This Year's Garden

Pumpkin patch in foreground

Our garden is flourishing this year!  And I am very happy to have a drip system set up this year- last year I had to water with the bubbler, and spend half an hour to an hour every day out there.  The weather was fairly cool this year until mid June, so between that and being busy with three children, we got a later start than usual this year.  We have lots of pumpkins, carrots, lettuce, peppers, tomatoes, one tomatillo plant, cucumbers (my favorite!!) and beans.  We had zucchini, but it fizzled out already. 

All the credit for this garden goes to my husband - I didn't do a bit of it! He is a sweetheart. 
I am posting lots of pictures, at my mother's request!

Fresh tomatoes

Cool, crisp, juicy cucumbers

Rattlesnake beans - so sweet right off the vine!

Pumpkin vines twirling and swirling

We planted way too many radishes!

Lettuce and peppers

Tomatillos - first time growing these

A summertime rainbow!

Pretty, Pretty Peonies

Peonies are my new favorite flower -They are so romantic and old fashioned!

I hardly ever buy cut flowers, since I have plenty in my yard, 

but I couldn't resist buying my first peony bouquet ever!

I would love to grow these, but I don't know if they grow where I live...

I'll have to look it up when I have a minute.

Do you love peonies, too?

Peaches on a Cloud Muffins

A few years ago, I entered these fresh peach and cream cheese muffins into a cupcakes and muffins contest at my local fair.  They were inspired by these berry cheesecake muffins from Taste of Home.  I experimented several times to get just the right moisture and flavor for some winning muffins, then took them warm to the fair.  My hard work paid off, and I won first place in the muffin category, and best overall in four cupcake and muffin categories!
This is an original recipe of mine, so if you re-post this, please credit me!

Ingredients:
1/3 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
¼ tsp. almond extract
½ tsp. vanilla extract
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon peach gelatin powder
1/3 cup milk
¾ cup peeled, chopped fresh peaches

FILLING:
1 package cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup sugar
1 egg
¼ teaspoon almond extract
¾ cup peeled, chopped fresh peaches

STREUSEL TOPPING:
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon butter

Directions:
In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add almond and vanilla extracts. Combine the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and peach gelatin powder; add to creamed mixture alternately with milk. Gently fold in the chopped peaches. Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups one-third full.
    For filling, in a small mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, sugar, egg and almond extract until smooth. Fold in the chopped peaches. Place a tablespoonful on top of each muffin. For topping, combine the flour, sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl; cut in butter until crumbly. Sprinkle over muffin batter.
    Bake at 375° for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks. Best served warm.
Yield: 18 muffins

Linking up to All the Small Stuff- Tuesdays at the Table.
Sugar Bananas! Sweets This Week 
A Southern Fairytale- Mouthwatering Mondays 
Sweetology Tea Party Tuesday 
Balancing Beauty & Bedlam-Tasty Tuesday Parade of Foods 
Blessed with Grace-Tempt My Tummy Tuesday 

Make it in a Minute! Floral Hair Pin Tutorial

Wearing flowers in your hair, or on your shirt, or even on your shoes seems to be very popular these days.  I'm not one to keep up on the latest trends, but flowers will always be pretty and feminine, and I'm all for that!
I made these little simple flower hair pins in just a few minutes, with just a few supplies.
If you would like to make these, you will need Good Hair Days Magic Hair Pins, which by the way, are fabulous for holding up-dos on long hair. Also you will need a button for each pin; a hot glue gun; and whatever type of flowers you wish to use.  I just pulled mine off some artificial flower bouquets that I had in the house!

Supplies are ready...

Glue a button to the back of the hair pin...

Glue a flower on the front; the button provides a place for the flower to adhere to...

Voila! Beautiful, simple hair pins!

Linked up to Today's Creative Blog, Get Your Craft On!

Light and Fluffy - Lemon Cream Pie

This was a creative concoction that I came up with for the sole purpose of using up a jar of lemon curd I bought at Trader Joe's.I don't have an actual recipe, so I'll just tell you how I put this creamy pie (it was declared heavenly by a neighbor I shared it with) together.

Ingredients:
1 graham cracker crust
1 pint whipping cream
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 cup powdered sugar
2 3 oz. boxes lemon pudding
1 1/2 cup cold milk
1 jar lemon curd

Whip the whipping cream until stiff, set aside.  Beat cream cheese and powdered sugar until smooth.  Fold in 1 cup of whipped cream.  Pour into pie shell.  Beat milk and 1 box of lemon pudding together on medium for two minutes. Pour over cream cheese filling.  Beat lemon curd and 1 box of lemon pudding together for three minutes, until smooth.  Fold in 1/2 to 1 cup of whipped cream. Pour over pudding mixture on pie. Top with remaining whipped cream.  Chill for four hours, or until firm.  Note: The whipped cream can be changed out for Cool Whip.

Linking up to Tasty Tuesdays @ Beauty & Bedlam and Tuesdays at the Table @ All the Small Stuff