Pepper’s 1st Birthday

Posted on June 8, 2018June 7, 2018 by Melissa Harrison

Pepper turned one year old this week! It’s been quite the year with this crazy pup. She’s learned, grown and matured a lot over the past months and now those early, difficult days of puppy teeth nipping, crate training, teething and housebreaking are almost forgotten. She’s changed our lives for the better in so many ways and even though there are still some frustrations with this energetic, adolescent pup, waking up to her smiling face every morning makes me happier than anything in the world.

Photos by me and Matt Harrison.

Birthday Cake Ice Cream

Posted on April 26, 2018April 24, 2018 by Melissa Harrison

My best friend and I recently had a disagreement about whether cake and ice cream were best or worst served together. I said I always dreaded cake and ice cream time at birthday parties when I was growing up because I hated having them on the same plate but was too shy to ask to have them one at a time. Something about cold, soggy cake and crumb-filled ice cream eaten with a fork just filled me with a sorrow I have yet to recover from. He said all of those things were amazing and the best part of childhood. We absolutely could not find common ground on the topic. With his birthday coming up this weekend, I decided to make him something special: birthday cake ice cream with the cake crumbs stirred right in.

Ingredients

1 box of rainbow chip cake mix
- (+ 1 cup water)
- (+ ½ cup vegetable oil)
- (+ 2 eggs)
1½ cups whole milk
¾ cup sugar
1/8 tsp salt
3 large egg yolks
2 cups heavy cream
1 tbsp vanilla paste or extract
1 handful of rainbow sprinkles

Method

Prepare and bake the rainbow chip cake in a 13×9 pan, according to package instructions.
Meanwhile, bring the whole milk, sugar and salt to a simmer over medium-low heat. Stir until sugar is dissolved.
Beat the egg yolks lightly in a bowl.
Temper the eggs by slowly stirring a ½ cup of the warm milk mixture into them, beating constantly, then stirring this egg mixture into the milk mixture.
Cook over low heat, stirring often, until this mixture starts to thicken and reaches a temperature of 175°F. You’ve made custard!
Strain into a small, heat-safe bowl to catch any lumps of egg yolk that didn’t temper properly and chill in the fridge until cold.
Once cold, stir in the heavy cream and vanilla and churn in an ice cream maker.
While the ice cream is churning, crumble half of the cake into bite-sized chunks.
Place the cake crumbs and fully churned ice cream into a large storage container with half of the sprinkles and fold everything together. Sprinkle remaining sprinkles on top, lightly press a sheet of cling wrap down onto the surface of the ice cream, place the lid on the container and freeze overnight.

All photos by me.

Hello 30

Posted on February 16, 2018March 13, 2018 by Melissa Harrison

I’ll be turning 30 this weekend, and I couldn’t be excited. I think most people morn the end of their 20’s but I’ve always been a driven, goal-oriented person and always eager to reach the next milestone. I have no fear that I’ve left anything unaccomplished and I’m very ready to set new goals and see what the next decade has to show me.

Being someone turning 30, I was born in the 80s, so, I’ve planned to celebrate this big birthday with an 80s theme party! Not the tacky, neon 80s everyone seems to recall, but the everyday-overdone glamour vibe the decade did so well. I’ve organized a sushi and champagne menu, found a mint chip cake that does not represent any colour found in nature but seems so right, dug out all of my collected or self-vintaged 80’s decor, and purchased the perfect dress.

Let me talk about the dress! I usually buy myself a new dress for my birthday party, but I normally stick to the sales and end up with a very nice dress that’s maybe not right for winter. This year, I searched for a dress that was just right and paid full price, it’s a special year after all. The dress is a little out of my mid-century style comfort zone and the cut and the fabric are not something I would typically chose, but there’s something special and undeniably me about this dress. When paired with my practice hair and makeup, it’s leaning a little 70s disco but I couldn’t be more pleased with how the look turned out!

Dress Urban Outfitters
Necklace & Earrings old
Ring family heirloom

All photos by me.

Valentine’s Day Birthday, Part II

Posted on February 25, 2015February 24, 2015 by Melissa Harrison

At 27 years old, I still get excited about growing up and getting older. I’m the only adult I know who celebrates every added year with the enthusiasm and anticipation of a child still counting the years on one hand. I make sure all of my friends are seriously aware of my continued aging.

These go out in January, by the way.

I plan a party with enough food, games and long-distance guests to get my friends out of their homes and into mine on a cold night in the middle of February, when there’s almost always some sort of weather advisory (this year it was an extreme cold warning, what fun!).

My brother drove up from back home.

I found birthday cake flavoured Oreos while browsing the liquidation sales at the ill-fated Target Canada. I bought a whole bunch and made these not-so-quick but very easy Party Oreos. I only decorated half of the cookie, my friends thought I was being lazy, I thought I was being artistic.

Dress: Modcloth // Cardigan: H&M (old) // Tights: Target // Slippers: White Noise Maker // Necklace: Modcloth (old) // Earrings: gift, received them for my 5th birthday // Ring: a family heirloom

Because I was unofficially elected to be the party food maker of my friend group, I knew that if I wanted anything fancier than a bag of chips, I would have to make it myself. I decided to not overwork myself, for once, and only make easy stuff, hence the charmingly campy pigs in a blanket. My friend told me, with three days’ notice, that he would be very upset if someone didn’t make my famous steak & egg devilled eggs, so I whipped some up along with some dirty martini devilled eggs, for good measure.

My friend Sarah has made my birthday cake every year since I moved to the Niagara Region. This year I asked for either citrus or a tangy chocolate. She brought this happy yellow cake that I discovered, when I plunged my 9″ chef knife into it, was actually chocolate! I blew out all the candles on my first try.