The Other Side of Thirty-Five

So far 36 has been pretty good. For my birthday today Will got the day off work due to icy roads.

And it barely snows here, so the half an inch of snow we got was still fun.

And enough to build an itty bitty snowman.

Thank goodness we had baby carrots for the nose!

We got to wear both layers of our new coats.

And realized it's hard to see out of our new hats.

Sy liked it. Until he slipped and landed face first and realized that snow is cold.

Then he insisted it was nap time.

And the rest of us got hot cocoa.

Sadie and I baked a cake. With the best icing ever.**

And then she decorated it.

Isn't it beautiful? Over on the left is Dada, on his way to work, carrying his bag.

But you knew that, right?

So a lovely day to turn 36, surrounded by my little folks. With a grass-fed steak dinner cooked by Dada, to boot.

**Buttercream-Milk Icing Recipe

1 cup milk

4 tbs flour

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup butter

2 tsp vanilla

Combine milk and flour in a saucepan over low heat to make a white sauce. Sometimes the flour can be lumpy- so I make a roux first with some extra butter and the flour, then add the milk to make a white sauce.

Set aside to cool. Beat the butter and sugar until creamy. Add vanilla. Add white sauce, when cool, and beat until smooth. So flipping good!