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I couldn't wait to add my new Disney Park Exclusive charms to my Pandora bracelet and I'm so happy with how it turned out. These charms are so detailed and adorable, and of course have so much meaning to me. Disney holds a special place in my heart and we have enjoyed creating so many happy memories as a family during our visits.
Here is a quick video showcasing this bracelet in more detail...
I am very excited for the Royal Wedding on Saturday and will definitely be up early to watch. Even hubby is on board knowing I will be serving English Cream Scones at 6:00 a.m. There is nothing like enjoying these tender biscuits with clotted cream or Devonshire Double cream and a wonderful jam. I made a special trip to the British foods store to gather all I needed for the day and it took all my willpower to talk myself out of getting the souvenir Meghan and Harry gold-rimmed plate.
There is a bit of the Christmas fruitcake I made last winter to serve as a wedding cake stand-in (since I don't have time to make a Lemon Cake this week) and I plan on Cornish Pasties with potato, onion, and swede/rutabaga (you can find the recipe I used IN THIS POST) for dinner.
With all the media coverage on t.v. I had to pull out my scrapbook from our trip to England in 2016 to find my photos of Windsor (see them HERE) and re-live that amazing tour of the castle. It made me yearn to return and we so enjoyed the town of Windsor it is hard to see everyone standing where we stood, celebrating without us. Well, it looks like it will be a beautiful day and I cannot wait to see the bride and groom.
You can watch me make scones in my video below...an excellent treat to serve with tea!
There is a new 'land' in Walt Disney World's Animal Kingdom and it's named Pandora! Based on the movie Avatar, this new experience is a stunning recreation of some of the gorgeous and complex landscapes from the fictional lush planet. It is reported to have cost $500 million dollars to build and it's not difficult to see why when you walk through the incredible land. There are two main attractions to enjoy, the first being a boat ride that is magical and enchanting as you journey through a bioluminescent rainforest. The second is one of the most extraordinary rides I've ever taken!
Avatar Flight of Passage is unlike any other 3D experience as you ride on the back of a mountain banshee. I won't spoil it with details but I loved every second of it. We were lucky to have FastPasses but I think the 2 hour stand-by wait time would be worth it. It is an incredible feeling of flying and there are so many details that are just mind-blowing. I can't begin to explain how unique and exhilarating those 5 minutes are and I am still mesmerized!
Our trip was a wonderful chance for our whole family to be together and we had the best time. As always, as hard-core Disney fans, we enjoyed all the different aspects of the vacation, from food, to parks, to resort. Oh, and the food! Before we left I watched so many Disney Food Blog videos with tons of advice and enticing suggestions. I was so pumped to try new snacks and foods we hadn't before and it was amazing to actually finally get to taste everything.
A few highlights were: the pineapple upside down cake with Dole whip, the All American sundae with peanut butter and chocolate, the giant chocolate chip cookie ice cream sandwich, and beignets. Yum! We also enjoyed cupcakes and chocolate covered marshmallow rice cereal treats, poutine with bacon cheddar sauce (for the non-vegetarians), mango pie, and of course, the usual popcorn which is still incredible! So not the healthiest fare but we did walk almost 100 km during our six days there. It was all terrific!
This year was special because I was also super excited to be able to pick up some park-exclusive Pandora charms. I will share those in another post but safe to say it was a Pandora-filled trip, with both the attraction and the jewelry being front and centre in my magical wishes. It all went too fast but now I am home I can re-live the memories with photos and gorgeous souvenirs...
I had a craving for stuffed French Toast and found THIS RECIPE for Baked Cream Cheese French Toast Casserole from Sally's Baking Addiction. It sounded divine and exactly what I was looking for so I whipped it up for breakfast the very next day - quite a special treat for a weekday!
It's so convenient being able to prepare French toast in a make-ahead casserole. Mornings are busy enough already and this large 9x13" dish feeds up to twelve at one go. (Is it bad that we only divided it into 6???). The cubed bread is plopped into the buttered pan and soaked with a standard egg, milk, and spice mixture. The special part comes in next with a sweetened cream cheese dotted on top and then the casserole sits in the fridge (3 hours or preferably overnight). The next morning, while the oven is pre-heating, a lovely butter and brown sugar streusel topping is sprinkled over the whole casserole. Yum! The Cream Cheese French Toast bakes for about 45 minutes and is served hot from the oven. Full disclosure, it tastes amazing the next day - even cold! ;)
I tweaked this recipe just a tad by adding sliced bananas and a half cup of frozen blueberries along with the bread cubes. I served the casserole with fresh strawberries and warmed maple syrup but to be honest, the streusel topping makes it very sweet and little syrup is actually needed.
We all loved the baked French toast and I appreciated how easy it was to make ahead. I will definitely be showcasing this dish at an upcoming brunch and it will be perfect when we have family visiting. This recipe gets an A+ from me!
One of my favourite YouTube Pandora videographers is Emily at Fashionstoryteller. She creates the most beautiful style videos and has a wonderful collection of Pandora charms, bracelets, and other jewelry which she shares in such a creative and professional way. When I first happened upon her channel I was amazed at the work she puts into her videos, from the gorgeous way she films to the final editing and production. It's like watching an actual Pandora promotional release!
I have been so inspired by this fellow Pandora fan and it is largely thanks to her that my passion for the charms has been renewed. I have learned so much from Emily about the way to go about designing a bracelet as well as how to properly size, care for, and wear Pandora jewelry. If you enjoy Pandora bracelets and haven't already become addicted to Emily's videos, definitely check out her channel to discover a great source of inspiration!
Another passion included in the fashionstoryteller videos is TEA! Emily always has an interesting cup of tea on the go while she films and she recently shared how she makes her tea lattés at home. The secret is the Milk Café by Breville, a stand-alone home milk frother machine. While this small appliance is a pricier choice when it comes to frothing milk, the reviews are consistently excellent and it tops many of the lists I read while researching frothers. Emily swears by the Milk Café and if you also enjoy lattés and cappuccinos daily, it might just be a worthwhile purchase.
The Breville machine uses induction heating to gently and evenly heat the milk to the selected temperature. Having a variable temperature dial allows you to choose how hot you want your drink and the option of a latté frothing disc or a cappuccino disc gives you the pick of a smooth and silky milk or a thick and creamy froth. There is a cold stir setting, as well as a removable measuring cup in the lid for adding chocolate, syrups or flavouring while the milk froths. The large 3-cup capacity stainless steel jug has various level markings inside and is dishwasher safe.
The Milk Café really does work perfectly to deliver a hot, frothy milk for at-home beverage creations. My first cup was a delicious London Fog (Earl Grey tea, vanilla, and creamy, foamy milk) and it was so fun to make. I am tweaking my recipes to perfect them and am enjoying playing barista for my family. Chai tea latté anyone?
Here is Fashionstoryteller's video tutorial for tea lattés at home...
I have been using a lot of loose tea these days so I picked up this ingenuiTEA steeper to make things easier. It is a very cool teapot and is ideal for brewing the perfect cup. When the tea is ready you place the steeper on top of your mug which releases a valve and lets the tea flow through the mesh strainer. Clear tea with no bits of leaves is the wonderful result, with easy clean-up - just tap out the tea leaves and give the pot a rinse.
I purchased the larger 28oz size so that I can make two cups if I want. One cup can be made just as easily and once you see where the fill line is for the quantity of tea you want, no measuring is required. If you do make two cups, the valve stops immediately when you lift the pot switch cups and there is no dripping or leaking.
I love being able to see the colour of the steeping tea and the easy cleaning is great. While the ingenuiTEA is dishwasher safe, the tea shop where I bought it recommended simply rinsing under water - no need for anything more. Sounds good to me! I love using it!
You can see how this cleaver teapot works in the video below or check out the IngenuiTEA website HERE.