Autumn Amelia

Hello everyone!

Happy Mother's Day!

Erik and I recently tried Reese Witherspoon's recipe for Sun Tea from her book Whiskey In A Tea Cup.

It's actually her grandmother Dorothea's recipe.

I thought it would be the perfect post in honor of Mother's Day!

You will need:

8 Black Tea Bags

1 Gallon of Water

Place the tea bags in a gallon-sized jar with a lid and fill with water, letting the tags hang over the lip of the jar.

Top with the lid and secure.

Set the jar in a sunny spot outdoors.

Let brew for 4 hours.

While the tea brews, prepare the simple syrup.


You will need:

Bring the sugar and water to a boil in a small saucepan, stirring until the sugar has dissolved.

Remove from heat and let cool.

Serve the syrup on the side so guests can sweeten their tea to taste.
The syrup may be stored in the refrigerator, tightly sealed for up to 1 month.
Enjoy!


It was a lot of fun to make tea in a unique way.
Brewing it in the sun made it feel more rustic.
We brewed ours over the weekend and enjoyed it with some barbecue.
It definitely got us in the summertime mood.
What is your favorite summertime drink?

All my love,
Autumn

Paintbrush Strokes

And I did another with lighter strokes that really showcased the brushwork and gave it a more sophisticated feel.

Gold Leaf

Using baking tweezers (NOT your hands as the oil from them will dissolve the gold leaf) take small pieces of edible gold leaf and place them on the macaron.

I kept my pieces small and to one side.

Hello everyone!

Springtime is upon us even though we are stuck in the house...

Today I am going to show you an easy DIY for a floral initial.

It's the perfect decoration to bring a little springtime to your home.

You will need:

Wood Initial

Flower Blooms

Wire Cutters

Hot Glue Gun
Hot Glue Sticks

Hello everyone!

Easter is one week away!

This will be a very different Easter for most of us.

No gathering with family, no seeing friends, no community egg hunts.

That doesn't mean we can't spread a little joy!

I had originally planned on giving out these bunny pots as Easter gifts to my family on Easter Sunday but, now that I will not be seeing them I thought it would be fun to do a good old fashioned doorbell ditch.

You will need:

Terracotta Pots

Paint, I Used Lavendar, White, Mint, and Black

Large Paintbrush

Fine Tipped Paintbrush

Crinkle Grass

Fillers

With the large paintbrush, paint the Terracotta pots your desired colors.

I went with spring pastels.

I wanted my pots to have a bit of a weathered look so, I used a large paintbrush and painted uneven coats on each of my pots.

I thought it made them feel a little more rustic.

You can use a smaller paintbrush and make them nice and even if you prefer.

Once the paint is dry, use the black paint and fine-tipped paintbrush to paint the bunny faces on the front of the pots.

Two eyes, a nose and a few whiskers in different styles.

A regular bunny face.

A winky bunny face.

And the ever-popular closed eyes bunny face.

Once the faces are dry, fill the pots with crinkle grass and a few goodies and they are ready for delivery.

Enjoy!

Hello everyone!

Happy International Mermaid Day!

I have loved mermaids since I was a little girl so, I like to do a little something to celebrate each year.

This year we made traditional french madeleines and dressed them up to represent seashells.

You will need:

1 Stick of Unsalted Butter, Softened

2 Teaspoons of Vanilla

1 and 1/2 Teaspoons of Fresh Lemon Zest

1 Cup of Flour

1 and 1/4 Teaspoons of Baking Powder

1/4 A Teaspoon of Salt

3 Eggs

3/4 A Cup of Sugar

In a heavy saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat.

Once the butter is melted, reduce the heat to low and continue to cook until the solids sink to the bottom of the pan and turn golden brown, about 10 minutes.

Remove from heat and pour into a small bowl.

Stir the vanilla and lemon zest into the butter.

Set aside to cool.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. 

Set aside. 

In a large bowl, beat the eggs while gradually adding the sugar.

Continue to whip until the mixture is thick and pale in color, about 3-4 minutes.

Fold the flour mixture into the sugar mixture in three additions until just combined.

Fold in the butter mixture. 

Cover the bowl and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, we let ours sit overnight.

Preheat the oven to 375o.

Generously brush the molds of a madeleine pan with butter and lightly dust with flour. 

Using a medium cookie scoop, spoon level scoops of batter into the center of each mold.

You do not need to spread the batter.

Bake for 12 minutes or until the centers have risen and are golden brown.

Cool in the pan placed on a cooling rack for 2 minutes.

Gently loosen from the pan. 

The shape of the madeleines are perfect on their own to represent seashells but, we wanted to dress them up a bit. 

We used edible pearl dust and spread it over the tops of the madeleines to add some shimmer.

On other madeleines, we dipped the tops or bottoms into melted white chocolate and added some sprinkles in blue, gold, and white.

Enjoy!

I LOVE how these turned out!

The sparkly sprinkles on top of the madeleines really gave it that mermaid feel.

They are simple to make but, a tad time consuming since the batter needs to set in the fridge.

Hurry and whip up the batter now and pop them into the oven tonight right before you watch your mermaid themed movie. 

I will be whipping these up on a regular basis to bring back all my childhood mermaid loving feels.

How are you spending your International Mermaid Day?

All my love,

Autumn

Hello everyone!

How are we all surviving?

I feel kind of weird going on business as usual on the blog with everything going on in the world but, I also think a lot of us could use some inspiration and entertainment right now.

So, today I am going to share an easy homemade donut hole recipe with you.

I thought these would be so fun for Easter to serve as "bunny tails."

You will need:

2 Cups of Flour

1/4 A Cup of Sugar

1 and 1/2 Tablespoons of Baking Powder

1/2 A Teaspoon of Salt

1/4 A Teaspoon of Nutmeg

1 Egg

1 Cup of Milk

1 Teaspoon of Vanilla

1/4 A Cup of Melted Butter

Oil for Frying, I used Vegetable Oil

In a large bowl, whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg until combined.

In a medium mixing bowl, whisk the egg, milk, and vanilla until well combined.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix together for a few seconds.

Add the melted butter to the mixture and stir until a thick batter forms.

Line a large baking sheet with a few layers of paper towels and top with a wire cooling rack.

Set aside.

Pour oil into a heavy-bottomed pan until the oil is about two inches deep. 

Heat the oil over medium heat until it reaches 350o.

Once the oil reaches 350o, use a cookie scoop to scoop batter and drop it into the oil.

Make sure to do this carefully and close to the oil to prevent splashback. 

Fry each donut for two minutes on each side. 

Remove the donuts from the oil to the prepared cooling rack.

Repeat until the batter is gone.

Adjust the heat level as needed to maintain the 350o oil temperature.

Brown Bunny Tails

You will need:

1 Cup of Sugar

1/2 A Tablespoon of Cinnamon

Mix the sugar and cinnamon together in a shallow bowl until well combined.

Let the donut holes cool for 1 minute on the cooling rack.

Once cool, roll the donut holes in the cinnamon-sugar mixture, one at a time, until completely covered.

White Bunny Tails

You will need:

1 Cup of Powdered Sugar

Place the powdered sugar in a shallow bowl.

Let the donut holes cool for 1 minute on the cooling rack. 

Once cool, roll the donut holes in the powdered sugar, one at a time, until completely covered.

Enjoy!

How easy is that?!

I love that you don't have to worry about yeast or rolling the dough out with this recipe.

It would be the perfect quick and festive Easter morning breakfast.

If you decide to not go the Easter route, it's still a perfect quick and easy breakfast. 😉

What bunny tail would you prefer?

Brown or white?

All my love,

Autumn