What I’m Lovin’ Wednesday: Trips and Treasures

Last weekend the Mr and I went antiquing with our BFF’s.  If you’re new around here, we like to do this (Mr likes good deals, I like future DIY projects, and we both love great company).  We haven't been antiquing since Easter weekend, so I went with a list; us girls were prepared to shop :-).  I love walking through everything; it’s so pretty to me #saideveryshopperatheart.

There is something about getting out of the city, as soon as we hit the dirt roads every little stressor just fades away.  It’s practically paradise.

If you follow me on Instagram you already saw what we brought home with us, but if not, we brought back a gorgeous bistro chair (that I saw at Pottery Barn for $269, but I got for $70), and a great new bookshelf for the office for $55.  We also got a hand-carved double rocker for the backyard.  I love sitting outside with my hubby and our coffee in the morning.  So perfect!

I think we’re already ready to go back lol

Pumpkin Bread with Cinnamon-Pecan Streusel

I have been dying to get more pumpkin recipes going in the kitchen.  It’s killing me that it’s already October and I’ve only opened 2 canes of Libby’s Pumpkin.  

Darby, get with the program! 

Since yesterday morning it felt a little like fall in Houston (it was 59 degrees for the first time in over 6 months!), I got my pumpkin boo-tay into the kitchen!  See if this recipe looks familiar to you:

Ingredients for Bread:
2 eggs, beaten
1/3 cup buttermilk (if you don’t have any mix 1 tbs white vinegar with 1 cup milk, then measure out 1/3 cup)
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup pumpkin (I always use Libby’s, because my mamma always used Libby’s)
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chopped pecans

Ingredients for Topping:
1 tsp cinnamon
2 tbs all purpose flour
3 tbs butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup chopped pecans
2 tbs sugar

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Spray one 9x5 inch loaf pan with cooking spray.
2. Blend together the eggs, buttermilk, oil and pumpkin.
3. Whisk together the sugar, flour, baking soda and salt. Add to pumpkin mixture and stir in pecans. Mix well.
4. Pour into prepared loaf pan and bake 1 hour.  While the bread is baking, mix together all of the ingredients for the topping.  After the bread has baked for an hour place the topping on the top of the bread and bake for 20 more minutes.

Did this recipe look familiar? This is my banana bread recipe, that I just substituted pumpkin for banana, and everything else was the same. So really this is two recipes in one for ya! How’s that for a delicious way to start the week? I’m having a slice with my morning coffee right now and it’s delicious! Don’t be jealous though, go make this!!!!! Happy Monday friends!

Lemon & Honey Beehive Cake {{My Favorite!}}

While anything chocolate is my typical go-to, this by far is my all time favorite cake.  It has everything I love in a cake: it’s sweet AND pretty!  The Mr. purchased a beehive cake pan for me when we graduated from our undergrad (we were the yellow jackets, and I’m pretty much obsessed with all things black and yellow, for more than one reason lol).  My cake pan is from Williams-Sonoma, but when I searched for it on their website it seems like they no longer carry it (makes me feel old), but here is a very similar cake pan.

Ok so here is the best cake recipe ever (in the entire world)!  It is kind of like a pound cake density, and I admit that it does take a while to make, but I promise that it is SOOOO worth it!  You probably could use any pound cake pan, but I always use my beehive cake pan for this one.


Ingredients:
Cake Ingredients

• 2  3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1  1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 2 sticks unsalted butter
• 1 2/3 cups sugar
• 3 tsp. lemon zest
• 4 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2/3 cup milk
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice, concentrated lemon juice is not a good substitute

Glaze Ingredients

• 1/2 cup honey
• 1 1/2 tbs. fresh lemon juice
• 1/4 tsp. salt

Buttercream Ingredients

• 1/2 stick unsalted butter
• 1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar, whisked
• 1 tbs. milk
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• pinch of salt

Royal Icing Ingredients (This is completely optional- I actually have only done this step a couple times because I find this cake to be sweet enough without it.)

• 1 cup confectioners' sugar, whisked
• 2-3 tsp. milk

Directions:
Because this cake does take a little while, I have broken it up for you in terms of days (yes I said days, but don’t freak out!)

1. Day 1:
   1. Start with all room temperature ingredients.  Move your oven rack to the lower third of the oven & preheat to 325 degrees.  Then grease and flour your pan, tapping out any extra flour.
   2. Whisk together the flour, baking power, and salt.
   3. Using a mixer with the flat beater, beat butter on a medium speed until creamy (about 1 minute).  Add in granulated sugar & lemon zest, and continue beating until light & fluffy (about 5 more minutes).  Add in the eggs, a little at a time and beating well after each addition.  Then beat in the vanilla and mix for about 30 seconds, just so that it's incorporated).
   4. Reduce the speed to low and add the flour mixture in three additions, alternating with the milk and beginning and ending with the flour. Beat each addition just until incorporated, stopping the mixer occasionally to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the lemon juice and beat for 30 seconds.
   5. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan, spreading the batter so the sides are higher than the center. Bake until the cake begins to pull away from the sides of the pan and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 55 to 60 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let the cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes.
   6. While the cake is cooling you will want to make the glaze.  In a small saucepan over medium heat, stir together the honey, lemon juice and salt and bring just to a simmer, about 2 minutes. Remove from the heat. Remove the cooled cake from the pan and place it on a cooling rack with wax paper underneath.  Using a pastry brush (or your fingers), brush the glaze onto the warm cake.  Let the glaze dry over night
2. Day 2:
   1. Now it’s time to make the buttercream :-) Using a mixer, beat the butter on medium speed until creamy (about 1 minute). Add the confectioners' sugar, milk, vanilla and salt and continue beating until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes more.
   2. To make the royal icing (which is OPTIONAL), in a small bowl, stir together the confectioners' sugar and the 2 tsp. milk until smooth (thick but pourable).
   3. Stand one half of the cooled cake vertically on its base. Using a serrated knife, level the flat side of the cake by trimming off 1/8 to 1/4 inch from the edge. Repeat with the other cake half.  Spread a thin layer of buttercream, about 1/2 cup, on the cut side of one of the cake halves. Place the cut side of the other cake half against the frosted side and gently press to secure the two halves; using the spatula, smooth the buttercream at the seam.
   4. Once your cake is on its serving platter, drizzle with the royal icing.  I like to serve mine with fruit.
   5. Delicious!

Doesn’t that look so delicious?!?!?!  Oh goodness I want a piece of this right now lol

Alright friends, have a sweet weekend!!!!

What I’m Lovin’ Wednesday: Brew & Save

Over the past few years, my office has changed so many times (see here and here); I mean my employer changed so of course my office changed.  Over the summer, my office moved AGAIN; though, this time I was still with the same university (thank goodness!).  Some schools within the university merged so we moved.  I couldn’t tell if I was happy or sad about the move.  I mean, packing of course stinks (especially during exam week), but I love unpacking and starting over.  But you can’t unpack until you pack, right?

Anyways we moved and I am loving my new office.  I am now on the top floor (there are only 3 floors lol), have a great view of what-will-be the new football field, more desk space, and bigger windows.  The building is much better (and newer) than my former building.  I also love that most of my classes are in this building so I don’t have to walk through the heat to get to my classes. Score!

This is completely ridiculous might be silly, but my favorite part about our new building (besides the people of course), is that we have a workroom with a Keurig coffee maker.  This has changed. my. life!  We all know that I love coffee, but instant coffee?!?!?! Woah baby!  I have heard of these fancy machines, but never had the opportunity to use one, and I can officially say that I have just discovered Keurig and am now in love <3 I’m in deep people!

In my search to investigate in my new world of K-cups, my husband and I realized just how quickly those little plastic cups add up! 
Entering stage left: Brew & Save! 
These plastic, reusable cups are so neat.  They are the same size as a K-cup, except you add your own ground coffee to them.  After using them you just rinse them out.  Better for the environment and so much more affordable.  You can also use them for tea or cider, and they are 100% BPA free.  I have been bringing my own ground coffee to work with my Brew & Save cups. 

Last weekend I posted on Instagram how I made my pumpkin spice syrup for the women at work, and I also made some for myself so that I could have pumpkin coffee everyday :-)

A new office, with better coffee, fun money-saving Brew & Save cups, and Pumpkin Spice every morning?!?!

That is what a happy professor looks like!

Obligatory Blogger Disclaimer: I was not paid for this post; I just really like these products.

5 NEW Facts

Happy Monday! Welcome to your fresh clean slate: you get to start the week new!  Think of it like New Years day instead of Monday.  So Happy New Year! ;-)

I think most people consider bloggers to be open books (or open blogs? however that works).  Well as with you, I’m sure there are plenty of things I don’t know about you.  So today I wanted to share five random facts with you about me. 
Are they stupid facts? Absolutely!
But that doesn’t make it any less fun, right? (crickets chirping?)

1. Pet Peeves- I can’t stand mouth sounds.  This of course includes people chewing with their mouths open and clicking their teeth, etc.  But most importantly, what grinds my gears the most, is when I can hear someone chewing even when your mouth is closed (i.e. chewing carrots, crackers, or chips).  It drives me up the wall! I’m all about table manners! Also another pet peeve is being respectful.  I firmly believe that we can expressing differing opinions without being offensive.  We can respect those that are different from us & still be respectful; I feel like this is hard to find in our society lately.
   
   
2. Phobias- Okay I know this is weird, I have been told this many times before, but it doesn’t change how I feel: I hate elbow pits.  You know, the inside space where you elbow bends? Yea, that makes my skin crawl.  I don’t like looking at the elbow pits of others, or talking about it (even writing about it right now is making me anxious).  You can imagine how horrible it is for me to get blood drawn or to donate blood.  I think this phobia stems from a traumatic car accident I was in right before I entered the second grade (yes this phobia has been with me for decades).  Oh and my other phobia is sharks.  Unless I can see the bottom of the ocean I am not going deeper than my knees.  So yea, I don’t frequent many Texas beaches!
   
   
3. Allergies- I am allergic to some material in disposable diapers, I'm not sure what the material is exactly though.  As a child it irritated me and my mother switched to reusable diapers.  Even now disposable diapers make me break out.  Something else that irritates my skin to no end is glitter.  I love the look of glitter, but I can’t be around it or else I break out in itchy hives for days.  And lastly, I’m truly a girl who loves her jewels.  I can’t wear cheap jewelry.  The nickel that is often in cheap jewelry makes me break out in hives also. 
   
   
4. Shower Schedule- (See I told you this was going to be a random list of facts lol)  I shower twice a day: as soon as I wake up and right before I go to bed.  Even though I shower 2x a day, I still, never fails, drop my soap in every. single. shower. 
   
   
5. Middle Name- My born middle name was Frances.   It was my grandfather’s mother’s name.  While I appreciate the sentiment of the name, it just isn’t me.  Do I look like a Frances to you?  I don’t see it.  So when I got married I dropped my middle name.  My new middle name is my maiden name, which happens to also start with an F so all of my monogram is still the same, and we all know how much I love me some monogram :-)

So now you know a little bit more about me….random facts, but still all me lol Tell me something new & random that I don’t know about you!

Happy “New Years”!!!

Food Network’s #1 Recipe

My best friend Katie, whom I met in college, is one of my pledge sisters, & was a bridesmaid in my wedding, gets me the subscription to the Food Network Magazine every year for Christmas.  This is seriously the perfect gift for me, and it keeps on giving throughout the year.  Every time I open a new issue it makes me think of her.  Thank you Katie!!!

Ok I’m done being sappy!  In last month’s issue, there was an article celebrating the anniversary of the Food Network and they shared 20 unknown facts about the company.  The number one fact was the most viewed and requested recipe, Alton Brown’s Mac and Cheese.  So of course I had to try it!  Holy cannoli! This mac and cheese is life-changing; seriously, a deal breaker!  No wonder it is the most viewed recipe!  This stuff is so delicious I had it for breakfast one morning!

I wish I could take credit for this recipe, but nothing this tasty has ever come out of my kitchen.  You must try this!!! I noted my changes to the recipe in case you want to try this exactly the way I did.
Alton Brown’s Mac and Cheese
Ingredients:
1/2 pound elbow macaroni
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
1 tablespoon powdered mustard
3 cups milk
1/2 cup yellow onion, finely diced OMIT
1 bay leaf OMIT
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 large egg
12 ounces sharp cheddar, shredded
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Fresh black pepper

Topping:
3 tablespoons butter
1 cup panko bread crumbs

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a large pot of boiling, salted water cook the pasta to al dente.
3. While the pasta is cooking, in a separate pot, melt the butter. Whisk in the flour and mustard and keep it moving for about five minutes. Make sure it's free of lumps. Stir in the milk, onion, bay leaf, and paprika. Simmer for ten minutes and remove the bay leaf.
4. Temper in the egg. Stir in 3/4 of the cheese. Season with salt and pepper. Fold the macaroni into the mix and pour into a 2-quart casserole dish. Top with remaining cheese.It will look really soupy (like you did sometime wrong) when you put it in the dish, but after you bake it, it will be fine :-)
5. Melt the butter in a saute pan and toss the bread crumbs to coat. Top the macaroni with the bread crumbs. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and rest for five minutes before serving.

I promise you will fall in love with this recipe.   It’s so yummy!!! Have a great weekend friends!!!

recipe & image source

What I’m Lovin’ Wednesday: Smokin’

This is not what you’re thinking: I do not smoke, nor do I LOVE smoking lol But I do love when the Mr. gets to cookin’ on his smoker!  I absolutely love it when we go shopping for some meat and then he tends to it for the next day or so. 

In the spring the Mr. purchased an electric smoker and we have had the most fun with it.  Well I guess I have a lot of fun because all I do is watch and eat.  But who wouldn’t love that?! 

When the Mr. smokes meat over the weekend, it is an all weekend affair.  On Friday night the meat is purchased and marinated overnight in the fridge.  Saturday evening the meat goes into the smoker and the Mr. tends to it throughout the night while I sleep (I seriously have the best role in this entire operation).  Then on Sunday after church we have an awesome mid-afternoon supper, and I make some baked beans and some corn or loaded mashed potatoes (like this recipe).  It is pretty much one of my favorite weekend activities!Sorry, this picture is so fuzzy, but it was really foggy the morning I took this picture.

Despite my typical hate for left-overs, I love left-overs when the Mr. smokes a brisket or pork butt (which is shoulder not actual pig booty, just to clarify).  I love to take the meat and chop it up with red onion and cilantro, then add it to a tortilla and top with some guacamole.  Oh my goodness my mouth is watering!  Seriously this was an awesome investment (from Craigslist no less!). 

Do you or your spouse smoke dinner? 

Do you have any recipes that you would recommend?

Blog Elevated 2013

Morning friends, and happy Monday!  We had a great weekend and I hope y’all did as well.  Friday we had dinner with some of our best friends, and on Sunday we watched football (duh!) and got a new desk for the guest room (I can’t wait for my sister to be able to use it in October when she visits).  But I’ve got to tell y’all about my Saturday.  Over the weekend I told y’all that I was headed to Houston’s blogging conference, Blog Elevated.  This was my entire Saturday and it was totally worth it….plus when I got home my husband had completely done all of my housework for me.  I’m talking sweeping, vacuuming, laundry, dishes…. I was one happy lady!

After last year’s blogger symposium, I knew that I just had to attend again this year, and it did not disappoint.  I was a little upset that I didn’t get to spend all three days there (because I had to work), but I did get there on Saturday, and it was a fabulous experience. 

I took four really great classes: branding, social media tools, making Pinterest work for you, and working with props and lighting in photography.  The branding course was really inspiring and encouraging; it was a new way of thinking in a streamlined fashion to make the dots connect better.  The social media class? Well let’s just say I used to think I was pretty decent at social media….I was wrong.  I still have A LOT to learn; I was humbled. In fact that session was so overwhelming to me; so many websites I had never even heard of lol My favorite two sessions were on Pinterest and making my photos better.  I really enjoy this aspect of my blog so learning about them was so much fun.  I have to say that all of the speakers were incredibly well-versed and I gleaned so much from each session.  I am very grateful for what I learned at this conference.  Being a student at heart, I took pages and pages of notes and I can’t wait to work my way through them to make this space the best I can.

Yes the courses were great, and the location was fun (and super convenient for me), but it wasn’t my favorite part.  The absolute best part of the conference was getting to see my friends who started out as blogging buddies but have become some of the best friends, and finally getting to hug my new friends.  At the very end of the day, all blogging is about for me are relationships.  Of course other parts are really fun, but it’s about the people for me. 

And now for some pictures, right? Isn’t that what everyone wants to see?  Here are my un-edited blogging conference photos (which is probably not something I learned in my photo class, but I’m feeling lazy)The only place where it’s perfectly acceptable (and encouraged) to be on your phone while at the table? A blogging conference :-)It was so much fun working with a bunch of new equipment.  Also learning that some of the things I have purchased were actually great purchases!A cupcake….get it? lolCheck out all of this swag!! Seriously, so awesome….and a Rooney photo-bomb lol

Overall it was an awesome experience and I’m looking forward to next year.

What did y’all do this weekend? Fill me in!!