This week I celebrated my birthday.
I love my birthday, Brad always makes the day so great. He is the best!
The minute I woke up in the morning, he put a
birthday crown on my head (with blinking lights) and I was the queen for the day.
It was w o n d e r f u l.
That night Brad took me to a great sushi restaurant. My favorite.
We topped the night off with a very delicious dark-chocolate cake with
ganache frosting and chocolate-dipped strawberries.
( my 3 sweet kitchen helpers assisted me in making my cake).
The day could not have been better.

On Thursday I celebrated with a group of amazing ladies!
My good friends took me out to dinner and surprised me
with a Charming Charlie gift card.
LOVE IT!
Thank you, thank you, thank you!!


R E C I P E
Dark-Chocolate Cake with Ganache Frosting

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pans

1/2 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa (spooned and leveled), plus more for pans

2 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups packed light-brown sugar

2 large eggs plus 2 large egg yolks, room temperature

6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, melted

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 cup low-fat buttermilk

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350. Butter two 8-inch round cake pans; dust with cocoa, tapping out excess. Line bottom of each pan with a round of parchment paper; set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside.
2. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs and yolks, one at a time, beating well after each addition; beat in chocolate and vanilla. With mixer on low, alternately add flour mixture in three parts and buttermilk in two, beginning and ending with flour mixture.
3. Divide batter between prepared pans; smooth tops. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center of a cake comes out clean, 40 to 45 minutes. Cool in pans 15 minutes; run a knife around edge of each pan, and invert cakes onto a wire rack to cool completely.
4. Set a rimmed baking sheet upside down on a work surface. Place one cake on sheet, and spread top with 1/3 of ganache. Place second cake on top, and spread remaining ganache over top and sides of cake. Using two wide metal spatulas, carefully transfer frosted cake to a serving platter.

Ganache

• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1 pound bittersweet chocolate, roughly chopped

Directions

1. In a large saucepan, bring 2 cups heavy cream, 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar, and 1/8 teaspoon salt to a boil. Remove from heat; add 1 pound bittersweet chocolate, roughly chopped, and let stand, without stirring, for 1 minute. Whisk just until combined. Refrigerate, stirring occasionally, until spreadable, about 1 hour.

Happy Birthday Olivia!

Our girls really love the American Girl dolls.
I do too. I enjoy reading about history and have really liked reading the American Girl books with my girls. We check out new books each week from the library. We are so excited to have a store here in Denver. Brad and I took Olivia on a date this weekend to visit the American Girl store and to pick out a doll for her birthday. She picked the Kit Kittredge doll, one of the historical characters in the books that we have been reading. We just finished the book titled, "Happy Birthday, Kit". Olivia has been counting down the days to her birthday and to her trip to the American Girl store. She treasures her new doll! Kit has not left her side.
Saturday we had Oliva's birthday party with her friends and family.
We have fun celebrating birthdays and decided to have a "Sweet Shoppe" this year.
Our little Olivia is SO SWEET. We could not think of a better theme to suit her. :)

Olivia requested a "pinkalicious" cake. When I asked her what she meant by pinkalicious, she said that she wanted a "pink and fluffy cake". I attempted Martha Stewart's pink ruffle cake. Hmm...not quite Martha, but Olivia loved it. We had twelve lovely guests and a plethora of candy. We played Sweet Shoppe Bingo, Candy Land, doughnut drop, colored a birthday cake and made candy necklaces. At the end of the party, everyone filled their gift bags with as many sweet treats as they possibly could! It was a S-W-E-E-T celebration. The kids were adorable.

Olivia and Kit in front of the Sweet Shoppe

A gift from Grandma- Olivia's new chalkboard

She has been busy playing school with her sisters! So fun.