WW: San Francisco, Birthday Trip, Part I

Happy WW!

hugs,
tish

Finally ... Spring.

(For the background of Spring banner above and this photo, I applied Life-n-Reflection's Dust Cloud texture.)



(textured with Kim Klassen's Laura texture.)

It looks like we may finally get spring in the Northeast after all. Finally, just yesterday, we saw a break from freezing temperatures. After a chilly start in the 20s, the thermometer climbed to 50 degrees. And they tell us that by Monday and Tuesday of this coming week, we should be pushing close to 70! It's like medicine to my soul!! I can't tell you how happy I will be to see green grass and budding trees and flowers once again, to go outside and not tighten up to brace myself against the bitter winds. This winter was brutal and felt like it would never come to an end. 

I took a break from my blog last week ... it was my birthday, and it was a big one. Yes, I turned 40, wow. I have to say the number caused me to reflect quite a bit and really think about life, but my husband planned the most absolutely perfect trip for our family which made the actual day (and week) totally amazing. We journeyed (with our girls) to San Francisco for a couple days, then drove the Pacific Coast Highway over two days down to L.A. where we spent the final 2-1/2 days of our getaway. It's been a dream of mine to see the Golden Gate Bridge since I was in 6th grade and he made that dream come true. It was spectacular. Be sure to check back next week, I will be posting some photos of our trip. But for now, here is a photo I snapped along the Pacific Coast. I captured a bit of the rocky coastline as well as this beautiful bright yellow flowering plant. It was most likely a weed, but a welcome sign of Spring, nonetheless. 

Today marks the start of the Nurture Photography Spring Challenge with Kristy of Live and Love Outloud, Rebecca of Bumbles & Light and Alicia of Project Alicia. Stop by and link up with them and keep an eye out for great photography tips. I'm also linking up at The Long Road to China for Favorite Photo Friday and Serendipity is Sweet for Friday Photo Journal. 

Happy Friday!

xo,
tish

All Signs Point to Spring

The flowers are trying their best to make an appearance here in the Northeast and we finally made it to the first day of Spring earlier this week.

Mother Nature needs to take a hint ... it's not winter any more. The average temperature here is suppose to be around 50. We've struggled to make it to 40. Here's hoping the days will warm soon.

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In case you missed my Raspberry Sour Cream Tart recipe, you can find it here. And if you're in the mood for a homemade Shamrock Shake you can check out the quick, easy-to-make recipe here.   

Thanks for stopping by. Make it a great weekend!

hugs, 
tish

Our St. Patrick's Day

Our St. Patrick's day was cold and snowy, but since we are Irish here, we couldn't let the day go by without celebrating a bit. We found the best place to start was in the kitchen. 

A week ago, Gina at Kleinworth & Co. posted beautiful photos the of Irish Soda bread she baked and the recipe she used. I thought it was something I would do some day, and even pinned it on Pinterest. But she really caught my attention when she told me it took her only about 35 minutes from start to finish! That did it for me.  

The recipe is so easy, uses minimal ingredients that most people have in their kitchen routinely, and truly didn't take long at all. The loaf was absolutely beautiful when it was all done. It looked rustic and like it came right from the bakery. And ... it tasted as good as it looked! We enjoyed it with a hearty potato soup for dinner and then toasted it the next morning for breakfast. I added a little butter and a spot of honey to mine. If you follow me on Instagram, you saw my toasted bread this week. If not, you can see it here. 







We also had to have a little St. Patty's Day treat. So we decided to make our own Shamrock Shakes. This too was very simple. I did a brief internet search and found several variations. We opted for a more traditional shake. 

Shamrock Shakes

2 cups vanilla ice cream

1 cup milk

1/4 teaspoon peppermint (or mint) extract

10 drops green food coloring

Blend all ingredients together for two minutes. 

Enjoy! 

We sure did! :) 

(And yes, you must wear green on St. Patty's day. Morgan is sporting her Dublin shirt my husband brought us when he visited Ireland with his dad in 2010. While there, they spent some time in County Clare, the region of Ireland where their family is from.) 

Hope you all had a great weekend and a fun St. Patty's Day. 

Happy WW! 

tish

Raspberry Sour Cream Tart

50mm, f/2.8, 1/60, iso 3200. 
Levels adjusted in Photoshop CS5 and enhanced with Greater than Gatsby's One Click Perfect Color action. 
Vintage Frames 22 by The CoffeeShop Blog. 
Paperclip and Sticky Tape by Fuzzimo


This is easily one of my very favorite dessert recipes. I recently made this for my daughter's middle school teacher appreciation luncheon. It always seems to be a favorite wherever I take it. As a matter of fact, any time I make it, I have to make two. My girls tell me I'm not allowed to make it for someone else without also making one to keep at home. 

The tart is easy to make and always gives a beautiful presentation. I adapted the recipe from Bon Appetit. 

Raspberry Sour Cream Tart 
For the crust: 
8 graham crackers, coarsely broken
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 stick unsalted butter, melted

Filling and Topping:
6 oz cream cheese at room temperature
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 sour cream
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2-1/2 pint containers raspberries
1/4 cup seedless raspberry jam

Crust:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a food processor, grind graham crackers and sugar until coarse crumbs form. Add butter, process until evenly moistened. Press firmly up bottom and sides of a 9" tart pan with removable bottom. Bake until firm, about 8 minutes. Cool. 

Filling/Topping: 
Using mixer, beat together sour cream, cream cheese, sugar, lemon juice and vanilla. Spread filling in cooled crust. Chill until firm, at least 4 hours. (Can be made a day ahead, cover and keep chilled). Arrange berries over filling. Whisk jam in small bowl to loose consistency. Drizzle over berries. Serve immediately or chill up to 3 hours. 

This certainly doesn't last long around our house! I hope you give it a try. 

hugs, 
tish