London or Bust.......

 think about it.....

a royal wedding last year,

Diamond Jubilee this week,

Summer Olympics this Summer.....
looks like London is the place to be these days.

London LOVES a good street party and they'll have plenty of

opportunity to wave their Union Jack.

sigh.....we loved London.

we found the people friendly and charming.....

and very proud of their city.

i'd go back in a heart beat.

but since we can't, 

we use every chance we get to pretend.

and we did that today.....a little bit.

we're saving our big celebration for the 2 week olympic games.

but we did get out our Union jack and crown goodies.....

and Miss Taylor made the most DELICIOUS 

Vanilla Bean Scones.

Oh.

My.

GOSH!!!

but i'll save that for later.

first, didn't the queen look LOVELY throughout the celebrations?

gotta admit, the lady knows how to dress.

and for those wannabe princesses........

you guessed it......Prince Harry.

so what did we do to celebrate?
well, you KNOW it had to do with food, right?
Miss Taylor is a big fan of Pioneer Woman.
she decided to make her recipe for
Vanilla Bean Scones......

she made these for mother's day.
we thought maybe they were a fluke, they were THAT good.
let me tell you,
they are NO fluke!!!!
these are the most amazing scones i've had in my life.
two times now and we have DEVOURED them.
WHEW!!!!!!!
so much for the 3 1/2 lbs i lost:)
you can find the recipe with step by step photos at the
Pioneer Woman site.
Taylor did want me to say two things.
1.  Pioneer Woman cooks with whole milk and she used
fat free skim milk plus heavy cream when called for.
2.  The whole vanilla bean is CRUCIAL.  don't scrimp here.....
BUY IT!
you'll have so much fun scraping it out and seeing
the little flecks in your glaze:)
and the taste is out of this world!

well, that's it for our little British Invasion.
have to save some good stuff for the olympics, right?
hope you have a HAPPY mid-week.
and think about those scones this weekend:)

Suzanne
linking up with what's cooking wednesday

being happy...

soooo......

a year ago, i chose the word "HAPPY" 

as my word of the year.

the idea behind it is to keep that one word or thought

in mind as you go through the year.

i love the word happy.

i love the idea of it.

and i would like to be happy...always!

to see something and smile....like this precious photo.....

makes me happy.

but......

life sometimes gets in the way.

and it sure got in my way last year.  

but looking back, just because bad things happen,

we don't have to be UNhappy forever.

there will be so much to make us sad in a lifetime.

what we probably need to do is work on

getting our happy back when we kinda lose our way.

so.......

i am making my word for 2012 (late, i know:)

HAPPY.

again.

because i kinda lost my way...

and i need to see the happy in all moments...

even if it is upon reflecting back on a moment,

there was usually SOMETHING that made us happy,

made us SMILE!

like a great cup of coffee after a long sleepless night.

and more than anything,

i figure we need to remember this.....

God wants us to be happy:)

here are a few things that made me smile....made me HAPPY recently.

first, this necklace. 

I saw it a month ago and impulsively bought it.

and now i wear it 24/7.

and sometimes i see it in a mirror and it literally makes me think...

have i been paying attention to the happy things or dwelling

on the bad.

for that alone, it was worth it!

the other day, i saw this on pinterest....

a HOTWHEELS lunchbox!!!

this gave me a moment of pure joy, because it brought such 

happy MEMORIES!

yes, i was a major tomboy:)

i had this exact lunchbox....

and how i loved playing with my hot wheels 

and that orange hot wheels racetrack!

HAPPY memories!!!

my COOL iPad case also brings back memories....

of happy times in LONDON with my family.

just thinking about my favorite store in London makes me happy:)

something else from that store across the pond.....

my ditzy flower backpack.

i know...not designer....

because NO designer makes a bag as cute as my flowered backpack:)

yesterday, i had to stop at Coconut Point (outdoor mall)

for a few things.

i noticed a new store that Jordie had been telling me about...

so i popped in.

and i fell in LOVE, LOVE, LOVE with this...

and at just over $20...a real steal for this subway art loving girl!!!

is it amazing or what?????

if you need a bit of help finding your own HAPPY.....

give a few of these a try.

as for me, i know what makes me happy every single time.

these beautiful SMILES are a sure thing....

guaranteed to make ME smile.....

and make me HAPPY.

so, what makes you happy?

besides the fact that today is Friday, that is:)

linking up today with...

 XOXOXOXO

Suzanne

Gooey Sticky Toffee Pudding and Raspberry Scones...

...sounds YUMMY, right?

BUT...

this blog post is so much more than just yummy recipes...

it's my ROYAL WEDDING wrap up...

with giveaway winners, and my

 "BEST OF" blog post...the royal version:)

sooooo...here goes (and I'm making you read on for the recipes:)

BEST OF THE ROYAL WEDDING:

1.  I already talked about the DRESS in yesterdays post.

click here if you missed it.

not too much left to say about that except I LOVED the way she had her little

bridesmaids and sister in the same color family but with very different dresses.

I'm big on everything matching and looking great in photos so to me, 

that was fabulous. and I felt like an excited little girl when we got our first glimpse

 as she rode in the car with her dad.  

I would have given anything to know what she was truly thinking!

2.  The 2 handsome brothers, dressed in uniform, riding to the church together.

LOVED the uniforms...and I LOVE how close they are.

Diana would be so pleased by that, don't you think?

3.  PRECIOUS how he whispered to her at the altar "You look Beautiful"...

and possibly just as sweet was in the carriage ride to the palace when she said "I'm so happy" to him.

AWWWWW!

4.  Absolutely LOVED the cake!  Nothing beats creamy colors, simple, elegant designs on a yummy cake.

(actually, I HOPE it was yummy but I'm wondering...)

5.  I got a total kick out of Harry turning around at the altar as Kate walked down the aisle. 

 ...still as mischievous as ever:)

then to find out he whispered to William "wait till you see her"...so cute!

6.  I thought her mother looked SO elegant...and the thoughts running through HER head must have been pretty wild!

7.  I thought the ceremony was classic and tasteful...rare today.

I do believe she has classic tastes so hopefully this will be a new trend as people copy her and her wedding day.

8.  LOVE all the Union Jack flags and banners flying EVERYWHERE!

(actually, this beautiful city has them all over the place even without a wedding and it's so cool)

9. I thought it was so nice that all of Diana's family was welcomed 

and that they even spoke to them in the church.  Had to be a tough moment for them.

10.  Possible one of my favorite moments was seeing this couple who want to be as normal as possible...

under the circumstances,

drive away from the palace in a decorated car.

AWWWWW...how cute was that!

Did I mention that my girls and I stayed up all night?  yes, we had a ROYAL sleepover:)

we decorated with all of my crowns, our London souvenirs, flags, everything royal!

we had a tea party at 3 a.m...the beginning of the broadcast, 

complete with raspberry scones and TEA:)

before that we watched the Kings Speech and other royal themed shows and I gave the girls PJ's...pink teacup jammies:)

yes, even though I paid the price for no sleep, it was a night we will ALWAYS remember!
p.s. for Mother's Day, in addition to all the other wonderful gifts, they got me a copy of the
engagement ring:)

 so lovely:)
I wear it on a chain with my favorite charm.
memories...

okay...moving on to my 

"BEST of ENGLAND"

(not that I am an expert by any means but we did visit last Fall and loved every second of it.

we also have a number of close British friends down here so that helps:)

1.  who DOESN"T love the accent?????

I mean, if we broke off from them, why did we have to lose the accent?

BUMMER! and some of the words are so fun!

2.  London is a BEAUTIFUL city, the people know and love their history and they are so FRIENDLY...contrary to what we were told to expect. and one more thing...it was so clean for a big city!

3,  The CABBIES!  

This is a well respected profession in London, driving those cute black cabs:)

4.  SHOPPING!  (enough said:)

5.  TEA TIME!!! yep, they really do love their tea.  we did go to Starbucks for coffee once but frankly, the Brits  make better tea:)

6.  despite what we hear sometimes, they seem to still love their royal family.  guess you saw that recently:)

yes...it is definitely a case of "long live the Queen"...her initials and/or crowns are on EVERYTHING.

7.  Cute things, like the red phone booths, red double decker buses...

8.  they have the cutest exported car...and we have one! (actually, Taylor has one...but we all love to drive it!)

 The MINI COOPER...and they are everywhere over there.

9.  my FAVORITE export is a person and her style...

RACHEL ASHWELL and her Shabby Chic lifestyle...because it IS a lifestyle.

SHE should have decorated for the royal reception 

 but that's for another blog post, when I decorate as Rachel would have...
at least I think it's how she would have:)

10.  last but NOT least...our two favorite foods from across the pond...

Gooey Sticky Toffee Pudding...

and Scones...with clotted cream, devonshire cream or vanilla mascarpone.

OH MY GOSH!!!

First the sticky pudding...

this dessert (which contains chopped dates, somethingI thought I would hate but LOVE)

is best served warm...almost hot...and VERY gooey.

It is soooo good.  You'll be hooked!

This is Martha Stewarts recipe so you can trust it:)

GOOEY STICKY TOFFEE PUDDING:

 * 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pan

    * 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled), plus more for pan

    * 8 ounces pitted dates, finely chopped

    * 2 teaspoons baking powder

    * 1/2 teaspoon salt

    * 1 cup sugar

    * 2 large eggs

    * 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour an 8-inch round cake pan; set aside.

   2. In a small bowl, combine dates and 1/2 cup boiling water; set aside to soften, at least 10 minutes. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt to combine; set aside.

   3. With an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy; add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add date mixture, flour mixture, and vanilla; mix just until moistened.

   4. Spread batter in prepared pan. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean, 55 to 65 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare toffee sauce.

   5. Remove cake from oven; cool in pan 5 minutes. To ensure it will come out easily later, carefully invert hot cake then return it, right side up, to pan. Using a toothpick, poke holes all over cake. Pour about 1 cup warm sauce over cake; let absorb at least 20 minutes.

Toffee Sauce

* 16 tablespoons unsalted butter (2 sticks)

    * 1 cup heavy cream

    * 1 cup packed light-brown sugar

    * 1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions

 1. In a medium saucepan, combine butter, heavy cream, light-brown sugar, and salt. Heat over low, stirring, until sugar has dissolved, about 2 minutes. Simmer mixture over medium heat until reduced to about 2 1/2 cups, 8 to 12 minutes. If desired, reheat sauce over low before serving.

******Serve with ice cream, vanilla sauce, vanilla mascarpone...all good choices!

SCONES...

Scones, done right, are not these dry rolls...they are warm, soft and delicious!

My favorites are raspberry or strawberry.

Rather than print the whole recipe (one of Martha's again)

click HERE.

DELICIOUS!!!

or...you can pick up a mix like this one...

White Chocolate Raspberry Scones...

very good also!

Well, guess that's about it.

OH...WAIT...my giveaways!

I had two for sure...

my PRINCESS for a DAY giveaway and the

KEEP CALM and CARRY ON giveaway.

I said I had two for sure because I have a few other 

odds and ends to throw someones way:)


now,are you thinking I forgot the giveaways?
not a chance!!!
TRISHA from Glass Slippers and All That Stuff is my
Princess For a Day winner.

 perfect..."Glass Slippers"...
and Sweet Trisha is a princess...you'll see when you visit her blog:)


winning the Keep Calm and Carry On package is
LINDA from A LA CARTE!

 Linda is well known around blog land because she is a beautiful lady
who is a friend to everyone she "meets" and lifts me up
more times than I can count.
Congratulations ladies!!!!!


so there you have it mates...
i guess we're done with the royal wedding and all things British.
well...I do still have a shabby chic post complete with shabby flags but maybe another time.
i hope you've enjoyed this.
thank you for humoring me.
i wanted this memory to be included in my next blog book for my girls.


REMEMBER...
sometimes FAIRYTALES DO COME TRUE!

 XOXOXO
Suzanne