My Spring/Easter Mantel

I've been slowly switching my mantel over from it's Valentine's incarnation to a more spring-like arrangement.  I really liked having all the pink up in our house.  I don't often decorate with pink, but an overhaul was long overdue.  Still I had to hold onto a bit of pink.  An orchid was just the ticket.

I love these orchids.  They're so easy to care for with just the addition of a couple of ice cubes each week.

I shared with you the Pottery Barn Inspired Moss Basket and Decoupaged Eggs here and here.  I placed the Basket to the side of my mantel.

I hung the Framed Easter Egg Roll Photos over the mantel.

I used these nifty brick clips to hang it.

Underneath the pics, I placed a cloche with some moss, a shredded paper nest, and some Robin's Eggs inside.

I made a couple of birds with scrapbook paper and paper clips just like my Valentine's Love Birds.  I placed one on a rock candle holder for some height.

And here's my Spring/Easter mantel all finished.

Thanks for popping in and decorating with me.  I'm linking this up to Between Naps on the Porch's Metamorphosis Monday, Just a Girl's Show and Share Day, and Decor to Adore's Spring Linky Party.

Black Forest Torte

Ever since our BFFs finished their man cave, we've been spending pretty much every Friday & Saturday night there hanging out, playing cards, shooting pool, or shooting darts.  We've been eating a lot of pizza & wings, and decided to mix it up a bit with some theme nights.  Last week we did a Mexican night with a full taco bar, spanish rice, margaritas, and I made churros.  This week we went with German fare.  So I made a Black Forest Torte.

I started by buttering and lining 3 - 8" cake pans with parchment paper and preheating the oven to 350.  I heated up 3/4 cup agave nectar in a heavy bottomed sauce pan.

I dumped in 1 cup of bittersweet chocolate chips, and removed the pan from heat.

I stirred the chocolate mixture until it was smooth, and set it aside to cool.

In a small bowl, I combined 1/2 cup brown rice flour, 1/4 cup tapioca flour, 3/4 cup of finely ground pecans, 1/4 cup cocoa powder, 1 tsp baking powder, and 1/4 tsp xanthan gum.

I separated 5 eggs, and whipped the whites in my stand mixer with the wire whisk attachment.  Once the whites were foamy, I began slowly sprinkling in 1 cup granulated sugar.

I continued to beat the egg whites until they were holding soft peaks.  Set the egg whites aside.

In a separate mixing bowl, I creamed together 3/4 cup butter with 1/4 cup granulated sugar with my beater/scraper paddle.  If you don't already have a beater/scraper paddle for your stand mixer, I highly recommend you run out and buy one.  Not having to stop the machine to scrape down the sides of the bowl really streamlines the whole process of baking.

I added the egg yolks, one at a time, to the creamed butter.

I then added the cooled chocolate mixture,

and the dry ingredients.

Sacrifice 1/4 of the egg whites to lighten up the batter, then fold in the rest of the whites in 1/4 chunks.

Divide the batter between the prepared pans and bake for 30 minutes.

While the tortes are baking prepare the filling.  I combined 24 oz of frozen sweet black cherries, 1/4 cup of Kirschwasser(cherry brandy,) 3 tbsps cornstarch, and 1/4 cup agave nectar in a saucepan, and simmered until it thickened.  It's not really a Black Forest Cake without the Kirsch, since Kirschwasser originated in Southern Germany in the Black Forest area.  It literally translates as "cherry water."  Feel free to use canned cherry pie filling, though.  I won't judge.

Also make the whipped cream frosting.  Just whip together heavy cream, a bit of powdered sugar, and some dissolved unflavored gelatin.

When the tortes are completely cooled, begin assembling.  Start with one layer on the bottom, spread a thin layer of frosting across it, and pipe a ring around the edge.  Use a third of the cherry filling in the middle of the ring.

Put the next layer on and repeat until you get to the top.  Frost the sides and press chocolate shavings into the sides.


Slice it up and enjoy the moist, chocolate cherry goodness.

Thanks for popping in and baking with me. I'm linking this up to Simply Sugar & Gluten-Free's Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays, and Gluten-Free Homemaker's Gluten-Free Wednesdays.

Picture Day

I dove into our photo archives looking for old Easter pictures to make an Easter picture wreath like the Christmas picture wreath I made here inspired by this photo wreath in Country Living.



But then I came across this pic of Snuggle Bunny(look how upset the kid behind him is,)

and I went in a completely different direction.  This was taken at the Annual White House Easter Egg Roll.  For those of you who don't know, the White House opens up it's lawn for fun activities the Monday after Easter Sunday.  There are PBS characters roaming the grounds, fun games, and activities, a storytelling booth manned by Supreme Court Justices and cabinet members, and of course the Easter Egg Roll.  But, you'll notice that SB isn't rolling his egg.

The boys all started out on the line with spoon in hand and egg on the ground.  SB is on the left, Whirling Dervish is in the middle, and my nephew and BIL are on the right.

We were shouting, "watch your brother, honey, push the egg, etc."  SB stood there, assessed the situation, and looked at us with a "this is dumb" expression on his face, then picked up the egg and ran across the finish line.  I absolutely forgot about this until I saw the pic.  But before I could print it up, I needed to do some editing.  Instead of riotous spring color, I'm going for a much more subdued, natural, mossy look to my spring/Easter mantel.

I first enhanced the picture with a duotone action.

I then added a spotlight on the center of the photo.

Here's the whole thing matted up.  I covered the mat board with some mossy green fabric from my neverending fabric stash.  I just wrapped it and taped it to the back side of the mat, clipping the corners for less bulk.

I'm not sure if I'm going to leave it wordless, or if I'll be adding some lettering on the frame.  And as long as I was photoediting, I created the bookmarks that we'll be handing out at SB's school's staff appreciation luncheon.

These were all created in black & white, printed on cardstock, and laminated.  I love the Eiffel Tower on the pink cardstock, and think I need to keep one for myself.  There are 6 different world landmarks, the 3 you see, plus the Taj Mahal, Big Ben(the clock, not the player,) and an Easter Island head.  I felt that Pink & Paris go hand in hand, and tried to match up appropriate colors for the rest of them, too.  That's how I spent my day.  Lots of mini-tweaks in my photo-editing software, I'm starting to get much more comfortable with it.

Thanks for popping in and checking out my Picture Day.  I'm linking this up to No Minimalists Here's Open House.