Birthday Yummies

The food at my birthday last month was just so amazing (if I do say so myself ;) that I wanted to share some pictures and recipes, however belated. After years of thinking food was just a waste of time, I've recently become more interested in yummy things, especially when it comes to creating dishes for holidays or special events. I was planning to make my own cake (it's a tradition in my family now - I've been making mine since I was super little :), and really wanted something scrumptious. A cake that would taste great (in general, I am not a cake person) and fit my personality.

After browsing my food pins on Pinterest, I decided to give this Blueberry Velvet Cake with Blueberries and Cream Cheese Frosting a try. (Just because I am mildly fascinated with all things blueberry and the color blue is my favorite. :) We use mostly all-natural ingredients when we cook, and so I omitted dyeing the angel food cake blue (don't need any more chemicals in my body than necessary, thank you!), which didn't make it quite as stunning, but I threw extra blueberries into the mix and put a ton more on top.

I made the cake using whole wheat flour that we grind ourselves and it came out fabulous. You never know if a recipe will work as well without the usual white flour, but the angel food cake was pretty perfect. I ended up baking it in three layers instead of two, doubling the (amazing) cream cheese frosting and smearing the whole thing with it. Oh yeah, and with the addition of the blueberry sauce... it was superb. (For the record, my enthusiasm for this cake was echoed by everyone else. It's definitely kind of sweet, but I really, really recommend you try out the recipe. Five stars, in my opinion! :)

I really have a thing for Italian food, and had been craving gnocchi for the better part of a year, so mom picked some up at Trader Joe's and used a Sage and Butter Sauce recipe she found online. It had lots of garlic and was just delicious. :) And she made her most amazing chicken parmesan. She doesn't even have a recipe; just does it in her head, and it's perfect every time. (Do a quick google search and I'm sure you'll find something almost as good. ;) I think the real key with Italian food is to drown it. I've had dishes at a couple of nice places that were just way too dry and blah. You need lots of tomato sauce, butter, cheese, garlic, et cetera... It's all about making it moist and yummy. :)

 

I'm always rushing around like a crazy lady before dinner on my birthday, with the cooking and baking, so I never have much time to decorate, but this year I managed to slap some candles and flowers/weeds on the table. ;) Floating tea lights in dishes and vases are my favorite thing right now (I just got a couple of huge blue glass bowls that I want to try out) and some rocks from the ocean looked really pretty in the bottom of the vase. (Finally, some way to put to use all the rocks and sea shells I've collected from the beach every summer!) I'm also thinking some colored marbles would be gorgeous... hmmm.

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Do you have any awesome cake recipes? (I'd love if you'd post a link!) And what's some of your favorite kinds of food? (Any amazing Italian recipes to share? Or any recipes, really.)

Wow, all this food is making me hungry. I think I'll go to dinner. ;)

-Amanda xo

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And the Amsterdam "Inspire" personalized pens winner is...

Lindsay Norton!!! Random.org chose 41 as the lucky number today! :)

I'll be contacting you about redeeming your prize. Congratulations, and I hope you enjoy your personalized pens! :D

Thanks so much to everyone who entered, posted and followed, and also thanks to Amsterdamprinting.com for providing the pens! I hope I get the opportunity to share more goodies like this really soon. :)

Stay fallish!

-Amanda

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Another super-product from Sibu Beauty...

A couple of months ago, I had the fantastic opportunity to review the Sea Buckthorn Balancing Facial Cleanser from Sibu Beauty, and immediately became a fan of their products. (See my review here.) As I've said before, I am big into doing things the all natural way, and try to purchase organic products whenever possible, if my budget allows. (Fortunately, being a super-nanny has helped that a little bit. ;)

But not all "all natural" products are created equal. Some of them, despite their nice claims, contain ingredients that are not natural, and sometimes downright harmful. Selecting products, especially for something as sensitive as your face, can be tough. I was already a big fan of Sibu Beauty's facial cleanser, and eager to try some more products, so when they sent me the Sea Buckthorn Daytime Facial Cream to review, I was thrilled. To put it mildly. ;)

I've been using this moisturizer for almost two weeks now, and so far it's all good. The facial cleanser had more of a citrus scent, but this cream is more buttery and kind of smells like honey. It seems a bit thick when you first rub it on (remember to always put creams on while your face is slightly damp, to lock in moisture), but blends into your skin quickly. (And it doesn't leave a heavy scent like regular moisturizers do, which is great, since they usually make me feel queasy.) It seems to hydrate the skin well, without leaving a residue or any heaviness. It's really great under makeup, and acts as a protectant now that the change in temperature is making my skin drier.

I will admit that I love the Sibu Beauty facial cleanser best of all (it's just so refreshing!) but this moisturizer finishes things off really nicely after cleansing and toning. And all those healthy things inside it just make you feel even better about putting it on your skin. :)

If you hadn't already heard about them from my previous review, I highly recommend you check out Sibu Beauty. I can honestly say that I love their products and am looking forward to trying more of them in the future. Their eye cream must be fantastic... ;)

I hope you all have a lovely weekend! I'll be around again soon with some more posts. I'm living a really busy, busy life right now, but there's so many good things to write about!

God bless.

-Amanda

P.S. and a Disclaimer: Sibu Beauty let me try their product in exchange for this review, but all the opinions expressed here are honestly my own. I'm super fortunate to be able to promote a product that I use myself every day and really believe in. :)

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On the Other Side of the Fence

Well, my twenty-third birthday came and went, and it all seems a tad bittersweet. I spent the first seventeen years of my life feeling kind of sad every time I hit another year... and the chances of Peter Pan coming to my window steadily decreased. But then eighteen came and things got kind of exciting. I'd just gotten my license and then I started up a job teaching sewing at Jo-Ann fabrics. Both experiences gave me confidence and a sense of independence that I'd never had before (in a good way, not a rebellious one - it was a big step for shy little me to have to solve problems for myself). Anyway, ever since then, each birthday has presented itself as an exciting adventure, bringing new opportunities (and responsibilities) and hopefully moving me closer towards my life goals and the things that I have set out to accomplish.

And then came this birthday. I am as excited as ever, but now I also feel just a tiny bit unnerved, finding myself at the age by which I once assumed I'd have accomplished all my goals... and be married and settled down. And I'm not.

It's been a bit strange to think about, now that I am that age I've always looked up to. But I couldn't be more grateful to be exactly where I am.

I'm so glad all my life goals are not yet accomplished. (That would be incredibly boring. ;) I'm looking forward to a life full of continuing adventures and explorations... and remaining ambitious, full of purpose and ideas, until I die. 

And I'm so glad I'm not married and settled down. My brain at thirteen couldn't wrap itself around all the things I would still have to learn when I was twenty-three, and how thankful I'd be that I still have time to learn, to grow, and to become (hopefully) a much nicer person than I am now. There's a whole lot of selfish to get out of my system. I know it's never really going to be gone completely, but am thankful for the time I've been given to keep working at it. 

God is so good, and so much bigger than I can imagine. (Even with an imagination as big and sometimes frightening as the one He's given me. ;) And each birthday is a sweet reminder of how He's always got me moving forward, towards the goal, and that He is able to keep my feet from slipping. That's awfully comforting when you're thinking about college at a time when everyone else your age is finishing it, still hacking away at part-time jobs and freelance work, and wondering if that lifelong-dream career will ever materialize. I'm excited for the adventure, but thankful that He can see the road map. ;)

My birthday was relaxing and lovely (it was last Thursday, the 29th, in case you wanted to know ;). The weather was supposed to be miserable and rain all day long, but it held back so that I could snap some quick photos in the woods. And later the sun showed me its face, albeit briefly.

I super-nanny-ied for a couple of hours, came home and made myself an Angel Food Cake with blueberries inside and cream cheese frosting. Mum whipped up Chicken Parmesan and Gnocchi for supper. I was in Italian food heaven, and the dessert was just perfect. Photos and some recipes will be forthcoming. :)

I spend the evening with my immediate family, my grandmother and some cousins who are currently in town. It was low-key, cozy, and just about perfect.

The woodsy photo shoot was inspired by this hand-me-down plaid shirt (you know who you are! ;), which usually wouldn't be my thing at all, but I paired it up with a favorite white tank, some $3.50 thrift-store jeans and the awesome black boots I got at the end of last winter... and I ended up getting some nice complements on the plaid. I really think I like it. :) Over the years I've moved further away from the "eyelet-lace and pearls" look that used to be my style (although I still love ladylike ensembles!) and it's times like this when I am pleasantly surprised to find something I never would have thought would be "me," suddenly seem so right.

What I'm Wearing:

• Plaid Shirt by (I'll post the brand info as soon as I can get my hands on it ;)
• White Tank by willi smith - from T.J.Maxx
• Jeans by Mossimo Premium Denim - thrifted
• Boots by (see above) - from Target
• Earrings - from Greenwich Market, England
• Bracelet - hand-me-down

I hope you all have a blessed and relaxing rest of the week. I'm chilling with my family and just taking things slow for a little bit. It's perfect...

Life is beautiful. God is good. :)

-Amanda

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