Cupcakes for the Primrose Bakery Cookbook.......Italian Cream Soda

Hello!

I hope you are all enjoying your week.

I wanted to finally share the cookbook I got the raspberry cupcake recipe from,

Cupcakes for the Primrose Bakery, I love this cookbook, it has a lot of helpful baking tips and is filled with beautiful images.

The authors of the book,

Martha Swift and Lisa Thomas, were two mothers who started out baking cupcakes for their children's parties....and soon discovered that adults love cupcakes too.

They now run a successful bakery and cafe in London, where they bake beautiful all natural 

cupcakes along with other baked goods.

{I am also giving one reader a chance to win this cookbook today.

All you have to do is leave a comment at the end of this post to enter the giveaway.}

I made these raspberry cupcakes, a recipe from the Cupcakes from the Primrose Bakery Cookbook, when I put the Cabbages and Roses inspired party together.

The raspberry cupcakes were a big hit with the kids....

The recipe called for warm raspberry jam....

It was kind of funny because when we made these cupcakes, the kids didn't think they were

going to like the cupcakes because they had jam in them.

They ended up loving them.

I wanted to also share the Italian Cream Soda recipe with you....

This is a very easy drink to make...

Italian Cream Soda

1 cup of Club Soda

2 TBSP of Milk (or half and half)

2 Tablespoons of vanilla syrup

We chose vanilla flavored syrup, however there are lots of flavors to choose from.

You can also add berries to your drink and whip cream : )

To make an Italian soda, just omit the milk...

The girls love to make these daily : )

On another note...

I thought it would be fun to giveaway the Cupcakes from the Primrose Bakery cookbook today...

I will be giving away one cookbook to one reader.

All you have to do is leave a comment at the end of this post.

The winner will be chosen by random number.

Giveaway ends October 17th.
If you are an anonymous commenter please be sure and leave your email address so I can contact you if you win.
Giveaway is open to international readers.....

You can read more about Martha Swift and Lisa Thomas 

by visiting their website, 

Primrose Bakery

Primrose Bakery on Facebook

Hope you enjoy the rest of your week!

Take Care,

Maria

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p.s. The winner of the Cabbages and Roses giveaway was.....

Anonymous said...

What a cool giveaway! The banner would be perfect for my daughter's new big girl room. Thanks for hosting this.

jamier76@gmail.com

An Autumn Inspired French Farmhouse Table, French Heirloom Pumpkins, Vintage French Kindergarten Chair

Hello!

I hope you are all enjoying your week!

Today I wanted to share a lot of pictures with you I took over the weekend....

My husband surprised me with a new lens for my birthday.

I can't tell you how much I LOVE it.

I put together an autumn inspired table setting over the weekend.

I wanted to get one photographed before the first rain.

I set the table up under this beautiful oak tree.

My husband helped drag my props out to the field, and I think he thought I was nuts for picking a spot with thistles as a backdrop...

He grew up on a cattle ranch in Montana where he changed sprinkler pipe all summer to keep their alfalfa fields green.  He doesn't see any beauty or use in brown grass.

I have the exact opposite opinion....

Oak trees and the rolling golden hills are the two things I love the most about California.

I love the contrast of the beautiful oak trees against the golden hills.

Anyway, for the table setting,

I wanted to keep it very simple with an earthy french farmhouse feel to it.

I chose to use a red striped grain sack runner.

{I will be adding more of these to my shop very soon}

I use red all year round, it doesn't matter what season it is, it is one of my favorite accent colors....

For this table setting I used mostly food items for decoration....

The french bread helps add a lot of warmth to the table.

White french bistro chairs....

Pumpkins...

Every fall it is hard for me to not go crazy with the french heirloom pumpkins....

I try to purchase them while shopping with my husband, because he helps keep me under control.

I used my french ironstone compote to display the pumpkin on.

I love how the brownish color of the pumpkin contrasts with the ironstone.

My sister makes these beverage bags (also can be used as a wine bag)

for my shop out of European grain sacks.

These little beverage bags are one of my favorite items my sister makes for the shop.

We also carry these made from a blue striped grain sack.

I added a plate of cheese and bread along with a plate of figs....

The figs help bring a little color to the table...

My daughter put together some bundles of lavender to place at the ends of the table.

I would have liked to use bundles of wheat at the end of the table, but I didn't have any.

Never mind that I forgot to put silverware out....

I  realized after the sun was down, that I didn't even put it out...

Hopefully I can get another one photographed before Thanksgiving...

On another note....

I found this set of vintage french kindergarten chairs for the shop a couple of weeks ago....

I photographed the chairs over the weekend with my favorite french heirloom pumpkins displayed on them....

This particular french heirloom pumpkin is called the 'Rouge Vif d' Etampes.

They are supposed to make great pumpkin pies...

We are going to try and turn this one into a pie...

I will be sure and let you know how the pie turns out...

I also photographed this little sweetie sitting on the french chairs as well.

I forgot I was supposed to be photographing the chair....

Miss Judy is the cutest...

I think these chairs are so cute...

They could be used by a small toddler....

and or would make a great prop...

On a final note....

I had to share a picture I snapped yesterday of my daughter, Nicole, with her dog, Rambo....

Rambo is our great dane and english mastiff crossed puppy we got from our parents this last Christmas.....

I think he grows taller everyday....

I will hopefully be back next week....

I will be going to Remnants of the Past with my kids this Saturday....

I can't wait!

I hope you all enjoy your week!

Take Care,

Maria

P.S. I will share with you a few of the sources to some of the items in my table setting in my next post.

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Decorating for Fall with French Farmhouse Finds...Fall Projects for the Kids

Hello!

I hope you are all enjoying your week.

Fall has always been my favorite season...

I love to bring in small doses of bright colors during the autumn season, along with a few earth tones.

I thought I would share a few pictures of an area in my living room I decorated with a few colorful french farmhouse finds for fall.

Since I live in a newer modular home, I like to always use some sort of architectural 

piece on this particular wall in my living room.  I think architectural pieces are a great way to add instant character to a new home....

For fall I changed out the mirrored door for an antique french door...

I love how this door has natural wood showing through the creamy white paint...

I think it helps add some warmth to the room...

I added my favorite bright mustard colored french confit pot....

I set a french farm table in front of the door.

I paired a french drying rack with an alabaster lamp...

This is one of my favorite bottle drying racks.

I was told it is from the late 1800's... I love the shape of the legs.

These are great for holding your favorite mugs on....

I added a red striped grain sack to the table.

I love the color and texture of this particular grain sack.

My mom recently made this lampshade for me.

She used a scrap of linen I had left over from an antique french linen sheet.

I love how it turned out.

Thanks MOM!

I kept the same pillows on the couch.

{I get lots of inquiries about this particular fabric.

My sister actually made these pillows for me from French fabric that dates back to the late 1800's,

unfortunately I haven't ever found anymore of this particular fabric.}

I used the shutter and bistro chair to add a pop of apple green color to the space.

I wanted to use mostly french farmhouse items for this particular wall.

I did add some pumpkins and branches to other areas of my living room.

I added a few birch branches to one of my zinc tubs.

 I also added some manzanita branches amongst the birch branches for a little color.

I will share more pictures of my living room, once I am finished decorating it for fall.

On another note....

I wanted to share a fall project I did with the kids today.

I found this idea from the fall issue of 

Souvenir {A Seasonal Lifestyle Gazette}!

You can subscribe to Heather Bullard's Newsletter for free, by visiting 

Heather Bullard's Website....

I loved this project that Heather Bullard shared in the newsletter.

I couldn't wait for the leaves to change so the kids and I could give it a try.

It is a project we can all do without running to the craft store....

All you need is a few red leaves, a hammer, and some scrap linen.

The kids had so much fun doing this project....

 I loved seeing what each one decided to create with their leaves.

My youngest son, Austin, decided to do something a little different...

He said it was a sunflower : )

We turned this piece of fabric into a small lavender pillow....

I will try and take a few pictures of what else we decided to create with their works of art.

On a final note...

I shared this bird feeder project last fall on my blog.

It is another fun fall project to do with the kids.....

You can find out more about how to make the pumpkin bird feeder by visiting my blog...

I also shared this project on Yanet's blog, 3 Sunkissed Boys.

Thanks for having me Yanet!

There is also still time to enter my Cabbages and Roses Giveaway.

I promise I will share the cupcake and Italian cream soda recipes when I announce the winner....

I hope you all enjoy the rest of your week.

Take Care,

Maria

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