Happiness is...

...having a reason to make cupcakes.

Tomorrow we're picking up the husband's sister and her boyfriend at the airport. From there we're heading to Mt. Rainier to spend the weekend celebrating my father-in-laws birthday.

It was all supposed to be a surprise, but now that the gig is up, I can focus more on what to bake versus trying to be sneaky.

I think I'm going with the flourless recipe, again... but this time, I'm going to fill them with raspberry jam. Nothing is quite as delicious as fresh homemade freezer jam- and along with a dark decadent chocolate? It's simply begging to be tried.

Wishful Wednesday #1

So this will be the first installment of Wishful Wednesdays.

This one I discovered on the ferry to Port Angeles on Friday night. We had the joy of parking front center on the ferry, right next to the motorcycles. My eyes about flew out of my head when I saw a bike like this:

Photo by Joshua Hoffman. Featured at Bike EXIF.

Behold- A 1982 Honda C70 Passport.

I can't get over it- it's like a Schwinn/Vespa lovechild.

I used to be all about having a motorcycle. I would tease my mom about starting a biker gang- we'd both get matching tattoos and beefy cruisers that would be way too powerful for us. When I met my husband, it was a major goal in our lives... Life events kept getting in the way, not to mention the lack of garage and the increased theft in the area. It simply wouldn't be convenient.

But this makes me reconsider our lack of motorcycles. We've been daydreaming and talking about taking the Motorcycle Safety Foundation course for about two years now- it's a good way to learn how to ride as well as to get endorsed for two-wheeled vehicles. There's a class going on at the end of August... maybe it's time to make this daydream into reality.

You can find these bikes for less than $1000. Seriously! I've spent more on handbags!

This weekend...

..was full of roses from my father's memorial garden...
...and sunshine...
..and good food..
...and enjoying the bright side of life.
(It was hard to be grumpy while cruising around around in this car. Believe me, I tried.)
Couldn't have asked for a better weekend.

Meringues

I made meringues (chocolate meringue, too!) for the first time in my life. It's magic. Three little itty bitty egg yolks made so many delicious bite-sized morsels.



Don't tell them that I told you this, but they turned out kind of ugly. I mentioned this was my first time, right?


Ugly or not, they were absolutely delicious. Paired with rose tea, they were the perfect afternoon pick-me-up.

I Spy With My Little Eye...

Wait... could it be?? Is my office truly coming together? Someone pinch me- I think I might be dreaming!

Closet!

I'm so glad we finally decided to do something about our storage issues. I think our issue isn't necessarily our space, but the fact that we're not using what we have efficiently.

So, with a happy heart and about 8 hours of work, I present to you our bedroom closet.

Wallpaper

I've made a big decision regarding my wallpaper.
It's not going to be permanent.

Why?

1. It's a tiny space I'll be papering. It's a small enough piece to hang with tacks.
   
2. I want to save the paper for when we find an abode more permanent.
3. What if I decide I hate it after I stick it on the wall for good?
   
4. I don't want to spend money on wallpaper hanging materials unless I have too.
5. I'm curious.

It may be a bad idea. It may be totally awesome. We'll see!