Visiting (Great) Grandma

May 6, 2015 by Aliesha

Last weekend we took a little trip to Richmond, followed by a trip to Northern VA (hello, IKEA!) and to see Tad’s maternal grandmother, as well as his aunt, uncle, and cousin.

When we walked up the steps and Grandma saw Tad holding Jude, she started crying. She hadn’t seen him since before he was married, so to see him with a wife and three kids must have been a sight!

I tried my best to get photos of the kids with Grandma! Here are some moments from our evening.

Jude is our little ham!

Oh, and if I look sick in these pictures, it’s because I was/am. Bad cold, but I think I’m over the hump!

Angela, Aunt Kim, and me.

We are thankful we got to spend even that brief time with Tad’s extended family! Hope to be back again before too much longer!

Chocolate Cupcakes for Two

May 4, 2015 by Aliesha

Sometimes when Tad and I have an at-home date night, we like to share a fun little treat like these frosted chocolate cupcakes! The beauty of this recipe is that it is scaled for just two people. Perfect for portion control!

These are not too much work to whip up, plus they are delicious! You can’t even tell they don’t have any egg in them. We always have the ingredients on hand to make these, which might be a little dangerous. But like I said, it’s a nice sweet treat to enjoy in the evening when the kids are in bed!

Chocolate Cupcakes for Two

Delicious chocolate cupcakes - just for two! Perfect for in-home date nights!

Author: Aliesha @ Feathers in Our Nest

Recipe type: Dessert

Serves: 2

Ingredients

3 Tbsp. flour
2 Tbsp. sugar
1½ tsp. cocoa powder
⅛ tsp. baking soda
1/16 tsp. salt (a pinch)
2 Tbsp. cold water
1 Tbsp. oil
1/16 tsp. vanilla extract
1 Tbsp. chocolate chips
1 Tbsp. butter
1 Tbsp. + 2 tsp. cocoa powder
3 Tbsp. confectioners sugar
1 tsp. half & half, milk, or cream
dash of salt

Instructions

For the cupcakes: Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Whisk dry ingredients together (flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, salt) in a small bowl.
Add wet ingredients (water, oil, and vanilla) and stir until combined, whisking well.
Divide batter between two cupcake liners and sprinkle with chocolate chips.
Bake for 18 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Allow to cool before frosting.
For the frosting: Begin preparing the frosting as soon as the cupcakes are in the oven so it will be set by the time the cupcakes are cool.
Melt the butter in a small bowl.
Add all the remaining ingredients (cocoa powder, confectioners sugar, half & half, and salt) and whisk to combine.
Refrigerate for 10-15 minutes or until frosting is partially set.
Whisk again then allow to rest at room temperature until cupcakes are cool enough to frost.

easy recipe for frosted chocolate cupcakes for two | perfect for in-home date nights | great for portion control! | delicious and quick | egg-free

Enjoy!

For more of our family’s favorite recipes, visit our recipe page here.

Time with Pops & MiMi

April 29, 2015 by Aliesha

A couple of weeks ago, Vera and Cordelia got to go on a special trip to Pops and MiMi’s house all by themselves! This was the first time they have stayed with Pops and MiMi for four nights in a row! They weren’t homesick at ALL and they had an absolute blast the entire time!

I heard many stories about swimming at an indoor pool, visiting a pet store, going shoe shopping, baking cookies, playing with play dough, reading book after book, painting with watercolors, making collages, getting ice cream, snuggling, and so many more fun activities! It was a blessing to know they were having such a wonderful time all week.

At the end of the week, Tad, Jude, and I went up to join them for the weekend. We had fun playing at the park and having a picnic, as well as enjoying delicious food and lots of good talks.

Here are some pictures from the weekend while we were there!