A Nap could be nice

If I had this bed to fall into? I just got back from the gym and have a burst of energy, If only I could focus it towards scrubbing the bathtub or doing a load of laundry. Instead I found myself searching for something pretty, or beautiful, and I came across this bedding oh and lets not forget the bed, love that too!

{found at Style Court interiors blog}

Meyer Lemon Curd Cheesecake

With blueberry sauce....
This recipe is divine, you just must make it sometime! I made it for my family dinner last Sunday! There was not a crumb left! And the blueberries are a perfect addition!


{looks pretty too!}
Myer Lemon Curd Cheesecake adapted {from epicurious}
recipe for blueberry sauce follows

Ingredients For lemon curd
2 teaspoons finely grated fresh Meyer lemon zest
1/2 cup fresh Meyer lemon juice
3/4 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

* you can substitute with regular lemons but you must add one cup of sugar instead of 3/4 cup, after make sure to put it in the fridge, it swirls better when cold.

Ingredients For crust
1 1/3 cups finely ground graham cracker crumbs (5 oz)
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Ingredients For filling
3 (8-oz) packages cream cheese, softened
1 cup sugar
3 large eggs
3/4 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
Special equipment: a 9- to 91/2-inch (24-cm) spring form pan
Accompaniment: blueberries
Preparation
Make lemon curd:Whisk together zest, juice, sugar, and eggs in a 2-quart heavy saucepan. Add butter and cook over moderately low heat, whisking frequently, until curd is thick enough to hold marks of whisk and first bubbles appear on surface, about 6 minutes.
Force lemon curd through a fine-mesh sieve into a wide shallow dish, scraping bottom of sieve, then cover surface with wax paper. Cool completely, stirring occasionally, about 30 minutes. { I do not put my lemon curd through the sieve, my zester zests really fine, I like having the added lemon flavor and color}
Make and bake crust:
Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F. Invert bottom of spring form pan (to make it easier to slide cake off bottom), then lock on side. 3Stir together crust ingredients in a bowl, then press onto bottom and 1 inch up side of spring form pan. Place spring form pan in a shallow baking pan and bake 10 minutes, then cool crust completely in spring form pan on a rack.
Make filling and bake cheesecake:
Reduce oven temperature to 300°F.
Beat together cream cheese and sugar in a bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed until smooth, 1 to 2 minutes. Reduce speed to low and add eggs 1 at a time, beating until incorporated. Beat in sour cream and vanilla until combined.
Pour two thirds of cream cheese filling into crust, then spoon half of lemon curd over filling and swirl curd into filling with a small knife. (Avoid touching crust with knife to prevent crumbs getting into filling.) Repeat with remaining filling and curd.
Bake cheesecake until set 1 1/2 inches from edge but center trembles when pan is gently shaken, about 45 min to 1 hour (Center of cake will appear very loose but will continue to set as it cools.)I turned off my oven and let cool for 20 minutes, then I took it out and ran a knife around the top of the cake to loosen. Then I put it back in my oven and let it sit for 2 1/2 hours. After chill in refrigerator, uncovered, at least 4 hours.{I let it chill overnight and covered it in the morning} Remove side of spring form pan before serving.
Cooks' Notes:
·Lemon curd can be made 1 week ahead and chilled, covered.·Crust (without filling) can be made 1 day ahead and kept, covered, at room temperature.·Cheesecake can be chilled, loosely covered, up to 2 days. Cheesecake must be completely chilled before covering to prevent condensation on its surface.

{served with blueberry sauce}
Blueberry Sauce
2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries: I used frozen, add 1 cup sugar and 1 teaspoon grated Meyer lemon zest, 1 teaspoon Meyer lemon juice and 2 teaspoons corn starch. Bring to a boil , and simmer until thick.

Cool and serve over cheesecake, waffles or Ice cream!

Motherhood and New Lip Gloss

SELF EXPLANATORY ?

Just Beachy

It is no secret that I LOVE the beach. I am looking forward to a low key beach trip over Easter next month, just me and Ryan and some of my family. I am still trying to convince Jamie to join me... But he is convinced it is the worst possible time to miss work. So I will most likely be on my own. I cant wait to smell the ocean and introduce my little one to sand and waves. I also think an easter egg hunt on the beach would be perfect! Don't you? This Picture I found On Pink Wallpaper this morning. Isn't it lovely?

{Picture from Coastal Living}
I especially love the walls, they look so cozy..Old but New

So Pretty

I love pretty things, like these beautiful easter eggs! I want to make them so they look just like these, but I tried a few years ago and this technique does not work from MSL. Does anyone know how to make these marbled easter eggs?

{picture from MSL}

Mixed Berry Pavlova with Raspberry Sauce

I made this for a dinner Party a few weeks ago. I was excited to try something new, and it turned out perfect eventually... My first try to make these delicate cakes failed miserably! They flattened out like pancakes. As you see in the finished picture, they are not supposed to look flat but nice and puffy,on my second and third try, I felt confident that I had pavolva making down! I promise if you follow these instructions, you should have no problem making the perfect pavlova! This Recipe is adapted from Ina Garten's Recipe and the Joy of Baking.

Ingredients:
4 extra-large egg whites, at room temperature
Pinch kosher salt
1 cup super fine sugar
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Sweetened Whipped Cream, recipe follows
1/2 pint fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced
1/2 pint fresh blueberries
1/2 pint fresh raspberries
Triple Raspberry Sauce, recipe follows


{my finished product!}

Mixed Berry Pavlova

Pavlova is a meringue, and it is important when making any meringue that the egg whites reach maximum volume, so make sure your mixing bowl and whisk are clean and free of grease. Since we need just the whites of the eggs, the eggs will need to be separated. It is easier to do this while the eggs are still cold; Once separated, cover the egg whites and let them come to room temperature before using (about 30 minutes). Baking times will vary quite a bit depending on the size of the cakes, making it hard to get the "perfect" texture, which essentially means firm and light on the outside, soft and marshmallowy on the inside! Adapted from Joy of Baking's Pavlova recipe

Preheat oven to 250°F (130°C) and place rack in center of oven. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and draw a 7 inch (18 cm) circle on the paper. (I just used an ice cream bowl to mark the rounds and I drew two circles centered on each side of one cookie sheet)
Pour the vanilla and vinegar into a small cup.
Stir the cornstarch into the sugar in a small bowl.
In a large bowl of a heavy-duty mixer, fitted with whisk attachment, whip egg whites and salt, starting on low, increasing incrementally to medium speed until soft peaks start to become visible, and the egg white bubbles are very small and uniform, approximately 2 to 3 minutes. Increase speed to medium-high, slowly and gradually sprinkling in the sugar-cornstarch mixture. A few minutes after these dry ingredients are added, slowly pour in the vanilla and vinegar. Increase speed a bit and whip until meringue is glossy, and stiff peaks form when the whisk is lifted, 4 to 5 minutes.Gently spread the meringue inside the circle drawn on the parchment paper, smoothing the edges, making sure the edges of the meringue are slightly higher than the center. (You want a slight well in the center of the meringue to place the whipped cream and fruit.)Bake for 1 hour 15 minutes or until the outside is dry and takes on a very pale cream color. For my two smaller cakes I baked them for a little under an hour and left them in the oven. Check on meringues at least once during the baking time. If they appear to be taking on color or cracking, reduce temperature 25 degrees, and turn pan around. Turn the oven off, leave the door slightly ajar, and let the meringue cool completely in the oven. (The outside of the meringue will feel firm to the touch, if gently pressed, but as it cools you will get a little cracking and you will see that the inside is soft and marshmallowy.)

Sweetened Whipped Cream:
1 cup cold heavy cream
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Whip the cream in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a whisk attachment (you can also use a hand mixer). When it starts to thicken, add the sugar and vanilla and continue to beat until firm. Don't overbeat! Sweeten to taste..
Yield: 1 cup


Triple Raspberry Sauce:
1 half-pint fresh raspberries
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup seedless raspberry jam (12-ounce jar)
1 tablespoon framboise liqueur ( I opted not to use this and was still delish!)
Place the raspberries, sugar and 1/4 cup water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer for 4 minutes. Pour the cooked raspberries, the jam, and framboise into the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade and process until smooth. Chill.
Yield: 2 cups

Assembling the Pavlova: Just before serving, gently place the meringue-cakes onto a serving plate. Whip the cream in your until soft peaks form. Sweeten with the sugar and vanilla and then mound the softly whipped cream into the center of the meringue. Arrange the thawed mixed berries on the top, then drizzle some raspberry sauce over it. Serve immediately as this dessert does not hold for more than a few hours.

Kids Swim Wear

With Spring and summer approaching and our trip to California, looming in the back of my mind.... I have been looking for swimwear for all of us. The hardest part is the little boy swimwear selection is so small and leaves much to be desired... My little guy has grown so much this year! We spend so much time in the water, and on the boat in the summer, he needs a couple pairs of sturdy shorts, they have to be cute too right?. I love this years selection from crew cuts{I love their line} if you are willing to spend over $50.00 for a toddler swimsuit. I'm not! Usually my go to is the GAP but I have not found anything I like yet. I bought one last year from Target and it fell apart after two weeks of wear, and the designs are cheesy. I like simple and classic, ! I think I should design my own line of kids swim wear! Crew Cuts: could you please have a sale?}

{crew cuts : $44.50 on sale}

{This entire ensemble above is adorable}

{$45.00 a possibility}

{I just found these at the GAP for $24.50 , and I just ordered them! Usually I like them longer but a three year old james bond look is cute too!}