........................... Around the World ......................... ~~United Arab Emirates ~ Dubai & Abu Dhabi ~~

My camera has been Around the World over the last couple of months and was returned to me recently full of photos from

Russian Easter Bread { Paska / Kulich }

On Monday a friend of mine shared a box full of traditional Russian Easter Bread she had made last weekend for Easter dinner. She said in Russia the bread is called Paska and in the Ukraine it is called Kulich. The loaves are made in recycled soup cans which give them the tall, cylindrical shape. There are raisins inside the sweet bread and the tops are frosted and decorated with a variety of sprinkles. Such a special treat! 

Happy Saturday!

white chocolate ~ peanut butter TRUFFLES

You may remember these Truffles from a couple weeks ago. I mentioned them in the GOLF Birthday parTEE post and they were pictured in the corner of one of the photos that featured the TEE BOX Cupcakes.  Since I had a few extra pictures of the WC~PB Truffles I thought it would be fun to post them as well. 

Instead of using dark chocolate for my peanut butter Truffles I decided to dip them in white chocolate so they would resemble golf balls for our GOLF Birthday parTEE. They turned out just the way I hoped they would however I ran short on time and didn't end up using them as I had originally intended so served them in a pretty bowl instead. 

Have a beautiful Saturday!

TULIPS

Last fall our next door neighbor shared some of her tulip bulbs with us 

and this week they bloomed!

from my list of one thousand gifts

:: 3 gifts in one - shared, opened, red :: sunshine :: neighbors :: dinner with friends :: birthdays :: longer days :: clear skies :: 

blessings,

GOLF Birthday parTEE

Last weekend we celebrated another special birthday. 

The plans for this birthday celebration started out as our traditional birthday dinner and then somehow morphed into a fun little 

GOLF themed mini party. 

  { Funny how that happens! }

The chocolate 

TEE BOX cupcakes 

are filled with vanilla cream and 

topped with powdered donut holes { golf balls }

placed on top of golf tees.

I made Mexican Wedding Cookies which I stacked on top of 

crushed graham crackers for the 

Sand Trap.

I also placed a "golf ball" cookie on the 

HOLE IN ONE Oreo Cheesecake 

and made a couple flags using the birthday boys age as the hole numbers.

I made white chocolate peanut butter 
GOLF BALL Truffles
{lower right corner}
but didn't end up using them as I had originally intended
since I ran short on time 
so I served them in a pretty bowl instead.

And a BIRTHDAY chalkboard 
which has recently replaced the birthday posters I made every year.

Golf is a game in which you 
yell 'fore', shoot six, 
and write down five.
Paul Harvey

Have an amazing Saturday!

Orchid Tree { Tainan, Taiwan }

Happy Monday!

Spaghetti Squash

A few weeks ago some friends were talking about Spaghetti Squash and how they use it as a substitute for spaghetti noodles. I was instantly curious since I had never cooked or eaten spaghetti squash before and bought one the next time I was at the store.  I could hardly wait to try it.

It was very easy to cook. I just split the spaghetti squash in half and put each half face down on a foil lined cookie sheet. I brushed olive oil on both sides of the squash and also a little on the foil, sprinkled it with salt and pepper and baked at 350℉ for about 30 minutes. 

Once it was tender I removed it from the oven and used a fork to loosen and separate the strands of flesh on the inside of the squash. I scraped my fork gently from the outside edge down to the center until I had gone around the entire shell. It was so quick and easy.

I topped it with homemade spaghetti sauce and it was delicious. 

Happy Friday!

......50 and Fabulous! ~ Tropical Birthday Party...... .................... { sign, table, menu } ............................

Here are a few more photos of our 

50 and Fabulous ~ Tropical Birthday Party.

The pineapple sign {above}, the tags on the chocolates & champagne PINEAPPLE centerpiece and the medallion on the CROWN {below} I  made using the words from the napkins and then added the pineapple graphic behind the words to tie it to our tropical theme. 

Once we had our theme it was easy to put together the menu for our mid~ afternoon meal.

For dessert I made a Chocolate Cake and Tropical Cupcakes for the guests and a special order of 

Apple Dumplings 

for the 

Birthday Girl.

Aloha!