My Only Sunshine

NOLA

Last week Buster and I went to New Orleans.  He had the annual AAPG convention and I had never been to NOLA so I went along.

It was so lovely and lively.  I can't help but love a city where there is jazz in the streets.  This man was a fantastic clarinet player.

I had such a great time just walking the streets taking pictures and soaking up NOLA.

There weather was perfect and the beignets were even better. 

This last one is one of my favorite photos. 

While in New Orleans we had one of the best meals I have ever experienced.  We ate at Emeril's NOLA restaurant.  The food was very very good but the service was even more amazing.  I wanted to bring home all the waitstaff so they could be my buddies.

Support the Swim Bug

If you keep track of my blog and all the crazy things I drag my kids to every week then you know that this year Bug started swimming for the city swim team.  She's not the best swimmer on the team, but she has grown so much as part of this team.  The amazing coaches always make her feel good about herself.  The exertion of the swimming makes her glow with health.  The swim meets have taught her an amazing amount of maturity.

In May, Bug will be swimming in the Swim-a-thon to raise money for her swim team.  95% of the money raised goes to the team to pay for pool rental, equipment, and scholarships.  The other 5% goes to USA Swimming.  Every team swimmer is a member of USA Swimming which insures them and provides safety and swim programs all over the country.

Bug's goal, set by the team, is $200.  I think Bug can do better than that.  If you would like to help support her team there are two options.  You can pledge per lap or pledge a flat rate.  We would be happy with any amount you have to give.  Enough people give $1 and it can make a difference.

To make a pledge email me at myonlysunshine@me.com.  Thank you.  

Amanda

Birthday Crepe Cake

Today is Buster's 36th birthday.  He doesn't much care for people making a big deal over him.  Having two little daughters means he has to put up with a little excitement anyway.  I try to make it fun for them without overwhelming him so this year all we bought for him was a little remote controlled helicopter from Brookstone.  To make it just a little more special I also made him a Crepe Cake because I had never done it before and I knew he would like it.

I used Martha Stewart's Meyer Lemon Crepe Cake recipe.  I had never made a crepe before so I got some really good practice making 20 of them for this cake.

 

The crepes are stacked alternately with a layer of meyer lemon curd mousse.  That was fun to make too.  I don't get the opportunity to use gelatin all that often.
 

The recipe calls for 15 crepe layers but I had 20 usable crepes so I used them.
 

We cut into it early (last night) and it was fantastic.  The Buster liked it, and that was the most important part.

I'm hoping to find the time to turn the left over egg whites into macarons.  We'll see how that goes.