The first week in December, my girls and I had the pleasure of taking a trip with friends (Missy and her daughter) to The Biltmore Estate--a getaway originally planned for last spring which got postponed due to the pandemic. My sister-in-law and niece were planning to join us as well, but, sadly, had to back out at the last minute due to illness. We missed them greatly! I'd like to share some images from our trip, starting today with photos of the house, and following up with two more posts on the gardens and the dining (yes, food is always a big part of the travel experience!). When I've blogged about Biltmore in the past (on my old blog), I always included some history on the rooms and ... Read more
Christmas Morning Coffee Cakes
I love a good coffee cake, but I must admit that my first experiences with this baked treat weren’t too impressive. First of all, I questioned the audacity of a recipe to call anything that was not topped with icing a "cake"! Ha! Secondly, they just seemed a little blah. Until.... I became a COFFEE DRINKER! I clearly remember my first piece of coffee cake with a cup of coffee. My goodness, it was so good! And then it became clear that my problem with coffee cakes hadn't really been the coffee cakes themselves. My problem with coffee cakes was that they were truly meant to be eaten while sipping a cup of steaming coffee. The two compliment each other, and together they are a delight! ... Read more
Christmas Hello!
Good morning, friends! It's been a while, hasn't it? The fall season absolutely flew by and I can hardly believe it's Christmas! It was a very lovely fall season this year, and I soaked up every bit of its color, coolness, and festivity. However, truthfully, I felt I barely kept my head above water most weeks, so blogging took a back seat to other more pressing things. I've missed posting here and hope to get in a few Christmassy posts in the next week. I have some recipes to share and some photos from a fun little Christmas getaway my daughters and I took with some friends to the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina! I also have a recap of fall in the works. Right now, I'm ... Read more
Happy Thanksgiving!
This fall, the kids and I have enjoyed lunch on the patio most days which almost always leads to shenanigans with the pets! One particular day, a couple of weeks ago, turned into a silly fall photo shoot with our fur babies, and we thought these photos would be a fun way to say "Happy Thanksgiving" today! Barney, our most exuberant pet, didn’t stick around too long. We were pleased to get him in at least one good photo. To our surprise, the cat and the bunny are pretty comfortable with each other, but, we’ve realized that the cat thinks the bunny is another cat, and the bunny thinks the cat is another bunny. And so now we call them "the sisters"! Happy Thanksgiving from our ... Read more
We Are God’s Children
The photo above is of my sweet little girls when they were about one and six years old. It's one of my favorites because it captures such a tender moment between sisters--one sharing and one listening. Doesn't it just look like one sister is spilling her whole heart while the other is fully engaged and encouraging her? When I found out our second baby would be another daughter, I envisioned their relationship exactly like this photo. Of course, I knew better than to think every moment of every day would be perfect, but I hoped and prayed they would be friends and love each other dearly. Now let me back up to the years before our second daughter was born and our first daughter was our ... Read more
Snickerdoodle Pie and Pumpkin Ice Cream
I wrote this post last fall but didn't get it worked into my posting schedule. Hopefully I'm not too late for this year either. At my house, we are still very much enjoying the flavors of fall and I'm trying to squeeze in every last fall recipe and tradition before Thanksgiving. But, now that I think about it, I make this dessert all through the winter too! Snickerdoodle Pie is like a extra thick, extra soft snickerdoodle cookie baked in a pie shell and it's sooo delicious. Add a scoop of pumpkin ice cream and it's over-the-top good!! Snickerdoodle Pie (I do not even remember where this recipe came from. I searched the internet to find the original source but only found other ... Read more
Scarecrow Treats and a Fall Bible Lesson
The following post is one I put together last year but did not get worked into my posting schedule before the fall season was over. I've just about missed it for this fall too! Today I have couple of fall goodies that my son and I have been working on for his friends and cousins. I started doing these when my girls were younger so it’s been a lot of fun to repeat with my son. Candy scarecrows are so cute to pass out to the kiddos for a fall treat! You just need a box of raisins for the torso, Smarties for the legs, Tootsie Rolls for the arms, a round candy for the head, and some raffia for the neck straw. Use hot glue to attach candy pieces together in the shape of a scarecrow. Of ... Read more
A Simple Sweet Sixteen Weekend
Last weekend our younger daughter turned Sweet 16! She's our quiet, low key girl so she's never one for a big fuss or for being in the spotlight. With that, plus all the complications with trying to plan a gathering during Covid, she opted for a quiet weekend with a few of her favorite things. Favorite Thing #1: Friday afternoon we finished school and headed for the barn. We lease a horse at a community barn down the road from our house and she rides two or three times a week. The fall weather has been gorgeous for riding lately! We just love autumn days at the barn!! Midnight is so cute and fuzzy right now with his winter coat coming in. He looks and feels like a soft stuffed animal. ... Read more
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