There are two things people think of when the word “trifle” comes up. Rachel Green making a beef trifle on FRIENDS and how hard it is to make. I’m here to tell you that making a trifle is actually a simple dessert that can be made in so many ways. In winter, it’s a cranberry trifle and in summer, it’s this sweet strawberry shortcake trifle.
Strawberry Shortcake Trifle Ingredients –
2 cups cake flour (MUST be cake flour)
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
2 tablespoons sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups heavy cream (I use an organic cream and it’s AH-MAZING)
Fruit –
2 pounds sliced strawberries
2 tablespoons sugar
Another 2 tablespoons of lemon juice
Whipped Cream Ingredients –
3 cups cold heavy whipping cream
6 tablespoons powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Lets get to baking this strawberry shortcake trifle!
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Spray or grease an 8-inch round pan and set aside. In a medium bowl stir together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, and salt. Add in the 2 cups of heavy cream and stir till the mixture is combined. At this point, this mixture is STICKY. Don’t fret, you’re doing it right!
Pour mix into the round pan and bake for 20-25 minutes. I check on it constantly. Remove from oven and let cool completely.
In a medium sized bowl, add strawberries, sugar, and lemon juice and stir to combine. Set aside.
Now it’s time to make the whipped cream! In a bowl or stand alone mixer, beat the cold whipping cream until soft peaks form. Add in the powdered sugar and vanilla and beat another 1-2 minutes.
Once the shortcake has cooled prepare to assemble the trifle. This is the fun part! Begin with a bottom layer of crumbled shortcake on the followed by a layer of cream, then strawberries. Repeat layers until ingredients run out. Cover and store in the fridge until ready to serve. When assembling, just take your time! Make sure you are gentle when adding the cream to the top of the shortcake so you don’t pull up the crumbs. To really get the layers, focus on the sides and making them tall!
Nothing is more refreshing in summer than a light, fruity drink. Fresh fruit makes this summer white sangria recipe perfect for the 4th of July!
This fizzy and fruity sangria is perfect for a summer weekend
This white sangria recipe is for a large drink dispenser so there is plenty for everyone, but it’s so simple that you can easily alter it for a smaller crowd. You can’t really ever have enough fruit to go wrong!
What you’ll need-
8 cups watermelon (cube them and remove seeds)
An additional 5-6 water melon slices to be used for garnish. The recipe called for a star shaped cookie cutter to cut out star shapes using the watermelon slices, but I don’t own one and skipped over this step.
3 cups quartered strawberries
3 cups blueberries
1.5 liter of your favorite white wine (Sauvignon Blanc or Pinot Grigio are my favs)
2 cups of Sprite or lemon lime soda (this is optional, but I like it because of the added fizz)
16 ounces or 2 cups of Triple Sec
8 ounces or 1 cup lemon juice
This recipe also calls for purple or red seedless grapes, but I didn’t use them
Directions –
Start out by slicing and prepping the fruit.
Cut out the watermelon stars using the watermelon slices. 6-8 stars will be enough to line the dispenser. Again, I bypassed this step.
Begin by layering the fruit in the container with 5 cups of watermelon, then half of the blueberries, and half of the strawberries.
Top the strawberries with half of the grapes (if using). Make sure the watermelon stars are visible from the outside of the container. The festive feel is the best part and you want to show it off!
Layer remaining fruit in container staring with the blueberries then the strawberries and remaining 2 cups of watermelon.
Combine lime soda, lemon juice, white wine, and Tripe Sec in a separate pitcher, stir, then pour over fruit in beverage dispenser.
Steep the sangria for at least 6 hours in the fridge. The longer you let the mixture rest, the more the flavors come out, giving it that muddled fruit flavor.
Next step – sit back and enjoy the sweet taste of summer
The summer outfit I’m wearing is also shoppable via the LTK app.
When Nate and I decided that we wanted a dog, I knew I wanted to go the rescue route. There are many great breeders out there, but there are already so many dogs looking for good homes. I knew that’s where my heart was. Nate had never had a dog and I also knew that asking him to take on a dog that potentially came with a lot of baggage was asking a lot.
We also knew we needed a low shedding dog because of Nate’s allergies and anything with “oodle” in it is a competitive adoption market to say the least. Dogs are listed and within a few hours, they are already gone. I spent about a year plugged into every poodle and doodle rescue from Colorado to Florida. I heard about the National Mill Dog Rescue located in Colorado Springs, Colorado through various groups and spent many-a-hour looking at their rescues. A group of staff and volunteers take their large Sprinter vans throughout the midwest and they rescue dogs from commercial breeders who relinquish them. Sometimes they rescue 20 dogs and sometimes it’s 70. They always do an off loading when the van arrives back at NMRD and watching the dogs being brought off is both heartbreaking and beautiful. Many of these dogs are older and have a host of health and behavioral challenges. I saw a dog that I was interested in back in November and we were all set to meet her and then my nephew died suddenly. After his passing, dog adoption wasn’t an option (we were barely surviving) and felt that we had missed our adoption chance.
As healing goes, I started to be open to looking again for a dog through NMDR this spring. At the end of February, I contacted the coordinator and inquired about a dog we might be interested in meeting. Because we had built a bit of a relationship by that point and the coordinator knew the type of dog we were interested in, she emailed me and said that she didn’t think that the dog I was interested in would be a good fit, BUT she had another dog who wasn’t even on the website yet that had just arrived. She would hold her for us if we could drive down and meet her soon. She was a 2 year old standard poodle who was described as “sweet and shy.” Enter my Miley girl (named after the mile high city).
When we met Miley (Lacey at the time), I was taken aback by her level of fear. I knew she would be shy and lack social skills, but I was still shocked at how nervous she actually was. When you see it first hand, it’s both overwhelming and difficult to process. During our meeting, we were patient, slow moving, and she eventually came over for treats and let us pet her. She had likely never seen grass and everything was and largely still is new for her. I knew that we were taking on a challenge and we would have to be all in for us to give her what she needed.
The day after we had our meet and greet I received a call from the rescue informing us that Miley had had puppies that day. I honestly can’t make this up. When we met her, Nate inquired about her looking like she had had puppies and they told us that she had likely had a litter recently. She was so new to the rescue at that time that she hadn’t gone through a medical intake yet. When they walked into her kennel, she had already had one puppy and had a C-section for her other two (two boys and a girl). During her C-section, she was also spayed and she will never be forced into breeding again.
After her surprise puppies, Miley went to a foster home for 8 weeks to nurse and raise her pups till they could also be adopted. It was an option for us to foster the puppies, but Nate and I were not equipped to take on such a massive undertaking. After 8 weeks, we were able to make the drive to get her and I’m not going to lie and say that I wasn’t ready to give up that night. There were tears shed and I wasn’t sure we’d make it through the night. She had a tooth removed prior to us picking her up and the medicine resulted in a number of messes being made on our rugs and I have never seen a dog so nervous. She paced for hours upon hours through the night and refused to lay down. She would start to fall asleep standing up and jolt awake before she would start pacing again. At around 4 AM, she finally collapsed from pure exhaustion and for the next week she slept for 10-12 hours at a time.
Through these massive adjustments, she’s become my shadow dog and follows me diligently from room to room. Despite this, when she is left on her own, she hasn’t chewed anything or had any accidents in the house. There is howling when I leave, but her separation anxiety is manageable so far. She is shy, but never aggressive. She walks great on a leash and has gone to the dog park a number of times to meet other dogs. Her challenges are unique though and not related to behavior. If anything, it’s learning how to be a dog. There is little interest in toys or playtime (she does like to run up the stairs though.) She also loves pets, but she doesn’t seek them out and you have to go to her. She did lay on my leg yesterday and moments like that are big milestones for us. She also recently learned that she can go to the bathroom outside of our own backyard. Things like this sound silly, but she really is a blank canvas. There is a light in her eyes that wasn’t there before and her curiosity about things grows everyday. She stiffs things more than ever and is developing her own personality. We are working to get her skin and fur healthy and she is a little underweight. Right now she can eat all the treats and meats that she wants and we are content with spoiling her. I also love seeing Nate love her. He had never experienced the love you can have for a pet and seeing him dote on his dog girl makes me love him even more.
The biggest take away from adopting Miley is the patience that’s required. There are moments where all I want is for her to pick up a ball and run with it, but it’s all in her own time. We are happy to go at her pace and things will happen when she’s ready. We honestly didn’t know how much we needed her and I believe that she was always meant to be ours. Life is funny that way. She is a silly and sweet blessing that fills our days with such joy and laughter. The kindness that she shows is remarkable despite how she has been treated by other people. She is willing to trust and to forgive. Many dogs in her situation struggle to overcome that trauma, but she is incredibly resilient and every milestone is a reminder of how far she’s come.
Happy 2021! I think it’s safe to say that we’re all happy to see 2020 in the rear view mirror. As we step into a new year, I think now more than ever, people are seeking out a life reset. What goals are you trying to tackle this year?
New Year, new goals! I’m not a person who likes the word “resolution.” To me, a resolution is something that’s achieved and then shelved. What we set out to accomplish should be something that’s always evolving and we build good habits through repetition. There’s some statistic out there that it takes 3 weeks to build a daily habit. I prefer the term goal instead of resolution because goals are fluid and we can set durations of time for whatever the goal is. Whether you’re working on stressing less and meditating more, or working towards being more active, you can tackle it! Sometimes it takes grit and even tears to get to where we want to be, but determination keeps us going forward. If there’s anything to take from 2020 lessons, it’s that people are resourceful and resilient in spirit. We’ve all come out the other side with a new appreciation for things and we can channel those energies into being the best versions of ourselves.
Also, thank you for being here. I am truly grateful for this adventure of blogging and I look forward to the continued growth and development that is Fashionable Petite!
Whether you’re team coffee or tea tea, their are SO many great gadgets out there for both coffee and tea aficionados! Below is my holiday gift guide for coffee & tea drinkers who need their morning, or evening (no judgement here) brew!
I hope you enjoyed my holiday gift guide for coffee and tea drinkers! If there’s a gift guide you’re wanting to see, send me an email. I love feedback and am here to help make your holiday shopping a little easier!
Sip pretty!
-xo
Darcy
This post contains affiliated links. If you click through and make a purchase, I may receive a commission (at no cost to you). Thank you for supporting me this way and helping me generate future content that I hope you’ll enjoy!
I am sharing a short holiday gift guide for food lovers! Everyone has someone in their lives who loves to cook and loves to eat! Everything featured is below $100.00.
Stay safe, stay well, and stay full! I hope you enjoyed my holiday gift guide for food lovers!
-xo
Darcy
This post contains affiliated links. If you click through and make a purchase, I may receive a commission (at no cost to you). Thank you for supporting me this way and helping me generate future content that I hope you’ll enjoy!
Looking for what to get that special person for the holidays?
It’s tradition in my extended family to draw names out of a hat and to buy something for that family member. While it’s always fun, sometimes it can a challenge when you get a tricky person to shop for. I am sharing my 2020 holiday gift guide part 1 for both the beauty lover in your life (think girlfriends, coworkers, sisters) AND that hard to shop for man (think uncles, cousin’s spouse, or father in-law). All of my picks are around $100.00 USD or less.
I will be adding more gifting ideas as the holidays get closer, so stayed tuned for more posts dedicated specifically to holiday gifting for 2020!
Thanks for tuning into my 2020 Holiday Gift Guide Part 1! Racking your brain on what to get someone specific? Email me at fashionable.petite@gmail.com and I’ll help you find the right gift!
-xo
Darcy
This post contains affiliated links. If you click through and make a purchase, I may receive a commission (at no cost to you). Thank you for supporting me this way and helping me generate future content that I hope you’ll enjoy!
One of the staples in my house when I was growing up was my mom’s zucchini bread. We grew zucchinis in our backyard during the summer and when they were ready to be picked, you better believe my sister and I were ready for my mom to get busy baking in the kitchen. These zucchinis are from my sister’s garden and I am sharing my mom’s homemade zucchini bread recipe with you all! Filled with notes of cinnamon and summer squash, this recipe is perfect with a morning coffee or a side at a summer cookout.
What goes into a homemade zucchini bread recipe? Besides the zucchini, it’s a pretty simple recipe to make. It also doesn’t require any yeast and you can be slathering butter on a piece of bread straight out of the oven in about an hour and a half. You will need a grater to shred the zucchini beforehand, but that’s all you will really need besides your mixing bowls and bread pans. Make sure you lick the bowl clean when you are done, it’s also required.
-Ingredients for homemade zucchini bread-
1 C. vegetable oil
3 eggs beaten
1/4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
2 C. white sugar
1 tsp salt
2 C. grated and peeled zucchini (leaving the skin on will make the loaf taste bitter)
2 tsp vanilla
3 C. all purpose flour
3 tsp of cinnamon
Ingredients needed for the zucchini bread (minus the flour)
Ingredients needed, minus 3 eggs.
Grease your pans! This is always where I begin when I’m baking and I go the old fashion way with oil and flour. I use two bread loaf size pans and the batter is enough to make two loaves, but you could do one if you like a taller loaf.
zucchinis and my large grater
The shredded zucchini
Combine wet ingredients (eggs, oil , vanilla) and blend well. Stir in the the dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and sugar. At this point, you may think you’ve made a mistake because the dough is THICK. Zucchini holds a lot of water and when you add in your zucchini, the dough will loosen and turn to a batter. Below is what the dough looks like before you add the zucchini and after.
Stir till the mixture is well combined and pour into your bread pans. Again, you can use a singular bread pan, but for me, I like having it in two. Bake for 60 to 75 minutes depending on how how much batter you used. Bake at 325 to 350. For my two loaves, I did 330 for about an hour and five minutes. I also started with the loaves covered in foil and took it off to cook the rest of the way about half way through.
My mom likes to cook them for 10 minutes at the higher temp and then bring the temp down to 325 for the rest of the time. That method works too! You’ll know it’s done when the center comes out clean!
The bread has a nice rich color when it’s finished!
Add a little spread of butter out of the oven and you’ll be in bread nirvana! Bam! Homemade zucchini bread!
I use the leftover zucchini for fritters, as a side dish, or add it to a quiche. I hope you enjoy this homemade zucchini bread recipe and would love to hear your comments/feedback!
One of the best vacations I ever had was a trip with my parents to Spain. I was a sophomore in college and we met my sister as a follow up to her study aboard program. Throughout our trip, I fell deeply in love with Spanish culture. The vibrant cities, the gorgeous fashion, the rich history, it is unmatched. You honestly haven’t lived until you’ve tasted a Spanish churro with a side of hot chocolate. One of my most vivid memories of Spain was sitting on a patio of a restaurant with my family as we waited for our dinner. It was there that I drank the best sangria that I’ve ever had. Now that warmer weather is here, I’m recreating that moment with my favorite traditional Spanish sangria recipe!
You will need:
One and a half bottles of a young table wine (you honestly don’t need anything too fancy for Sangria) Tres Picos or Dancing Bull are my top recommendations.
1 lemon
2 oranges
1 cinnamon stick
3 tablespoons sugar ( this is optional)
1 green apple (I love the apple and highly recommend it)
2 peaches or apricots (optional)
Carbonated beverage (lemon soda, orange soda, soda water) (optional)
Instructions
Begin by washing the lemon and the oranges. Cut of as much of the rind as possible (set aside) and juice the lemon and the oranges.
If you’re using the sugar (it will sweeten up the sangria), you’ll need to create a simple syrup by dissolve the sugar in two tablespoons of water over low heat in a sauce pan. Let cool after dissolving.
In a large pitcher, mix together the wine, simple syrup, orange juice and lemon juice. Add in the chunks of lemon and orange rind.
Next, add the cinnamon stick and let sit at least two hours (overnight is preferred) before serving in wine glasses over ice.
If you want to modernize your sangria version add in the green apple and the peach slices. You can also add a splash of carbonation with the lemon soda, orange soda, or soda water to create a pop of fizz.
I love margaritas. Who doesn’t? When they’re made right, they are fresh, light, and perfect for patio weather. A margarita is a simple drink that can stand on its own. In honor of Cinco de Mayo, here is my fool proof margarita recipe.
To make this margarita recipe, you will need 2 oz. of tequila (any brand works, but I like Casamigos), 1 oz. of Triple Sec, 1 oz of lime juice, and a fresh lime cut into wedges. My advice when making margaritas is to use Triple Sec and not a margarita mix. Your margarita will taste so much better without the pre-made flavors.
With a wedge of the sliced lime, wet the rim of your glass. You can use a margarita glass or a regular glass, it’s what is inside the glass that matters! Pour salt (or sugar) on plate and work the rim into the mix until it becomes coated.
Take all the ingredients and combine in a shaker. You don’t need to over shake, but shake enough to feel the ingredients combine. Strain and add to your glass with some ice.
Simple. Easy. Refreshing. Enjoy with a side of chips and guac for a perfect happy hour snack!
