Flowers around Wyndhaven Cottage Bed and Breakfast

I just love summer! although not so fond of the extreme heat that we can get but don't get me wrong

I'm not complaining, It just means that I have to spend more time in the pool..... Oh what a life!

for those of you who haven't read my previous posts I'll catch you up the "readers digest version"
  You may not know I have a disability which limits me in the amount of activity I can do. I have a form of Epilepsy which is an abnormal cluster of blood vessels on my brain; so I take medication for that....
Then 6yrs ago I had to have surgery on my neck to have one of my disks fused well..... the Surgeon screwed up and he paralyzed me. So.....that means a lot more medication. I have worked hard to learn how to walk
and use my hands again. Playing the piano really helped and that was something
I was not willing to give up, and as far as the walking goes went thru lots of therapy
and then it just comes down to getting off the couch and staying as active as I can.
So now that I've caught you up on my story you will understand when I give all the credit to my wonderful
hubby for all the work he does around our yard and in the gardens.

Okay, now I'll take you on a little walk around our B&B.
One thing we have lots of is..... bird houses cause we also get lots of different kinds of birds.

Now lets mosey on to the back yard.

Many great places to sit have a cup of tea or cold drink
and daydream among the flowers.

Thanks for taking a walk around our B&B.
As you can see I'm not very good at the whole
picture taking thing, my son is the one who usually takes the pictures........
Guess I need to learn more about lighting and settings on my camera.

Till next time take care my friends!
 

  

Fresh Brioche Bread!

     This summer has been extremely busy here at our B&B. One of the favorites around here has been fresh brioche. My family just can't seem to get enough of it! My son is always asking for it, and of course when his two sisters come home it's a must. they all like it fresh out of the oven but when I serve it to guests I make french toast and once you try it you won't want to go back to your usual bread.     It's quick and easy too! Cause lets face it who want's to be stuck in the kitchen on a nice summer day. So if you have a bread machine here's what you do.......

                       Measure all ingredients in order into your machine.
                  1/3 cup warm water
                  3 eggs
                 3 egg yolks
                 3/4 cup of butter
                 31/3 cup flour
              1/4 cup sugar
              1/2 tsp yeast
    Place machine on dough setting. When done roll out dough on floured serfice, place into a bread pan, to raise for about 1 hour.  Bake in 350 oven for 25 min. 

Bloggerette Sorority Gift

I was so thrilled when I received my Valentine giveaway last week.

From Debi at Bloggerette Sorority.

What a pretty little box filled with pretty ribbon, lace, buttons and more.

Thank you so much!

I Just couldn't wait to show it off to my friends!!  

Thanks again I LOVE it!!

Orange Coffee Cake

Hello friends!

I don't know if you have a recipe like this one,

but I didn't and I thought it sounded good,

so I tried it and.... yup it turned out very good!

So good that there's no picture.

I'm going to make it again and this time I will take a picture

for you to see how it turned out.

This recipe will be a keeper easy and quick to make.

So put the coffee on and invite a friend over to share it with!

                        Orange Coffee Cake

Prep Time: 25 minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour, 10 minutes

Yield: 24 Servings

                                           Coffee Cake:

18-ounce yellow cake mix

3 ounce package instant lemon pudding mix

zest and juice from 2 oranges, divided

less than 2/3 cup orange juice

1/2 cup vegetable oil

4 eggs

1 teaspoon orange extract

Topping:

2 tablespoons butter, softened

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup rolled oats

1 tablespoons cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg

1/2 cup chopped pecans

• 11 ounce can Mandarin oranges, drained

Preparation:

Coffee Cake:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Grease 9x13 pan.

Set aside 1/2 orange zest. With a hand mixer, combine rest of coffee cake ingredients in a large bowl. Mix on low at first and then on medium for 2 minutes. Pour batter into pan. Sprinkle with topping mix. Bake for 35 to 43 minutes.

Remove from oven. Cool for 10 minutes and then drizzle with Cooked Orange Glaze.
11 ounce can Mandarin oranges drained

   

Topping:

In a medium bowl with a pastry blender or two knives

in scissor fashion, blend butter, sugar, rolled oats and spices until crumbly. Hand stir in reserved zest, nuts and orange slices.

                                                From the Kitchen of: Marnie ~ Wyndhaven Cottage

Cards From The Heart!

 I've been busy making cards the past week.

I needed to take a break from doing my albums

so decided to make some cards. So I thought I would share 

them with you. 

Stuffed Chocolate chip, Oreo cookies!

The most amazing cookie!

My niece Shaneaqua came over the other day and we spent the afternoon

making cookies.

I served them to the girls when they came that night for our scrapbooking

evening..... what a hit!

They just had to take some home for there family's to try.

This is Jen Just after she realized what was inside

the chocolate chip cookie!

 

Lavender Bath Salts

There is nothing more relaxing
than a nice warm bath
with Bath Salts.
This prompted me to come up with a homemade
version for gift giving.
A great gift and very frugal.
You could add a Bath sponge to make a nice gift set.
There's a lot of different versions out there
but I've kept it simple
so that it will be cost efficient for you.


1 cup Ebson Salts
1cup dead Sea Salt
1-2 drops food coloring (opt. color of choice)
1-2 drops lavender Essential oil
1 tsp. dried lavender (optional)

Mix in a large bowl until all ingredients are well blended.
Using a funnel, pour into bottles or jars.
Decorate with labels, gift tags and ribbon.

I hope you have fun with this.....
But most of all enjoy a relaxing bath!

Milo loving time outside in the snow!