royal wedding fever

Stella and I immersed ourselves in Royal Wedding footage this morning. Wasn't it beautiful? I really have a good feeling about those two. I think they're going to make it.

And then Stella got dressed for the day. :)

strawberry shortcake for lunch

Find my favorite recipe here.

the thrill of the hunt

 Someone (Stella) really likes pink and purple.

And only pink and purple, thank you very much.

a happy Easter

I'm feeling especially grateful today for my Savior, for His sacrifice and resurrection, which make it possible for me to be bound to these people for eternity. It is the greatest gift.

Happy Easter!

for Easter

It's easy to get caught up in the craftiness circling the web this Easter season. But there is so much more to it than confetti eggs and felt bunnies! I'll leave it to Elder Holland, as I think he says it so well.

on a thursday

juicy arms and an old pecan

a maxi dress, perhaps?

new flowers

a scooter ride in the setting sun

p.s. Can you tell I've discovered instagram?

Chocolate Earthquake Cake

How did I not know that this cake existed? I can't believe I've never heard of it. Have you? I was looking for dessert ideas yesterday and entered "chocolate cake" and "cream cheese" into my ingredient search on allrecipes.com. Three versions of this cake popped up, so I thought I'd give it a try. I'm so glad I did. It was gooey and rich and really delicious.

Chocolate Earthquake Cake

1 cup chopped walnuts

1 (3.5 ounce) package flaked coconut

1 (18.25 ounce) package German chocolate cake mix

1/2 cup butter

8 ounces cream cheese

4 cups confectioners' sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease one 9x12 inch cake pan. Cover the bottom of the cake pan with the chopped nuts and the flaked coconut.
2. Prepare cake mix according to package directions. Pour batter over chopped nuts and coconut.
3. Melt butter or margarine, add cream cheese and confectioner's sugar. Stir until blended. Spoon over unbaked batter.
4. Bake at 350 degrees F for 40 to 42 minutes. Please note: you cannot test for doneness, as the cake will appear sticky even when it is done. The icing sinks into the batter as it bakes, forming the white ribbon inside. Makes 16 servings.

Some notes: I left out the walnuts (Mabel is allergic) and I was out of coconut, which was a bummer because I love coconut. I used a Devil's Food mix instead of German Chocolate, and I only had 4 ounces of cream cheese. Despite all of that, it turned out pretty well. It was best warm from the oven, as the icing hardened a bit after it cooled and stuck to the bottom of the pan. Oh, and mine overflowed in the oven, although it did settle back down nicely once it was out.

I'll have you know, I exercised extreme restraint and threw the leftovers away before I went to bed last night. Otherwise it would have been breakfast, and that would not have been a good idea.

take three, or another portfolio tunic

Have I convinced you to get the Portfolio pattern yet? This time I changed it up a bit. No pockets. No cuffs. It's simple and totally wearable and great for beating the heat (though I will have to ditch the jeans for leggings once summer really kicks it into high gear. . . like next week).

scenes from this morning

 banana bread in the mixer

a new outfit (thank you, ginger!)

 a bite of Yodipity

 a diaper change

a pile of freshly folded laundry waiting to be put away

ouch

I think I have a breast infection. I'm sore and feverish and headachy. Darn it.

But isn't my cabinet pretty? It is the first thing you see when you step inside the house, and it makes me think about Grandma Donna every time I look at it (It used to sit in her hallway.). The cabinet was in need of some attention, so I painted it (It was about a million times easier than my kitchen cabinets, just fyi. Going for "rustic" is always less stressful.). I left the original finish on the top because it feels so old and smooth, that I couldn't bare to cover it up. I used Martha's flat enamel paint from the Home Depot in Garden Shed. It is a really subtle greyish green, wasn't at all stinky, and cleaned up like a dream.

Ok, we're off to the basement to play/watch Downton Abbey.

walking weather

In about two minutes it's going to be too hot to go outside. Until then, we are going for walks and leaving the windows open and enjoying the non-scorching sun.

Is it spring at your house, too?

bright + clean

Mike thinks it's kind of silly that I wanted our pantry to look pretty. I'm wondering why it took me so long to get to it! I rounded up some baskets, which meant cleaning out my closet again. (I really have no clothes left now.) I wanted things contained. And organized. And bright. And clean. I've been leaving the door open just so I can peek at those shelves when I walk by.

teaching my children to be

This weekend was nice. We didn't go anywhere or do anything. Instead we put our computer on top of our dresser and watched conference from our bed. All 6 of us. It was cozy. :)

Conference was so good, wasn't it? There is always at least one talk that I really need to hear. This time, it was Lynn G. Robbins' talk on parenting. If you didn't see it, please give it a listen. It's not long. He spoke about so many things that I would like to incorporate into my parenting, but most importantly, teaching my children how "to be". Oh, it was good! I will definitely be studying it for the next little bit.

If you have more time, give Elder Holland's a listen, too. It gives a little background on what General Conference is, among other things. I thought it was so tender.