cookies

Sometimes you just need to bake chocolate chip cookies and that's all there is to it.

Even when it's summer, and it's really super hot outside (and nearly super hot inside), and you are trying not to use your oven (especially in the afternoon when electricity is more expensive). But we had to do it, I tell you! Oliver and I were desperate for chocolate chip cookies.

My sister pinned this recipe and we decided to try it out.

I used all-purpose flour and only semi-sweet chocolate chips. The recipe says to chill the dough for 24 to 36 hours, but come on! Who has that kind of willpower? I chilled ours while we waited for the oven to heat up (our house) and not for one minute more.

They were crispy and chewy and salty, just the way I like them. Totally worth the sweat.


This little domed plate is the perfect place to hide a secret stash of chocolate chip cookies, by the way. Shh.

this boy

I can't get enough of this boy, even when he wakes me up 14 times a night to snuggle (squirm) in my bed. I know he's not technically a baby anymore, but he will always be my baby, I think. Is that what happens when you have your last, you always think they're little, even when they're grown?

Mabel got birds for her birthday, so I had to move his high chair (which he hasn't used in months and months) to make room for the birdcage. I kind of came undone about it. It's sitting now in my teeny office, taking up too much room, but I don't know what else to do with it. I can't bear to get rid of it or put it away.

I'm not usually a sentimental person, but it sure feels that way lately. Must be this blasted heat.

lazy summer days

This week my motivation melted in the desert heat. All of those big projects I wanted to do this summer? Postponed until further notice. Instead we are laying around, reading, napping, watching movies, and finding pools to swim in.

Sometimes a little boredom is a good thing.

Chocolate Cake with Mint Chocolate Ganache

Mabel knew just what kind of cake she wanted for her birthday. She requested this chocolate cake with mint chocolate frosting.

The cake made two 9 inch rounds, plus about 8 cupcakes. It is very moist and sort of crumbly, so it can be kind of tricky to get out of the pan. Make sure you grease the pans really well and dust them with cocoa powder. I didn't have cupcake liners, so I lost about half of the cupcakes to sticking, but we didn't mind that one bit. We grabbed a fork and ate them right up. I made the cake the day before, then covered it in plastic and stored it in the fridge.

I used this ganache recipe and added 1 1/2 teaspoons of peppermint extract after the chocolate was mixed in. I liked this recipe better than the last Martha ganache recipe I tried. It made just the right amount to frost the cake, and it was sweeter. Also, no whipping was involved. Just chilling in the fridge until it was a spreadable consistency.

I loved this cake. It was super rich and fudgey, with a hint of mint in a nice, solid frosting.

double digits

Ten years ago I was wheeled from my doctor's office in Payson, Utah to the hospital next door for an unexpected c-section. Our Mabel was ready to enter this world, and to my doctor's great surprise, she was trying to do it feet first. The surgery was over before I knew it and there she was, the most beautiful baby I had ever seen: perfectly round little head, rosy cheeks, ten teeny finger nails. I loved her immediately, but I was completely unprepared for our new life together. I had no idea what I was doing! I was young and far from my family and felt very much alone. But I wasn't, not really. I had this little girl to keep me company, and day by day, she taught me how to be a mother.

I know now how easy she made it for me. She has a naturally sunny disposition, is quick to smile, and is so bright. She has always done what I have asked without complaint, and is just about the best girl you will ever meet. I love that her sense of humor is starting to develop, and I'm not one bit surprised to see that it leans toward the sarcastic. (Do you know her father? Sometimes I still don't catch his sarcasm.)

She is patient with Stella, a good friend to Oliver, and she adores Elliot. She jumps to his rescue quicker than anyone. She gracefully bears the responsibility of being the first, and I really don't know what we would do without her.

We love you Mabel. Happy birthday!


all photos taken last November by Sunshine & Shade

carrot cake

Mike doesn't really care for cake. As someone who finds a lot of joy in baking (and then eating) cakes this is somewhat shocking. But even this cake is Mike approved. It is dense, rich, moist, and so delicious.

I swapped the oil for butter, the walnuts for pecans, and the crushed pineapple for a little milk instead. It was just right.

For the frosting:

Cream Cheese Frosting
1 (8 oz) package of cream cheese, softened
1 stick of butter, softened
2 teaspoons of vanilla
about 5 cups powdered sugar

Cream the cream cheese and butter together, then add the vanilla. Slowly add the powdered sugar and beat until completely combined.

Makes enough frosting to generously cover a double layer cake, with some to spare.

on fathers

I am so glad that I get to experience parenthood with Mike by my side. He is many things that I am not, and when I see him with our children, I thank my lucky stars that he is ours.

And then there's my own dad. I've never known a more optimistic, generous, and patient man.

I love them.



photo of Mike and the girls by Sunshine & Shade

I need another vacation. Or just a nap.

Sometimes going on vacation can put me into a funk. In my real life, I don't go out to lunch everyday, I never go shopping, and I don't get to laze around chatting with my sister all day long. Oh man, I had so much fun last week in Dallas! But I have been in the funkiest of funks all week because of it, I think. This morning I'd had enough. So after Mike went to work and while my children slept, I scrubbed my bright kitchen and took some pictures to remind myself that I have a really pretty life.

I'm not going to lie, a lot of Haagen-Dazs and an early birthday present helped a bit, too. (Thanks, Mom. You didn't really expect me to wait til the end of August, did you? I love it!)


Do vacations sometimes make you feel weird? What do you do to feel better?

a trip to Dallas

When I heard that my friends, the Nielsons, were going to be giving a fireside last week in my sister's ward in Texas, I jumped at the chance to make a quick visit. I took the red eye from Mesa to Dallas, and boy was I glad to see that pretty bed at Leslie's house when I arrived.

Leslie and I are the same in almost every way except one: shopping. She is good at it, I am not. So she spent our first afternoon together convincing me to buy things. (It really didn't take much convincing, I guess. Her mere presence was all I needed. I suppose it's good for my pocketbook that we live a thousand miles apart. But that's all those silly miles are good for, darnit!)

That night was the fireside and it was great! Stephanie and Christian are inspiring and happy people. I was glad I got to hear them speak about their faith and hear their strong testimonies. And their baby! Oh, she is darling.

Have you read Stephanie's book, Heaven is Here? What did you think? I thought it was so real, and I loved how Stephanie showed that we all have the potential to survive tragedy because we all have the same bit of the divine in us.

During my visit, I took a few pictures around Leslie's pretty house. It is a beautiful, peaceful place. Everywhere you look there is some special little detail. I even snuck a picture in front of her famous What I Wore Wednesday mirror. (I don't know about you, but I miss those posts!)

I had such a wonderful time. Leslie and her family are the best hosts. We ate lots of yummy food and spent lots of time talking and relaxing. It was just what I needed.

Hooray for sisters! And for husbands who are good at holding down the fort while mom's gone, too!

yellow cake

One of my favorite classes in college was a household equipment lab. One of our experiments was baking yellow cake in different pans, and under various circumstances, to see which produced the best result. There were many mornings that semester that I had warm yellow cake for breakfast. Oh, those were good days!

Last Sunday, our dinner assignment was dessert. We didn't have much in our pantry to work with, but we did have everything we needed for a homemade yellow cake with chocolate butter cream frosting. It is a classic and to this day, one of my favorite things to eat for breakfast.

In my household equipment class, we used box cake mixes. Now, I try to make as many things as I can from scratch. Yellow cake is really pretty simple, even Martha Stewart's version, which is what I brought to Sunday dinner.

I used this slightly salty melt-in-your-mouth recipe for chocolate butter cream frosting.

project lists and sleeping boys

There are lots of projects I'd like to do around the house this summer, but I haven't quite mustered up the energy for the big ones. So I've been tackling the easy things, like printing new pictures to hang on our walls. Even though I haven't even started on the major projects (which all seem to involve painting and/or a nail gun), it feels good to check things off my list.

I have a feeling this summer is going to fly by.

Also, I like it when I come home from my early morning exercise and find that little boy in my bed.

I'll be here tonight.

If you are in the Dallas area, come!

The best nights

are the ones when we go swimming. It took quite a few tries, and lots and lots of cheering, but Elliot finally jumped! Hooray for summer. And for friends with pools.

let's draw something

This little coloring table has been moved all over the house. Now it is tucked in a corner of our basement family room, and I think this is where it will stay.

I wanted something to store pencils and other supplies in view, but contained, and off the table surface. The fintorp rail system with hooks and buckets from Ikea was perfect. I love that things are still in sight, but tidy. It makes it easy for the kids to keep the table clean.

Cookies never stick around long enough at our house to make it into the cookie jar, so I donated it to the cause. I like that it is large and clear, so it holds lots of crayons and let's the kids easily find the color they are looking for.

A large trash can helps keep the paper mess under control.

My kids love the paper roll and holder because what is more fun than drawing on regular sized paper? Drawing on huge paper, of course!

I saw this hemnes chest and knew it would be just the right thing to hold the rest of our craft supplies. I thought the price was fair, and I love the hidden drawer for paper storage. Plus, I think it is the kind of piece that would work in just about any room in my house.

It holds paper and a few other supplies like perler beads and paper punches. I gathered Mabel and Oliver's random glass jar collections (things like buttons and bottle caps and rocks) and a few of their favorite books to display. Oliver's rock tumbler was the right size to fit on the shelf, too.

The bottom drawer has a box to hold pictures that they'd like to keep. When the box is full, we'll sort it, and the things that are really worth keeping will be put in special boxes under their beds.

Here's what I decided: The fewer crafting supplies we have, the better off we will be. So we are sticking to the basics: paper, colored pencils, and crayons. Things that aren't used often or are messy like paint, markers, and coloring books will stay upstairs in the newly-cleaned out kitchen cupboard. This makes clean up and storage downstairs much easier, and really, kids don't need a lot of stuff to express their creativity. I think a nice, clean space is the best thing for it, actually.

Ever since I finished putting everything together, all four kids have been drawing and coloring like crazy. I'd say that means it's a hit.

p.s. Thank you for sharing your organizing ideas on my other post. They were all so great!

so far so good

We are settling into summer vacation. So far we've managed to keep the house from becoming a complete disaster, we've gone to the library, taken a trip to Ikea (pictures of our newly organized coloring area soon), and spent lots of time at my in-laws little pool. It is just the right size.

Usually Elliot runs full speed into our room in the mornings, always the first one up. But yesterday, he hovered at our door and pretended to be shy. I don't think he ever actually made it in. Silly boy.

Do you see that contented smile on Stella's face? She was so happy to be floating on that raft.

And I found my boys snuggled together on the couch yesterday afternoon. Elliot is still the most exciting thing that has ever happened to Mabel and Oliver. They are so sweet to him.

These are good days.

Happy June!