-
A Princess Party
Two of my favorite little princesses just turned three years old. My niece, Ruby Jane and my youngest daughter, Mia Kate, were born just 17 hours apart and have grown to be best buds. Well, usually. They get along when sharing isn’t involved. But that’s just a phase, right? When my sister and I asked the girls what kind of party they wanted, they barely skipped a beat before they decided it should be a princess party. And who are we to argue? This meant lots of pink, sprinkles, tulle and fun decorations. The dessert table was full of pink and green. Oreo cupcakes, funfetti cupcakes, dipped ice cream cones,…
-
Kumquat-Orange Cardamom Bars
Hi everyone! Once again, I’m super-lucky to have a fantastic guest poster grace the pages of Lemon Sugar! Everyone, meet Samantha from The Little Ferraro Kitchen. I’ve been following along with Samantha’s blog for quite a few months now. I love to watch her posts on Instagram, because she never EVER fails to make me hungry! Her recently revamped website is bright and fun to read, so I suggest you head right on over there and spend some time getting to know her! While you are there, make sure you check out her peanut butter oatmeal sandwich cookies. They’re amazeballs. Samantha, thanks for coming by today! Enjoy, folks! Hello friends and…
-
Homemade Pizza Sauce
I know, it’s almost too good to be true. Karen, from The Art of Doing Stuff, graciously agreed to guest post for us here today! If you’ve never been to her site, you must drop everything and go for a visit. She does it ALL. I’ve been following Karen for a long time now, and I have to say that her blog is among my first stops every morning. But the best part? She has CHICKENS! And, she got her chickens at the same time we got ours, so I’ve been comparing notes. Speaking of which, you should check out her chicken coop. It’s simply amazing. Really. But, let’s talk…
-
No Bake Cheesecake
This recipe might not be new to you, because it’s one of those that’s been around for a long time. It was probably one of those “What can we make with Cool-Whip?” recipes that popped up back when it started hitting the grocery store freezer cases many years ago – 1967, just in case you were wondering… By now, you know how I feel about Cool-Whip. It’s full of chemicals, including both high-fructose corn syrup and hydrogenated vegetable (palm and coconut) oils. Knowing how easy it is to whip up your own homemade whipping cream, I’m just not going to use the stuff, ever. Plus, the taste comparison between Cool-Whip and…
-
Friends of Lemon Sugar: Reese’s Cake
Today’s guest poster in the Friends of Lemon Sugar series comes to us from BAKE ; a great foodie, lifestyle and photography blog by Jenny. I love to read her posts because they make me happy, and I feel like I’m right there with her. One of my favorite posts of hers is her Neopolitan Cupcakes, a recipe which has inspired me to follow suit! Head over and check out her site, today. You won’t be sorry! Thank you, Jenny for stopping by to share your fabulous recipe. Enjoy! Hi! I’m Jenny and I blog over at BAKE. I’ve been blogging for just under a year and I adore it! I studied…
-
Dipped Vanilla Sprinkle Cupcakes
When my husband and I finished college, we moved to the suburbs and built our first house together. We both grew up in a small town, out in the country, and I think we were ready to give “city living” a try. We built a great first house not far from the police station where my husband works and relatively close to my job. Then, my first daughter was born. She wasn’t even six months old when we realized that we wanted her to have the same kind of childhood we both had, back in the country. So, we moved, again. Today, we live back in our hometown and couldn’t…
-
Is It Summer Yet?
Sometimes, when it rains, it pours. Sometimes, when it pours, it doesn’t stop. Even if you’re hosting a barbecue for your family. Even when the linens are pressed, groceries are bought, cupcakes are made and the twinkle lights are hung. We have had an unseasonably warm spring in my part of the world. Our trees bloomed early, tulips and daffodils poked out of the ground weeks ahead of schedule and people are just itching to get their gardens started. Mother Nature, though – she’s got a sense of humor – she just won’t let us get too comfortable with our nice weather. Case in point: the last week was fabulous…
-
Pretzel Dogs
I generally don’t care for hot dogs. I won’t go into detail, but I pretty much find them to be wrong on many, many levels. That being said, there are moments in life when a hot dog sounds like a fantastic idea. For instance – sporting events. Hot dogs always taste good at baseball games, soccer games, basketball games, football games…well – I suppose they are always better when they come from a concession stand. My Dad makes an amazing grilled hot dog. He cooks it until it’s sizzling and nearly black (yay carcinogens!) and sopped with sweet, sticky KC Masterpiece barbecue sauce. Campfire hot dogs? Always okay in my book. Convenience store hot…
-
Friends of Lemon Sugar Series: Double Chocolate Chip Cookies
Today I’m honored to bring you a post from one of my very favorite bloggers – I’ve been reading Jen at the Beantown Baker for years now. She’s extremely talented and full of fabulous, no-fail recipes. Check out her Purple Ombre Cake from her 1000th post celebration! UH. MAY. ZING.Thank you, Jen for contributing to Lemon Sugar today! It’s truly my pleasure. Enjoy, folks! Hi everyone! My name is Jen and I blog over at BeantownBaker.com. As the name implies, I live in Boston and I love to bake! I’ve been blogging a little under 5 years and I just recently celebrated my 1000th Post! I live in a tiny condo with…
-
Friends of Lemon Sugar Series: More Fudge Less Pudge Brownies
I am excited to bring you the first of many guest posters on Lemon-Sugar! Erin at The Spiffy Cookie is an amazing cook, baker and person. She’s a lot of fun to read, follow and has a ton of fabulous recipes on her site. I mean, cake batter puppy chow?!? Are you kidding me? Amazing. I’m honored to have her contribute today, and ask that you all go pay her a visit and tell her I sent you. Thanks again, Erin – take it away! Hello Lemon Sugar readers! To confuse you my name is also Erin, but I hail from The Spiffy Cookie and I am very luck to be…
-
Red Velvet Cupcakes
I’ve been struggling with this post since I started this blog. Why, you may ask? This is just a basic red velvet cupcake, no? No. This cupcake is special. You see, a little over two years ago, my very tight-knit extended family lost one of our own. My dear cousin Molly passed away suddenly. She was a year younger than me, a triplet, an aunt, a sister and a daughter. And smart. Beautiful. Young, kind, and soft-spoken. Molly collapsed immediately after finishing a half-marathon and didn’t come back to us. My heart broke that day. Molly was too young, too full of life and too special to all of us. And…
-
Lemon Sunshine Cupcakes
If you follow along on my Facebook page, you now know that I am not a big fan of storms. In fact, that might be the understatement of the century. If I have a phobia, storms are it. Not just thunderstorms, I’m talking about full-on, hail and wind – tornadic storms. Growing up smack dab in the middle of Tornado Alley, I’ve spent most of my life keenly aware of impending bad weather during the spring months. When I was a kid and before the Weather Channel, over-excited meteorologists (who I actually appreciate) and being able to pull up the radar on your cell phone at any given moment – the…
