Fourth of July- Food Edition

This 4th of July I was determined to "beat the heat"!  I'll be honest, I really dislike summer in Texas.  The heat is just sooooo miserable it is hard to do anything...especially with a baby.  She overheats so quickly that I try not to leave the house to run errands after noon because she is miserable in her car seat with a wet sweating back and bright red cheeks.  I dream everyday of what it would be like to live in a place with all 4 seasons and a summer that actually allows you to embrace the images we've all grown up with of outdoor picnics, swinging in a hammock, grilling, riding bikes, lemonade stands, etc.  Heck, I don't even need all that...it would just be nice to walk into my yard without getting a pounding heat headache and feeling like the life is being sucked out of me!  Okay- I"ll stop venting now, I know, that's enough!   Maybe one day...

Until then however we continue to try to find creative ways to beat the heat and still have fun.  Let me just take a moment to note that this was the temperature on our patio at 9:00am Sunday morning!  

Yup, that's right 120.9 DEGREES!!! MISERABLE!!

Yes, the sun was rising, but seriously, this is ridiculous!

Since doing anything outdoors was completely out of the question I decided we would have lots of festive indoor activities, which pretty much came down to food, food and more food.

One of my favorite summer desserts is angel food cake topped with cool whip, sliced strawberries and blueberries!  

Cool in the fridge at least 1-2 hours before serving for a wonderfully refreshing summer cake! 

 Another recipe that we just discovered when we stayed at the bed and breakfast in Hadley, MA is oven baked french toast!  Oh my gosh, let me just say this is one of our favorite things ever and just might be one of the best things I have ever eaten!  I will post the recipe in my next post!

We topped off this very sweet weekend with Simply Lemonade and Bomb Pops because what could be more festive than a red, white and blue popsicle! 

Thankfully no one passed out from an overdose of sugar! I have decided that everything "summer" is loaded with sugar, other than water of course!  

I'll post the recipe for oven baked french toast next...you have to try it!!!