The first week of April, we welcomed the first baby boy to the Scott family. My sister Jenny gave birth to Wyatt Gregory on the afternoon of April 2. He’s a beautiful, healthy little man with four big girl cousins to watch out for him. I don’t think he’ll need it though. I can already tell he’s going to be the man in charge.
Ella was never this little! It’s true! Wyatt weighed 6 lbs 11 oz at birth. Ella was exactly 2 pounds more than that. What a peanut!
Proud Uncle Pete with his first nephew.
Big sister Hailey, who just turned 3, knows exactly what it takes to be a good mama.
Ella loves dolls and babies.
And this one is especially sweet!
Congratulations, Rob, Jenny, and Hailey on your new little Wyatt!
The royal wedding was all we hoped it would be. ‘We’ being the small group of celebratory guests gathered at my parents’ house for the early morning event. We arrived on Thursday evening, settled in to sleeping bags around the house, set alarms, and drifted to sleep with visions of wedding dresses and fashionable hats dancing in our heads.
At 3:45am, we awoke with excitement…and very sleepy eyes…just in time to watch the procession of royalty begin. First it was the princes, followed by family members and the queen, and finally, the soon-to-be-princess. We were in awe as Miss Kate stepped from the car to reveal her much anticipated bridal gown.
Although we remained in our wee-hour jammies, fancy hats and fascinators could not be dismissed.
My mum looked quite festive in her lovely, purple wedding hat.
My Auntie Bue sported this amazing style. It’s an official police helmet from England! She was given it as a gift from the class of DARE officers she recently taught. They added the E 911 just for her. Pretty sure that won her the prize for best hat. (The flowers are behind the hat, not attached to it.)
We nibbled on scones and real English tea but never took our eyes off the TV in fear we would miss a beautiful moment.
Another of our royal treats – shortbread cookies with crowns. How appropriate.
Did you know that “jellies” are very popular in England? It’s quite amazing the things you can learn on The Today Show. I discovered this treat just a few days before the event and happened to already have a little copper Jell-o mold. (It looks cute on top of my kitchen cupboards.) The top layer was cherry, the bottom was black cherry, and between the layers I slipped in a mix of berries. My first jelly! Perfectly memorable for the wedding.
I couldn’t resist making cupcakes for such a celebration. Another popular tea party dessert in England. These chocolate cakes were decorated with regal, purple, almond frosting and white fondant circles stamped with a W. For Windsor, of course.
Miss Malena was quite the party guest in Grandma’s hat.
Congratulations, Prince William & Princess Katherine!
Yes, I am absolutely counting the days until the royal wedding. (It’s the day after tomorrow – Friday morning – if you’re out of the loop.) I’m not at all ashamed to admit it. In fact, we’re planning a lovely Royal Wedding Tea Party to celebrate the grand occasion. Mama Bex, her girls, Ella, and I will be driving to Pequot to join my mom, her sister Bue, and Bue’s friend Maureen for a sleep over on the eve of the wedding. It’s practically a requirement since the wedding is scheduled to begin at 11am London time, which equals 5am Minnesota time.
What does a Royal Wedding Tea Party entail? Tea, of course, in the very English tradition. I’ve also been working on hats and a fascinator (not meant to be particularly pretty, mind you), decorating royal cupcakes, and baking scones. Last night I made a lovely recipe fit for an early morning tea party and wanted to share the it, just in case you’d like to make them for your own wedding watching party or just for fun.
The scones can be made in a variety of flavors. A few of my favorite are apricot, cranberry white chocolate, and raspberry. You can easily experiment with different ingredients by changing the cranberries and white chocolate in the recipe below with whatever you would like.
So here is what you’ll need:
1 3/4 cups flour 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder 2 1/2 tablespoons sugar 1/4 teaspoon salt 6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces 1/2 cup dried cranberries 1/2 cup white chocolate chips 1 large egg 6 tablespoons heavy cream
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt. Add butter and cut in with a fork or pastry blender until mixture looks like a coarse meal. Stir in cranberries and white chocolate.
apricot mix
3. In a small bowl, beat together egg and cream. Add this to the flour mixture. Stir it all together gently with a fork until the mixture come together. Try not to mix it much more than that. If the dough is too dry, add a splash of heavy cream until it sticks together but isn’t too sticky.
4. Transfer dough to a lightly floured work surface. Shape the dough into a circle about 1 inch thick. Using a sharp knife, cut the dough into equal wedges.
cranberry chocolate
5. Place scones on prepared baking sheet. Using a pastry brush, lightly brush the tops of each scone with heavy cream and sprinkle the tops with sugar.
6. Bake until golden brown, about 15-16 minutes. Remove from oven and place on a rack to cool.
