14 Jul

Brioche cinnamon rolls

Posted by Rebecca in In the kitchen.

As my mom will attest, I love to cook huge batches of messy food in other people’s kitchens. So, while on vacation, I borrowed Gramma’s and set to making four pounds of no-knead brioche dough. The recipe comes from a book Doug gave me–Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day. I knew I would like it based on the butter content alone (three sticks!).

Once I had the dough prepared, I rolled out four separate rectangles and covered them with cinnamon, sugar and orange zest. The recipe made about two dozen HUGE rolls, which we promptly slathered with cream cheese icing. I will definitely make these again . . . just as soon as someone lets me use their kitchen.

13 Jul

More from Minnesota

Posted by Rebecca in Family.

10 Jul

Olivia Fix

Posted by Rebecca in Olivia.

How Olivia spent (a fair amount of) her summer vacation:

9 Jul

At the cabin

Posted by Rebecca in Ava, Family.

I took this shot roughly 20 minutes after we arrived at the cabin in Minnesota. Ava–much like her mother–doesn’t mess around when it comes to time at Little Birch Lake.

8 Jul

Everyonesmith, reunited

Posted by Rebecca in Family.

Admittedly, I’m always a bit lazy with my camera when I’m around the Smith family–the group is teeming with outstanding photographers who do a fabulous job of documenting our gatherings. The reunion was no exception. Many albums are up on Facebook, and you can see Doug’s via the link on the right. But, here are a few of my shots from the “Everyonesmith Reunited” reunion, which was held at Lake Okoboji in northern Iowa. The setting was perfect, the weather was wonderful, and the plans were flawless. The company, though, was the best part.

I feel pretty fortunate to part of this family–thank you to everyone who had a hand in making this such a fun week. We look forward to 2012!

 

6 Jul

And we’re back!

Posted by Rebecca in Ava, Olivia.

We’re at home in Kansas after a Smith family reunion in Iowa and some time up at the cabin in Minnesota with the Bornemeier clan. More on those trips soon, but in the meantime, here are a few shots of the girls on the Fourth of July.

25 Jun

Summer blog break

Posted by Rebecca in Ava, Blog business.

We’re taking a break this week to indulge in a bit of summer fun. We’ll see you back here after the Fourth. Have a great holiday, everyone!

 

23 Jun

Olivia Fix

Posted by Rebecca in Olivia.

“But Mom, I REALLY WANT to put eye shadow on your eyeballs. Why can’t I!”

21 Jun

Strawberry cheesecake

Posted by Rebecca in In the kitchen.

And a final nod to Bryan’s birthday . . . a  simple strawberry cheesecake. I used the base of this recipe, swapping out the graham crackers in favor of shortbread cookies.

20 Jun

Bryan’s birthday, wrapped up

Posted by Rebecca in Bryan, Family.

We celebrated Bryan’s birthday last week with the traditional breakfast sandwich, a stack of presents, and visit from his parents.

When Bryan saw his gifts, he picked them up one by one, shook them, and said, “Shoes, shirt, shorts, shorts, shirt, gift card, and…liquor, but I’m not sure what kind…”

He was right on every count.

Next year, I think I’ll leave them unwrapped!

 

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