earth to victoria

Lately I've been really fascinated with the completely abandoned village Johnsonville in East Haddam, Connecticut. The whole town is in pretty great shape.  I mean obviously the buildings could use some up-keep, but for having no care in over twenty years it's holding up pretty well.  Nothings collapsed so far, that I've discovered.   I didn't take photographs of the inside of the buildings because the quality from my iphone was awful.  The glare was so bad, through the windows, but it was quite crazy how some of the buildings still had stuff in them.  For example the school room had a chalk board left behind with the name "Claire" written on it, books, and school supplies thrown about. Old signs were left in the buildings from when the village was open to the public and held tours.   

My boyfriend Jake turned twenty-one and I wanted to share what I made him, chocolate coffee cupcakes with a whipped chocolate cream frosting with strawberries atop.  Also coffee and cheese filled croissants. Ingredients: 2 cups sugar 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour 3/4 cup Cocoa Powder 2 teaspoons baking soda 1 teaspoon baking powder 1 teaspoon salt 2 eggs 1 cup buttermilk or sour milk (I used one cup regular milk and one Tablespoon vinegar to make my own sour milk) 1 cup brewed strong black coffee (I used instant coffee) 1/2 cup vegetable oil 1 teaspoon almond extract Instructions: Preheat oven to 350. In a large bowl, whisk together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt.  Set aside. In mixing bowl mix eggs, buttermilk, oil, and almond extract together. Gradually add in dry ingredients.  Then mix in hot/boiling coffee. You should have a thin batter. Pour batter evenly into prepared cupcake tins. Bake for 30 t...

I'm an aunt!  Yesterday my sister Brittany had her first baby boy, Brandon. He's absolutely perfect.  Beyond perfect if that's possible. I made these cupcakes special for the baby's arrival.  They were zucchini with a vanilla butter-cream frosting.  Nothing too fancy, but everyone loved them! I also brought Brandon a Peter Rabbit book and stuffed Peter Rabbit toy.  And got my sister a mom Wind and Fire bracelet and various candies from Lick .

Ingredients: 3 egg whites 3 Tablespoons granulated sugar 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar 1 cup almond flour 2 teaspoon instant coffee Nutella Directions: Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.   With an electric mixer whisk egg whites until foamy, should double in size.  Then gradually and very slowly add in the sugar.  Whisk until meringue is made and glossy soft peaks form. Mix the almond flour, powdered sugar, and coffee together in a bowl.   Add the meringue to the almond mixture in thirds.  Gently fold in the meringue until consistency is the same.   Fill pastry bag with batter and squeeze out small circles on a flat pan and parchment paper.  Let macarons sit for twenty minutes before putting into the oven.   Once ready to put in the oven turn the oven down to 300 degrees and bake for 10 minutes. When macarons are cool fill with Nutella.

Tea with Tracy, Seymour, Connecticut:   Tea with Tracy is an extremely cute, very Alice in Wonderland inspired tea room.  They have a great assortment of tea and espresso based drinks to choose from, and lovely desserts.  Try the chicken salad sandwich, you won't be disappointed.  Elizabeth Park, West Hartford, Connecticut:  One of the most beautiful parks you'll ever see in the state.  There's a restaurant and snack shack inside the park that's worth checking out.    R.J. Julia, Madison, Connecticut:  An independent bookstore with cafe inside.   R.J. Julia does a bunch of book signings and other kinds of fun events that are worth looking into. Case Mountain, Manchester, Connecticut:  A beautiful park open to the public with great hiking trails.   Lyman Orchards, Middlefield, Connecticut:   Gillette Castle State Park, East Haddam, Connecticut:  The best part about Gillette Cas...

For St. Patrick's Day I made my boyfriend Jake his first ever Shepard's Pie.   I made about six personal Shepard's Pie all in oven safe dishes; all different shapes, sizes, and colors. Ingredients: 1 pound ground lamb (or ground beef) 1 onion 3 medium carrots 1 1/2 cups beef broth 1 Tablespoon flour 1 Tablespoon flavored vinegar (I used Fig!) 1 bag frozen peas 4 large potatoes  1/2 stick of butter 1/4 cup milk 1/4 cup of sour cream 3/4 cup mozzarella cheese Directions: Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. In a large frying pan cook meat over medium heat.  While meat is browning, dice onions and carrots, then add to meat. Pour broth into small bowl and mix with flour.  Add to meat mixture.  Add in flavored vinegar and frozen peas.  Evenly distribute mixture into casserole dishes. Peel potatoes and boil until soft.  Add butter, milk, and sour cream to potatoes and whip until smooth. Top meat with mashed whippe...

Meet Me, Book Lover .  Visitor.  Aspiring Children's Book Writer.  Tea Addict.  Collector.  Wannabe Baker.  Crime Show Junkie.  Jeweler.  Media Enthusiast.  Horror Buff.  Wiener Dog Owner.  Student of Life. My name is Victoria and I am in love. May 13, 2012  This is my blog and I post everything under the sun. Click around and stay awhile :3