Mid Augustus~

Our eldest daughter Mylène turned 44 Saturday..and you know Lucas turned 14..Adamo 20 and Giuliana 18..:)

So everyone came and we celebrated them all.

♥

Some recipes I made worth noting..

I made Sue's Raspberry Lemon buttercream cake..pictured w/ the 44..

Loved that I could freeze..then ice frozen:)

I also made a unique cake from Leite's Culinaria..

Sour Cream Mocha Cake..

The icing was like none other I ever made.

This too I froze and iced frozen.

Both desserts went over well:)

For apps..I made 2 of Chris' recipes..

Her Salsa..

and her Feta Tomato Appetizer

Both of which I had made before and knew were very good.And EASY.

I made little black olive savory/ sweet shortbreads and even the boys liked them.

I like savory cookies w/ apps.

Dinner ..was a Rigatoni /Italian Sausage bake for the boys from Diane Morrisey..

and for us..a grilled Caesar sald..Diane Morrisey's half eggplant marinaras I already shared w/ you..and hot Italian grilled sausages.

Feeding 12 is not something I do regularly anymore:)

My son-in-law Alain orchestrated matching tshirts for the boys..I must admit this thrilled me:)

I hope they wear them at Christmas.

You can see how big these boys/men are getting..

:):):)

Football Season has started for Oli and Noah..Noah is Offense:)  Oli is running back...and wide receiver.

The first game was while I was prepping dinner..2-4..

Jacques went.

20-0 they won.

Oli won MVP ..2 touchdowns..and Caroline took this pic.

of Max and Oli  after the game.I ♥ it.He is appreciating his medal.

Actually Caroline took all the people pics..I don't even try lol..

First of all a bit busy..the weather was The PITS.

Brief sun periods..cold and torrential downpours.

So we apped outdoors and dined indoors.

Her phone camera is Google Pixel 3xl and she bought a pack of fab filters the 2 together=WOW.

I love all the great recipes I glean from everyone I encounter on IG..the web..

and I THANK everyone.

Zinnias have FINALLY started to bloom..4 o'clocks..

Tomatoes changing colors..globe zucchinis doing so well:)

Nothing is perfect this year..summer was late..summer was dry..a hard winter made certain perennials either return much later in the season..Nepeta..feverfew..some clematis.. and some not return at all..
Rose chafers ate most of the first batch of roses..second flush Japanese Beetles.
You have to wonder why I persist.

Summer..garlic..color..tomatoes..exercise..blooms..the miracle of growth..nurturing;)

Bon Weekend!

Celebrate~!

It's Bday week here as I mentioned..the 2 oldest had their party yesterday..

10 and 8..Beautiful sunny day.. fun to watch all the kids..

Everyone had a ball~

This little chef turned into the naked chef as the party wore on:)



So many funny little kiddie stories:)

The highlights ..food wise..were these adorable cupcakes my daughter made from this book...Hello Cupcake:)
They were a hit~







So so cute!


One little munchkin showed his preferences.. ate the icing and put the cupcakes back on the cupcake tier!! We laughed out loud..

Second party today..hope the rain stays at bay!