Homemade Chocolate Dipped and Strawberry Glazed Doughnuts

Every week, it was tradition for Frank and Cooper to head down to Magee's Bakery in downtown Lexington at least one time together, then head to Woodland Park, just a block or two down the road. Cooper would sit and eat every last bite of his fresh chocolate covered sprinkle doughnut while Frank sipped his coffee and enjoyed breakfast with his precious toddler son. I was envious. I would get iPhone pictures of their adventures daily. Made work tolerable and always put a smile on my face. Bittersweet moments for me.

Sunday, Cooper and I decided to give our best at making doughnuts like Magee's. I used a recipe from The Pioneer Woman for the doughnuts. I had seen several others use her recipe as well and the doughnuts looked amazing. Instead of a glaze, we wanted chocolate dipped so we heated some cream and poured it over semi sweet chocolate chips to make a nice rich/thick coating. Cooper wanted a cherry glaze as well, but all I had was frozen strawberries, so we blended those up with some powdered sugar for a delicious strawberry glaze. Add some sprinkles, and voila! Just like Magee's. Only this time, I got to enjoy them with him. 

Valentine's Day Ideas

I can't help but want to make some creative valentines for Cooper to bring to his classmates. He is only 3 (almost 4), and I don't think they even celebrate the day in Germany! But here I am, looking at all these adorable ideas online in my favorite blogs and planning to make a few with him.

I remember as a kid, always bringing every classmate one of the classic tear out favorite cartoon characters of the year cheap paper valentines. Each kit would come with about 4 sayings. I would think so hard about who I would give each one, making sure none of the "love" ones went to the boys. Didn't want them to get the wrong impression! In third grade, I counted all the signed valentines out about 50 times, and couldn't figure out who in my class I was missing. I needed to have 24 for my class and I only had 23, but I was sure I wrote down each and every single person in my class. Duh! I finally realized as I lay awake worrying in bed the night before Valentine's Day the person I missed was myself. Funny how I can still remember that so clearly.

Anyhow, check these out. Aren't they wonderful?

The above valentines are Delia's at Delia Creates . I LOVE her blog. Check out this post as well. Don't those doughnuts look wonderful! I want to try to make these as well.

These cute valentines were made by Gabrielle Blair of the blog Design Mom that I have boasted about previously. Her inspiration came from the blog 24-7-365 and this is her photo below. 

These scratch off valentines look super easy to make and I think Cooper would enjoy making them with me, so I want to give these a try as well.  

 

 We're off to Garmisch for the weekend, where Cooper was born, for some relaxation, swimming, and sledding. Can't wait!

Amazing Places - 5

Today I'm posting some amazing tree houses that you can actually stay in! Oh I want to stay in one of these so bad! How fun! I have always wanted a tree house of my own, but we moved around so much as kids, the only place to build one was at our summer vacation spot in Leland, Michigan. Our efforts there only amounted to a few boards nailed onto the branches making a platform. Not exactly what I was always envisioning. These go beyond my wildest tree house dreams!

 I found all of these through Sawdays Canopy and Stars guide.  We have stayed in few B&Bs recommended on the website, and all of them have been wonderful. I am sure these would be to.

 Monbazillac Tree-house in Dordogne, France. A double room with a hot tub. Perfect.

 Hautefort Tree-house in Dordogne, France. Three rooms (and good for kids), but no hot tub. The property has a pool for warm weather though at least!

 Milandes Tree-house in Dordogne, France. Looks like we need to go to Dordogne since all my favorite treehouses on the Sawdays website are there...


 Although not a tree-house, this adorable chapel caught my eye as well, located in Shropshire, UK. How cozy.

How about you all? Any of you ever stayed in any neat places like these you can share?

Wall Inspiration

Ever since taking down the Christmas decorations, my living room seems so bare! And Cooper's walls are so empty. I really want to decorate the walls and have found so much inspiration on the web, it is difficult to decide what to do! Here are a few walls and items I love:

Land of Nod Clothes Tree

I love the Chalkboard framed wall! What a fantastic idea.

I want to make a few signs like these for Cooper's room

Found this on Restoration Hardware. I think it would be great even in our living room using old wood scraps.

Pottery Barn Kids. I tried to replicate this in Cooper's room, and the tape didn't hold :(

Land Of Nod again. I want to make one of these with paper mache. Frank isn't a fan. What do you think?

Amazing Places - 4

Well, no responses about the amazing places series so I'll keep showing a few more for now, but plan to blog about some fun things I have been working on in the house as well this month.

This amazing place is the Berliner Hutte in Austria. This hut is over 130 years old and it's no easy feat to get here. You have to hike a minimum 17km up into the mountains to reach this hut sitting at the base of a sadly, receding glacier. It is worth every bit of the hike. You can sleep at the hut in hostel style rooms (plenty are private), and they even have a nice restaurant. If you are an alpine club member, rooms are super cheap (under 15 euros per person). Otherwise, they cost about 24 euros or so.

We have done the hike three times. For climbing enthusiasts, you're in a mecca of excellent sport climbing at the base town in Ginzling, and there are boulders all the way up to and around the hut as well.

Once you are at the hut, there are loads of beautiful hikes to more huts, apline lakes, and peaks. I personally enjoyed all the farm animals everywhere! Many are just free to roam as they please which I just LOVED!

Hoping to return here again someday with the kids. I just know they will love seeing all the animals and breathtaking views. You can buy fresh milk and cheese on the way up and stop for beers and some goulash to refuel your tank at two guesthouses along the way. A perfect way to spend a long weekend in Austria. If you plan to go, make sure it is summer. You hike up to 2800 meters or so and will need winter clothes. Tschuess!

Amazing Places - 3

Uzes, France (Provence Area)


Are you all getting tired of the Amazing Places series? Should I mix it up? Leave me some comments if so.

For the third amazing place in the series, I'm going to France again. A gite called L'Oliveraie  This was an incredible gite we shared with my parents for Christmas and New Years a few years back near Uzes, in the Provence region of France I found through this website. We stayed for 10 days, and it was very reasonable considering the accommodations. Three full bedrooms, a swimming pool, ping pong table, fireplace, etc. They even decorated the place for us for Christmas. I would definitely return.

For you climbers out there, the gite is located next to some amazing winter crags, my favorite being Seynes. For you travel lovers out there, think amazing vineyards, roman ruins, famous landmarks galore, lavender fields, and everything else wonderful you hear about Provence. Some amazing cities nearby you shouldn't miss are Arles, Nimes, Avignon, and Orange just to name a few.

You can see the gite pool in the distance

The cozy living room

Uzes

Frank climbing in Seynes in wintertime!

Don't you just love how they decorated this store in Uzes!

Amazing candy store in Uzes. Beautiful candied fruit!

"Sur La Pont D'Avignon"

Fresh Herbs at the market

900 Year Old Olive Tree at Pont Du Gard transplanted from Spain

Pont Du Gard

Amazing Places - 2

Les Vignes, Gorge Du Tarn, France. 

I must say, my favorite place to vacation in Europe tends to be France. Partly because I can speak a little French, partly because the food is so fabulous, partly because of the gites, and mainly for the amazing scenery and excellent climbing! Gites are wonderfully restored old farmhouses that are incredibly affordable. Check out this website  if you are going to France. I recommend staying in a gite over a hotel any day.

This one, Les Vignes, is located at the top of the Gorge Du Tarn in southeastern France, up a very tiny, windy, freaky road. We rented the place in the off season for less than 300 euros for the entire week! The house has a fully loaded kitchen, living room, and 2 bedrooms. For you climbers out there, it is located just minutes away from the amazing cliffs of Gorge Du Tarn and Gorge De La Jonte.

Upon arrival, the friendly landlords who live across the street left us a basket of fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, and other goodies straight from the garden. Delightful. Isn't it so charming? See the pumpkins?

This is the view of the gite from the fields below.

Here is the gorge view while driving up to the gite. It was a bit hazy at sunrise.

 This is a village only accessible by boat in the Gorge.

 Adjacent to a pharmacy in the nearest village, I couldn't resist taking a photo of this awesome French home.

I took this picture of my friend Michelle climbing in the Gorge while hanging from the anchor of an adjacent climb while 6 months pregnant. I was so uncomfortable, but the pictures were worth it!

Au revoir!