Beauty of Creation

Yesterday afternoon I took my bunny outside to let her run around, while I read.  After being in the rain for about a half hour, I went back behind our garage to check on her, when i spotted one of the most beautiful things Ive ever seen! It was a dandelion covered with raindrops! So i ran inside and grabbed my camera and snapped pictures around my backyard. The rain makes everything truly beautiful! Our God is a great creator, wow!

And of course i had to get one with bunny girl before we went in :)

Psalm 96:11-12 Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice; let the sea roar, and all that fills it; let the field exult, and everything in it. Then shall all the trees of the forest sing for joy.

XO.

B

{Phantom of the Opera}

     Ever since I was a little girl, my mom has always loved Phantom of the Opera. She saw it twice when we were little, and would always tell us interesting things about the set, or how much she loved the music. Several years ago when the movie came out, I learned to love it too.  Well as many of you know Phantom is on its farewell tour and is currently playing at The Pantages Theater in Hollywood. 

Well, about two months my mom and I were sitting in the living room, and a commercial came on advertising the show at The Pantages, and my mom mentioned how much she would love to see it. So I had an idea to surprise her with a trip to the show.  Several days later i went down to Ticketmaster, picked out seats, and bought two tickets to the show; all the while my mom had no idea what was going on. I told her that I had a surprise planned for October 7th, and that she had to be ready at 6:15, and to dress up!

So when Thursday, October 7th came, I was SO excited. She had no idea where we were going, but I knew she would LOVE it. On the drive down, I made her wear a blindfold, and off we went! My dad dropped us off on the curb, in front of the building neighboring the Pantages. When she got out she looked around, and then saw the signs for Phantom and her face lit up!!! I can not explain the joyous feeling that I had being able to do this for her, it was great!

We had such a fun night.  She was so happy that we got to go together, and definitely loved the surprise. The show was amazing, and theres nothing like the first time they play the organ and the music fills the theater. If you haven't seen Phantom, I would definitely recommend you do! It's so fun! All in all it was a great night, and I'm so happy that my mom and I got to share that special memory!

Lastly, I forgot the camera, so we only got one picture on my phone! Oh well! :)

xo.

B

{Scones & Clotted Cream}

Ever since I first had scones at tea a few years ago, they have been one of my favorite breakfast/brunch treats. With winter fast appraising I thought this would be a good time to go hunting for a yummy recipe to make scones. Well after finding one I thought would be good, I whipped them up for breakfast this past Monday for when my sweet friend Carly and I had breakfast. They turned out SO yummy! To my surprise, scones are about as easy to make as it gets! Heres the recipe I used:

Ingredients: 

~ 2 ups all purpose flour

~ 1/3 cup granulated sugar

~ 1 teaspoon baking powder

~ 1/4 teaspoon baking soda

~ 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, frozen

~ 1/2 cup dried cranberries

~1/2 cup sour cream

~ 1 large egg

Directions:

-Preheat over to 400 degrees 

-Mix flour, sugar baking powder, baking soda, and salt in large bowl

-Grate butter into flower mixture and mix (Mixture will resemble coarse meal)

-Stir in cranberries

-In small bowl, whisk sour cream and egg until smooth.

-Using a fork, stir in cream mixture into flour mixture, until large dough clumps form

-Use hands to press dough into a ball 

-Place on a lightly floured surface, and pat into a 7-8 inch circle, 3/4 inches thick.

-Sprinkle 1 teaspoon sugar on top

-Cut into 8 triangles

-Place on sheet lined with parchment paper

-Bake aprox. 15-17 minutes, until golden brown

*****

Well, as many of you know scones are often served with Devonshire cream (also known as clotted cream). Unfortunately in order to make this the way it's made in Devonshire, England you pretty much need a cow (which i, at this point in time, don't have.) So i found a recipe for a substitute cream, which ended up being delicious, creamy, and just as good. Here is that recipe: 

Ingredients:

~ 4 oz. mascarpone

~ 1 cup heavy whipping cream

~ 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

~ 1 to 2 tablespoons granulated white sugar

~ Lemon zest (optional)

Directions:

- Place all ingredients in a large bowl and beat until mixture holds its shape and looks softly whipped.

Just a few tips for making the cream: First of all mascarpone is an Italian cream cheese, and should be available at any grocery store. I bought mine from the Italian market down the street from me (it costs about $2.50 there.) Second, do not try to make this with normal whipping cream, USE HEAVY! It won't turn out the same! :( And lastly, I added about 1/2 half a lemon's worth of zest, and I would strongly suggest using it!!!

Enjoy! :)

B

Bunny Girl

LOVE my sweet bunny. shes so cute <3