Alice in Wonderland

I'm feeling very British tonight.  I've fallen in love with Matthew Crawley - er, I mean, Downton Abbey - this month, and today I've fallen in love with scones.

Yes, scones.

It started like this.
Sunday: Uncle D and J's wedding shower.
Monday: I FREAK out because now it's time to start planning Aunt L's wedding shower.  I'm her Matron of Honor, after all.
Tuesday: Pinterest.  Tea Party?  Yes, please.
Wednesday: pick up tea party books and assorted groceries
Thursday: Tea Party Practice

I spent this morning making
1. buttermilk scones
2. smoked salmon tea sandwiches
3. tiny little salami and PBJ's for the boys' lunch

Then I the picture below to Aunt L and Grandma A:

They replied that I should save some and they'll be over later.

That's when a screw kind of came loose.  I spent the rest of the afternoon making:
4. bacon and cheddar scones
5. cucumber tea sandwiches
6. chutney cheddar tea sandwiches
7. peanut butter jelly scones

Yeah.....Crazy.  But fun!  The boys helped by ripping the mint leaves off their stems and dumping the dry ingredients into the mix.  They left me alone as long as I played "Mighty Machines" on the Netflix for them. 

I set out the mismatched china - I had one sample set of my mother's (pictured) that we will use for the tea party, and a few random pieces I picked up from the Goodwill for 25 cents each, and I gave the boys my stoneware.  Because really, in 11 years I've never used the teacups and saucers.  And I set out the few teabags I had, all sleepytime herbal stuff, and we had a tea party!

Everyone loved it, I think M and N most of all!  Here are their favorites:
M: smoked salmon - he was INHALING them!  The most expensive item on the menu and my 3 year old was tearing through them.
N: PBJ, of course.  The only thing he ever asks for, all day, every day.
Hubs: Bacon and cheddar scones, which I made just for him.  He loves bacon.
Aunt L: buttermilk scones and cucumber sandwiches - she's a traditional bride!
Grandma A: salami and butter - I didn't know she liked them so much!
Me: They are all my children so I loved them all.  Haha!  I'm not posting my favorite. 

Now I have to teach myself how to brew a proper pot of tea, make clotted cream, buy a teapot, collect china, find myself a hat...secure the venue.....

I feel like the Mad Hatter!

Guess that makes Aunt L Alice in Wonderland!

Cookies, Sweeties and a Funny

 This morning's adventure with the boys and a funny story about my mixer ensues:

M sneaking cookie dough, N posing like a ham! 

What do you do when your hubby brings home a giant box of dates from his business trip to Dubai?  Make cookies, of course!  Well, not right away...we had to eat a bunch before I decided I needed to do something with the rest.  It's nice to have a hubby who's thinking of me and the kids while he's running through airports and brings us little treats sometimes (better than tchotchkes to dust).  I'll bet you're not at all surprised that my little helpers liked eating dates.  I was chopping them for the cookies and kept feeding them pieces.  N grabbed a whole one and chomped down, surprised to find a pit! 

N, left, and M helping me clean the bowl after we got them in the oven.  I had a LOT of help this morning.  Lunch was a disaster, of course, but that's to be expected after sampling the product before, during and after, which took all morning.

Look again at the white Kitchenaid mixer in the top photo.  Here's a funny story.  I've always wanted a Kitchenaid, but have made do for 9 years with the little $10 hand mixer that cheapskates like me use instead because a real one is almost $300!  I even had to buy a second one this year when my sister in law blew up the first one!  (The poor mixer was 9 years old, how long are those cheapies supposed to last)?  So my parents were here over Labor Day weekend and we were all piled in the van heading out to some escapade, when I noticed that someone in my neighborhood had a garage sale with a GREAT BIG KITCHENAID just sitting there on the table!  I made Hubs stop, hopped out, checked out the mixer, and ran back to borrow a 20$ bill from my mom (we do not carry cash, in case you were thinking of robbing me.  My purse is full of matchbox cars, coupons and smashed up crackers.) 

I know, right? 20 BUCKS for a Kitchenaid?  Well, it's not exactly brand new.  It looks like a 1970's model (like me) but it works (also like me).  A few weeks later, Aunt L and I were mixing Red Velvet Cupcake batter in it and I said, "I love my new mixer so much!"  As the words came out of my mouth - literally, AS I WAS SAYING IT, the motor started SMOKING! 

AAAGH!  It's on fire!!

Okay, not on fire, but SMOKING!  The kitchen was starting to smell bad from the smoke, so we finished the cupcake batter with the cheapie hand mixer (they were delicioso, by the way, complete with homemade cream cheese frosting). 

I couldn't bring myself to throw away my garage sale treasure.  It sat there for another month before I had the heart to test it out again, sure of another near disaster.

But it made pancake batter just fine.  Then it made stuffed egg filling just fine.  And today, it made Frosted Date Creams very well.

So I'm keeping it.  I think it's just a little testy, and doesn't like big jobs, like mixing for more than a couple of minutes!  I think it's got a lot of character (also like me) so it stays on my counter awaiting its next (little) job. 

Do You Know The Muffin Man?

The Muffin Man

The Muffin Man

Do you know the muffin man

Who lives on Drury Lane?

The one doesn't actually live on Drury Lane, but he lives right here in my house!  N was not at all interested in baking the bread (wait a minute, that's a different story) muffins, but M loved it and wanted to help with every part.  He was unhappy that I did the "oven" part without him. 

Muffin-baking, couch cushion tumbling, "beach-party" home-movie themed evenings, and removing stuff from drawers is what we've been up to since the weather turned icky.  It's sunny today and looks beautiful but it's a finger-numbing 14 degrees out there right now. 

I wonder what the temp is on Drury Lane? 

Probably 350.