**Surprising Haley with a Special Treat**

In this heartwarming moment, we decided to surprise our dear friend Haley with a special treat. We headed to the kitchen to whip up a delicious dessert that would surely put a smile on her face. As we began preparing the ingredients, we couldn't help but think about how much fun it was going to be to share this experience with her.

**Using Vintage China and Decorations**

To add an extra layer of whimsy to our dessert presentation, we decided to use some beautiful vintage china and decorations. We rummaged through our collection and found a few stunning pieces that we just couldn't resist using. Our favorite vase was the star of the show, featuring delicate floral patterns that added a touch of elegance to our setup. We also used a vintage glass cake plate to add a pop of color and texture to our presentation.

**The Power of Texture in Photography**

As we set up our camera and began snapping photos, we realized just how important texture can be in creating visually appealing images. We experimented with different props and decorations, playing around with various textures until we found the perfect combination. Adding a few sprigs of fresh herbs, some dried flowers, or even a bit of dusting powder could make all the difference in bringing our photos to life.

**The Importance of Natural Light**

When it came time to take the perfect shot, we knew that natural light was key. We carefully adjusted the position of our camera and props to maximize the amount of light pouring in from outside. However, as we were setting up, we realized that too much direct sunlight was being reflected off our dishes, making them appear less than ideal. To combat this issue, we quickly found a cloth to hang over the window, diffusing the light and creating a softer, more inviting atmosphere.

**Adding the Finishing Touches**

Just as we were about to present our dessert to Haley, we realized that it needed one final flourish: a scoop of her favorite ice cream! We carefully placed the creamy treat on top of the cake, watching with excitement as Haley's eyes widened in delight. The combination of flavors and textures was absolute perfection, and we knew that this moment would be one she'd cherish forever.

**The Joy of Sharing a Special Moment**

As we sat down to enjoy our dessert together, we couldn't help but feel grateful for the simple pleasures in life. Sharing a meal or treat with someone you love can bring so much joy and warmth to an otherwise ordinary day. In this moment, we felt truly present and connected, savoring every bite of our lavender chocolate cake and ice cream.

**The Power of Lavender**

Lavender is often associated with feelings of relaxation and calmness, and for good reason! Its soothing scent can work wonders on even the most frazzled nerves. We used dried lavender buds in our cake recipe to add a touch of serenity to this special treat. And let's not forget about the numerous health benefits of lavender – from reducing stress to promoting better sleep, it's truly a superfood in disguise.

**A Special Moment for Haley**

As we gazed at Haley in delight, we couldn't help but think about how much she deserved this little pick-me-up. We'd been going through so much together lately, and she'd been handling everything with such poise and grace. We were proud of her strength and resilience, and we knew that this moment would be one she'd always treasure.

**Sharing the Recipe**

For those who are inspired to create their own special dessert moments at home, we're excited to share our recipe for Lavender Chocolate Cake with Ice Cream! With its unique blend of flavors and textures, it's sure to become a new favorite. Be sure to check out the show notes below for all the details and instructions on how to make this mouthwatering treat yourself.

**Conclusion**

As we wrapped up our special moment with Haley, we couldn't help but feel grateful for the simple pleasures in life. Whether it's sharing a meal or dessert with loved ones or simply taking time to appreciate the little things, these moments are what truly bring us joy and warmth. We hope that this article has inspired you to create your own special memories at home, and we look forward to seeing what delicious creations you come up with!

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enstressful times that definitely call for desperate measures and since my daughter Haley has been going through a lot with her senior year really kind of being a little bit messed up I decided to do something really fun for her her favorite flavors are lavender and chocolate and I thought well if there are two things they can help her relax it will be lavender and chocolate so I've decided today to make her a chocolate cake with a lavender icing and her favorite lavender lattes and I'll give you all the recipes below so that you can follow along and make it as well so let's jump in I went ahead and baked these cakes the night before and that's a good little trick if you don't necessarily have the time to do everything at once you can bake the cake the night before and just throw a quick little drizzle on it she really doesn't like a lot of icing which is why I'm gonna do something really simple because I want her to really enjoy this so let me grab a couple ingredients and we can get started the ingredients for this are so simple I'm gonna go ahead and do a cup of the powdered sugar and I really don't measure this very specifically I just take a little bit of sugar the key ingredient for today it's definitely the moanin lavender syrup I absolutely love this syrup has the most amazing history the man that started this company his name was George moanin and he was a French man and he he was a French gentleman who absolutely loved to entertain and one day he went to make a cocktail and he felt so dissatisfied with the syrups that they had so he decided to make his own now over a hundred years later they are the most amazing therapy still and they have all these different flavors so if you are a fan of you could also do the vanilla or the caramel or there's so many flavors you can choose any of them I'm just gonna add a little drizzle and here about a tablespoon and and I've got a little bit of milk in here and just want it to make it so that we can actually just drizzle this and then I just grab a fork and just mix it up really good if you prefer that it have a little bit stronger lavender taste you could always add just a little bit more lavender syrup and a little less milk just play with the consistency and the taste until it tastes just the way that you want it to so I'm just gonna take it and drizzle it over the top just kind of down the center and let it kind of go out over the sides it looks beautiful just like this but I'm gonna go out to the garden and get some fresh lavender to garnish it with my lavender is in full bloom and it's gorgeous so I'll be right back I've got this beautiful little mini bouquet of lavender from the garden and this is not the type that you would generally eat or if you wanted to bake with it that's an English lavender and I've actually got that on order right now from the nursery and I'm waiting for them to tell me that it's ready for me to come and do a curbside pickup I think I'll just clip a little bit of this off and create a really pretty garnish for the cake and yeah now grab that second one I need to decide this recipe makes two cakes so I could take this one and freeze it and have it for another day or I was thinking about maybe making an extra one of these and taking it to a neighbor and that would be nice don't you think I like to make the lavender latte in a really pretty picture that is big enough for sharing so I'm gonna take the lavender syrup again and I'm gonna pour about a teaspoon teaspoon and a half in there and I absolutely love - press oh machine because it does all the work for you it's incredible and it really does create restaurant quality cafe style drinks for you and all you do is open the little hatch put your little pot in there and close it and then it has the setting on here for a cafe latte so I just push start and off it goes next I add about a half cup of milk into the little pitcher and it even steams my milk just like you would get in a cafe so it really is an amazing machine I would say this is the best money I've ever spent in my kitchen if I to choose between this and my oven I absolutely choose my coffee machine just before I add just before I add the milk I like to give a little espresso and lavender a little stir then we just pour the milk right into the pitcher and apparently if you kind of pour it towards the side rather than just kind of dumping it in the middle it keeps all of that foaminess in there that you probably like from the drinks that you've been getting at your favorite cafes so just pour a little bit slower and if you're super artistic you can make a little design on the top but right there yet of course nothing is complete until you have served it on a pretty one of these guys out I've got this silver tray that was a gift from my godmother and I just love to be able to serve my coffee on here and I add a little extra milk on here and little plates and let's see I think Haley like oh I've got these beautiful vintage cups that I actually bought while we were in Europe but you could definitely find something similar in your area I think everything tastes better in a beautiful cup so I've got these vintage ones that I found in a flea market in Europe and I just love using them but you can use any cup that you have that you really love look even the inside has that beautiful little flower isn't that just gorgeous of course no recipe would be complete if I didn't share it with you so we're gonna stage a little Instagram photo before we get to eat this a little rice surprise Haley so I'm gonna take a quick photo and then I'll get her down here and surprise her fun a really cute cloth added to a photo definitely adds some really great texture and I love to throw down little bits of the flowers or maybe the leaves of something that I'm playing with we just really want to add a lot of texture to the photo I also love to really play with my dishes and bring out things that really kind of mix-and-match and add color and texture to the photo it's always fun to just see what you have and play around with it until it looks just right I also noticed that my glass cake plate really didn't mean feel very jazzy so I switched it out with this really cute metal vintage one isn't that so much better that way look at all that beautiful detail on this vintage silverware I just think that every little detail makes it special so definitely look in your vintage shops for your silver but you might even have some from your grandmother that's sitting in your stash and it's perfect for this you happen to notice that there is too much light on the objects that you're trying to take a photo of think about hanging a little cloth in the window this was kind of an epic fail it didn't stay up there but I did manage to get it back up there when I needed it the other thing that I like to do is to add maybe a little dusting of powdered sugar because it just adds this layer of messiness to the photo that really just draws the viewer in and makes it feel more interesting when I take photos with my phone I like to really get in there and take photos from above down low I go left right I really just get all around the things that I'm trying to take a photo of and if you need to you can put the cloth back up and diffuse the light a little bit but again it's just about having something that really reminds you of this sweet moment and not about perfection so just play with it and have fun and enjoy the process I really love to serve cake with a little scoop of ice cream so I'm gonna add that in now that I'm sure that I have these photos I'm gonna go ahead and add a little bit of ice cream in and see what I end up with sometimes having a little cut slice or just some more movement in the photo really makes it special and makes it extra yummy looking hi how are you what could I made for you I made you a lavender chocolate cake and with ice cream and a lavender latte because I know these are your favorite thank you maybe we can go find a spot it's raining outside maybe we could go sit on the couch and just enjoy a little bit together okay oh you got to get a picture help me take a picture for Instagram first you might just never there for my camera the integrated worthy piece of cake should avoid to come in well all my cake is gone and this was an amazing little time for us I think Haley absolutely loved it she's so cute she gets so shy when we turned the camera on I just loved this girl she's so sweet and she's been so amazing handling everything that's going on around her and I just think it was really fun to treat her and I think we should do that for ourselves to treat yourselves to something that will make the day feel a little bit special the lavender in these recipes will help you feel relaxed and not only will that chocolate have all those great health benefits but let's just face it it is so yummy I will leave all the details down below in the show notes so that you can find the recipe and make it yourself I know you'll absolutely love it and as always we love having you here in our home it's so wonderful and we hope that you'll hit subscribe if you haven't already give our video a thumbs up and share with anybody who's been stressed out lately who may need a little treat and don't forget visit us at Instagram if you want more recipes and ideas for the home we're always decorating something and we love to be able to share that with you and we look forward to seeing you in the next one we'll see you then bye\n"