Seas The Day Mermaid Table

There are mermaids everywhere at Lake Powell,

just in case you didn't know!  They joined us for

dinner, despite the sign saying not to feed the mermaids!

My sister in law wanted to have a craft day,

and she was making wooden signs.  She has

a little wood shop in her garage.  It was so

fun watching her cut, sand, and drill the wood.

I decided to make this mermaid sign.

At Lake Powell we have a huge table that

Hubby's company made - Tyvarian.  It can seat 12.

I found these adorable plates on Overstock this summer.

I had seen some Mermaid plates in Hawaii, but

they were one of a kind and cost-prohibitive, so

I started searching online for some plates.

These are the dinner plates.  Isn't she just adorable?

The salad plates feature a different mermaid.

A similar mermaid decorates the bowl.

I was able to buy 16 of each.  Since

 we have limited storage on a houseboat,

I gave away a set of taupe plates that I had.

I found this pineapple flatware last year.  It is heavy and 

beautiful. 

Having a great love for mermaids, I am

thrilled with these new plates.  They can

swim up to eat with us anytime.

I also got a new shell chandelier this year.

The old one was worn out.  I love how the

breeze creates such a beautiful sound as

the shells tinkle.

I found it on Pottery Barn Teen.  My son

went down early to set up the houseboat,

and he assembled the chandelier - I was

amazed at his skills!

Some new Flamingos also joined us at Lake Powell 

this year.  I found these at At Home.  I just

love their sassy, mysterious look.  My granddaughter calls

them "Mingos"!  My son 

thought they were so cute, he was afraid someone

might steal them!

Thanks for joining me and the mermaids and

flamingos today.  

I will be sharing this with

Tablescapes Thursday

Share Your Cup 

Dishing It and Digging It

Ahoy Mateys - Happy Anniversary Tablescape

These here old Pirates be celebrating their 34th year

of wedded bliss and they done took their entire flock

to Pirate's Cove.

Ye remember talk of Pirate's Cove on

this here blog.

where there be jumpin' and divin'

and swimmin'

and slidin' through an old wrecked ship

and even explorin' in caves

for all yer scurvy mates!

There be somethin' fer every age!

and if ye really be lucky

ye might set yer eyes on a live

mermaid

There be friendly mermaids here,

none of them there man eatin' kind!

Today lunch be served in this here

cave

Known as One Eyed Jack's Tavern.

It be mighty scary, but plenty of fun.

The table be set with a treasure of jewels

right in front of the Skull Wall.

Right next to the Skull Wall is a fancy

dungeon where a Pirate Maid

watches over the vittles.

There she be!

All of this dinin' finery is here on 

the property.  

The plates and bowls shine with metallic

skulls.

Huge skull goblets be over the top.

For this table this humble pirate

did bring the napkins and

the napkin rings from her abode, 

but the placemats are located here

at Pirate's Cove.

The place be filled with trinkets to fill yer tables.

All this finery was right here in the cave.

The kitchen had three choices of flatware -

what a bounty of fun for a wench like me.

I be willin' to sign up for permanent residence here.

Fancy this table and chairs in your own cave.

Here the skull cup be filled with slushy

one of the little pirates' favorite treats.

There be plenty of staff around in the cave to help

with yer lunch prep

Thou they ain't too active with that there

ball and chain weighin' 'em down.

But we still managed to scrap together

some tri tip quesadillas.

If ye head up the tunnel at the back of the

cave ye be findin' jailed pirates tryin'

to filch the keys from the dog.

They both be movin' and speakin' so don't 

be alarmed.

As night falls everything at Pirate's cove

begins to glow and 

One Eyed Jack's is no exception.

The skull wall takes on a life of its own and

casts its eery glow.

What a fun anniversary to be had here.  There

be so many fun places to set tables that ye be

seeing several more in the future!

This tablescape lovin' wench just

couldn't help herself!

Aye Aye Captain!

Be on the lookout for more Pirate

Tables from Pirate's Cove.

We be takin' this anniversary party to

Let's Dish

Tablescapes Thursday

and

Oh The PLACES I've Been

at

The Tablescaper who is celebrating

her 4th Blog-a-versary with a $100

gift certificate for Home Goods

(My store of stores!!)

Give her a visit and become a follower.

Lemonade Cake

Did you have a lemonade or candy stand as a child?

My children did for years and years and lemonade

just reminds me of summer.

I saw a yummy picture of this on Pinterest and had

saved it for the summer.  We have a lunch group

and during the summer we gather at my friend Barb's

pool.  We bring our children and now our grandchildren

and do pot luck for lunch so I decided the pool party was

the perfect place to try out the lemonade cake.

I popped the cake in the oven the night before and then sat

down and read the reviews.  The recipe came from

My Recipes.Com and is a Cooking Light recipe.

I quickly began to panic as half the reviews said they took one

bite and threw the whole cake out.  I started making a back-up

plan in my mind as to what I could whip up in the morning.

First let me say that as I read the recipe and it said to bake

the layers for 20 minutes, I knew that was the first big mistake.

Where I come from, a layered cake has to be baked around 30-35

minutes.  Many of the reviewers said their cakes fell.  Aha - not

enough cooking time.  

I set the timer for 30 minutes and checked it and it needed another

5 minutes.  It raised, it looked good, it smelled good, but how

to taste a little of it and not be embarrassed as I served it.

Reviewers didn't love the cream cheese frosting recipe either -

I wondered if that was because it was "light".  Now this I

could change as I hadn't made that yet.  So in the morning 

I made my own recipe for a lemony cream cheese frosting.

Then I decided to garnish it with crushed lemon drops and

that led to crushed lemon drops between each layer.

Since everyone in the lunch group knows

I am a food blogger,

I decided to take some photos at home, including a slice of

cake (the above photo).  That let me take a little snitch of the

cake and YES, I liked it.  It got to come to the pool with me.

Everyone there liked it too and they especially loved the crunch

of the lemon drops between layers.

Lemonade Cake

(I changed the recipe to create 3 - 8 inch layers.)

2 C. granulated sugar

9 T. soft butter

1 1/2 T. grated lemon rind

4 1/2 T. thawed lemonade concentrate

3 tsp. clear vanilla

3 large eggs

3 large egg whites

3 C. flour

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

3/4 tsp. baking soda

3/4 tsp. salt

1 7/8 C. buttermilk

Heat the oven to 350.

In mixing bowl beat the first 5 ingredients until fluffy - for a full 5 min.

Add the eggs and egg whites one at a time, beating well between

each one.  Mix the dry ingredients in a separate bowl and stir

together with a whisk.  Beat the flour mix into the butter mix

alternately with the buttermilk, beginning and ending with the flour.

Scrape the sides of the bowl often.

Prepare 3 - 8 inch pans by cutting out parchment paper to fit

the bottoms of the pans.  I don't grease my pans, just use parchment

paper.  This way the grease doesn't interfere with the cake rising

and you get nice flat layers.  Spoon the batter evenly into the

three pans.  Bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick comes

out clean.  Let cool for 5-10 minutes, then run a knife around

the edge of the pan to release the cake from the pan.  Turn upside

down on a cooling rack.  Let cool completely.

Frosting

10 oz. jar lemon curd

(I like Dickinson's or Trader Joe's.)

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

4 C. powdered sugar

pinch salt

1/2 C. crushed lemon drops.

In a large mixer bowl beat the lemon curd and the cream cheese until 

smooth.  Beat in the powdered sugar and salt.  Beat until smooth.

The frosting will be very soft at this point so place the bowl in 

the fridge for about 20 - 30 minutes to help it firm up.

Place a small amount of frosting on serving platter to

hold cake in place.  Place a layer on and frost the top, then

sprinkle some crushed lemon drops on.  Continue with the

remaining layers.  Finish by frosting the sides and top and

garnish with crushed lemon drops.  

I had these African daisies in my garden so I used them to

top the cake.

Summery goodness in every bite.

Whoa, look who swam up out of the deep to have a bite of cake

with us.  This is Mermaid Emmy.

 You can find her fun mermaid tail

at The2Tails.com

She added her own tankini top.

You can also find the mono fin that goes inside by Googling

mermaid fin (around $30) and you could sew your own out of

sparkly swimsuit fabric. 

(We more mature ladies are toying with the idea of making

mermaid tails for ourselves! Now that would make a funny picture.) 

I will be posting with

On The Menu Monday

Foodie Friday

Seasonal Sunday