I Won!

This is the last weekend of our summer break, and I am bummed.  However, I am excited about winning a giveaway!  Yes, I am the lucky owner of a beautiful banner made by Alicia at La Famille.  If you haven't checked out her blog, you simply must!  Alicia is a very creative and talented young mom who writes beautiful and heartfelt stories about her family life.   When Alicia's banner arrived, I knew that it would be perfect for my corner cabinet...

 

Thanks, Alicia!  Even though school is starting soon, a glance at my corner cabinet will remind me of  fun summer days!

A Cupcake Contest...Winner revealed!

Have you noticed the cupcake craze lately?  There's many cupcake tv shows, tons of cupcake cookbooks, and cupcake stores cropping up everywhere.  During our trip to NYC, MacGyver husband and I had our own cupcake contest.  First, we went to a bakery called Crumbs....

The Crumbs employees recommended their favorite cupcake, called Milkshake.  MacGyver husband and I split one, thank goodness, because the cupcake was huge and very, very sweet.  MacGyver husband loved the toppings, but I thought it was just okay.  

Our next cupcake contestant was from Magnolia Bakery.  Before we left, my oldest daughter said, "Don't go to Magnolia Bakery.  I've heard that once you have a cupcake from there, you can never have one from anyplace else".  Needless to say, I was expecting big things!

Although the frosting on the Magnolia Bakery cupcake tasted homemade, the cake was quite dry.  Sorry, Magnolia Bakery, but your cupcake didn't win our contest!

Finally, we went to the legendary Sprinkles bakery.  I don't know how I did it, but I forgot to take a photo!  Anyway, Sprinkle's  red velvet cupcake was delicious, but it was served on a wooden plate with a wooden fork.  I am one of those people who when they eat icecream on a stick, the stick never, and I mean never, can touch my tongue...so using a wood fork to eat the cupcake kind of ruined it for me.

In the end, we didn't find the #1 cupcake.    It wasn't until I got home and baked my own that I realized I should be the winner!  So, I present to you Love and Life at Leadora's cupcake contest winner...it's just the right size, not too sweet, topped with homemade frosting, it's moist, and can be eaten with a stainless steel fork...enjoy! 

I'm Back!

Hello!  I'm baaaack....and, as you can see, my travel journal is stuffed to the brim!  Here, I'll open it up, so you can see it all!  I wanted my journal to be interactive, so besides writing our itinerary for the day, I also included stories about the people we met, my own restaurant reviews, ticket stubs, quotes, receipts, photographs, and even my own version of subway art.

We had such a great trip!  I won't bore you with the details, but here's some of the highlights:

• Going to Ellis Island and  the Statue of Liberty
• Finally figuring out the subway system on our last day!
• Visiting all the places featured on Project Runway
• Eating New York bagels
• Relaxing in Central Park

It's good to be home, but now it's time to get ready to go back to school.  My poor kids will start August 23!  Why does summer always have to go by so fast?