Princess Camp

So Isabella went to "Princess Camp" this week at our local recreation center. I know, what the heck is Princess Camp, right? Well, you're about to find out.

On Monday, we had a little Princess Belle. That day they did puzzles, made tiaras, played "Pass the Tiara" (like hot potato), painted pictures, and read princess stories. Here's Isabella before she went and with her treasures when she got home.


Bryce wasn't quite sure what to do with himself, so this is how he spent the first morning.


Tuesday we had a Cinderella (or as she insisted - Cinderella Isabella). They made a different Tiara, made edible wands out of pretzel rods, made wands to bring home, did new pictures, played a game and read stories.


Wednesday brought around Princess Tiana. She made a Princess necklace (which she wants to wear all the time now), they made Princess cone hats, had Princess fruit snacks, played with fairy dust, and played "Who has the magic slipper?"


Thursday, she was Jasmine (thanks to Aunt Margie and cousin Katlyn). They made cupcakes from scratch and decorated and ate them, they made princess door hangers, made sashes for their tea party, and had a Princess Dance Party.


Friday was the final day of Princess Camp and Isabella got to wear the dress she'd been begging to wear since it arrived on Monday - Snow White. Today they made magic mirrors and got ready for their tea party. Parents were invited to the tea party as well. Ken was off work today so he was able to go too.

We saved this one for Friday because we knew they were having their tea party today and it is washable, unlike the other ones. Aunt Linda was very nice and made this beautiful Snow White dress for Isabella. It came in the mail on Monday. Linda sent it to us un-hemmed, so I spent the afternoon hemming it and fixing a few other things. Here's a picture before it was hemmed



Ready for the last day of camp. She didn't wear the cape to camp because we figured it would get in the way and it was a little big around the neck.



Dancing for their parents. They all twirled a little too much and kept falling down.



Waiting in line to play pin the tiara on the picture.



Enjoying her cookie during the Tea Party.


Saying goodbye to Miss Ellen.



Saying goodbye to Miss Amber.



Showing off her goodies from today.


And I had to include this one cause it was just funny.


All in all, I think she had a blast. But it was definitely a long busy week. And unfortunately it ended as the hottest week this year with a heat index of 120 degrees today.

Bathtime

Bryce was a little excited about bath time last night and jumped in fully clothed...socks and all.

Candy making

So I'm a little crazy and decided to make some candy of my own. I started off trying to make Milky Way bars. They didn't turn out horrendous. The nougat part was easier than I thought it would be to make. My problem was when it came to dip the nougat/caramel into chocolate. I had forgotten that I had greased the pan with the nougat/caramel, so the chocolate ended up not sticking very well, as you can see. I also ended up dipping them in semi-sweet chocolate, which I'm not a huge fan of. They were good, but very rich, and as you can see, very messy.




So yesterday, I decided to try again, but without the caramel this time, so they were more like 3 Musketeers. Here's the nougat before being dipped in milk chocolate.....and of course, the final product. They were super yummy and worked out better this time.



One main thing I figured out after the first time. Freeze the "innards" for a couple of hours prior to dipping them in chocolate. They stay together much better. And this time, I did that, but by the time I got to the last of them, they'd warmed up a little too much and started to fall apart. So next time, I'll pull only a few out of the freezer at a time.

A few people asked for the recipe, so here goes:

You will need a candy thermometer!

2 cups granulated sugar
2/3 cups light corn syrup
2/3 cups water
2 egg whites, room temperature
2 ounces unsweetened chocolate (I didn't add this even though it was part of the recipe, but I used the chocolate malt powder)
1/3 cup malted milk powder (chocolate or original - I used Ovaltine, which is easy to find)
1/8 tsp salt

1 - Prepare 8X8 pan by lining it with foil and spraying the foil with a nonstick cooking spray.

2 - Place sugar, corn syrup, and water in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat and stir until sugar dissolves. Brush down the sides of the pan with a wet pastry brush to prevent sugar crystals from forming, and insert candy thermometer. Cook without stirring until the temperature reaches 260 degrees. While you wait for the correct temperature, prepare the other ingredients.

3 - Chop the chocolate into small pieces and place in microwave safe bowl. Microwave until melted, stirring every 30 seconds to prevent burning. Stir until completely smooth, then set aside to cool slightly.

4 - Place the egg whites in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. When the syrup reaches 250 degrees, begin to beat the egg whites on medium speed.

5 - Once the syrup reaches 260 degrees, remove the pan from the heat. Pouring the syrup into a measuring cup with a spout (pyrex cups are great since they can withstand the heat) helps with the next step.

6 - Turn the mixer to high speed and slowly stream the syrup down the side of the bowl. Continue beating on high for about 5 minutes, until the egg whites are shiny, white, and stiff. Turn the mixer down and add the melted chocolate, malted milk powder, and salt. Mix until well combined and smooth. Turn mixer off and scrape down sides of the bowl.

7 - Scrape the nougat into the prepared pan and smooth into an even layer. Allow it cool at room temperature until completely set. This may take a few hours. Cut into small squares or bars.


You may melt down caramel and pour a layer of caramel (for Milky Ways). I suggest freezing for a few hours before trying to dip them - see my comment above.

To dip them in chocolate....I fashion a double-boiler with a glass bowl and saucepan. Bring a small amount of water to a simmer in the saucepan, then place the bowl on top. Make sure the bottom of the bowl doesn't touch the water. Melt whatever kind of chocolate you want (I prefer milk or white myself) a little at a time until it is all melted. Add a small amount of vegetable oil (not butter or margarine) to help keep it smooth. Then one at a time, dip the nougat pieces into the chocolate. A fork or two is helpful to fish the pieces out and help the excess chocolate off. Put the dipped pieces on a tray lined with wax paper. I put the pieces in the fridge to set, but they should set at room temperature as well, it just takes longer.

Then enjoy!

Bad influence

Isabella loves to "camp out" in the living room. Ken will pull pillows and sleeping bags down and camp out in the living room with her. Last night, Ken had to work and he didn't get home until about midnight. He checked on Isabella and she was about to fall out of her bed, so he moved her, which woke her up. Then he was still too wired to go to sleep so he decided to go down and watch some tv to unwind. Then he walks into Isabella's room and asks, "Are you awake?" She answered. He asked her, "Do you wanna go down and watch some TV?" She replies with, "Oh sure." Duh, like she's gonna say no. So at 12:30am, Ken brought Isabella down to "camp out" and watch some TV. He's such a bad influence.

Pride and Prejudice

Recently I've been on a kick for Pride and Prejudice. I have now watched three different versions and read the book and have a few opinions.

I watched this one before I read the book:



It was the one with Keira Knightley (who I'm not a huge fan of).

Then I read the book and really didn't like that version. It really didn't do the story justice.

Then I watched the old BBC version on Netflix (love Netflix!):



It was pretty good and stuck to the story really well.

Then I finally found a copy of this version:



Loved this version. Even though they took a few liberties with the story line and such, it was by far my favorite of the three.

Another Jane Austen one I like is Emma. The book was good and the only movie version I've seen is the one with Gwyneth Paltrow. It was pretty good, but sometime I'd like to see the BBC Miniseries.

I have also loved the mini-series North & South:


Again, I watched this on Netflix. It was one of their suggestions for me, so I watched it. It was very good. Then I read the book by Elizabeth Cleghord Gaskell. I know, backwards, but I tend to pick apart a movie if I read the book first. It was very good. A couple odd changes from the book, but very very good. (Note this is not the North & South with Patrick Swayze that was about the Civil War.)

So if you need a couple suggestions for things to watch, here you go:
Pride & Prejudice with Colin Firth
Emma with Gwyneth Paltrow
and North & South with Daniella Denby-Ashe