Birthday Party

On Saturday we had friends and family over to celebrate the boys' fifth and third birthdays. Despite the heat, it was a very fun day!

The highlight was LEGO cupcakes, made by a very talented local baker:

They tasted as good as they look!

Key Lime Cupcakes

I made these on Sunday for our dinner guests, and they were a big hit. I used a slight variation of a recipe found in this book.

A little taste of summer in the midst of a snowy winter!

Crystal Clear Ice Cubes

If you really want crystal clear ice cubes, boil the water first and let it cool before freezing.

I've never heard this before! It isn't a practical tip for daily use (especially if you go through ice cubes like we do!), but for entertaining this would be fun and add a little "something extra," don't you think?

I saw this in our local, weekly paper tucked among some ads at the bottom of the page!

I found this video looking for an image of clear ice. The maker advises two additional tips for achieving crystal clear ice (ignore the spelling and grammar errors). Very interesting!