Saturday means another week of snapshots in the books and today I have a lot! To our surprise we witnessed a burst of autumn color all around us this week! Nothing as vivid as what those of you up north get, but enough to delight our eyes! The temperatures were higher than the chilly week before, so it was nice to have the changing leaves to still make it feel like fall. We're near the end of fall soccer and Liberty has enjoyed getting to go to the games for two reasons: pretzels from the concession stand and lots of attention! She gets petting and cuddles throughout the entire game. Saturday was very busy. We had our neighborhood yard sale, my son's soccer game, and a big ... Read more
Adventure Awaits!
Back in January (I'm so behind, y'all!) our young man turned eleven. Because the 11th birthday doesn't hold any special milestone, we give our kids a mystery day for that year's birthday, meaning their dad and I plan all the activities of the day without them knowing what's coming. Our oldest daughter's theme for her mystery day was Hawaiian luau, and our younger daughter's theme was an all-day fall picnic. One thing I've learned about raising a boy is his need to feel like a man--to have adventure, to test his strength, and to be respected for it! So, for our son's birthday, we decided on the theme "Adventure Awaits"! With our girls, their mystery days included surprise parties ... Read more
Our Valentine Baby
Not only is today Valentine's Day, but it was 22 years ago this very day that my husband and I brought our baby girl home from the hospital, and we’ve called her our Valentine Baby ever since. And now she's getting married in four months! Four. months. people. Our daughter is not only planning a wedding, but she's finishing her last semester in college and is neck deep with her classes, music ensembles, an internship, senior thesis and defense work, and senior recital prep. When we asked what she'd like to do for her birthday, this tired girl said she just wanted to come home for the weekend and eat gumbo. She couldn't even think of anything past that, so we decided to keep it restful ... Read more
Christmas Memories 2021
Hello, friends! I got behind in my holiday posts due to illness in December, so today I'm going to try and quickly wrap up Christmas and New Year's in one clean swoop of a post. We began decorating the weekend following Thanksgiving, but it took me a few days to really get into it and finish it all. I don't like to get too themey with Christmas--I mean, Christmas is a theme in and of itself, right?--but the last couple of years I've gone with more of a natural, woodsy vibe. I adore the outdoors and the woods behind our house, so it just felt very natural to use evergreen garlands, pinecones, and starry twinkle lights. Last year I used blue for my main accent color; this year I went ... Read more
Elegant Autumn Celebration Cake
A couple of weeks ago, my sister-in-law hosted a lovely birthday dinner for my mother-in-law. She and my other SIL prepared a delicious meal of family-favorite party foods and asked me to bring dessert. I asked the birthday girl what kind of cake she would like for her special day, but she said I could choose, which meant my husband and kids hinted at an Italian cream cake for several days after that, heehee. So, Italian cream cake it was! My sister-in-law said she would be decorating in a fall theme, so I wanted the cake to reflect her decor. As I mentioned a few months ago when I first posted the recipe for this cake, it really lends itself to so many different occasions with it's ... Read more
Italian Cream Cake
One evening last week, the mothers and daughters from our small group got together to celebrate the upcoming arrival of the baby of our friend Rivers. This family has been such a blessing to our group so we ladies wanted to celebrate with Rivers and her two sweet girls. We planned a meal of salads, followed by a few desserts: Italian cream cake, raspberry white chocolate almond bars, brownies, and coffee. This Italian cream cake is my most requested cake by my family or when I'm asked to bring a dessert to a special occasion. It suits any holiday or celebration any time of the year! It's unique from most other Italian cream cakes in that it doesn't call for pecans or coconut, so ... Read more
Flourless Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Ganache
Mother's Day is coming up and there's not a more decadent dessert for pampering mom with than a flourless chocolate cake smothered with chocolate ganache! Last month, yours truly had a birthday. My husband and kids took me to a favorite local restaurant for a delicious dinner of shrimp and grits, and then back home for dessert and a movie. That afternoon, my sweet baker girl offered to make a birthday dessert of my choosing. She's the best! At the time, I was on week six of avoiding sugar, so, needless to say, I was more than ready to indulge in a rich, chocolately treat for my special day. This cake has always been one of my favorites when it comes to splurging! Since there was a ... Read more
February Fun
I’m late on completing a couple of posts I have in the works, one of which is my son’s birthday post from two weeks ago, but I wanted to pop in and give a quick hello. We are eagerly anticipating another birthday this weekend (my daughter is turning 21!) along with Valentine’s Day! The plans are low key, yet special, and it's always fun to plan menus and movies and bake festive goodies, no matter the occasion. So, in addition to our regular schooling and activities this week, the youngest two and I have been birthday shopping, gift wrapping, cake and cookie baking, and Valentine making!! After school today, we're getting out to make some early Valentine visits to the grandparents. Can't ... Read more