Breakfast à la Française

Today was the day to finally try this recipe which had been hibernating on my Paris Pinterest board ever since I pinned it while gathering ideas for my focus-city themed classroom years ago! Since it is still February, aka "Month of Love & Romance & Chocolate," the timing felt right!  And was it ever decadent! Sadly, I did not have bittersweet chocolate on hand and therefore had to substitute with semisweet and (gulp) even some milk chocolate! But nevertheless, it slid down the hatch very smoothly! I'm sure the copious amounts of whipping cream aided in that department... I sipped it whilst tearing off pieces of a crusty baguette leftover from Joe Pattie's that I warmed in the microwave and then toasted in the toaster oven, and felt ever so French as I enjoyed my very Parisian breakfast. But eventually the conjured images of the Eiffel Tower faded into the reality of the very American Monday that was before me. A Mondayish Monday brim-full of attempting to work from home, continuously feeding my ever-scavenging toddler, gathering groceries in local ole Atmore, laundering our soiled clothing, and preparing grub for growling middles. But looking back, it was a good Monday! Although seeing the City of Light is most definitely on my bucket list, I wouldn't trade my little world in Walnut Hill for anything! 

Bonjour!

French Hot Chocolate

The most decadent dark hot chocolate recipe that tastes just like the French hot chocolate found in Paris cafés. Intense, rich, and absolute heaven for any chocolate lover. Recipe based off of the famous Café Angelina in Paris.

YIELD: 2 large, intense cups or 4 smaller ones

 

PREP TIME: 3 minutes

 

COOK TIME: 5 minutes

 

TOTAL TIME: 8 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups whole milk
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 2 teaspoons powdered sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon espresso powder (optional, but delicious for intensifying chocolate flavor)
• 8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, at least 70%, chopped*
• Giant bowl of whipped cream, for serving

Directions:

1. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, whisk together the whole milk, heavy cream, powdered sugar, and espresso powder until small bubbles appear around the edges. Do not allow the mixture to boil.
2. Remove from saucepan from the heat and stir in the chopped chocolate until melted, returning the sauce to low heat if needed for the chocolate to melt completely. Serve warm, topped with lots of whipped cream.

The Best of 2017!

Happy 2018! 

We bring to you the Best of our 2017 backwards! 

I started this epistle long ago and realized that if I continued each month as I had done December; it would need to be a leather-bound bookshelf edition! So I chose to follow the advice of my sage stepfather, "It doesn't have to be perfect, it just has to be DONE." Therefore, I selected ONE "best" event for all of the following months! This does NOT mean it was the only good thing that happened each month; it was just the event I felt to elaborate upon! In typing this, I inadvertently ended up reading through my entire daily dairy, and came to the resounding conclusion that we are so blessed! God has been beyond good to us, and we have so much to be thankful for! I know that sounds trite, but it is the truth! Daniel has had an amazing, albeit busy year as Faircloth Land Services has expanded. I have enjoyed so many daily normal days with Danielle and in the office at Schneider Farm Fence. We both love what we do and we love our little girl and our two furkids! And we love you, our family and friends! 

May 2018 bring you PEACE, LOVE, & JOY.

The Best of DECEMBER....

Hearing Danielle say "Baby Jethusth" with her sweet little lisp... She played and played with her Little People nativity set. Various toys including her precious ScoobyDoo ornament from Nana got to sit in the stable next to the manger.

Date night in Pensacola eating at Outback and Christmas shopping for Danielle at Toy R Us and Academy... Daniel sure knows how to spoil his girls!

SNOW in FLORIDA! Daniel and I stayed up most of the night watching it magically flutter to the ground and coat everything in sugary whiteness. Danl woke us up around 6:30 and we bundled up to explore and play and take in our rare snow day! It truly felt as if someone had changed out our normal brown world for someone else's glittery white one! We threw snowballs, Danielle and I built a snowman family, and I made one snow angel and the hugest snowball ever which amazingly lasted for days; one ever-melting reminder that our now brown-again world truly had been whirl of white!

Cuddling in the cozy glow of our fake flames...blankets and pillows piled around! This little heater from Lowe's has been the best Cyber Monday purchase ever!

Christmas in Callaway with Alex, Ashton, and Paxton! "Fantasy in Lights" is always so fun and festive, but taking our friends and Danielle through for their first time was the best ever! Afterwards, Danielle and I delightedly devoured the hugest donut we have ever seen! Then we winded our way through the back roads to end up at the mansion of a Marriot we had booked online. Wow. Let's just say we don't always stay at golf resorts, but when we do, we stay at the Auburn Marriott Opelika Hotel & Conference Center at Grand National.

Oysters with my family on the 25th! After attacking Mt. Giftmore, we had an absolute feast of the sea! Raw oysters, Cajun baked oysters, crabcakes, hushpuppies, fried trigger fish, cheese grits, coleslaw, baked beans, 3 Musketeers chocolate mousse dessert and assorted goodies! 

Family time in Guntersville! Five grandkids age 3 and under made for some amazing times! And of course we had another Mt. Giftmore!

The Best of NOVEMBER....

Getting a new but old-fashioned style coil-spring mattress from our local Mattress Depot and topping it with a 7 zone memory foam topper from JCP! 

The Best of OCTOBER...

Family outing to pick out pumpkins from the local Pumpkin Patch following by coffee from Lava Java! We sorta just "moved in" at each location lol!

The Best of SEPTEMBER...

The much-anticipated arrival of Anthony & Katelyn's Noah Royce on September 9! We just love that little baby boy from his super long eyelashes to the tip of his toes or "diddies" aka "piggies" as Danielle would say!

The Best of AUGUST...

The Great American Eclipse of 2017! Even though our area was far from totality, it was an exciting event!

The Best of JULY...

Summer Vacation July 17 - August 1! Seeing so many of our friends and family was just truly the BEST!

The Best of JUNE...

The long-awaited arrival of darling Isla Francine to Pierre & Alisha on June 19! Our little dark-haired Northern niece is without a doubt the most beautiful baby princess ever born! 

The Best of MAY...

Hosting an enjoyable al fresco steak supper with a couple friends for Daniel's birthday! Life doesn't get much better than good times with good friends while eating good food!

The Best of APRIL...

A gun-related Saturday road trip to Americus, GA and back! Monroe Hotdogs and Krispy Kreme donuts! Yay, what a perfect day!

The Best of MARCH...

Danielle Nicole's first birthday puppy party! A "paw-some" time was had by all!

The Best of FEBRUARY...

Leaving Danielle at Nana & Pops while we had sushi from Sake for our 12th anniversary! I think the entire evening was a treat for everybody!

The Best of JANUARY...

Watching Donald Trump become the President of the United States! I never realized all the pomp and circumstance of an American inauguration! 

And that my friends, is the end!