Last night I made a peaches and cream pie with a sugar cookie crust for a little get together with some friends. It was dee-lish.

white peaches and regular peaches

waaa-la!

Update::
Here’s the recipe:

Note- you should only make this when you have perfectly ripe peaches.

Crust
1 stick unsalted butter, softened (room temp)
3 tablespoons sugar
1 large egg yolk (room temp)
3 tablespoons heavy cream
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt

Filling:
1 lb (two 8oz packages of cream cheese (room temp)
1 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Topping
2 1/2 cups thinly sliced ripe peaches

Note: Be sure to blanch the peaches in boiling water for 60 secpnds, transfer to an ice water bath and remove skins before slicin.

Prehead oven to 375 degrees

To make the crust: In a large bowl, on the low speed of an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar until smooth (about 3 minutes). Add the egg yolk and cream and mix well. Add the flour and salt, and beat until just combined. (Careful not to over work or the crust will be tough.) Gather the dough into a ball and roll it out on a lightly floured surface to fit a 9″ glass pie pan. Fold the edges under all around the rim and crimp. Prick the bottom and sides all over with the tines of a for. Cover the edge of the pie crust with foil, place on a baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes. Carefully remove the foil and bake for another 20 minutes until the crust is crisp and golden. Remove from oven and allow to cool on a wire rack.

To make the filling: n a large bowl, on the low speed of an electric mixer, beat together the cream cheese and sugar until smooth and creamy. (again about 3 minutes) Add the heavy cream and vanilla and continue to beat at a low speed until well combined.

Refrigerate the filling while the crust is cooling. When the crust is completely cooled, spread the filling evenly in the crust with a rubber spatula. Arrange the sliced peaches on top in a decorative manner.

Refrigerate the pie for at least 8 hours or overnight to ensure that the filling sets.

the end

“How soon country people forget. When they fall in love with a city it is forever, and it is like forever. As though there never was a time when they didn’t love it. The minute they arrive at the train station or get off the ferry and glimpse the wide streets and the wasteful lamps lighting them, they know they are born for it. There, in a city, they are not so much new as themselves: their stronger, riskier selves.”
— Toni Morrison

Looking through some old photos and feeling very nostalgic.

I moved to London when I was 19. Just packed my bags and off I went with a one-way plane ticket. I was going to work as a nanny. Actually my first stop was Cardiff, Wales. I’d never even spoken to the family I was going to live with. Looking back I think how naive I was. But it was great. Maybe sometimes ignorance is bliss. I will do a little post on how much I love Wales another day. Tonight my heart is in London.

The situation in Wales didn’t work out and I was suddenly all alone on the other side of the great big Atlantic ocean. I’m not going to pretend like I was all strong, independent woman. There were several moments of sheer panic, a few tearful phone calls home, and a whole lot of desperate prayer.

I’ll skip the details but I randomly and miraculously got in touch with another family in London. I spoke to them once, took my first taxi and my first train and ending up in London.

I love London. For me it was the best thing I could have done. Not only was I living on my own for the first time but I was in London. I couldn’t open my eyes wide enough to take it all in. If I wasn’t so lazy I’d find/scan/post photos. But I am that lazy and the photos are not great.

Some of my favorite things about London:

saying “whilst”
riding the Tube
English money is prettier I think
looking at buildings that are older than the United States
the accents, oh gosh I love the accents!
the names of the pubs like The Frog & Radiator
roundabouts
my little yellow Austin Metro
talking to little old English men
driving to Cardiff
going out dancing in the City
my A to Z
Shakespeare’s Globe
getting post
the amazing friends I made

and sooo many more things.

There are things I love about every place I’ve lived. But London was the first.

I think I love it best.

I am smitten by these photos by Polgaroid. I had a hard time narrowing it down and I just love these.

… because this one is cuter.

Please excuse the wonky photos – Harlow was trying to go in the opposite direction and I am not yet talented enough to take one-handed polaroids.

I’m tired of hearing about the other Jon & Kate.

photo via Julia

This was the best thing I’ve read for all week. Don’t you love Erin?

Candyland celebrates it’s 60th birthday with a life-size game in San Fransisco.

SX-70… the magic camera

Possibly the creepiest thing ever… found when searching “jeans”.

An adorable video about naming a baby

Check out the Taz Polaroid camera

A new fave on Flickr

Ethan laughing… I posted it awhile ago but I still love it.

Have a lovely weekend!

photo source: unknown

photo via Thespian Muse

photo property of rebecca pepperell

“Don’t undertake a project unless it’s manifestly important and nearly impossible.”
Edwin Land
(inventor of Polaroid film)

The Impossible Project is getting closer to becoming a very possible one. I think this is an amazing undertaking and I get more and more excited about it everyday. You can check the site for updates. As of right now the project has 11,561,717 seconds remaining. Seconds-wise that seems quick.

So what is The Impossible Project?

Basically, after Polaroid announced that it would stop the production of instant film (so sad!), The Impossible Project bought up all of all of Polaroids dead stock along with the machinery and equipment at Polaroid’s Netherlands factory. (so happy!) The plan is to re-start the production of analog instant film in 2010

photos of the factory in Enschede (NL)

photos of the Polaroid equipment at the factory

And now Urban Outfitters is teaming up with the The Impossible Project to make sure the remaining Polaroid Stock doesn’t go unloved.

There is so much work going on and there are lots of ways you can show your support… 2010 is not that far away and it’s totally possible!

Factory and equipment photos from the The Impossible Project website– used with permission.

Fiat and designer Fabio Novembre have installed 20 life-size fiberglass replicas of the automaker’s 500 C compact car in Milan each with a tree planted inside. The cars are parked along the Montenapoleone, Milan’s epicenter for fashion and jewelry.

The project is called Per fare un albero ‘To make a tree’, and is a collaboration with the Municipality of Milan – Department of Design, Fashion and Events. The idea was to bring some summer shade to the popular stretch of sidewalk in the capital of Lombady. All the 500’s will be parked in their current location till the end of September following that they will be moved to other parts of the city.

Spotted over at Swiss Miss. How awesome are these?