Christmas Decorations 2009

Well, when I started uploading pictures about 5 minutes ago, the outside temp said 39 degrees, and it now says 37!! So, it is cold here!! However, inside my house, it is warm and cozy. That is mostly due to all of the Christmas decorations. My friend Leslie helped me, and I finally got everything put up last night! It looks so good, and Leslie did most of it!! She has a good eye for decorating! Some of the decorations are older, and some I just recently bought on my trip to Asheville, North Carolina and Gatlinburg, TN. I took a few pictures so grab a cup of hot cocoa, sit back, and scroll through my winter wonderland!

The above pictures are of the sofa table that I use in my foyer. I got the nativity scene as a Christmas present from my Mom last year. It is from Lifeway. So cute!! Leslie is in the picture with me on the end. Onward to more pictures...

This was my Meme's tree, and it is so special to me. The Christmas after she passed away, my Christmas tree that I had for years was stolen out of a storage unit, and so I got Meme's as a replacement! No matter what, this tree will always go up somewhere in my house!

I think my mantle turned out great this year! I found the tall, red, belted cones at The Christmas Place in Pigeon Forge. That place is awesome! Keep checking for pictures of my trip to Gatlinburg and Asheville!

Oh, I almost forgot... I found this little guy on sale at The Christmas Place. He is keeping guard over the kitchen and making sure all the sweets are taste-tested before they leave!

Well, I hope you enjoyed looking through my decorations this year. I hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas! Until next time, be BLESSED! And remember Jesus is the reason for the season!

Chocolate Cake for Breakfast!

I don't know if any of you have seen the 1980 something Bill Cosby comedy show, but he does a little skit in there talking about giving his kids chocolate cake one morning when his wife made him "fix" breakfast. The most memorable line from that particular scene is the song that the kids sing as they are eating their breakfast... "Dad is great. He gives us chocolate cake." I just might have chocolate cake for breakfast in the morning!!

We had our annual Sunday school Christmas party tonight, and for dessert, I made Old-Fashioned Chocolate Cake with Peanut Butter Icing. I got the recipe from one of the Paula Deen Christmas mags, so she gets credit for the recipe. Here are some pictures of the cake before I left home. The recipe will follow.

Old-Fashioned Chocolate Cake

1 c. hot water

3 (1oz.) squares semi-sweet baking chocolate

2 1/4 c. all-purpose flour

2 1/2 c. sugar

1 c. unsweetened cocoa powder

2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

1 1/4 c. buttermilk

3/4 c. vegetable oil

3 large eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

To begin, preheat oven to 350 and grease and flour 2 (10 in.) round cake pans. Place 3 chocolate squares in a bowl and pour hot water over them. Let sit for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally as chocolate melts. *use really hot water*

In mixing bowl, add flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. On medium-low speed, mix in buttermilk, oil, eggs, and vanilla until blended completely. Then pour in melted chocolate and mix until blended completely.

Pour batter evenly into each cake pan. Bake for 23-27 minutes,* or until wooden pick inserted in center of cake comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes, then remove and let cool completely on wire racks. Ice bottom and top tiers with Peanut Butter Frosting. *I had to cook my cake, a lot longer than the recipe said. I think it had something to do with that chocolate/hot water thing that you pour in at the end. It made my cake really soupy, which is what I think made it take a lot longer to get done.

Peanut Butter Frosting

1 1/4 c. butter, softened

1 c. creamy peanut butter

1/4 c. heavy whipping cream**

5 c. confectioner's sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

Beat softened butter and peanut butter until well blended and fluffy. Add in whipping cream and mix until incorporated. With mixer still on, gradually add confectioner's sugar. Finally, add vanilla. **In following this recipe, I noticed that it was really dry and starting to clump up after a lot of the powdered sugar was added, so I had to guesstimate and add in more whipping cream, until it looked spreadable.

Hope you enjoy the recipe, and until next time, BE BLESSED! S ;)

I'm Mad...

Because...
I forgot my camera this weekend.
Short blog...
Be blessed...
Love, S :)

Multi-tasking

Don't you just love multi-tasking!! I am watching a movie while writing this blog. Which movie you ask... Monsters vs. Aliens. It looks cute so far!! Sorry I haven't had time to blog in awhile. I worked a pretty long stretch at work this past weekend.
I have a busy weekend ahead. The Upper Room is having it's Fall Retreat this weekend at Henry Horton State Park. It's south of Nashville, kind of close to Columbia. Cara and I are driving down tomorrow afternoon. We are stopping off in Nashville at the state fairgrounds on the way down for Christmas Village, which is a big Christmas shopping fest that has been held here for the past 49 years. I hope to get some cute things for Christmas gifts. When we're done there, we will be state park bound. My friend, Leslie, is driving up from Birmingham to spend the weekend with us. I am looking forward to it for sure!!
On Sunday, Cara and I are going to a Titans game around noon, and then I have to go over to Cottontown for Allie's birthday party. Looks like another full weekend for me! Gotta love it!!
The only bad part is that I have to leave Mags at her vet's doggie hotel for the weekend, which isn't much of a hotel... :( They just have a bunch of cages like you see in pet stores. I hope they don't think I am ridiculous in the morning when I drop her off, because I am taking her blanket, her bed, one of her toys, and one of my T-shirts. I really hope they let me get her situated in there too. I want to put her blanket down first, so she doesn't have to stand on those metal bars. Then, I want to put in her bed lined with one of my T-shirts so she won't feel alone. Her toy is there in case she wants to play. SO do you think that's crazy?? Well I don't care, she is my baby and I hate leaving her!! :)
I hope everyone has a great weekend, and I hope to take a bunch of pictures to post on Monday. Until next time, be blessed! S

The Broom's Still Standing

Ok, so I don't usually believe stuff like this, but this time I have pictures to prove it. My friend Cara called me earlier, and said, "Go try this... Stand your broom up with the bristles facing down, and point the top of the broom towards the moon." So I went and got the broom and stood it up in the kitchen, pointing the top towards where the moon is located in the sky. That was an hour ago, and the broom is still standing!!! Here is the proof.....



Do not look at the pile of laundry seen in the background! Maggie was wondering what was going on.... Probably thought I was crazy!! Spooky!!!!

Happy Halloween!!

Just wanted wish everyone a HAPPY HALLOWEEN!! Be safe and eat lots of candy!!

32 hours

Hey y'all!! I was up for the above mentioned amount of hours yesterday!!! It was so worth it!!! I worked on Saturday night and was off last night, so I usually miss church and take a nap then do something fun in the afternoon. Yesterday, I just felt so good after work that I thought, "hey, I can do this." I quickly got ready and walked out the door on time for church. I didn't have time to grab anything for breakfast, so I ran over to the Sonic in town before getting on the interstate. I was starting to feel a little tired by this point, but I decided to push on. When I pulled out of the Sonic drive, straight in front of my car was a sign. I don't mean a road sign or traffic sign... I mean a sign from the Man Upstairs! With a beautiful bright blue sky as its backdrop, a tree stood in the distance. Not just any tree, this tree looked like it was on fire!! The leaves were glowing with a bright orange color brought about by the change of season. It was the first time this fall that I have really looked at the changing trees. Wow!! I had to stop and take a picture! Unfortunately, the only camera I had with me was on my phone, so the quality of the photo isn't that great, but it is still beautiful! I plan on going out of Wednesday with my camera, and capturing some of fall's beauty! It definitely reinforced my desire to go on with the rest of the day I had planned!

Church was awesome! Something about the singing yesterday was extra special... I guess other people had seen beautiful, bright, special trees on their journey that morning!! I was definitely in a more "thankful to God" state of mind. After church, I went to lunch with my "second family," Ricky, Stephanie, Kyle, Cara, etc!! Once again, I was reminded of how thankful I was to get to spend some time with these wonderful people.

I had been looking forward to Sunday night, since I bought the tickets back in September!! I went to see A Fine Frenzy last night at 3rd and Lindsley in Nashville! I first heard of/saw them on Easter 2008. I was in Washington DC with my sister, and she surprised me with tickets to a show. I had never heard of the group, but I instantly feel in love with the music. I always keep a check on their tour schedule and was so excited to see they were coming to Nashville. So last night, my friend Meredith and I went to the show!

A very folksy group called Among the Oak and Ash opened the show. They were very good, and the front guy playing guitar was very entertaining. Next came one of Nashville's own, Landon Pigg, who has a popular song out now called (Falling in Love) Coffee Shop. He was also in a movie out recently called Whip It with Ellen Page and Drew Barrymore, and he played one of the songs from the movie. I enjoyed his show!! Here is a very blurry picture of him...

Then, A FINE FRENZY came out!! I had a great time watching/listening to the show. Unfortunately, my camera doesn't take good indoor pictures of things that are farther away. But I am determined to post one anyway. SO here goes...

I know, I know... I either need lessons on photography or a new camera!! She is in the picture though, and she has long red hair and is dressed in black pants, white button-up, and black blazer! The music was lovely!! If you haven't heard of her, go check out her website. http://afinefrenzy.com/ I like all her songs, but her newest single, Blow Away is really awesome!

Needless to say, by the time I got home I was tired, and I laid down at close to midnight. I got to sleep about 13 hours and wanted to sleep longer, but... who can resist this face??

Until next time, be blessed!! S =)