Saturday, July 28, 2012

Charmed

Alright, if you were like a billion other people in the world, you watched the opening ceremony of the Olympics last night.  I was also one of those billion. 

As I watched, I was reminded once again how charming London and the surrounding area truly is.  It brought back a flood of memories of my recent excursion over there.  Caroline and I would like to plan a trip back, if you would like to join us. 


If you have ever had the pleasure of going over there, you may be able to relate to my being charmed.  There is just something so fun about a red telephone booth.  I know these pictures scream, "we are tourists!", but you have to have a picture like this.  Preferably one after you have just gotten off the plane and are very tired and dragging your luggage through Trafalgar Square, but excited to be there.

Maybe it's something about the palaces and castles that are hundreds of years old that you cannot find here in the US.

Or walls and towers that were built as a defense weapon instead of just for looks.

The Queen's soldiers make you feel like your toy box became life size!

The flower shops...

The streets adorned with patriotic bunting...

The window displays at Harrod's...

The mummies... uh, well, maybe not them.

Visiting the place where kings and queens are married, crowned and buried...

Fighting the crowds at the changing of the guard in 200 degree weather... Yes, we had amazing weather while we were there.  Very unusual weather for London.


I don't think I could pick one thing to be my favorite.  It was all so lovely.

And in case Bob Costas does not give you an up close view of those Olympic medals, here they are.  We checked them out while we were there and made sure they were real gold.

Wednesday, July 4, 2012

Happy 4th of July!

Happy 4th of July, y'all!

I am the queen of kitchen gadgets.  I looove kitchen gadgets.  This one that I used today is one of my favorites.  You can buy it here at Williams-Sonoma.

They have different shapes, but I think the star is so fun.

I've found that the store bought pie crust is perfect for making these.

The possibilities for filling the pies are endless.  I used blackberry jam and a few blueberries today.

Before baking, brush the pies with egg and sprinkle with sugar.

Bake for 15-20 minutes at 400 degrees.  Don't be alarmed if they explode.  They'll still taste super good. 

After letting the pies cool for about 10 minutes, serve with frozen yogurt.  Yum!

Hope y'all had a great day off to celebrate!

(PS The real reason that I love these so much, is that there is so much pie crust.  Let's be honest, that's what everyone loves!)