I have grandchildren... But they live 3500 miles away!

I have two beautiful grandchildren. Cecelia Anne was born on October 13, 2012 and on November 13, 2014 Cole Ralph was born. I love being a grandparent BUT... they live in England!

One of the ways we stay connected is through Skype, we talk just about everyday, if not more than once a day. I can skype on my computer and my phone. If I am shopping and want to show Courtney something I will Skype her and vise versa. The other night Courtney told me Cece was using her fork as a phone and said "Keke mom needs your help!" Cece calls me Keke. When we are on Skype Cole always smiles when I talk to him, he probably smiles when everyone talks to him but it sure makes me feel good! Skype is helping us stay connected and it also is good for Cecelia and Cole to get to know their family on this side of the pond. I am very thankful for Skype.

Another thing I do is send Cece and Cole a Little Golden Book. Little Golden Books have been around for over 60 years and there are more than 200 titles with different authors and illustrators. There are the classics The Little Pokey Puppy, Seven Little Postmen and Tawny Scrawny Lion just to name a few. And one of the newer titles is The Please and Thank You Book. So even though I am not there I can share my love for books and also every once is awhile give a little lesson on life.

When they visit us is May I am anxious to share How the Turtle Got Its Shell-Tales from Around the World. Learning about and celebrating other cultures is one of my passions, I look forward to sharing that passion with Cole and Cecelia!

Stay Sweet!

Kelly
a.k.a. Keke

The London Eye

Along with Big Ben and Buckingham Palace, The London Eye is a must do when visiting London. The London Eye is a big ferris wheel with capsules you stand/sit in for your viewing pleasure. It goes really slow and you get to see gorgeous views of London. 

I have been on the Eye a few times, day and night. During the day it is so pretty to see the views in day light, but I think I prefer night time. London is lit up and the views are breathtaking! The London Eye will always have a special place in my heart, as it is where Craig proposed to me! It was a beautiful moment, not only the views, but the experience itself.

Here are some fun facts about the London Eye that I got off of their official website:

A TEAM EFFORT
It took seven years and the skills of hundreds of people from five countries to make Coca-Cola London Eye a reality

A VIEW FIT FOR A QUEEN
You can see around 40KM (25 miles) from the top as far as Windsor Castle on a clear day

DING! DING!
Coca-Cola London Eye can carry 800 passengers per revolution - equivalent to 11 London red doubled-decker buses

HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION
Each of the 32 capsules weighs 10 tonnes. To put that figure into perspective, it's the same weight as 1,052,631 pound coins!

SLOWLY BUT SURELY
Each rotation takes about 30 minutes, meaning a capsule travels at a stately 26cm per second, or 0.9km (0.6 miles) per hour - twice as fast as a tortoise sprinting; allowing passengers to step on and off without the wheel having to stop

THE ONLY WAY IS UP
The circumference of the wheel is 424m (1.392ft) - meaning that if it were unravelled, it would be 1.75 times longer One Canada Square in Canary Wharf

TONNES OF FUN
The total weight of the wheel and capsules is 2,100 tonnes - or as much as 1,272 London black cabs!

UP, UP AND AWAY
The height of Coca-Cola London Eye is 135m (equivalent to 64 red telephone boxes piled on top of each other) making it the fourth tallest structure in London after the BT Tower, Tower 42 and One Canada Square in Canary Wharf

BLAST OFF
The spindle holds the wheel structure and the hub rotates it around the spindle. At 23 metres tall, the spindle is around the size of a church spire and, together with the hub, weighs in at 330 tonnes: over 20 times heavier than Big Ben.

The whole experience of The Eye is fabulous, it is located along the River Thames, you can see boats going by, there are London gift shops, snack trucks and street performers around. The architecture of the buildings are gorgeous and it just a wonderful, British experience!

 

When you visit the United Kingdom, you will notice in a lot of the bigger cities, they have also have a ferris wheel similar to The Eye, but I just love The Eye. Make sure you visit when you are in London!

Cheerio,

Courtney

Paint Chip Eggs

I have a bad habit. Every time that I go to Lowe’s, Home Depot or any store with a home improvement department I feel the need to take paint chips. Not just 1 or 2- like, a lot. I’ve accumulated quite the collection. So, it’s great when there’s a fun project to do using my highly coveted collection. This project is easy to do, and doesn’t require a lot of supplies. Plus it's perfect for the upcoming holiday! I present paint chip eggs!

Supplies:
Paint Chips (2 or 3 per egg depending on the paint chip size)

Paper fasteners (2 per egg)

Brad Setter

Template

Pencil

Scissors

(Template)

Directions:

Choose 2 or 3 paint chips for each egg. Trace the template on the back of the chips. You’ll need 4 pieces for each egg. Cut out the pieces.

Use the brad setter to puncture a hole on both sides of each piece.

Set the paper fastener “face up” on the table. Put each of the pieces, colored side down, onto the paper fastener. They’ll need to form a clover-like shape, as shown in the picture below. 

Repeat the previous step with the other side, in order to form the egg. This is a bit tricky, since the first side is already fastened together. It helps to squeeze the ends together, so that you can reach in between the sides.

That’s it! They’re easy to do and not too time consuming. Make a bunch- they look really nice displayed together in a bowl.

Stay fab!

Chloe

One Man's Trash

While in Savannah last week we came across an adorably awesome store called Two Women and a Warehouse. They have a bunch of antiques from a lot of vendors with a few homemade goods thrown in the mix. Between the three of us we had some amazing finds!

The first find was a pitcher, which I am excited to use for sangria, and five glasses.

Chloe has been wanting to start collecting vintage Pyrex and she couldn't find any besides on the Internet, so when she say a whole shelf full she was in heaven. She decided to get three casserole dishes in the woodland print.

We all like to have tea together so when we are shopping, especially in a place like this, we are always on the search for cute teacups. Well...my mom, Kelly, hit the jackpot. She found two adorable Bailey's cups.

While in Savannah we also stopped at a local Goodwill store. There I found a small fish bowl, I want to eventually put a fish in it but first I might have to make the fish bowl cocktail that has been circulating around pinterest forever.

At Goodwill we also found a bowling ball, that Kelly want to make a lawn decoration out of, a future post I am sure.

She also found an old VHS movie, it is starring Bette Middler, whom Kelly is quite fond of.

The last place that we were at was a little store on Tybee Island called Seaside Sisters. There I found a vintage travel ice bucket and flask. I can't wait to go back to Tybee in May and try it out!

xoxo

Chelsea

Glitter and Ice

The first year I lived in the United Kingdom.. I thought there would be a lot of St. Patrick's Day Celebrations... but there wasn't! Not even a shamrock in sight. I was actually quite disappointed!

Growing up in the United States and now living in the UK, I have realized how Americans love to turn everything into a fun, commercialized holiday... which I miss so much! Especially when you have a toddler, it gives you something to base your month around, February- have everything red and hearts; March- green and shamrocks; October- orange and pumpkins and so on.

I made a St. Patricks's Day Ice Play for Cece. Green ice with gold glitter and a few coins. We had out our salt shaker and she learned that salts melt ice. That is all I had to say, she is two and thought it was cool I was letting her use the salt shaker. She is always looking for coins to put in her piggy bank, she was thrilled when she saw some in the ice and had to dig them out.

Cece LOVES to play with play dough at the moment, so I thought it was only fitting to make St. Patt'y Day play dough. It was green with purple glitter. Why purple? Because the shade of purple glitter looked good with the green I thought. But, then I realized it may be more Mardi Gras than St. Patty's Day. She was thrilled there was glitter in her play dough!

The play dough was so easy: 2 cups flour, 2 cups water, 1 cup salt, green food coloring and glitter. Put all ingredients in a pot, turn on medium heat, stir until play dough consistency/balls form. Then it is done. So easy and doesn't take longer than five minutes.

I did not do any themed treats this year, as she has had an upset tummy the past few days and we have been trying to stick to the brat diet.

We have been getting ready for the arrival of the Easter Bunny and finding some fun things to do to celebrate. If you are living in the UK and know where to buy plastic easter eggs, please let me know, I cannot find any and have searched far and wide!

Happy St. Patrick's Day and have a fabulous week!
Cheerio!
Courtney

Georgia... My happy place!

Georgia... Where the tea is sweet and the accents are sweeter!

Tybee Island is my happy place! I first heard about Tybee Island from a book written by Mary Kay Andrews, Savannah Blues. She wrote about Tybee Island in such a way, I just had to visit it for myself. That was about 10 years ago and every time I visit I love it just a little more.

 

 What do I love most about Tybee? First of all I love the beach and I second I love nature... Tybee Island has some great beaches with a lot of nature. On the south end of the island I find all kinds shells, sand dollars and when it is low tide some of the tide pools are great to frolic in... North beach is great for ghost crabs and it's also a great place to watch the ships sail into the Savannah River and the salt marshes you can find fiddler crabs and periwinkle crabs.  Ralph likes to fish off of the pier, he has caught quite an assortment; sting ray, angle fish, sharks, puffer fish, whiting, spot, sea trout, red fish just to name a few and last year we saw a logger head turtle by the pier.

A live sand dollar.

Tybee also has a lot of restaurants and shopping and the people are so friendly, I am sure I will be telling you more about Tybee in the future.

Stay Sweet,

Kelly

Red Nose Day: Comic Relief

Courtney here!


When you are busy with a 14 week old and a two and a half year old, sometimes you don't think past afternoon nap time, let alone about what is going on in the world, and ways we can help other people out. I get so consumed with everyday life- making sure I am doing enough tummy time with Cole, getting Cece to ballet class on time, laundry, clean diapers and everything else in between.


But every two years, in the United Kingdom, when February rolls around, grocery stores, radio stations and tv commercials start plastering "Red Nose Day" everywhere. Red Nose Day is a way to get England fundraising money for people locally in need and also for people in Africa since 1988. They sell Red Nose Day apparel, have fun ways for schools, work places and other organizations to get involved in fundraising. Radio DJs set personal goals for their audiences, once the money is raised, they will do something crazy to thank their listeners. The country literally raises millions of pounds for the organization Comic Relief!

Comic Relief helps out local British needs and also the needs in Africa. They have a night in March of comedy and entertainment aired on BBC to inspire the nation to call in and donate money.

    

Cecelia is obsessed with helping me bake at the moment. She loves to stir the batter. So, lately we have been making a lot of cupcakes! To get in the Red Nose Day spirit I bought their cupcake kit and off we went- baking fabulous vanilla cupcakes!

It must be the week of cupcakes, since Chloe just posted those beautiful St. Patty's Day cupcakes earlier this week! I am sharing the recipe I used for vanilla cupcakes I found below. I got the recipe from a fellow blogger, Sally's Baking Addiction.

In other news, Cole is getting big so fast! He wants to be sitting up at all times, the door bouncer has been a life saver some days. He just hangs from whatever door I am in the room doing something, and as long as he can see me he is a happy little chap!

Vanilla Cupcakes:

Ingredients:

• 2 and 1/3 cups (292g) all-purpose flour

• 2 and 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 12 Tablespoons (180g) unsalted butter, softened too room temperature*

• 1 and 3/4 cups (350g) granulated sugar

• 2 large eggs, room temperature and separated

• 3 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup (240ml) whole milk*

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F degrees. Line a 12-count muffin pan with cupcake liners. This recipe only makes 16-18 cupcakes, so you will have 4-6 cupcakes to bake in a 2nd batch.
2. For the cupcakes: Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a medium bowl. Set aside.
3. Using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on high speed until smooth and creamy - about 1 minute. Add the sugar and beat on high speed for 3-4 minutes until creamed together fairly well. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. Add two egg yolks and the vanilla. (Set the egg whites aside.) Beat on medium-high speed until combined. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. With the mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients in three additions alternating with the whole milk, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients, and mixing each addition just until incorporated. Do not overmix. Whisk or beat the 2 egg whites until thick and foamy, about 3 minutes. See photo below the recipe for a visual. Fold into cupcake batter. The batter will be smooth, velvety, and slightly thick.
4. Spoon batter into cupcake liners filling halfway full. Bake for 18-21 minutes or until the tops of the cupcakes spring back when gently touched and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Don't overbake; your cupcakes will dry out. Allow to cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a rack to cool completely.

I hope you enjoy this beautiful Saturday and enjoy these really good vanilla cupcakes! 

Cheerio,

Courtney

Rainbow Cupcakes - Perfect for St. Patty's Day!

While I think that any day is a great day to whip up some adorable cupcakes, I understand that some people are a bit more reserved. Holidays on the other hand- who can argue? Luckily, Saint Patrick’s Day is less than two weeks away! And do I have the most adorable, and easy to assemble, cupcakes for you!

I tried to achieve a “green velvet” cake for these, swapping green food coloring for red. They could have used a bit more food coloring.. red velvet is a funny thing, really. Some recipes will use just 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder, while others use a ½ cup- are they supposed to be chocolatey or not?! (I like to go for the more chocolately kind, personally) And while the red color may have originally come from the chemical reactions between the baking soda, vinegar, buttermilk and cocoa powder, it is achieved today from copious amounts of food coloring. Maybe one day I’ll try to make an old-fashioned red velvet cake, without food coloring, but for the time being the recipe that I have, courtesy of Paula Deen, is just wonderful!

I topped my cupcakes with buttercream icing, green to frost the cupcake and white piped for the clouds. My go-to buttercream recipe is Wilton. You can find it at the following link << http://www.wilton.com/recipe/Class-Buttercream-Icing-Stiff-Consistency >> The only thing that you need to alter is adding about 2 (extra) tablespoons of water to make the icing easier to work with.

My Red Velvet Cupcake recipe follows. Just swap the red food coloring for green to go with the St. Patty’s Day theme (maybe add a bit extra). Top your cupcakes with green buttercream, add 2 white dollops for clouds and place a rainbow-striped gummy candy between the clouds- easy peasy, and super cute! I like to add a gold rolo, like a pot o’ gold, to some.

Red Velvet Cupcakes                                                                
Courtesy of Paula Deen INGREDIENTS:2 ½ cups flour1 ½ cups sugarDash of salt½ cup cocoa powder1 ½ cups vegetable oil1 cup buttermilk, room temperature2 eggs, room temperature1 1-ounce bottle red food coloring1 teaspoon vanilla extract2 teaspoons baking soda2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar DIRECTIONS:-Allow buttermilk and eggs to become room temperature.-Preheat oven to 350*^F.-In a mixing bowl, sift together flour, sugar, salt and cocoa powder.-In a large bowl, beat together the oil, buttermilk, eggs, food coloring and vanilla.-Add sifted dry ingredients to the wet and mix until smooth and thoroughly combined.-In a small glass, mix baking soda and vinegar; it will create foam.-Gently stir foam into batter.-Divide batter into 24 cupcake liners.-Bake for 20 minutes, rotating trays halfway through.-Cool and frost.-Enjoy!

Stay Fab!

Chloe