Coconut cupcakes

 This recipe calls for lots of coconut and lots of butter (I cut the frosting recipe in half and it was still enough).  Yum!

Michael's Cottages

Last weekend I was "down the Cape", in Brewster to be exact.  My friends have cottages and a bed&breakfast there and they'd been nudging me for a few years to visit and check out the area.  It took a friend from California who wanted to visit the Cape to get me to make some Cape Cod plans!  We rambled around and visited the Brewster General Store and a few antique shops, saw the herring run, a few churches, the beach, and I found a Cape Cod sweatshirt at Cuffys.  I haven't been a big fan of the Cape--mostly because of the traffic.  Unfortunately on Sunday it took 2 hours to get from Hyannis to the Bourne Bridge (about 22 miles) and I was super frustrated.  But honestly, it won't keep me away.  I'm definitely going back to Michael's Cottages.

(My first) Key Lime pie

I made my first Key Lime pie today.  It was really good and really easy to make. Last weekend on the Cape I had a taste of some Key Lime pie that was out-of-this-world.  I asked our server if I could get the recipe and all he said was there was a 19 year old kid that made all their desserts.  OK--can I have the recipe?!? (He didn't give it to me.)  This was a good runner up to that pie.

More bald eagles for Emmett

Emmett's uncle Jamie and cousin Tyson (who live in my ward) today after church.

Baby shower

Today was my friend Meg's baby shower.  It was nice to celebrate the birth of her little boy Soren.  I'm sad they will be moving (it's that time of year) but they're heading to the LA area so I'm hoping to see them when I visit next (before another 20 years go by).

This is one of my very favorite photos I've ever taken (I can have as many favorites as I want, right?).  I just love it.

Movie night

The movie ended differently than I expected; I was worried for a while.  It's worth seeing.

Good granola

Judianne's Granola

12 cups old fashioned oats
4 1/2 cups nuts (pecans or almonds)
1 cup sunflower seeds
1 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 t. salt
1 1/2 t. cinnamon
3/4 cup oil
3/4 cup honey
3 t. vanilla

Combine dry ingredients.  Heat oil and honey but do not boil.  Remove from heat, add the vanilla and mix well.  Pour the wet ingredients over the dry and toss together for a few minutes.  Spread a quarter of the mixture at a time on a cookie sheet/jelly roll pan and bake at 350 degrees for 5-6 minutes.  Take the pan out of the oven, use a pancake turner and spread the granola around and bake again for 5-6 minutes (watch that it doesn't get too brown).  I added 2 cups of raisins when it cooled.

Not all Pattons are anti-prom...

...just my generation.  This is Adrie (all grown up) before the Jr. Prom.

Note: there is an interesting story about her dress; I'll get the details and that will be its own post.

CNN: Romney's days as a Mormon bishop

While I was attending the Brewster Branch on Sunday, CNN was filming part of Sacrament Meeting at the Arlington Ward for this story about Mitt Romney.  I missed my big break!

Back to Kimballs

My friend Elaine (my former YW president) is in town and we went to Kimballs tonight for dessert.  That's a kiddie cone she's holding.  For reals.

Chatham harbor

Down the Cape

I'm spending the weekend "down the Cape" (as they say) with a friend from LA (my old YW president).  We rambled around Brewster/Orleans/Chatham today eating, antiquing, and shopping.

Fenway Park --- happy 100th birthday!

My brother Robes did his BYU Communications internship in New York City the summer of 1982.  While there he took a train to Boston one weekend and went to his first Red Sox game.  After that he said "Fenway Park is the best place in America to watch a baseball game."  


Agreed.

Cute little dude

I'm (finally) famous!

My submission made it on the Mormon Hey Girl blog!!

A favorite from yesterday

Phoebe and her dad waiting for her mom at Mile 19 of the Boston Marathon.

Perfect end to Boston's Best Day (at Kimballs)

GO DANA-FARBER!

Every time someone running for Dana-Farber ran by I yelled, "GO DANA-FARBER" for this little guy.  He is getting treatment at Dana-Farber.

A very hot Boston Marathon

I'm a parade snob

I grew up going to the Rose Parade.  It's amazing:  beautiful floats, the best bands, and famous people as the Grand Marshalls.  I should probably give the Lexington Parade a chance, but I'm always at the Boston Marathon and by the time I get as close as I can to my condo (fortunately/unfortunately the parade goes right down Mass. Ave.) I'm annoyed and rolling my eyes that these "big trucks" are in the parade.  Like the title says, I'm a parade snob.

Boston's BEST day

I LOVE the Boston Marathon!  I have lots more photos but here's one of my favorites for starters.

P.S.  It was HOT today.  Like 94 degrees.  The poor hot sweaty runners.

New England Tour Guides

My friend Allison and I started a new blog.  Check it out HERE and add it to your reader!

A visit to the Culinary Arts Museum

I heard about this museum a few years and finally went today.  It had some cool stuff (that mixer reminded me of this one) but no gift shop (what?!?).  The museum is on the Johnson & Wales campus near Providence, Rhode Island.  I'm not sure I would go again but am glad to cross it off my list.

Don't mess with the Mormons

I saw this link on LDS Living this morning.  I think we should make him sit through 3 hours of church one Sunday, home teach a dozen families in a month, and eat a week's worth of meals from someone's food storage.  He'll learn a lesson.

Hey Girl

First I saw this.  Then this.  And then my friend made this:

Classic Camaro

Relief Society Recipe Swap: Cake pops

Tonight we made cake pops.

Don't go grocery shopping when you're hungry

They're right.  Whoever they are.

Easter dinner

I had dinner tonight with my friend and some of her family.  I was #31 at the table(s).  All the food was delicious, it was super noisy and really fun.

Antiquing in Maine

I made a quick trip to Maine today with two friends; the abbreviated Ellen Patton tour of Maine.  We stopped at two antique shops, saw Nubble Light/York Beach, ate lunch and drove home.  It's only 70 minutes away.  The last time I was in Maine I saw this little Singer sewing machine and thought it was really cool (mostly the burnt orange case) but didn't get it.  When I saw it today I decided to add it to my antique collection.