The Frost Princess

 My little sister came up to me today and said "Let's do a photo shoot". And having gotten a nice snowstorm yesterday, this is what I came up with.

We didn't get too many shots because light was fading fast and she was getting cold (understandably). 

The first shot is my favorite.

I hope you all had the most lovely of Christmas's!

Cider. Donuts. Fall.

Tastes of Fall.

Zucchini Muffins & My life of late (in pictures)

Those muffins right there? I tell you, procrastination never tasted so good!

They are zucchini muffins, and I used zucchini I grew myself last year, shredded, and then froze.

Recipe can be found Here

But I had to alter the recipe when I made them, in the end it actually made them healthier!

I used a bit of butter, but substituted the majority of it with Coconut oil and butter. I also didn't have as much flour on hand as I thought, so I added almond meal/flour - which contains more protein!

They turned out great, no noticeable taste difference.

You might have noticed I haven't been around for a bit.

I've been super busy - school is in full swing!

But I'll try to remember to bring out my camera and take some pictures to show you guys.

Virginia [Family Trip]

This is their reaction to the Jamestown Settlement

So a few weeks ago I was in Virginia with my family.

We spent much of our time at Busch Gardens, occasional historical sites (which as you can see, my siblings SO enjoyed), and one day at the beach. Oh, and we went sea fishing! I ended up catching the most fish of my family at 4 - they weren't biting too well that night. 

It was quite hot in Virginia, and as a winter baby I prefer temperatures that you can live in. Also, my mom's car's air conditioning broke shortly after we got down there. Hello 9.5 hour drive home drenched in sweat!

But we made it home in one piece.

Fairy Party Video

Her Fairy Party from Mary Beth Osborn on Vimeo.

Video of my little sister's fairy party, as promised! 

The Party of Parties: A Fairy Party for My Little Sister

(Photography by MB)

Oh my goodness, what I do for that kid!

This is my little sister's Fairy-themed (early, because she doesn't turn 11 until september) birthday party. 

The table was covered with paper so that the girls could color on it.

The food was all homemade except for the shortbread fingers.

The wildflower seeds were later paired with their craft - decorating flower pots. And let me tell you, those girls went insane with the glitter, which was precisely why glitter was high on my list of things to get. There was also a treasure hunt, pool swimming, and other outdoor games.

I did all but make the cake (which my mom did splendidly). I really enjoyed getting down to the details in my planning and decorating of this party. One of my goals was to create an atmosphere, if it hadn't been cloudy with slight rain, I would have loved to have it outside, but I think I met that goal well enough indoors.

My little sister was a very happy girl!

This party was a success!

VIDEO COMING SOON!

Vermont 2012

Vermont 2012 from Mary Beth Osborn on Vimeo.

I kept telling you guys I'd be making a video of my trip to VT.

HERE IT IS!

It really was a wonderful trip and I'm so happy I now have this so I can watch it when I'm missing the green mountain state and my wonderful friends there.

Finding the best Creemee (Vemont 2012)

Sunday came around.

My dear friends had things of their own to do that morning, so my brother and I needed something to do. An idea struck — "Go on an adventure to find the best creemee!"

So after my brother and I went to 8:30am Mass, we headed off (without having eaten breakfast mind you) to find the best creemee. 

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We were up to early, nothing opened until 10am, so we stopped here to pass the time:

And I got this bumper sticker (yup I love VT that much):

Then we went back to sample our first creemee of the day!

Stop 1: Sunoco Gas Station

We got here too early (actually too early to all of the places) but when they finally opened, they hadn't turned on the all the machines yet, so my creemee wasn't very creamy. It had that almost crunchy, ice consistency — but the flavor was great. To make our comparisons fair, my brother got Black Raspberry at every stop, and I got maple. 

 Stop 2: Burlington Bay Market & Cafe

This one had a creamy consistency! Perhaps not as flavorful as the gas station creemee, but good.   

Stop 3: Al's French Fries and Ice Cream

This one got the gold star. By far the largest size, it was creamy - great consistency and had good flavor. At this point I was getting sick of ice cream (after all this was our breakfast) and sadly could not finish the entire cone. But this was both our favorite!

Next time, I'll be getting the black raspberry - I think I'm done with maple for a while!