Champagne Cake

Bubbles, Butter, and Blooms.  I’ve never considered myself an excellent cook but I do love to bake.  Below is a recipe to one of my favorite recipes: Pink Champagne Cake.  I originally found the recipe here but I’ve tweaked it just a bit to make it my own. My favorite part is that it allows for a little extra champagne in the bottle so you can sip as you bake away! I hope you enjoy.   
   

Cheers!

Pink Champagne Cake

Ingredients:

       3 cups all-purpose flour

3 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter

2 cups sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

6 egg whites

2 cups pink champagne

Directions:

*Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour two

9-inch cake pans (or cut parchment paper to fit).

*In a bowl combine flour, baking powder and salt.

In a mixing bowl beat butter and sugar 3 to 5 minutes

until light and fluffy. Add vanilla and beat in the eggs one at a time.

*Beat in flour mixture and champagne in three alternating additions,

starting and ending with flour to prevent curdling. Pour batter into pans and bake

35 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.

*Let cool and then frost the middle and top layer only.

Flower Class: Viburnum Berries

Today I want to share with you one of my favorite bouquet fills: Viburnum Berries.

The berries above add a touch of blue or purple and they help add a little depth and texture.

But they aren't always purple or blue because there are 150 different kinds of Viburnum Berries!

The purplish blue buds above grow in the Fall and can be found all over North America.

- This cozy Portland wedding is gorgeous and used lots of berries

- Beautiful coral colored berries

- Red & Orange Berries

- Green & Red (but not like Christmas) Berries

{Photos Above: 100 Layer Cake & Growing the Home Garden}

Like a River

This past weekend was full of summer bliss and a good life lesson.  

A group of eight of us and a dog decided to raft/intertube down the Snoqualmie River.  It was so beautiful and relaxing.  However,  I have some serious control issues so I insisted on taking the small lounger so I could feel in control and be able to steer more.  When the first set of "rapids" hit I realized that I actually had zero control and almost sunk my little lounger.  And when the sun started to set and we had no idea how much further we had to float we had no choice but to try and enjoy our surroundings and hope the next river bend would reveal the end.  But then I realized that the more I worried the less fun I was having so I let go and enjoyed the adventure.  And of course we have plans to do it all over again next Saturday and I can't wait!

{photo from here}

Grown Woman.

Happy Friday!  We've made it through our first week! To celebrate my first week of blogging on ALP I decided to share with you a song that pushes me to be a fearles, independent, grown woman.  This song gets me dancing everytime... even in very public places like the bus.  Get it.

Home

My home is where I can let my hair down and rest.  I love to decorate and organize and my home is a perfect reflection of me (and my husband but we'll get to him soon).  I look forward to snapping a few photos soon of our little home and sharing them with you.  But for now above is a little sneak peek.  Happy Wednesday xo

{photo by Krista Welch}

Flower Class: Magnolia

One love that I have in life is for floral design.  If I could I would spend all day arranging and playing with flowers, texture, and color.  One type of post you will see often on ALP will be called Flower Lesson.  In these posts I will teach about a new kind of flower, type of design, or simply an arrangement that is just plain beautiful.

Today, lets talk Magnolias.  They are one of my favorite flowers.  They can make a statement whether you use the flower or the leaves or both.  Magnolias are in season during the Spring and Summer months.  They are most easily found in the South growing on trees.  They look gorgeous in a bouquet, or as a stand alone flower.

More Magnolia inspiration here, here, and here.

{photo by Lene Photography}