lot I have to do first,” I said. “I need to establish myself in a career, and make sure I can support myself financially before making a commitment to another person.” I told this to Grandma, and she took my hand and beamed up at me. “How did you get so smart?” she asked. “I’m so proud of you.”
    I’m so proud of you. Those words are all I’m hearing today, the day of my Grandma Jo’s death at age 83. I am beyond lucky to say with certainty that my grandma was proud of me, and I can say with certainty that I knew her. I know she liked putting ice cubes in her wine (something my own mother does now…wonder where she got that from?), and once saw her make “lemonade” with sugar, water and a lemon at a restaurant (instead of just buying a lemonade). She loved emailing, and signed her messages “.commom” to her grown children, and “.comgrammajo” to her many adoring grandkids. Her favorite animal was a turtle. She loved being in her garden when she lived in Coos Bay, Oregon. She gave us all her witty, sarcastic sense of humor (remember our game of Charades this past Christmas?), her love of music and most importantly, her love for her family. The impact that Grandma Jo’s life had in this world is evident in the lives of her children, her grandchildren, her great-grandchildren, and even those in our crazy, loving and wonderful family who haven’t been born yet. She taught me strength, respect, and kindness, through her own words and actions, and through the actions of my mother. I will hold these lived out values close to my heart, and teach them to my own children someday. In the faces of my aunts and uncles, Joline’s children, I see my grandmother’s eyes and her slightly crooked smile, and I hear her natural, easy chuckle through their laughter. She was present within us while she was alive, and she will continue to be present in us now that she is dead. She is gone physically, and I cannot deny that I will miss her more than I can stand. It is difficult to imagine Thanksgiving, Christmas, and every family gathering without her, and I am already wishing I could email my “.comgrammajo” just one more time. I can’t believe she won’t be at my wedding someday, in her usual role as matriarch and guest of honor. I am saddened that these things are now reality.
    To come to terms with the physical loss of a loved one is perhaps the hardest part for those of us left behind. But through my tears and this difficult day, I smile when I think about what is and will still live on- all these memories that I’ve just shared with you, and the fact that my grandma loved me. She loved all of us, so much, and that love doesn’t change with death. It only grows stronger through our support and comfort of one another. It grows stronger every single day we each live our lives reflecting that love. In one of our last email exchanges, I worried about a job interview I had coming up. Grandma told me not to worry, that I “always made a delightful impression on whomever I met!” Grandma Jo, you made the most lasting impression of them all. Thank you for being in my life, and for loving all of us. You will always be in my heart.