Weekend update!

Good morning everyone : )

I’m so sorry for not posting lately, but if there is one thing that I truly hate about Austin it is allergy season. I’m suffering big time, and in return so does this blog. It also doesn’t help that I spent the whole weekend outdoors either, ha ha.

There are some big changes happening to casa De Camps .We broke down our old fence in the backyard this weekend. It wasn’t as hard as we expected, but it was a lot of manual labor. After that Ricky jumped right into installing laminate floors into our back family room. We have lived in our South Austin home for almost 2 years now, and it is about time we gave it a little TLC. We aren’t planning on moving for a least a few more years down the road or even longer (we love our location), but it’s about time we start upgrading this house from the early 70’s.

* I’ll have before and after pics once the new fence is installed this week and the floors are complete

Of course no long day would complete with out a small sugar break to help push you through the day : )

This place is in on South 1^st at one of the many trailer parks along this street. They make these amazing homemade doughnuts with delicious sweet concoctions on them.  We rarely stop here for this very reason- they are dangerously addictive. If you are ever in Austin this should definitely be one of your stops!

On Sunday we decided to take a break and use a groupon I had for a safari day for two. It was this package that included a golf cart rental, food to feed the animals, and picnic for two. I figured it could be a fun day-date for us. Ricky’s dad was also on his way back to Houston from San Antonio and this place was in the perfect meeting spot for us to have lunch with him before he headed back. We actually met him in Boerne, TX which is right outside of Bergheim, TX (where our safari adventure would begin).  We had a great lunch at this cute little micro brewery called Dodging Duck, and I highly recommend it if you are ever in that area. The food and beer were fantastic!

Ricky and his dad at lunch

As far as the safari goes- I’ll be honest it wasn’t amazing, but we had a good time just checking out something different and spending time together of course.

these guys were so intrigued by this small little dog that was walking by. It was hilarious

This guy was very friends- a little too friendly when he started putting his face towards my lap, lol.

Me feeding the animals (or at least attempting)

feeding this guy was probably the highlight of the safari

so you can kinda get an idea of what the place looked like

 This week I’m slowly recovering from my allergies and preparing for one of my best friend's Christina D. to come into town!!!! So have a good week y’all and I’ll post back soon!

Long over due weekend update

Oye tuvimos un fin de semana loco!  You spend one weekend in Miami , and I promise you the Spang-lish side of you will come out too, ha ha. I Love it! (Probably why I married a Dominican man) Sorry for taking so long to update on here y'all,  but I’ve been stuck trying to catch up ever since we got home on Monday. Don’t worry though I’ve got the scoop below on our fantastic weekend ; )

We arrived in town on Friday  and headed straight over to  Ricky's family. We spent some quality time with Ricky’s Aunts, Uncles, and Grand Parents. Then we headed out to have drinks with some college friends. It was great that the bar ( also named “The Bar”) was just a block away from our hotel so we didn’t have to worry about driving back ; ) 

our view from the plane

My college roommate Ali and I

On Saturday we were a little slow moving, but made our way around Miami Beach and did a little sight seeing before we headed back to the hotel to get ready for Million/ Sekkel wedding.  

South Beach

One of the beautiful roads in the Coral Gables area

 The wedding was perfect and the bride was gorgeous. It took place at the Westin in the Coral Gables area of Miami, Fl. Carolina is Brazilian and Felipe and Columbian so the reception was a blast. South Americans definitely know how to party! During the reception the DJ stopped the music and a large Brazilian street band or ensemble came out. I’m sure there is a name for the kind of band they were, but I have no idea so all I can do is describe it. The bride and groom had these beautiful face masks on, and then passed out a bunch to the rest of the guests. Also they had these beautiful Samba dancers that helped entertain everybody.  Once they cleared and everything started to calm down …… Another group came out, but this time they were Colombian. To see all of Felipe’s family and Carolina really getting into the traditional dancing was great. We had a blast, and we couldn’t be happier for Felipe and Carolina!

The ceremony area before it began

Mr.& Mrs. Felipe and Carolina Millon

Ricky and I at the reception

a quick glance at the reception area from above at cocktail hour

I loved the floral arrangements

Ricky and some of his best friends from college * actually they were also all groomsmen at our wedding

One of the Brazilian dancers

These were the Colombian band

Once Sunday rolled around we packed up and said our goodbyes to all of our friends we miss so much. Then we went north to visit my parents and sister for brunch at the Old Key Lime House in Lantana. Next we went to Palm Beach and checked out the renovations on my sister’s new condo, and hung out at the beach for while. My parents had some of my family over for a BBQ that evening, and we hung out with my family for the rest of the night.

our view at brunch with my family

Palm Beach

 Monday finally came and we headed back to Austin- exhausted, lol.  We are looking forward to a little downtime this weekend. Have a great week!

-Luv Di

On the road again

Good afternoon! I am writing this post today from Miami, FL. Both my husband and I were born and raised in South Florida, and it is so nice to be home today. We are in town for to attend a wedding, but this weekend is going to be full of family and friends as well. I am so excited!!! I'll be posting pictures on Monday with my usual update : )
have a great weekend!- Luv Di

Weekend Wrap Up!

It’s Monday already?! This weekend was great, but we are exhausted. We have had two weekends in a row of driving over 3 hours back and forth. Yes we choose to do this, but in hindsight I am starting to think we should have spread things out a little more, oh well.

We still need to rally it up though and get through next weekend’s travels too. We are heading down to Miami for our dear friends Felipe and Carol's wedding, yay! So two weekends down and only one more to go, but I’m really excited to see my family on Sunday : )

So on Friday  we headed out to Port Arkansas, TX. Our family decided to rent a house on the beach for a birthday celebration/ Easter weekend. 

Our cute little place for the weekend

It was a blast! We had a great time grabbing local seafood from the fish market, grilling, playing football, and relaxing with a few drinks.

 

 

Ricky and I squeezed in a picture

The ocean of course

My mother in-law's best friend came in with her family on Saturday and surprised her. It so sweet and thoughtful, and Lourdes had some happy tears about the occasion :)

Katie and Jimmy playing football on the beach

We got Katie an owl kite( it's her go to animal) along with her fancy new beach chair

 I also want to sneak in that I tried ABITA Strawberry Beer this weekend, and to let you that it was delicious. I’m not a normal fruit blend alcohol person, but this stuff was not too sweet and tasted great on the beach!

 

 Have a great week everyone! – Luv Di

Ladies Night and Key Lime Pie

 Happy Good Friday everyone! Also Happy Passover for all my Jewish friends!

Last night I met up with some girlfriends at Gibsons off of Lamar. The evening had the catch phrase “Bubbles and Ladies Night” because you can get an order of champagne , chocolates and strawberries as the ladies' night special. 

I didn’t partake in the champagne ( it kinda hurts my stomach after the first glass) ,but I did however have some nice refreshing beers . We sat out on the back patio while we played a few rowdy rounds of bingo. I feel like this night was long over due and I’m glad I made it out. 

This afternoon we are heading to Port Arkansas for the weekend to celebrate my mother in-law’s/ sister in-law’s birthday (they were both born on the same day) and Easter. Have a wonderful weekend! Luv- Di

Key Lime Pie recipe

Key Lime Pie (adapted from Bon Appetit)

Base

• 1 ½ cups Graham cracker crumbs
• ¼ cup sugar (optional)
• ½ a stick of butter, melted
• 2 tbsp. of Honey
• ¾ tbsp. of cinnamon

Filling

• 2 large egg whites
• 4 large egg yolks
• 1 can sweetened condensed milk
• ½ cup lime juice (from about 3 limes)

• *Or about 1 ½ lb. of key limes freshly squeezed
•  1 tbsp. finely grated key lime zest

To serve

• 1 cup heavy cream
• 3 tablespoons icing sugar, sifted

Preheat the oven to (350°F).

* The girl I originally grabbed the recipe from made her own graham crackers. I honestly don’t want to spend my time on that. So I usually purchase the pre made crumbs in a box, it is so easy and tastes great!

1. In a medium bowl, stir together the graham cracker crumbs and sugar (if using).

**( Optional add- ins) I opted out for the sugar, but instead added two table spoons in with butter before it melted and then heated them up together so that the honey dissolves into the butter. Then, drizzle the crumbs with the melted butter and stir until well combined. While stirring the mixture together I also added about ¾ of table spoon of cinnamon to the mixture.

2.  Press the mixture evenly onto the bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch pie plate. Bake until set and golden brown, about 10 minutes. 

3. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Leave the oven on.

4. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, or a large mixing bowl with a whisk or hand mixer, beat the egg whites until they hold stiff peaks.

5.  In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and sweetened condensed milk. Add the lime juice and zest and whisk until combined.

 6. Gently fold in about 1/3 of the egg whites to lighten the mixture then add the remaining egg whites and fold until just evenly combined.

7.  Spread the mixture in the pre-baked crust and bake until just set in the center, about 20 minutes.

8.  Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely then refrigerate at least 2 hours before serving. The pie can be baked and stored, covered, in the refrigerator, up to 3 days.

**To serve, combine the heavy cream and sugar in a bowl and whisk until soft peaks form. Cut the pie into slices and top each with a dollop of whipped cream

I was a little disappointed when it looked like I  had way too much crust on this, but once you add whip cream along the edge it comes out perfect. I didn't add it for the picture because I wanted it to be fresh and I am not serving it until tomorrow.

Strawberry Pie with Magic Pie Crust

I haven’t truly spent a lot of time baking since last holiday season. Not because I dislike it; actually I find it really therapeutic. Baking is considered evil when your household consists of only two adults who are trying to eat better.

So I waited patiently until now so that I can share these pies on Easter weekend with our family.  For the past 3 years I have made strawberry pie on Easter weekend, but this year the Floridian in me has been craving key lime pie. I know what a predicament right?! I figured what the heck I’m making two pies this year, and I’ll share the other with my office.

I’ll be sharing the key lime tomorrow, but below is my strawberry pie with magic pie crust.

The Magic Pie Crust recipe was given to me by my friend Becca Rozner. She is from the great North (aka Wisconsin but I’m from Florida so any state north of DC is considered really north to me, ha ha) and this recipe was passed to her from a family friend. She introduced it to me when she helped me bake my first pie ever for Thanksgiving one year. 

*I’ve made this pie with roll out crust before, and it still turned out great. But  if you have the time I promise you this crust is worth the effort.

Magic Pie Crust

Ingredients for One double Crust Pie:

·        1 cup of shortening

·        2 ½ cups of flour

·        ¾ tsp. baking powder

·        ¾ tsp. baking powder

·        1 ½ tsp. brown sugar

 ·        ½ egg beaten 

·        ¼ cup of water 

·        1 tbsp. vinegar

Directions

1. Mix together the dry ingredients. I did this in my standing mixer.
2. Add the shortening to the dry ingredients. The directions say to use a pastry blender to cut it until it is the size of dried peas. I don’t have a pasty cutter (go figure) but what I did was cut into 1 inch chunks and while the mixer was churning with dry ingredients I just added them in one at a time.
3. In a separate bowl mix together all the liquid ingredients.
4. Slowly pour 1/3 of the liquid ingredients at a time into the churning standing mixer. Make sure after each pour that it is completely mixed in before you pour the next amount.
5. Remove the dough from the bowl and form by hand into a ball.
6. Divide the dough into two equal parts
7. Roll out the dough

Strawberry Pie

This strawberry pie recipe is adapted from the original version found here

Ingredients:

• 2 sheets roll-out pie crust
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• White sanding sugar, for top of crust
• 5 cups strawberries, washed and hulled
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch

          ** I actually use tapioca pudding mix instead of this and it tastes great. **

• Pinch salt

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

1.  Roll out 1 sheet of the pie crust and put in a 9-inch pie plate, crimping the edges for a pretty presentation.
2.  Roll out the other sheet and cut into 1/2-inch thick strips with a sharp knife or pastry wheel. * I actually did not create strips. I find it makes it kinda messy, so I choose to leave the top normal and cut 4 symmetrical slits to allow the pie to vent.
3.  In a medium bowl, mix together all of the filling ingredients and pour into the crust.
4.  Arrange the strips over the top of the pie in a lattice pattern, tucking in the edges, or place the second sheet over the filling and cut the slits to help the pie vent. Brush the top with the melted butter and sprinkle the sanding sugar.
5.   Bake the pie for 25 minutes and then reduce the temperature to 350 degrees F. and bake until the top is golden brown, another 30 minutes. Let cool before serving with Whipped Cream, if desired.

I made my pies fairly early this year because I will be at Ladies’ night today with some girlfriends, and then we will be heading to the coast on Friday afternoon. I’ve learned years ago to come with my food already prepped when we are visiting the in-laws. Let’s just say it’s best for everyone if we keep as few cooks in the kitchen as possible ; )  Enjoy!

-Luv Di

Weekend wrap up!

This past weekend my awesome husband decided to make it a surprise. He planned the whole weekend in advance, and only allowed me to know what I needed to pack. It was perfect :) Honestly it didn’t matter what kind of weekend he had planned – I would have been thrilled no matter where we ended up. The fact that he put so much time and effort into every detail was what made it so amazing.

On Saturday we woke up semi- early to start our trek out on the road. At this point the only hint I was given was that we were heading north, and that we will be spending most of our time outside. 3.5 hours later we were at Six Flags!!! We had a blast discovering the park together and riding the roller coasters. 

( Sorry there are no pics of this, but with the whole not knowing 

where I was going situation I packed the wrong purse and ended up not 

taking my phone or camera into the park)

After the park we headed downtown to the Hilton Anatole to check in. This place is deceiving from the outside, but don’t let it fool you it is seriously huge inside. After settling in we got ready and headed up to their skyline bar and had a few drinks before dinner. We watched a beautiful sunset then headed off to a really nice restaurant called Nobu.
This place was on our restaurant bucket list, and I was excited to be able to 
check another place off of it.

Our view before dinner

Ricky and I having drinks before dinner

 

One of our plates at dinner

Talk about a small world we ended up being seated next a friend of mine from back home. Renick’s brother and I have know each other since Pre-K. She is a sophomore at SMU in Dallas right now, and I had not seen her or her brother since our wedding last September.  We of course ended up catching up for a while - her poor date was a trooper for letting us catch up on people and things he knew nothing about.

After dinner we were pretty beat and headed back to the hotel. On our way to the room we passed by a ballroom with a live concert going on inside. After a little investigating we found out it was a Doobie Brother’s concert for a non profit gala. We snuck and in and had a great time dancing and singing to some of their greatest hits. It was seriously one of those stories we will always keep with us.

The Doobie Brother's concert

Finally on Sunday we took our time packing up and head out and around town. I had never really spent time in Dallas before, and I wanted to check out the area. We went by SMU , and of course I did a little shopping at the North Cross Mall. Finally, before we headed out we stopped and had lunch with Mr. & Mrs. Noah and Casey Weiss.  Again, all set up by sneaky husband who called them without me knowing. It was a lot of fun, and it was the perfect way to wrap up our small trip out of town. I’m so sad they are moving to Chicago in the fall, but I’m really excited to see where it takes them. Also because they mentioned the possibility of moving to Austin once Noah completes his masters program.

The new Dallas Cowboys Stadium

 We are heading to the coast this weekend to celebrate Easter and Ricky’s mom and sister’s birthdays (they were both born on April 7^th).  I’ll be posting my strawberry pie with a magic pie crust recipe (complements of Becca)   along with my key lime pie recipe later on this week!

Luv- Di