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My Favorite Chocolate Cake Recipe

February 6, 2016 By Becca Leave a Comment

My friend, Diane, has partnered up with me to be the brains behind this blog-thing that I’ve been doing for the past 6 years. She knows technology and how to do all of the complicated stuff like HTML. (Plus, I’m trying to convince her to write on here because her house is awesome and she’s done it all herself!) She told me that this cake recipe has been a favorite on Pinterest and my blog. (She knows how to track that stuff!) It even made its way onto the Pinterest homepage! Who knew?? This is my go-to cake, anytime I am supposed to bring a dessert anywhere and I don’t really have time to bake. It’s SUPER simple and it’s just about the yummiest thing on the planet.

Have you heard of The Cake Mix Doctor? If you aren’t familiar with this book, you need to see it. The author takes a regular old cake mix, adds a few other ingredients, and makes miracles happen!

Here’s the recipe:

Darn Good Chocolate Cake
Grease and flour bundt pan.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Add the following ingredients to a large bowl. Mix for 3 minutes.
1 Package chocolate cake mix
1 Package (3.9 ounces) instant chocolate pudding
4 Eggs
1 Cup sour cream
1/2 Cup warm water
1/2 Cup vegetable oil

Fold in:
1 and 1/2 Cup chocolate chips (I use Mini Nestle Chocolate Chips.)
Bake for 45-50 minutes.

In times when I didn’t have any chocolate chips in my pantry (can’t believe that’s even possible since I buy them in bulk) I used semi-sweet chocolate squares instead. I chopped them up and really liked the small little chocolatey bits they added to the cake.

I used my Pampered Chef bundt pan to make the cake.

Here’s the cake fresh out of the oven.

And cooling…

Don’t you just love a vintage cake pans? I have a couple of them. This one is a treasure I found at Goodwill.

It was only $2.50! Such a cute little vintage cake carrier, and so perfect for transporting my cake. The reason I made this cake, this time, was for Senior Night for the basketball team at the high school. I didn’t take my cake in the cute little carrier this time. I’m afraid a bunch of hungry boys wouldn’t appreciate the cuteness. Instead, I put the cake on my $2.oo silver tray. Every time I walk into a thrift store I look for silver trays or platters. They are usually under $3.00 and I’m never sad if my plate doesn’t make it home. You can’t even buy a plastic platter at the Party Store for that price! Ok, back to that cake.

I think of the keys to this cake’s yumminess is the frosting. Homemade frosting, instead of that canned stuff, makes all the difference.

Mix together:
3 and 1/2 Cup powdered sugar
1 Cup unsweetened cocoa powder
3/4 Cup butter, softened
1/2 Cup room temperature milk
2 tsp vanilla

Here’s the finished cake.

It’s moist, really yummy, and so cute in the little cake carrier.

Happy baking!

Barn Wood Shelves

February 3, 2016 By Becca Leave a Comment

I’m feeling a bit like Joanna Gaines right now. You see, a few weeks ago I decided that my hubby and I each needed a work space in the craft room/den. On days that he worked from home, I would clear off my sewing table and he would use that as his desk. I’ve been fine with sharing, but I decided that he really should have his own space. He was setting his computer on my cutting mat and whenever he reached for a pencil he’d grab one of my fabric/chalk pencils. It was time to give him a designated office space. I started by clearing out the book shelves and paper cupboard that were currently in the space. (My kids were calling me a hoarder through this whole process. IT’S NOT HOARDING IF IT’S IN LABELED BINS, PEOPLE!) Once the space was clear, we had room to move a desk and shelves in. This is the part of the story where I channel my inner Joanna Gaines.

See those shelves there?

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A couple of years ago I saw these pieces of barn wood leaning up against my cousin’s barn and started begging to take them home. They’ve been in my garage waiting for the perfect project. Well, the perfect project is this one!

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I had three long pieces of barn wood, which we only had to trim a little bit. I looked for cute brackets but couldn’t find anything that I liked. We ended up using L-brackets that really weren’t meant to be shelf brackets. They were sturdy enough and had kind of an industrial look.

I still need to find a few office-type organizing pieces for the wall between the table and the first shelf. I was thinking about some sort of wire wall basket to hold papers, and maybe a few mason jars mounted to the wall to hold pens and pencils. This space is also pretty dark, so I’ll be on the lookout for a lamp for the area.

We found the long skinny table, on sale, at Cost Plus World Market. I already had all of the baskets. I wish they still sold them because I could use a few more now.

(Please excuse the blurry pictures. I’m still trying to figure out why WordPress is making my photos blurry.)

barnwood shelves 3

Not bad for some reclaimed barn wood and an inexpensive table, huh? My hubby likes his new office space. I kind of think his favorite part might be not having to fight with all of my sewing projects for space. I was feeling pretty proud of myself for thinking of using these pieces of wood! I have to admit that it wasn’t ALL my idea. I just asked myself WWJD (What would Joanna do?). Now, if I could just tear down a few walls, find some rustic light fixtures, and add a few farm animals out back!!

Happy decorating!

A Pretty Pillow

February 2, 2016 By Becca Leave a Comment

I’ve been looking for a pillow for the pretty chair in my dining room for about a year now. When I made my new curtains last year, I also recovered the chair that sits in the corner. It was one of those spur of the moment projects where the red and yellow toile fabric was just not cutting it anymore and I happened to have the perfect size of paint drop cloth to use on the chair. The chair looked great but it certainly needed a little something else. Creamish/tan fabric looks a little boring all by itself.

I emailed my friend Courtney, over at The Golden Boys and Me, and asked her where she finds her cute pillows. She said she orders them through H&M. I have never been to H&M and I would never have even thought to shop there online, so I was glad to have the suggestion. I spotted this Herbs & Spices pillow and knew it would be perfect in my dining room!

I’m loving the charcoal gray! It looks perfect against the drapery panels.

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Don’t you just love the way a small change can just make the room?

Valentine Sugar Cookie Recipe

January 29, 2016 By Becca Leave a Comment

I make sugar cookies for just about every occasion. With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, I’m thinking I might need to make some of these this weekend.

My daughter loves to help frost sugar cookies. She did a fabulous job with the snowflake sugar cookies that we made at Christmas. She tends to get frustrated when her lines don’t turn out as smooth as mine. I first started making these when I was about her age, so I’ve had a bit more time to practice.

Sometimes I use decorator tips and pastry bags to frost cookies and other times I just use Ziploc bags with the tips cut off. If you choose to go the Ziploc route, make sure you use freezer bags. Regular sandwich bags aren’t strong enough.

I love decorating cookies with my kids!

I usually buy my sanding sugar from Williams Sonoma, because I love the bright colors. With a little sugar, food coloring, and an empty Ziploc, you can make your own sanding sugar.

A cup of sugar and one or two drops of food coloring is all you need. Shake it all together, in a Ziploc, until there are no lumps of color.

My color, for these cookies, wasn’t as vivid at the color from Williams Sonoma, but it sure was less expensive!

Here’s the recipe for the sugar cookies, if you haven’t seen it before.

Happy baking!
Happy Valentine’s Day too!

Home

January 26, 2016 By Becca Leave a Comment

I always struggle a bit this time of year. I just can’t stand the dark, gray, gloom that surrounds the Pacific Northwest during the winter months. (Who am I kidding… it’s most months here.) Don’t get me wrong, we have beautiful days here and there, but for the most part it’s pretty gray around here. I love being outside and working in my yard, but this time of year everything has died and there is just a muddy mess of leaves that we didn’t get around to picking up and skid marks of mud where we once had grass.

It’s dreary, Friends.

Well, at least we don’t feel the pressure to work in the yard every weekend when it’s a muddy mess.

My attention turns to inside this time of year and making a cozy and inviting place for my family. I focus more on cooking, baking, cleaning, organizing, and decorating than weeding, planting, pressure washing, and dead-heading.

As I was feeling down about the gray and rain again today, I reminded myself how much I LOVE home. I want my home to wrap my kids and husband with coziness. I want it filled with smells of good food and the sounds of laughter. It’s a happy place, and do you know what? It’s not so bad to be trapped inside because of the gray and gloom.

It’s a time to nest a bit and create as many memories inside the house as we do outside.

Home is a good place to be.

Happy Homemaking!

Confessions of a Blogger

January 24, 2016 By Becca Leave a Comment

I recently moved from Blogger to WordPress and I’ve been reorganizing old posts. I ran across this post and couldn’t help but laugh at myself. I remember, when I first posted this, that several of my friends commented on how snooty I sounded at the beginning and then read on to see that I was just trying to show you the reality of blog life. My photos may look good, but I’m just pushing clutter out of the way to take pretty pictures.

Here you go:

I strive every day to have a clean and organized home. Do you know that feeling when someone stops by unexpectedly and your house is a complete mess? Not me! I keep my kitchen counters clear, my kids know how to clean up after themselves, and I find it brings a sense of calm to our day.

Each night, before I go to bed, I make sure everything is completely put away and if I feel to tired to do it, I just tell myself that clutter is the enemy of a relaxed and happy family.

Ummm. Then, I wake up!

It’s only in my dreams that there is a place for everything and everything is in its place. Sadly, there is always a pile of mail, kids’ papers, and lunch boxes all over my kitchen. Rarely do I actually see the surface of our little desk area. Yes, I do have a place for everything, but I’m not so sure about that part where everything is in its place.

The kids are constantly leaving things on the counter and, it never fails, we usually run out of room for all of our glasses in the dishwasher. When I write a blog post about a meal I’ve created, you can rest assured that there is a pile of dishes that has been pushed out of the way before snapping the picture.

I can’t even believe that I’m showing you the horrid laundry room. It is a constant battle to get the kids to hang up their backpacks and put their shoes in the cubbies. As a matter of fact, my son’s backpack is sitting in the middle of the family room right now. So much for those hooks I bought for them to hang their things on!

Those of you who are jealous of our walk-in-pantry will feel better know that most of the time we can barely walk in it. I swear, the kids actually drop food as they are getting out a snack and don’t bother to pick it up!

Most of the time, I’m not horribly embarrassed by our mess. We actually do live here. I do strive for cleanliness and organization, but I’m not perfect by any means. I’m pretty sure I’m not the only blogger out there who is guilty of pushing aside some of the clutter so that it doesn’t distract from the photo. We clean up pretty well, when we have to.

I do believe that organization is important, but I can’t say that my house is perfect (or even close).

I’m frequently asked by people how I get it all done. People wonder how I keep my house clean, cook wonderful meals, spend time sewing and crafting, AND manage to take photos and blog about it. Well, the reality is, I don’t. If you stop by my house, there will probably be warm cookies for you, but I guarantee my house will not be in perfect shape.

I’ll just take a picture. It will last longer.

Happy cleaning!

Welcome to My New Home and A Few Things I Love

January 15, 2016 By Becca Leave a Comment

Welcome friends! My blog may look the same, but I have a new address. I decided to move to WordPress because everything I read about blog growth starts with a move to WordPress. I love that people actually read my blogs and my wish is to make new friends and keep the old! I have a handful of updates to do, like load the sidebar of the blog so I can find things again. I will get to those things as soon as I can.

Now onto my post.

The things you love help you create the space you love to retreat at the end of a long day. My work days seem long lately. I think it’s because I wake up in the dark and it’s dark by the time dinner is on the table. I feel like I haven’t seen my yard in weeks. In addition, I’m spending most of my evening hours at doctor appointments or physical therapy. (I’m still recovering from back surgery.)

I absolutely LOVE coming home at the end of the day. I crave homelife. I love cooking, baking, crafting, sewing, gardening, and spending time with my family and pets. I struggle with decorating and find myself using catalogs and Pinterest photos for inpiration, copying their ideas when I can. There are a few things in my house that I really, really, love. These things help me create the space I love to come home to at the end of the day. Yes, I love coming home to my kids, hubby, and pets but we also need cozy blankets, handmade quilts, and maybe candles here and there.

I love decorating with old books, especially when they come from my family. Most of my old books belonged to my grandparents.

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I do love to bake. (You may have noticed!) I love greeting my kids with a plate of cookies. In the “good old days” I only worked part time and every Friday was Cookie Friday. It was my favorite day of the week.

I love my yard. Ok, I really, really, love my yard. I tend to be a fair weather gardener and a sunny day in the garden is my favorite place to be.

I really enjoy family get togethers. My husband says I’m a hoarder of dishes. I may have a few different sets, but it’s fun for me to make different tablescapes for every party.

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Once in a while I even go all out and set up a pretty tablescape for our little family of 4. This was a day that we made clam chowder and set the table so pretty. My youngest loved helping in the kitchen.

I love to sew and my house is filled with quilts. There is nothing better than cuddling up with a homemade quilt at the end of a long day. The quilts I made are very thin, but if you are under them for a few minutes, they warm up quite nicely.

Pictures1 How about you? If you had to make a list of things that make your house a home, what would your list include?

My New Stadium Seat

December 21, 2015 By Becca Leave a Comment

Hello friends! I want to share a product that I love with you. We spend a lot of time sitting in basketball tournaments for our two kids. After back surgery, my husband bought me a new seat, so I didn’t have to sit on uncomfortable bleachers for hours on end. Here is my new queen chair!

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The reason I’m sharing this with you is because I have been asked, more times than I can count, about where I bought this seat. It is super comfy, padded, and even has padded arms. It is so much better than a bleacher seat. I do get a little kick back from Amazon, as I’m an Amazon Affiliate. If you are interested in a new stadium seat, this is the one!

Happy shopping!

Hot Cocoa Station and Warm Quick Bread

December 5, 2015 By Becca 3 Comments

The hot cocoa station has taken its place in the kitchen. I think this is one of my daughter’s favorite traditions about the Holidays. She loves coming home after school and making herself a cup of cocoa. My absolute favorite cocoa is Williams Sonoma Peppermint Hot Chocolate. It’s to die for, friends. It takes a little longer to make, so my kids tend to go for the Nestle Quick hot chocolate. I pour that into a cute jar and it’s ready to go for an afternoon warm-me-up.

When you combine the hot cocoa station with some homemade banana bread or some warm pumpkin bread, it makes for some happy kids after school.

I must confess that the pumpkin bread is from a box. I bought the Krusteaz Pumpkin Bread from Costco before my surgery because I didn’t think I’d be in the mood for baking. We’ve all decided that we like this with butter and cinnamon sugar on top.

The banana bread is homemade. I couldn’t resist baking when I saw that we had a few over-ripe bananas. As much as I love making homemade bread with yeast, I also love a good quick and easy quick bread recipe.

Here’s the recipe I use for Banana Bread:

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup butter, softened

2 eggs

2 medium ripe bananas (mashed)

1/3 cup milk

1 tsp vanilla

2 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Grease the bottom of a bread pan.

Beat sugar and butter until light and fluffy.

Add bananas, milk, eggs, and vanilla. Mix.

Add the rest of the dry ingredients. Mix.

Add 2 cups of chocolate chips (optional).

Bake at 350 degrees for 50-60 minutes.

Happy Baking!

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