Notecard Party

Below are May's picks for Vee's Notecard Party.  These photos are evenings in Madrid during our trip in 2010.

I'm linking with:

Thanks for joining!

Catherine Holman

 

Recipe for Maple Brown Butter Frosting

I have to apologize because I forgot to include the frosting recipe for these cookies in a previous post.  This frosting really makes this cookie and would also be great on cake.

"Maple Brown Butter Frosting"

3 cups sifted confectioners sugar

1/2 cup butter

1/4 cup milk

2 tsp. maple flavoring

Sift sugar and set aside.

Melt butter over medium heat until golden brown.  Watch closely so it does not burn.

Add butter to sugar, scraping all the butter into the bowl.

Add milk and maple flavoring.  Stir until smooth.

Spread on top of cookies with a knife or offset spatula.

I would like to share just one more photo of our trip to Madrid, Spain. 

Egyptian Temple of Debod

I know that it looks like we were in Egypt, but this was an old temple that was donated to Spain by Egypt.  I love the reflection in the water.  Promise not to bore you with any more vacation pictures.

New Larger Prints and More Cupcake Paintings

I don't know if anyone has noticed but in the right hand column of my blog I now have a link to Fine Art America where I can offer larger prints of my cupcakes.  They will be sold directly through them.  I got my first order yesterday and was told by the company that I have to re-photograph my paintings using a camera with at least 8 megapixels.  I got a new camera for Christmas and all my paintings since are photographed with this camera.  Needless to say, all my older paintings have been sold and I will now need to paint them again in order to take new pictures.  I just finished the one above, Cupcake Yum, and it's now available in my Etsy Store.  I have a few originals listed there for those of you who don't like bidding for something on eBay.  I'm going to be adding all the paintings that I have to do again to my Etsy store as I finish them.  So, if you missed out on one of these older cupcake paintings and would like one, keep watching here or in my etsy store for new listings. I won't be

re-painting my village scenes again because it's simply too much work.  But, any new ones that I paint will be listed in Fine Art America. 

My husband was amazed by the detail in the doors in Spain and the craftmanship of the hardware on them.  Below are a few and I'll share more later.

Stop by Ms. Bake It to enter a fabulous giveaway.

The winner gets to pick from several different styles of picnic baskets. 

Are you getting anxious for summer?  We've had quite a bit of rain lately and I haven't been able to get outside to work in the flower beds much.   I decided to whip up this painting to feed my need for sunshine and the delights of summer.  "Pink Lemonade Cupcakes" is up for auction on eBay.

Cute cupcakes for a fun summer party! Lemon cupcakes topped with pink lemonade frosting are decorated with striped straws and floral paper umbrellas. This turquoise cake plate with tiny pink jewels dangling from the edge is the perfect way to present these luscious lemon flavored treats. A black and white dotted grosgrain ribbon wraps around the edges of the canvas and is tied in a bow at the top.

On our fourth day in Spain we took a train trip to Sagovia.  This is the Roman Aqueduct of Segovia.  It was absolutely amazing.  You can get more information about this from my son's blog.  It runs for a few miles and is quite amazing.  After reading Eric's post you'll realize that he's much more informative.  There is no mortar holding these stones together.   

Below is a cathedral that we went through.....

closeup of the amazing detail...

and a section of the interior.  It was freezing inside. 

Doesn't this castle look like Disneyland?  It was absolutely enchanting....like something out of a fairytale. Oh, and look there's a handsome prince standing outside.

  I needed oxygen by the time I got to the top of that winding stone staircase and then I took a deep breath and saw this amazing view from the top of the castle!

Now here's an interesting tidbit.  If you have nasty frizzy curly hair like mine .... do not take your expensive Chi flat iron to another country and use a convertor or you will look like I did in the above picture with the hat for the rest of your entire trip.  I burnt my hair, it was literally smoking and ruined my flat iron.   When my husband bought my flat iron a few years back is was close to $200.  I was not looking forward to replacing it, but I checked on Amazon, ordered the same one for $82.58 (plus free shipping), and received it yesterday.  Now I can take off the hat.  I don't think it would have looked too good with capris!  I've added a link below for anyone interested.  It states right in the instruction book not to use with a convertor. 

Farouk CHI GF1538D Digital Microchip Turbo 1" Ceramic Hairstyling Iron with GFI Plug

I'm getting very, very sleepyOur new mattress set was delivered today and it's all I can do not to fall asleep while typing.  We've been sleeping on a very hard mattress for far too long and now I can hear my plump new bed calling my name.  Before I head off I just wanted to let you know that this cute little "Butter Pecan Cupcake" painting ends tomorrow night on eBay. 

The yummy taste of Butter Pecan Ice Cream is replicated in this cupcake topped with vanilla bean flavored Butter Cream frosting. Chopped pecans are sprinkled on top. A black and white harlequin ribbon is wrapped around the edges of the canvas and tied in a bow at the top.

Here are just a few more photos of our trip to Spain.  We visited the tiny village of Chinchon where we met the best salesman in the entire world. He was especially proud of the items that he sold which came from Chinchon such as olives, wine, etc.  He gave us samples before we made our purchase and then happily posed while Rick took his picture

And this lady was so proud of the pastries in her bakery that she told our son, Eric, that she wanted to show us her ovens.  We followed her out of the bakery and past a couple of doors down the alley we entered a room where her husband was busy taking pastries out of the oven.  We then followed her back to the bakery where we purchased our fresh, hot treats and sat outside to devour them. 

See that castle on the distant hill?  Well, really it's only the top half of a castle.  We walked from where I'm standing taking this picture to that castle and that's not even where we started from.  I had to throw away one pair of shoes when we returned home.  Thank goodness I bought a new pair of tennis shoes before we went to Spain. 

This is the plaza in Chinchon.  In the summer this area is closed off and used for bull fights. 

Finally we arrive at the castle.....

and here is the beautiful view beyond the castle.  I love all the olive groves around this village.  After all the noise of Madrid, Chinchon was amazing quiet and peaceful.  What a lovely place and such sweet people. 

Now I'm off to test out that new bed!

Vanilla Cupcake Painting & Tapas in Madrid

We've been moving my mother into her new apartment so I'm a little late in letting you know that this little Vanilla Cupcake painting is up for auction on eBay. It ends Thursday evening this week, so you might want to check it out soon if you're interested.

A juicy red cherry sits high atop fluffy blue frosting on a moist vanilla bean cupcake. Wrapped in a red and white dotted liner, this made from scratch confection will bring a smile to your face and a touch of whimsy to your kitchen.
A red and white dotted ribbon is wrapped around the edges and tied in a bow at the top.

Below are a variety of the many different Tapas that we ate during our stay in Spain....

Ham with a white sauce on toast, and ham with a spicy sauce on toast....

Our son likes to frequent Tapas Bars because you order a drink and your food is free.

We would all three order our usual Pepsi and then got our choice of a Tapas from the menu. Needless to say we didn't spend much on food while we were gone.

Red peppers with tuna on toast.....


Spain's famous ham with cheese.....
Thanks for putting up with my vacation photos!

Strawberry Shortcake Cupcake Painting and Evening in Madrid

Yesterday I got back into the swing of things and painted this yummy spring time treat. I can't wait for those first juicy red strawberries. It brings back memories of working in strawberry fields when I was in high school. I listed this painting on eBay last night.

"Strawberry Shortcake Cupcake"

A rich pound cake is displayed in a red and white dotted cupcake liner and topped with fluffy whipped cream and a large strawberry picked straight from the garden. A red and white checked ribbon is wrapped around the edges of the canvas and tied in a bow at the top.

Madrid at night is pretty spectacular. I love the photo below of this old restaurant.....
My hubby became quite the photographer while we were there.

the next photos were taken through the window of another restaurant....

I wish I knew how many miles we walked each day. That was our main mode of transportation besides the metro, trains, and buses. I've got lots of painting to catch up on, so I'll share more later. I've missed each of you and hope to catch up soon.

In a Land Far Far Away.....

Remember in my last post how I said that I was taking a computer break and doing a little "day dreaming" to renew my creativity..... Well, we decided to take a little trip

to visit this good looking guy.....
My hubby and I took a trip to Spain to visit with our son, Eric.


Instead of gardening at home we visited Madrid and went to an indoor market where they sold ....

beautiful produce like this....

and this.....

just had to throw this in.....

Can you believe that with all the beautiful sights to see in Madrid, that this was one of my favorite places to visit.....

I would like some of those cashews please....

and even though I'm a chocoholic this is a little too much chocolate even for me, but isn't this so creative!

I will share more later, but promise not to go overboard with all our vacation photos. I've got some jet lag to get over!