Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Our New Little Grocery Store...


Good Morning. Happy Wednesday. I guess its almost noon. We have been having fun with a new little grocery stand we got at a yard sale. The girls have been "buying" stuff from each other and hopefully learning about money a bit. Thats my motherly hope anyway. 
I have been playing computer fixit person all morning. Boooo. Its driving me crazy, but hopefully we can squeeze one more year out of it. 

Hope your day is great!

; )
 

Monday, August 26, 2013

Sunday, August 25, 2013

Pumpkin Dream Cake....

 Today, I am dreaming of this cake. Yum. It just feels like a pumpkin-y sort of day!

Happy Sunday!


Pumpkin Dream Cake with Cinnamon Maple Cream Cheese Frosting


Yield: 3 layer cake

Ingredients:

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
2 cups granulated sugar
3 large eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 (15 oz) can pumpkin
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 cup milk
12 oz (1 1/2 packages) cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
3 tablespoons pure maple syrup
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 teaspoons cinnamon
6 cups powdered sugar

Directions:

Preheat oven to 300°F. Grease 3, 8-inch round cake pans. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, mix flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
In a large bowl/stand mixer, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in vanilla, pumpkin and vegetable oil. Beat in the flour mixture alternately with the milk.
Divide batter evenly into prepared pans. Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Remove pans from oven and immediately place in freezer for 45 minutes. (This keeps the cake moist by immediately stopping the baking so the cake does not continue to bake when you remove it form the oven.)
For the frosting: In a large bowl, cream butter and cream cheese until smooth. Beat in maple syrup, vanilla and cinnamon. Add confectioners' sugar and beat on low speed until combined, then on high until frosting is smooth.
Assemble the 3 layers with a thick layer of frosting in between each layer. Then apply a thin crumb coat on the top and sides. Pop back in the freezer to harden the crumb coat for about 10 minutes.
Apply one final thick and even layer around the outside of the cake. Store in the fridge until ready to serve.

Friday, August 23, 2013

Ready for Fall...



I am ready for Fall. Yep. I said it. We had a cold spell in the beginning of August and ever since I have been ready. I am enjoying sprinkling my house with fall decor, trying not to over do it but just those small touches are wonderful. I have also been getting alot of deep cleaning and organizing done. Its great. We also have a wonderful local Garage sale site on Facebook and its helping me get rid of stuff while not having to do a huge yard sale. So as I find it, I am selling it and its much more realistic. 

Ahhhh. I love this time of year. 

; )

Happy Friday!

Thursday, August 22, 2013

Blueberry Muffin Waffles



Good Morning, Happy Thursday!
Today we have a busy day volunteering at my daughters school, but I decided we needed to try something I saw on Pinterest. 
You mix up muffin mix and pour onto your waffle maker. 
Turned out pretty good. We chose blueberry, but I bet the banana nut would be wonderful. 
Another point for Pinterest. I love that site. 

Have a great day, I am looking forward to the weekend. 

; )

Wednesday, August 21, 2013

Zucchini Bread...



AHHHH.... I am so happy to say that we have achieved a much slower pace now that School has started. I feel like Summer was a whirlwind of activity and coming and going. Swimming and playing.  Now me and my little one are hanging out during the day. I am able to play with her more because her older sister is at school. And I have to say, I am loving it. This is why I chose to only put her in Preschool half of the day. This morning we baked Zucchini bread. I made it truly unhealthy by adding Chocolate chips though.  

YUM!

Hope your day is just as sweet. 

; )

Tuesday, August 20, 2013

New Chairs and A Fun FALL Camp fire....




Happy Tuesday!
I know, I said it. FALL. It is here. Our mornings are frosty and our evenings are cold. Sweaters and hoodies are out and the pool will be packing up soon. Personally I love it. 
Bring it on. 

I am super excited about my new chairs. Well New to Me. I just got them a week ago at a garage sale. $5 each. What a bargain. 

They are perfect. 

; )

Monday, August 19, 2013

First Day of School....

Today was my 4th grader's (cant believe I have a 4th grader) first day of school. For the last two weeks she has been apprehensive, because of a bad experience last year. But when I picked her up today, she was so happy. I have to admit I felt like I could finally breath. No mom wants to feel like they are sending their child off to a horrible experience. But I knew deep down that this one would be a wonderful one. We are looking forward to a wonderful year!

Hope your day was just as great. I hope to be blogging more once the little one starts Pre-K in a few weeks. Mom time at last. 

; )

Tuesday, August 6, 2013

Zucchini and Tomato's... YUM!





Hello, happy Tuesday! Today we are off to swim with friends and I wanted to show off my small garden. I decided to plant some veggies this year. I purchased the plants at our local Highschool Green house and they are doing Great! I am so excited to get these Zucchini plants picked so I can make bread. The tomato's may or may not turn red in time, but it is so fun growing them and checking on them daily with my girls. They love it. 

Hope your day is warm and wonderful. 

; )

Monday, August 5, 2013

Summertime...Wildflowers...Mountains...






Today we finally escaped the craziness that is our life right now.... with fair and school looming, we have our hands full. So the girls and I headed out for a day in the wilderness. Which for us is just a quick drive up the mountain. It was wonderful. I was able to forget, briefly, all that I have to do. We walked through the wildflowers, and found the river. All that was missing was a moose sighting, which I think may never happen when I actually have a camera in hand. Oh well. Hope your days are going well. 

; )