It’s Fri-YAY and I’m shouting YAY for the weekend annnnd for CUPCAKES! My post yesterday was all about strawberries! One of the recipes I talked about was for Strawberry Jam which I found on Memory Makin’ Momma’s blog. So delish! Today, I’m finishing up my strawberry recipes with these pinkalicious cupcakes in which I used my strawberry jam as an ingredient in both the cake and the icing!  I found these adorable cupcake liners and picks at Lifeway a couple of weeks ago and, knowing we were about to go strawberry picking, I couldn’t pass them up! I love that they have strawberries on them, but even more that they quote a line from that lovely old hymn “‘Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus”. It ... Read more

Happy Thursday, lovelies! And *happy* is the word that comes to mind when I think of strawberries, so there will be a lot of HAPPY in this post! I could use a little happy today, couldn’t you? After bringing home a plethora of strawberries from the field last week, my kitchen has seen an explosion of strawberry pastries and jam! Basically, anything we’ve baked this past week has had strawberries in it! So here goes!! Streusel-Topped Fresh Strawberry Pie  I’ve mentioned before that Sunday is our day of worship, rest, and good food! Our Sunday lunch almost always includes PIE. Last Sunday I made Streusel-Topped Fresh Strawberry Pie from The Recipe Rebel.  You can find the full recipe on her ... Read more

Around here, Friday is the day to "fluff the nest", which is just a much cuter way of saying "clean the house". Am I right? So my Friday posts are all about tidying up and getting the house fresh and in order for the weekend. Some weeks my nest-fluffing comes more easily than others. I need motivation each Friday. Well friends, today my house is going to need more than just a fluff! After all that’s gone on the last couple of weeks, the current condition of my house is beyond fluffing! While I would love to say my kitchen looks like the photo above, the reality is the photo below! There’s an Andy Griffith episode called “Andy and Opie, Housekeepers” where Aunt Bea comes home from a trip to ... Read more

Hello, my friends! I’ve been a little MIA lately with spring break, home projects, and spending some very precious time with our adopted grandmother who is in her last days on this earth. She is such a dear soul and I’d appreciate prayers on her behalf. Thank you!!  I wanted to jump in here for a minute today and just share a few of the many blessings God has brought the last couple of weeks. First of all, we enjoyed a delightful spring lunch at my mom’s house the week of spring break! Look at her beautiful spring table!! My friends are probably all chuckling to themselves right now, seeing how I come by my love for decorating a table honestly. Yep, it’s from my mom! But hers are much ... Read more

Welcome back to my “Tour of Italy” recipe week! I began yesterday with my Caprese Tomatoes appetizer and am continuing the tour today with a main dish of Bolognese Pasta. I had only eaten Bolognese a few times before but had always remembered how incredibly delicious it was each time I tried it. When my cooking club’s menu for this week was Italian, it got me to thinking about this pasta and wanting to finally try my hand at making it. I didn’t take it to cooking club since we already had enough main dishes coming, but as I was getting into the Italian cooking spirit, I decided to make it for my family. I researched several recipes for Bolognese that seemed pretty involved, but I was still ... Read more

If you know our family at all, you know that every Friday night at our house is PIZZA NIGHT. Whether it’s just us at home or company is joining us, pizza (or some variation of it) will be served. Period. End of story. Over the years, I’ve had a lot of fun exploring the many different styles and flavors of pizza. When my older girls were little, a favorite for them was Upside Down Pizza. I made this anytime we had a backwards day or we just felt a little silly. I don’t know why I had forgotten about this one since it was once a favorite of ours. But it came to mind last week, and, much to my family’s delight, I decided to bring it back!! I think we’d all forgotten how wonderful it is! It’s ... Read more

Good Monday morning! I missed posting last week! Let's just say, my hands were at work and there was little time left over. So, I just wanted to pop in this morning to say that I'm still here and will be back this week to finish up details about the last of the parties we hosted last month. I'll have some tablescape photos and recipes from Piano Girl's surprise party! On a bit of a housekeeping note, I had some friends tell me the other night that they had tried to subscribe to my blog with the "follow" button, but without success. If you've had the same experience, my apologies! Just shoot me an email at [email protected] and I will try to add you to the subscribe list ... Read more

Today I'm excited to share a few photos from Incredi-Boy's eighth birthday! These days, this kid is so hot for Hot Wheels that a race car theme was the natural choice for his party. After years of raising girls and being immersed in little girl world for so long, I think people who knew me wondered how I would embrace my new role as a boy-mom. Well, while I have absolutely loved doing the girl-mom thing (sooo many sweet memories), I have to say that, overall, I just really love being a mom, period. So, I am very much enjoying and embracing boy-mom life as well! Incredi-Boy and I had a lot of fun planning this party! Oh, and with Joel having been a HUGE Hot Wheels fan growing up, and a HUGE ... Read more