Cupcakes & Puppy Love

I will use any holiday as an excuse to prepare an elaborate menu. I was on a mission all week to find some sort of Valentine-themed baked good Morgane and I could make together, and was inspired by red velvet cupcakes I spotted at the Co-Op. Perfect! Picked up red food coloring, looked up fabulous yummy recipe online, and got to work, promising Morgane that we'd decorate them with red icing when she woke up from her nap. I'm not sure what it is with me and baked goods, but they always turn out, well, less than picture perfect. I blame it on trying to bake at high altitude. Husband suggested I attempt it more than just on holidays. The first batch of red velvet cupcakes looked like they had been massacred - definitely red, but not velvety at all. I was able to refine the technique on the second. But I'm thinking I should just purchase my baked goods going forward, since I like them to look good. In any event, we did get to frost, ice and eat the yummies, and Morgane loved them, even if they didn't look as good as the ones in the picture. Sometimes we get hung up on the details and end result, when the real gem of the experience lies in the process. 

We also had a lot of puppy love going on at our house on V-Day: one of our friends brought over her Lab puppy for the day while she skied. Check out Zuzu (ours) and Lulu (hers), what a great pair. 

Hope you are enjoying the weekend, and savoring lots of love with friends and family.