I know we're way past Easter, but this baking update includes a couple treats I made for our family gatherings! I made some adorable "Bunny Buns" and an Easter Wreath. In addition I did my usual random baking on the weekends.
Easter Bread Wreath
I was looking for something fun and different to make for our second Easter and then this popped up on King Arthur's Instagram and I knew I found my treat. It was fun to make and looked beautiful. I loved the hints of orange but next time I might add in more zest or juice so it tastes less “bready” and more desserty/sweet.
Crusty European-Style Hard Rolls - turned into Bunny Buns
I've wanted to make "bunny" buns for Easter for a number of years and finally attempted this year! I found a crusty roll recipe that would keep a round shape and poked out some eyes and cut ears. I need to cut the ears a little deeper next time so they would stay long, but at least they still look like an animal. And they were DELICIOUS! I highly recommend this recipe, even if you don't turn them into bunnies. Eat them warm with some honey butter! (honey + butter and whip together.)
Chocolate Chip Muffins
One Friday Christian decided he wanted some muffins so I looked up some recipes and found one we had almost all the ingredients for. I finally got to use our Bob's Red Mill Egg Replacer we bought at the beginning of the pandemic and used cream of tartar to turn our milk into buttermilk. They came out PERFECT. Even with the substitutions. Going to have to use the egg replacer more even if we do have eggs in the house (it expires in a few months, ha ha.)
Auntie Joan's Maple Oatmeal Sticky Buns
I loooove cinnamon rolls and sticky buns. I actually prefer homemade sticky buns to homemade cinnamon buns because I HATE cream cheese icing. (But I do love some Pillsbury cinnamon rolls in a can.) I've made my Aunt's sticky bun recipe a few times now and this time I swapped out pecans for walnuts because that's what I had in the freezer. The recipe is a little different from other's I've seen because it uses maple syrup and oatmeal in the dough. Adds a little bit more texture and maple flavor.
Strawberry Oatmeal Bars
Christian and I made some strawberry jam and weren't going to be able to finish it before a trip we were taking to New Jersey (to help my friend at her Teen Wolf convention) so I decided to make these strawberry oatmeal bars to have as a snack for the weekend. I knew we would have little time to eat during the day - he was filming panels and I was in charge of getting an actor to and from panels, photos and autographs - so an easy snack was ideal. I didn't have enough jam to cover the whole pan, but they still tasted great and were nice and filling!
Cinnamon Roll Bread - FAIL!
Before our trip to Florida I decided I should make a treat for our long drive down from Connecticut. Originally I was going to make King Arthur Cinnamon Bread but then saw this recipe in a random Instagram Reel. Unfortunately that should have been a sign not to make it. Never trust a recipe from an influencer you don't know or wasn't recommended by a friend, haha! This was a baking fail, or so I thought, until my Mom and sister's boyfriend ate it all and said it was delicious. Christian and I thought it was super dense and chewy, and really greasy (see paper towel soaking it up) so we weren't fans. Maybe if I make it again it will come out right.
Somehow these photos from the end of April got lost. We didn't take any photos in May and I totally forgot about these. So yay random new photos, I guess!
I was actually looking at my Timehop just last week (does anyone else still do that?) and saw that it has been NINE years since I bought this Equipment blouse in a sample sale one day on my way to work. That was back when I used to walk 1.5 miles from the train station to my office in New York City, ha ha. Yes, I was crazy, but it was exercise and I HATE the Subway.
Leopard Print Blouse: Equipment "Sophie" (sample sale)
Pants: abercrombie + fitch corduroy pants
Sandals: Lanvin studded suede 'City' sandal (Net-a-Porter Sale)
Bag: 3.1 Phillip Lim Pashli Medium in Nile Shark Embossed Leather (Bag, Borrow or Steal)
Sunglasses: Chanel
Topaz Necklace: Grandma's
Ring: Vintage Emerald Cut Ring with London Blue Topaz c/o Aurate
It has been a WHILE since I did a Net-a-Porter sale roundup. The sale started this week and I thought I'd go through like I used to back in the day and pick out what I'd buy. Obviously this is a mix of things I would want if money was no object and items that are more reasonably priced. I probably won't be buying anything in this year's sale but I do miss my tradition of buying 1 item twice a year (during their Summer and Winter sales.) Some of my favorite pieces in my closet, like my Lanvin City sandals, are from the sale.
Here are my quick tips for the sale.
- Go through every page of the NetaPorter sale (at least the categories you wear) and add EVERYTHING you like to your cart
- Wait until the end of the sale to purchase because you can get up to 85% off this way
- If there is something you REALLY love, that you know will sell out, you may want to buy right away. Some of the items I like have only a few left in stock, so I have to weigh how much I want them versus other items on my wishlist.
- Check the "Whats New To Sale" section every few days for new items added
- Keep checking your cart to see if anything goes down in price enough for you to buy early
- At the end of the sale, see what's left and pick your favorite item(s)
- I usually try to get one big piece but some years I get a few lower priced pieces
- You'll know that the sale is coming to a close when Netaporter starts to offer an extra 15% off.
VERONICA BEARD Sullie shell-trimmed faux shearling jacket, VINCE Cropped suede skinny pants, THE GREAT. The Convertible belted cotton straight-leg pants, FRAME Le High skinny jeans, ULLA JOHNSON Alena striped merino wool tank, VINCE Crochet-knit wool and cashmere-blend cardigan, VIX Asha Gisa wrap-effect printed voile midi dress, ERDEM Mayra belted floral-print cotton-blend gabardine shirt dress, LOEWE Leather-trimmed cotton-twill shorts
Shop more picks below:
Can you believe it's almost JUNE?! May just flew by. But maybe that's because I was away at Disney the first part of the month. I didn't buy any new clothes this month - apart from some Disney tees, but I count those as souvenirs since I won't really wear them outside of Disney. I bought a 50th anniversary tee and 2 Star Wars day shirts (both in kids sizes so they were a lot cheaper than adult shirts, haha!) I also got 20% off everything with my Annual Pass.
I still am considering a new pair of Ancient Greek Sandals from their 10th anniversary collection but they are EXPENSIVE, more than I've paid for any of my other pairs. On the one hand I want to support them and celebrate 10 years (I've been a fan pretty much all of those 10 years) but I don't usually buy new pairs unless they're on sale now. I'm deciding between a crazier pair and one that I would wear more often. Of course, the crazy pair is $20 cheaper. GAH!
I kind of took a break from posting in May just because I wasn't sure if I wanted to do any Disney related posts this time and Christian was away for a week after our trip so we haven't had time for any normal outfit photos. Hopefully I'll be back to at least posting once a week soon! But would anyone like some Disney trip posts in the meantime or are you all tired of me posting it on Instagram all last month, haha! I've been testing out Reels to see how they perform and the results have been so odd. Some posts go crazy and others NOTHING. Makes no sense.
THE (modified) RULES
- Be mindful of purchases
- Quality over quantity
- Basics are best
MY PROGRESS
Clothes:
- None yet
Basics:
- mīere the label "Frankie" knit sweater in Faded Black ($56.92, $32.15 if we omit shipping)
Shoes:
- None yet
Handbags:
- None yet
Accessories:
- None yet
Activewear/Swimwear:
- Ryka "Belong" Walking Shoe in Plum Red/Burgundy via DSW ($26.58, $79.99 retail)
Gifted from Brands:
- Pearl and Gold Bar Duo Stud Earring - Rose Gold c/o Aurate
- Gold Bar Stud Earrings - Rose Gold c/o Aurate
- Gold Bar Stud Earrings - Yellow Gold c/o Aurate
Spent in May: $0
Spent in 2022: $83.50
I bought some new sneakers for going on walks this Summer and for our Disney trip in September. We'll (hopefully) be doing the Wild Africa Trek safari at Animal Kingdom so I'll need some good sneakers for that. We were supposed to do it in May 2020 but Covid ruined that whole trip. Now we'll be doing it for our anniversary, assuming I can get us 2 spots when the 60 day window for booking opens up in July! But back to the shoes - I had a $30 off $49 coupon AND my yearly $10 reward so that brought them to $26, can't beat that!
THE (modified) RULES
- Be mindful of purchases
- Quality over quantity
- Basics are best
MY PROGRESS
Clothes:
- None yet
Basics:
- mīere the label "Frankie" knit sweater in Faded Black ($56.92, $32.15 if we omit shipping)
Shoes:
- None yet
Handbags:
- None yet
Accessories:
- None yet
Activewear/Swimwear:
- *NEW!* Ryka "Belong" Walking Shoe in Plum Red/Burgundy via DSW ($26.58, $79.99 retail)
Gifted from Brands:
- Pearl and Gold Bar Duo Stud Earring - Rose Gold c/o Aurate
- Gold Bar Stud Earrings - Rose Gold c/o Aurate
- Gold Bar Stud Earrings - Yellow Gold c/o Aurate
Spent in April: $26.58
Spent in 2022: $83.50
I love when these forsythias on my Mom's property line bloom in Spring. Always such a great spot for outfit photos. I've been meaning to wear these jeans again for a while but whenever we went out it was to the grocery store and I didn't feel like wearing heels and weird jeans there. I'm not usually a big fan of white/cream clothes, but this top is always an exception. Such a beautiful print and I love the birds on it.
Cardigan: Marc Jacobs (Roundabout Resale)
Floral Top: Zara
Jeans: Free People 'Ray of Sunshine' Wide-Leg Jean (Marshalls)
Boots: Chloé 'Piper' (Roundabout Resale, another pair)
Bag: Dark Purple Chloé Faye (eBay)
Sunglasses: Gucci Aviators
Necklace: Acanthus Jewelry 'Gemma'
I hope everyone had who celebrates enjoyed Easter/Passover/Ramadan this past weekend. We had part 1 of our Easter with Mom's side of the family. This Saturday we're doing part 2 with Dad's side. This skirt isn't the most Eastery thing in my closet but my Mom just finished making it a couple weeks before and I wanted to wear it ASAP!
Last year, or maybe even longer ago, I had seen someone in a skirt made out of old ties and it must have stuck in my brain. When my Grandpa was getting rid of a bunch of his old ties. I decided to rescue some and turn them into my own version of a tie skirt. My Mom & I googled a couple of guides but in the end we did it our (aka her) way. We cut the skirts to the length I wanted, Mom sewed them together and then used the thin part of one tie as the band.
Grandpa got a real kick out of seeing the skirt, especially because I used his helicopter ties. He used to work for Sikorsky Aircraft before retiring. Grandma was shocked it came out so good - apparently she didn't have faith in our vision, ha ha!
Blazer: Jones New York
Tank: Old Navy
Grandpa Tie Skirt: Made by Mom
Sandals: Cole Haan 'Minetta' (Marshalls)
Sapphire Necklace: Grandma's
Sunglasses: Gucci Aviators
We've got a nice mix of sweet and savory recipes in this baking roundup! All delicious and all pretty easy, even if my execution was a bit off. There was, however, one bigger disaster, but again, still tasty. This past week I baked treats (breads) for Easter that will be in my next baking update, but you can just save the recipes for next year! (or make them anytime.)
Gooey Oatmeal Fudge Bars
These were so easy to make and super tasty! They're good straight out of the fridge or after a quick zap in the microwave to melt the fudge a bit! For mine I should have saved a bit more cookie batter to crumble on the top but they still look great.
Pâte à Choux / Cream Puffs
I made Cheshire Cat tails again and had leftover crème pâtissière. I decided it was the day to finally make cream puffs! It wasn’t as hard/scary as I built it up to be in my mind but I did almost have a disaster. They’re supposed to bake at 425 for 15 minutes so they actually puff up and then you lower the heat to 350 for 20-25 minutes. Somehow the oven reset my pre-heat temp of 425 and only heated to 350. I went to check on the puffs at 14 minutes and they hadn’t puffed up AT ALL. I looked at the temperature and it said 350 - NOOO!! But I did some quick thinking and decided to pump up the heat to 450 to try and get some steam going inside to puff them up. Came back after the oven had gotten to that temperature and they had puffed! YAYY!!! Then I lowered the temp to 350 for the final 10-15 minutes of baking. I used King Arthur Baking’s recipe and added a bit of sugar to make them sweet.
Thick and Cakey Chocolate Chip Cookies
Another recipe from Tessa of Handle the Heat's Ultimate Cookie Handbook. Her cookie recipes (any recipes really) always come out amazing! In the past I've made her brown butter chocolate chip cookies, cosmic brownies, lemon loaf cake and many more! The recipe uses cornstarch and part cake flour to make them soft and chewy. I made a full batch but only baked about 14 cookies. The rest went into the freezer so we could bake them off fresh for easy desserts!
Ukrainian Garlic Bread - Pampushky
The recipe is by Olia Hercules and was shared by Nigella Lawson as part of Cook for Ukraine. "Cook For Ukraine aims to increase awareness of the humanitarian crisis the world faces right now, as well as raise the funds needed to aid children & families in Ukraine who have been displaced by the current situation." You can donate to the cause on JustGiving. Now to the food! I'm a big garlic bread fan and immediately added this to my must-bake list after seeing it on Nigella's instagram. So fun and tasty! It was pretty easy to make too, although I had a bit of trouble with my dough not wanting to come together so I added a couple spoonfuls of water and kneaded like crazy! They plumped up nicely and came out golden brown. Yummy!
[King Arthur's] Favorite Sandwich Bread
For some reason I have a difficult time with making loaves of bread. This is the second or third "sandwich bread" recipe I tried and it didn't come out quite right. My loaf pan is slightly bigger than the recipe so I increased all the ingredients by 25%. The flavor was great but I guess I need to increase the recipe more. I might just double it next time so it is definitely big enough, ha ha! At least it tasted good! I made this the same weekend as the Pampushky so at least one thing came out the way it was supposed to.
Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars
Here comes the disaster. In the middle of the week I decided I wanted to make dessert but I didn't want to take the time to make individual cookies so I looked for a new cookie bar recipe to try. Grabbed the recipe from a blog that gave me good success with an updated French macaron recipe. Unfortunately, the dough didn't want to cook!! I even left it in TWENTY extra minutes and the center was still flowing lava while the edges were crisp and cooked. Super weird. Luckily it firmed up overnight and I like underdone cookies/brownies, but Christian still avoided eating the middle (more for me!)
