Blueberry Maple Oatmeal Muffins

I've been missing New England, and particularly Martha's Vineyard,

like crazy lately. Unfortunately this summer I won't be able to travel

up there as far as I'm aware of now, which makes me very sad. But that

still doesn't mean I can't have a taste of Martha's Vineyard within my 

very own home... that's where these mouth-watering muffins came in!

 I baked a batch of these this afternoon and they just screamed to me 
walks along the shore, beach rose, cape homes, ship's sail...
New England!
The recipe, courtesy of the island's Ashley Inn, is as follows...

- - - Blueberry Maple Oatmeal Muffins - - -

Ingredients
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup pure maple syrup
2 large eggs
1/2 cup brown sugar firmly packed
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 cups oats
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries

Steps
1. Grease and flour muffin tins and preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. In a large bowl, mix eggs, cream, sugar, syrup, and vanilla.
3. In a second bowl, mix flour, oats, baking powder, and salt.
4. In a small bowl, add 1/2 cup of this flour mixture and toss with the blueberries.
5. Add the remaining flour mixture to the wet ingredients and stir thoroughly.
6. Fold in the the blueberry mixture.
7. Spoon batter into muffin tins, filling them about 3/4 full.
8. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

- - - - - - - - - -

If this isn't enough to satisfy your 

New England cravings, guess what?...

The Ashley Inn is offering a  

Memorial Day Weekend Special!

$470 for two nights in a queen-sized room with

private bath, cable tv, and WiFi. Also included in

rate are two full breakfasts... sounds good to me!

♥

Remember Me?!

Has it really been three months since I last posted?

Wow...

How are you guys?!

Let's just say it's been a crazy few months for me.

Soon after my last post, my family and I were informed that

the two-family house we've lived in since I was a year old was to begin

to go under renovations. We thought, "Okay, well, that's not too bad...

Maybe they'll fix up our place!" Well, we thought wrong. Renovations

were hellacious; constant noise and people traipsing around our property,

ripping apart everything that I've ever known. And to top it all off,
after all my family and I endured during these two months, we receive

a notice in the mail in March stating that we were to be evicted 

from our apartment in order to undergo further renovations.

Twenty-three years of living there,

ended by a single letter.

So where did we go from there?

To my grandfather's house on the south shore of the island.

We were very thankful we immediately had somewhere to go,

but when I say it has not been a picnic, I am being very kind.

Grandpa is, to put it simply, an extremely difficult and cruel person.

If I had to compare him to a single person, it would be this guy:

Yes, and I'm not talking about the enlightened Scrooge

after being visited by the three spirits- I'm talking about

the greedy, heartless, "Bah, humbug!" Scrooge who'd rather 

count his money than develop a single human relationship.

It's bad.

So, we were out by the first of April, and have been living here

ever since. Like I said- it's been no picnic. This being stated, I hope you
all can understand a little bit why I've neglected this blog so terribly.

But! Now that school is over, and I have a little bit more time 

on my hands, I thought I'd revive IHNE once and for all! 

It's been too long since I've had a real New England fix-

What about you?

Meet Margery Mars...

an extremely talented watercolor artist from 

North Monmoth, Maine.

She runs a website called Country Gingham Designs

where she sells her watercolors in the form of note cards,

bookmarks, and double-matted prints. And the best 

part is: everything is New New England themed!

 

I discovered her work only a few months ago, and can

you believe it? I completely fell in love ♥

Her artwork is sectioned off into categories like, "Fruits,"

"Holidays," "Inspiration,"... "New England"! 

I think you can guess which one is my favorite.

So if you're looking for a nice, thoughtful gift for someone

(or yourself!), Margery Mar's Country Gingham Designs

is the perfect place to search!

- - - - - - - - - -

I'd like to end this post by thanking all of you for

being so patient with me, and sticking with this blog.

I'd also like to thank those who sent me e-mails wanting to see

what was up! I'm extremely thankful, and indebted to you all.

I'll make up for my absence... I promise!

♥