Weekend Recap from Ann Arbor

By: Annie Wagner

It’s beginning to look a lot like summer…

We started off our weekend on Friday afternoon when Brian came home early from work to enjoy the perfect summer weather with us. We had a pool party playdate followed by a BBQ with friends! I linked our Ingenuity SmartClean Trio Elite 3-in-1 High Chair – we use this all day everyday and LOVE how easy it is to use and clean. Also linked our Charbroil Gas Grill – where most of our meals come from all summer long, and the Intex Kiddie Pool – Margot’s home for the next few months 😉

A big storm came through Saturday morning so we decided to stay in and bake. First we made pancakes for breakfast and Margot was in heaven…she downed six pancakes and wanted more #ParentingGoals. Then I was inspired by our favorite show – The Great British Baking Show – to make a Victoria Sponge Cake (recipe below). I had all the ingredients in my pantry and it was much easier than I anticipated. Not to toot my own horn, but it was DELICIOUS (toot toot).

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Saturday afternoon we went over to a friends house to watch the Champions League soccer game and enjoy homemade paella. Two teams from England were playing (Liverpool vs. Tottenham) which is what inspired our British themed day. #LongLiveTheQueen

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While we were there, the other kids were napping and Margot decided to take advantage of six adults watching her and show off her walking skills for the first time…such a ham! This Vtech Baby Walker is awesome. It has different speed settings so she can slowly control her steps while she learns to balance.

After two days of partying and eating, we enjoyed a low-key Sunday at home. After updating our front porch and herb pots, we took a long walk through County Farm Park with our City Select Baby Jogger Stroller. We LOVE this stroller and it has a second seat kit for future kids (or to use with friends), and there are tons of accessories and attachments to add as your little ones grow! We had pesto chicken pasta for dinner using the pre-marinated Pesto Genovese Chicken Breasts from Trader Joes with our favorite simple pasta recipe: olive oil, garlic, chopped tomatoes, salt & pepper and a splash (or a cup) of white wine sautéed together and served over your favorite kind of pasta. We ended the weekend binge watching VEEP – highly recommend if you have not yet seen it!

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Happy June!

Recipe: Victoria Sponge Cake

INGREDIENTS:

Cake

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 4 eggs
• 1 2/3 cups flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 4 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 tsp whole milk

Filling

• 1 1/2 cup lightly sweetened whipped cream
• 1/2 cup strawberry jam
• 1 cup sliced strawberries (optional)
• Powdered sugar

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Preheat your oven to 350F and prepare two 9 inch pans.
2. Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy..
3. Beat in the eggs, one at a time until completely combined.  Be sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl as you go.
4. In a small bowl, mix together the flour, salt and baking powder.  Stir flour mixture into butter mixture.
5. Add the milk and vanilla and mix until completely combined.
6. Spread in your prepared pans and bake for 12-15 minutes or until they test done.
7. Cool for 10 minutes in the pans and then turn out onto wire racks to cool completely.
8. To serve, spread jam over bottom layer of cake.  Top with strawberry slices if using, the spread with fresh whipped cream.  Top with remaining cake layer and dust with powdered sugar.