For the Love of Lemons

If you have read the title of my blog it probably will not come as a surprise to you, but I absolutely LOVE lemons. Oh they are the perfect tanginess and flavor and just everything. When Marshall told me that he didn't care what kind of cake he had for his birthday I set out to find a new lemony deliciousness recipe. When I came across this Meyer Lemon Iced Raspberry Yogurt Cake I knew I had found something good. Let's just say we  ended up thoroughly enjoying it!

Meyer Lemon Iced Raspberry Yogurt Cake

(this recipe has been adapted from http://kitchentrialanderror.blogspot.com/2014/03/secret-recipe-club-meyer-lemon-iced.html)

for the cake:

9 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
3 eggs, separated
zest of 1 lemon
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup plain greek yogurt
1 cup raspberries, fresh or frozen

for the buttercream:
5 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
zest & juice of 1 lemon
pinch of salt
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1. to make the cake, preheat your oven to 320F. grease and line two 8" cake pans with parchment paper and set aside.
2. cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. add the egg yolks one at a time, mixing after each addition. 
3. add the lemon zest, flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda and mix until mostly combined. add the yogurt and mix until combined. 
4. beat the egg whites to medium peaks and fold into the cake batter. fold in the raspberries.
5. divide the batter evenly between the two pans and bake 30-33 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. 
6. let the cakes cool in the pan for about 10 minutes before turning them out onto a wire rack to cool completely before icing.
7. to make the buttercream, cream the cream cheese and butter until smooth. add the lemon zest and juice and salt and mix until combined. slowly add the powdered sugar and mix until combined. mix on medium speed for a couple minutes until light and fluffy.if your buttercream is softer than you'd like, you can either add more sugar or chill it for 30 minutes.
8. to make a four layer cake, slice each cake layer in half. spread with buttercream and top with another cake layer. continue until all layers are used. spread the cake with remaining buttercream. store finished cake in the refrigerator.

A Little Getaway

Today, when I started to write this post I came to the sad realization that it has been about 6 months since I last blogged. I could try to list every excuse in the book from I have been crazy busy to there have been a lot of changes in our lives, but those don't change the fact that I didn't blog. I am going to try to rededicate myself to blog more regularly. Fingers crossed I can stay dedicated.

Now on to our getaway. For the past few years, Marshall and I have gone to Washington to visit family in-between semester, but this year with my new job I didn't feel comfortable leaving for that long. We were both in desperate need of some down time, even if it was just a few days. We also used Marshall's birthday being this week as a good excuse to spoil ourselves for a few days. We thought that Park City would hit the spot, and did it ever! Marshall and I had only both been to Park City once before, and they were very short trips, so it was like our first time there for both of us. We stayed in Marriott Mountainside Resort and it was awesome. We are lucky enough that Marshall has a really good friend who works for Marriott and he always hooks us up with great deals. We spent every afternoon and night by the pool or in one of the several hot tubs, roasted marshmallows over the fire pits, slept in every morning in one of the most comfortable beds ever, and enjoyed every second we spent at the resort. 

We also ate our body weight in food. Park City has so many amazing restaurants it made it really  hard to pick where to go. We had some incredible thin crust pizza at Maxwells and some amazing speciality dishes at Bistro. The dishes at Bistro might have been some of the best food my mouth has encountered. My mouth is starting to water as we speak. 

I absolutely love walking around downtown with cute little shops everywhere in any city, but Park City has to have one of the best! It was so fun to go into all the stores and get a feel for the city. This was probably one of my favorite things we did while in Park City. 

Neither Marshall or I are into snowboarding or anything to do with snow for that matter.  However, we did get our adventure on with the Alpine Coaster. Its a toboggan style car that carries you to the top of the mountain then sends you down with lots of twists and turns. It was awesome and a way to have fun in the snow without having to get in the snow. Just the way we like it. 

On the way home we stopped in Salt Lake to hit up some of our favorite stores and go to Temple Square. I had never been to Temple Square during Spring before and it was beautiful. There were flowers and blossoms everywhere. It was so pretty and distracting, we were not very good about taking pictures. It was a good way to end our trip before our drive home back to reality. 

Birthdays, Randoms, and Marriage

As most of you all know if you read my blog, are friends with Marshall on facebook, follow of any Marshall's social media accounts, or have met and talked with him for more than two minutes he loves the Bulls and he loves loves loves Derrick Rose. Derrick's birthday was the beginning of this month, and last year Marshall begged for the two of us to celebrate his birthday and we did so now I guess it is tradition because we did this year as well. Last year we made red velvet cinnamon rolls(obviously because they look like Roses and are red for the Bulls), but this year Marshall wanted something a little bit more traditional Triple Chocolate Cake(Marshall calls is Holy Jesus Experience). So I made cake and we celebrated Derrick Rose's 25th birthday. Now I know to some of you this may sound so absurd or crazy, but I think its little things like this that make marriages and relationship awesome. Did I know really anything about basketball, the Bulls, or Derrick Rose before I met Marshall. No, I most certainly did not but its important to him, and so I respect that in his life and listen. Marriage and relationships are all about give and take. Marshall didn't know anything about sewing, crafts, the Kardashians or cooking before he met me, and now he does because he knows its important to me. I have always known that marriage and relationships are about working with and respecting each other, but I guess that I'm realizing its the little things that make it that much better like me making a cake once a year to celebrate an important day for Marshall, or Marshall giving his opinion about the dress I'm sewing or who just got kicked off of Project Runway. Happy belated birthday Derrick Rose and Happy relationships to everyone!

 

 

The Birthday Girl

We were lucky enough to be invited to our niece Kinsley's Birthday Party. She turned the big 4! It was such a good day just spent with family and having fun!

Some of our favorite things about Kinsley

-your british accent with a lisp. cutest thing ever

-how much you absolutely love cats

-the way that you can't say ice cream, because you have to scream it because you just love it so much

-when you hug us so hard you crush our bones

-your facial expressions. they seriously are the best

-all of your awesome nicknames you make for marshall (marshall darshall farshall carshall padarshall tarshall)

Kinsley we just love you! 

^^In the words of Kinsley, "I am going to tackle you!"^^

^^there is almost too much cuteness in this picture to handle^^

Life Lately

 Golfing Season has arrived, and Marshall shot his first birdie! He was pretty excited. // Lemon Blueberry Pancakes & Buttermilk Syrup // Face painting with nieces and nephews // The NBA playoffs have started so we have been watching a lot of basketball. GO BULLS! // We went to Bear World Again // Marshall turned 25. Happy Birthday! // Kinsley! The Birthday Girl! // We added a new shelf to our bathroom. I think it turned out well // Goldeneye 007 for the Nintendo 64