SPICE me up!!

There's no doubt Fall has made its mark as a favorite time of year for many of us. There's so much to enjoy this season!! To name a few, head on over to BlueDaisy in the Bluegrass, where my dear friend shares the joys of her own Fall Bucket List! I recently made a short list of my own expectations, as well, but had not yet touched on the one tiny, isty-bitsy, anticipatory item ...

"...don't mind if I do."

Oh yes. Starbucks is now serving their PSL. Holy Latte! I'm a happy woman.

Marking their 10th year of serving this delicious goodness, I have delightfully indulged into the celebration. Before any of mommy friends, or moms-to-be, get unraveled... I order decaf. You know, by definition meaning "coffee that doesn't work." Fortunately for me, I LOVE coffee no matter the effects. Ha! It's true.

My only other enjoyment, while waiting for my sweet nothing, is gazing at their always unique coffee mugs! I just love them. And for the record, I encountered that awkward moment of someone watching me take a picture of these ceramic objects. All for the love of blogging. *sigh*  

 Oh, Pumpkin Spice Latte... You are a true joy in my life. Thank you for always gracing your appearance at this exceptional time of year. Caffeinated or not, you serve purpose in my heart! Love always, your biggest fan!! ;)

Slides and Snow Cones

This Labor Day, we joined some friends at their church picnic, and it was a blast . Coincidentally, so was the heat. Although there was a breeze, so it made for a nice day to get the kids out for some fun!! Fortunately, our friends' youngest daughter is a month apart from Audriana, so they're great playmates. 

The parking lot was full of inflatables, for all different ages; slides, bouncers, boxing ring, and an obstacle course. After a few slides, we headed indoors to get their faces painted; aka air conditioning and potty breaks. I didn't get a photo of the line for the face painting room... my oh my... we waited a good 20 mins, but it was worth it!!!! She was so proud of that thing. ;) 

After a quick lunch, we were back outside and back on the slides! She loved them!! ...but what kids doesn't? I have a few action shots. Pretty priceless, considering her very unique method and form.

She later decided to venture off into some of the other activities, to my surprise. So while hubs fetched us all some more water (and me another hamburger, yes another) she and I headed towards the bigger kid area. I loved seeing her enthusiasm. She was pumped to get into these bigger games. ;)

And just for the record, she made that last shot!! :) We were all cheering!!!!

Last but certainly not least, she ended her success with a delicious snow cone! Mmmm. Who'd have ever known crushed ice with flavored syrup could be such a treat. Yum yum.

 As I mentioned once before, I love these special moments with my family!! Especially, when you can share it with friends. I have to give my husband credit for arranging this outing. I just love him. He's the best. :) 

So blessed for my family!! And can't wait for our next one to finally be here! There's so much that awaits him, he has NO idea. ;)

Happy Birthday, Mama!! ❤

Without getting too philosophical, it's true that we learn a great deal as we grow older. Learning to evaluate our needs vs. wants, and/or recognizing failures and learning from our mistakes. Most importantly, we learn to appreciate people. Although, it's good to appreciate the community around you, I'm talking more personal... like how to appreciate our parents. For some, that never seems to be acknowledged. I know that in these last 28 years of my life, I have found an appreciation for my parents I never truly understood until I became a mother myself. With that said, I want to take a short moment and wish my mama a HAPPY BIRTHDAY!! :)

My mama and I have gone through all the trials and errors as a mother/daughter relationship could encounter; we're not perfect... who is? I admit my selfish acts as a teenager, and my even more outrageous behavior as what I considered an adult; but when I became a mother, I actually understood the reasons behind our disagreements. Our relationship grew closer as each year progressed, and we now have a bond that's very special to me. 

This woman has one of the biggest hearts I know. She sacrifices a lot for me, and my family and very, very, very rarely puts herself before anyone else. Should I even go into how she's the world's best grandmother? ... pardon me... world's best GiGi? ;) 

 

When it comes to this little girl, there is nothing that stands in her way. Her role as a grand--- GiGi, has been nothing short of perfection. Audriana comes first to her, and she ceases any opportunity to be there through every stage of her life. No words could possibly express my gratitude for all her love.

Happy Birthday, Mama!! 

Thank you for all you do. ❤❤❤

Friends, family, food ... and FALL

Not exactly sure how to approach this particular post. It was just something that came upon me in a split second. While eating my lunch, I suddenly realized "...it's already September, which means four weeks from October, MEANING Harvest Homecoming is just around the corner!!!!" Yes, that's about how my thought processing goes... 

For those unfamiliar with Harvest Homecoming... your loss... it's an annual festival here in our little town. Although, the reasoning to why it's so anticipated is every individual's opinion. MINE? Ooooh man. It's all about the food!! I'm not sure how it became any better than any other food festival, but it is certainly #1 in my opinion. Specifically, the chicken and dumplings from Redmen's Club (no link available) has set a permanent place in my heart... and stomach. I assure you a photo does it no justice, but what the heck! Here's the deliciousness I immediately bulls-eye towards every.single.year.  

photo credit

And to make sure you understand my love for these things is a serious ordeal, here's a typical photo of our usual stock pile on the last day of the festival.

 So you get the idea. I'm a fan.

Another reason I love Harvest Homecoming, is simply because I'm a real sucker for FALL!!! It truly marks fall's arrival; the weather, the food, and of course any and all family oriented events. Festivals are always a great excuse to get the fam together, chow down on great food and enjoy the surroundings/music/you name it. I sound like a real mom right now... but it's true! I love having reasons to meet up with friends and family.  

Here's some fun memories of the past few years at Harvest. For this particular event you don't even have to plan on meeting anyone, because most likely they'll already be there. It's a small town... you WILL see everyone! :)

 Yes, the bottom right photo is the very first day my sweet girl tasted the infamous dumplings! Mommy was not about to let her leave without that experience... and she loved them, as expected. ;) 

Here's some fun past times at Huber's Winery; another fun experience for family and friends during the fall season!!! Wine, cheese, music... and maybe a heavy jacket (borrowed from a friend's dad) when you've under dressed for that cool evening. Ha. It's never failed to be one of my favorite outings. I cannot wait! Although, the wine will have to be set aside this year. 

 And not to mention their infamous pumpkin patch!! We've made that a tradition each year, as well. Audriana was a year old when she picked her first pumpkin, and I cannot believe the age progression in these photos. My how she has grown!! I have to say I love the bottom right photo where she's dominating that caramel apple. Ha! That's my girl.

And my other favorite... fail.

Not only am I looking forward to all the events this fall, but the weather change will certainly be nice! I'm over the heat, and ready for some coats & scarves! We always want what we don't have (come winter, I'll be wishing for warmth and sunshine), but fall has never been a disappointing season... always a pleasure!! 

... 6 more weeks. But who's counting? ;)

Got Me Goodies

In my last post, I said I would share the recipe of the delicious cake bites I recently delivered to my sweet volleyball team. Well, as promised... here it is!

Cake Bites 

...cake pops without the stick.

• 1 box White Cake mix
• 1 container Vanilla frosting; not whipped - only 1/3 of container necessary for this recipe
• 1 container Wilton Candy Melts - white chocolate for this recipe
• 1 Tbsp Vegetable/Canola oil
• Blue food coloring
• Toothpicks

Prepare cake mix as instructed on the box... 

For a BLUE display, add food coloring to batter. 

This recipe called for only 3 or 4 drops to make it baby blue.

Bake as instructed (depending on the size of the pan); 13x9 baked 30 mins at 350 degrees. Then allow an hour or so to cool. My trick is to set the pan up high, so the bottom and top can cool evenly.

Meanwhile, prepare the icing! 

 I scooped out 1/3 of the icing into a separate bowl, to add blue food coloring. 

 After your cake has completely cooled, crumble it up into a bowl. Using a spoon, or clean hands, add the frosting and carefully mix together. Be sure to add a little at a time - too much moisture will prevent the balls from holding their shape. Once the cake and icing are mixed well, begin rolling .5-1 Tbsp of mixture into balls. If the mixture does not stay together, add more icing. 

When you are finished - THIS IS IMPORTANT - allow the cake balls to sit in the FREEZER for at least ONE HOUR. Any less, the balls will not be firm enough to dip into the chocolate. 

Onto the fun part... 

Melt the chocolate as directed. I preferred melting them in a glass measuring up, but you have the option to melt them in the container itself - the choice is yours! Once completely melted, add 1 Tbsp of oil and stir, stir, stir until nice and smooth!! It should almost slide right off the spoon.

 When ready, remove the cake balls from the freezer. Wait a moment before dipping them into the chocolate, due to the drastic change in temperature - cold cake balls combined with warm/hot chocolate will cause the cake to eventually expand and crack the dried coating. 

Place a toothpick in the center of the cake ball, about 3/4 deep - you don't want it to go completely through, nor do you want it too shallow or it will fall right off. Carefully dip the cake ball into the melted chocolate, covering every inch and around the toothpick. Don't leave any cake ball visible - unlike my one in the middle... you don't want that. 

Once the coating has dried, slowly twist the toothpick out of the ball. Be careful to not crack the icing, or to separate it too much where the toothpick is inserted.

Decorations are completely up to you!! Given, this was a reveal celebration I wanted to continue with the theme and decorate as I've seen them displayed in such events. For this occasion, I needed a pastry bag, and an applicator that would provide about a centimeter of icing... see below for my clever improvisation.  

For the pastry bag (since I was OUT; too much baking last year) I simply used a Ziploc baggie! Cut a tiny hole in the corner, and insert the applicator as shown. Voila!! Decorate to your liking, then place them back into the refrigerator until ready to serve.

OUTCOME:

Crunched for time, I did not have the steadiest of hands... but it got the job done!!!

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Well, it's been quite a few Fridays since I've participated in one of my favorite bloggy link ups! So, along with the theme of Ms.Whitney's #backthatazzup, I figured I'd share the song currently stuck in this noggin of mine. Call me a repeater, because I know I've shared this song before, but it just seemed appropriate given this particular artist enjoys Goodies, and my post was clearly about some goodies of my own, right? Let's keep it in good context people. ;)

HAPPY FRIDAY, everyone! ;)

Sweet Surprises

Well, with the big news continuing to flow... I decided to do something special for as many individuals as I could! My mama, daughter, husband and mother-in-law were able to attend the BIG day on Tuesday, revealing our new baby and... his accessories... however, unfortunately my sister-in-law was not present. Knowing this was just as meaningful to her, I decided to run down to a local craft store and buy some goodies to help share the special news!! :) With a small paper bag, a little confetti and some blue "It's a boy!" Hershey kisses, it was nothing huge, but special indeed...

Moving on to my second surprise... to my dearest volleyball girls! Recently, I've been assisting as a coach for my old highschool's Jr. High volleyball team!!!! It's been an honor to be back on the court, especially with these girls. They're the sweetest, and a really talented group. For weeks, they've been anxious to know what the baby will be, so I figured I would surprise them with a special reveal. And it was too fun!!! I made them wait until the END of practice ;) because I didn't want their bellies full of dessert beforehand... the treat? Cake bites!!! ...a cake pop without the stick; RECIPE to come soon.

And a couple action shots...

 Needless to say, they devoured enjoyed them!! I'm so glad!! It's been awhile since I've put my baking skills to good use. It was nice to get back into the groove. And the best part... there were NONE left over!!!! Hooray! It's usually quite the opposite. I was very pleased on that account. ;) Although a handful of girls were disappointed I wouldn't be able to use their own name for the new baby, they were happy to hear the news... and I mean, when you're served cake bites who can complain, right? I love these girls!!