Vanilla Cupcakes with Strawberry Buttercream and A Good Dog’s Life {Naptime Entertaining}

This month has been full of ups and downs and has made me thankful for a lot of things. At the beginning of the month my book cover was finalized and it is now available for pre-order! Then, a mere two days later our dearest dog passed away suddenly of a mysterious illness. Mid-month we celebrated my daughter’s birthday with her classmates and devoured gorgeous vanilla cupcakes with strawberry meringue frosting, and that very same week my close friend’s father lost his battle with cancer. I know it is hard to compare losing a dog to a losing a person, but they were equally devastating loses for me. Luckily, I was buoyed along by the thrill of impending publication and the constant smile on my daughter’s face. If nothing else, this roller coaster of emotional peeks and valleys only made me more thankful for the wealth of love and support I have in my life.

These are the delicious cupcakes I made for my daughter’s birthday party. I baked deeply rich, moist vanilla cupcakes and topped them with strawberry frosting and a whole package of princess candles (not reflective of her age, just the fact that she loves princess candles). The flavor was entirely her request and I was happy to oblige. Needless to say I made and frosted these while she was at school before transporting them to the birthday location. It was simple to make them in such a short time and I am glad everyone was able to enjoy them fresh.

The day after her birthday party I drove up to Cooperstown for my friend’s father’s funeral, and to attend the wedding of another dear friend just two days later. All the while I was at my parent’s house and thinking of sweet Fletcher. Two days after Halloween he and his sister, Fiona, developed a bizarre anaphylactic reaction and were rushed to the vet. After several days of intubation, antihistamines, antibiotics and the like, Fiona, the younger and stronger of the two dogs, recovered, but Fletcher did not. The damage that had been done was too severe and he slipped into a coma, never to wake up again. We still do not know what caused there terrible allergic attack, the going theory is that it was a freakish poisonous spider bite of some kind.

Fletcher in front, Fiona in back

As I was walking around my parent’s house I found myself waiting to hear the click-click of Fletcher’s paws following me around, hoping for just one last chance to nuzzle his soft fur. But now he is a “doggy angel”, as my daughter says, and we buried his ashes in his favorite spot in the backyard.

All this emotion has made me grateful for this Thanksgiving week. I am taking off for Florida with my family and will be resting and relaxing with my birthday girl and her Dad. While I am so sad about those we’ve lost this month (people and beasts alike) I am grateful that they are being remembered with the love and honor they deserve. When we clasp hands around our Thanksgiving table this year I will also be thankful for all of my friends, family, supporters and readers. I know I am lucky, and your support does not go unnoticed. Have a happy, healthy Thanksgiving and I’ll return next Monday to kick of a new, delicious, holiday season.