BI-RITE CREAMERY'S SMOOTH AND MELLOW CHOCOLATE ICE CREAM, AND HOW WE SPENT OUR SUNDAY.....

A few snippets from a very peaceful Sunday afternoon (quite rainy and cool here in the Northeast)............

I just love the way a cloudy day makes the lime green color of my potato vines just POP!.......

Impatiens love it when it's cool...........

So do our ferns..........

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Rainy days make me want to light a candle and bake and be creative and cozy inside our home....I know that my daughter feels the same way........

I don't know if she was channeling the Waltons or Laura Ingalls Wilder yesterday, but she stayed busy, doing a lot of this:...........

And making a little bit o' this: (homemade blueberry jam---maybe one of these days she'll give her ol' Ma her secret recipe!)........

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I've been spending a lot of time up in my sewing loft lately.....I have acquired QUITE a stash of fabric, and just love seeing where going nuts on my Singer will take me.....just finished these pillows for the little sitting area up there.....

This is where ALL the magic happens.....

I just finished stitching up (some by hand, some by machine) some sweet little black and red decorative pillows....kinda into the whole penny rug design lately....

I'm thinking about starting my own Etsy shop, online. Have you ever heard of Etsy? It's an AMAZING resource for handcrafted gifts and just about everything else in the universe that's made by hand....you can check it out, HERE.......so what do you think? Should I go into business? Or just keep sewing for kicks and giggles?......

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So recently my awesome Berkeley-living Uncle Joe sent me a link to a blog that has NOTHING but ice cream recipes....oh, he knows me so well!

If you desire to acquire diabetes just by LOOKING at a website, you should go HERE.

One of the recipes featured was by Bi-Rite Creamery, out of San Francisco. They are famous, FAMOUS I tell you, for their amazing ice cream.

 Abbie and I just HAD to whip up a batch for a Sunday evening dessert.....This recipe was a little more involved than my standard ice cream creations, but oh my goodness was it ever worth the extra effort (and really, it wasn't THAT much extra effort...just a little bit of egg tempering and straining was all)....hard to believe that THIS:

Would in a few hours turn into THIS:

But it did! Creamy, rich and homemade chocolate ice cream. If you'd like to whip up a batch for your family this summer, you can check out the recipe, HERE.

Thank you, Uncle Joe!!!

TODAY I'M SO THANKFUL THAT:

***Abbie's best friend Allison is coming home from Amsterdam/Paris tomorrow! Can't wait to hear all about your travels darling girl, and have you over for some BBQ!!

***I'm taking off for a two day wine tasting trip with Wink tomorrow morning, bright and early. We're hitting the Southern Tier of New York state and meeting up with our Club Managers of Central New York Association friends for some much needed wining and dining...can't wait to see the whole gang...

***Grad parties are starting up next weekend--I think we are going to at least 4! So much fun....