Vanilla Cake w/ Strawberry Cream Frosting

All I can say is YUMMMMM!!

I don't know about you, but I LOVE anything Strawberry!  

So when I saw this picture:

at Perry's Plate my mouth started to water!  

Well, I finally got around to making it!

Oh... and this was from SCRATCH.  

So needless to say it took me one day to make the frosting and the next day to make the cake.  

But it was well worth it...

Not to mention that my counter and everything around my counters (my iphone) was completely COVERED in Flour.

 I didn't take a lot of pics while I was mixing everything (it looked like a regular cake mix), but here is the finished Cake... it was rather TALL.  And if I was going to take this somewhere I would have put some strawberries on the top to Pretty it Up, but it was just for us, so LETS GET TO IT! 

Here is a better look!  YES... 4 LAYERS OF HEAVEN!

 AND... It was even BETTER the next day, after is set in the refrigerator over night.  

Now, off for another piece  ; )  Talk to ya'll later!

Iron Craft Challenge #1 Cotton - Reveal

If you haven't heard yet... the crafty folks over at Just Crafty Enough have started the 

Iron Craft Challenge 2013.  

I just love the logo:

"Are you crafty enough?"   Oh...they were calling me out!  HA!

 The first challenge was 'COTTON'.  Easy enough... right?  Well, since Valentines Day is coming up (sooner than you think), I decided to make Valentines T-Shirts for the Girls. 

(it feels so good to be crafty again)

Gracie, hamming it up for the camera in her NEW shirt.

I found the t-shirt for Gracie and a onesie for Addison (both around $5 ea), then found some cute fabric at Wal-Mart for only $.97.  So, my total for this 2 shirt project was only about $11.  

Crafty & Thrifty... two of my favorite words!

Here's some pics of my project in process:

 

Bonus....  The t'shirt for Gracie came with a Box Top for School.  I've never seen this before.

This is the Fabric with one of the shirts:

First, I pinned the Pattern Fabric to the back side of the shirts, print side up.

I had printed out letters from my computer, just pinned them to the front of the shirt (over top of where the pattern fabric was pinned), then sewed along the edges of each letter.

 I actually didn't use to 'O' in LOVE, I used a Heart shape.  After sewing all of the letters and the Heart shape, I just pulled off the paper stencil I was using.

I then turned the shirt inside out and trimmed around down the Pattern Fabric, so there wouldn't be so much extra on the inside... 

Last, I cut out the opening of each of the Letters and the Heart, revealing the Pattern Fabric behind.

And here are the finished T-shirt and Onesie:

Had to take the Pictures separately, because the little one went to sleep before her Big Sister got home.

She ALWAYS makes me Smile ; )

Thanks for taking a look at my first Iron Craft Challenge.  There is a new challenge every other week.. .so check back, I'll be adding more projects!

Talk to ya'll soon,

Let's Make It Monday.. Monthly Onesie Update

Addison is 3 Months Old  ;  )

WOW.. It has really flown by, considering during those three months we had:

Halloween 

Thanksgiving

Christmas

New Years

6 Birthdays

Hubs with the Flu

Me with a Stomach Virus

And two mice in the house! (Yikes)

But... Addison made it thru the tough and hectic moments.  What a trooper!  

You gotta be born strong in the Nichols house.  HA!

Here is our little cutie:

Sorry, it's a pic of a pic.  

If the 3 month onesie looks familiar.. It's from a 'What I Found Friday' post from last year.  

Check it out to see how I made these cute onesies for every month.

Talk to ya'll soon!

Random Wednesday.. Iron Craft Teaser

Happy Wednesday!

Well, it's a week to go until my very first Iron Craft Challenge is due.

This weeks Challenge....... COTTON.

I've got my idea and my supplies, now all I have to do is 'THA WORK'!!  Which can sometimes (for a procrastinator), be the worse part.  

This weekend for SURE!

Here is a Teaser of what I will be using in my Cotton Challenge:

Now that I see look at this close up... my Pink's don't actually match.... HMMMMM!

Oh well, hopefully the end product will look OK.

Here is a Link to Just Crafty Enough's Blog that details the Iron Craft Challenge 2013.

Talk to you all soon!

Let's Make It Monday

Happy 1st Monday of the New Year!

I know, I know, UUUGGGHHH, Monday!  But... It's NOT raining here and the sun is shining, it's a good day!  Hopefully for you too!  ; )

I got very proactive this weekend and came up with my 

Menu for this week:

Sunday - Burbon Chicken w/ Brown Rice, Collard Greens and Mac & Cheese.

Monday - Subway  (we have activities on Monday's, so Subway is a good healthy fast food).

Tuesday - Salmon w/ leftover Brown Rice, Collards, Mac & Cheese and some new Green Beans.

Wednesday - Parmesan Chicken w/ Bread & Salad.

Thursday - Any of the above that is still left over, OR, Soup and Sandwiches.

Friday - You're on your own....

Saturday - Good luck with anything other than Cereal from MOM!  Ha!  Ha!

As you can see, Friday and Saturday are unpredictable... (we usually eat out).  But I thought that I was doing good this week.  I got my menu together BEFORE going to the grocery store.  

WOW!  What an ingenious idea!  

Sorry, I'm slow to this domestic thing.  I'm just lucky to have matching shoes when I leave the house...

So... Sunday.... I made Burbon Chicken.  

If you haven't tried Burbon Chicken, you should be able to find it in any Mall Food Court nearby..  the vendors of the Burbon Chicken are usually yelling at you to come and try the Burbon Chicken as they hold up a pick on a toothpick from behind the 'very sanitary' counter.  

Anyway.... the Burbon Chicken at the Mall is FANTASTIC.  So when I found a recipe on Sparkpeople.com (a weight loss helper website) and it boasted that it taste just like the Mall Food Court version, I had to try it!

You can find the recipe I used here, Burbon Chicken.

Here's how mine turned out 

(sorry, I used my iphone instead of my camera... I'll do better next time):

Here is my Chicken cooking in Green Peppers, Onions and Olive Oil.  Doesn't look very appetizing.

Here is the Marinade... It didn't smell very Yummy.

And here is the finished product.  

I actually looked and smelled MUCH better once everything was combined, and tasted pretty good.  

UNFORTUNATELY, I didn't think that it tasted like the Mall Food Court Burbon Chicken, but it was good.  

I'd make it again! 

Also.. I just wanted to give a heads up...  On my Menu for Tuesday is Salmon.  I have found a WONDERFULLY Yummy, already marinated, prepackaged Salmon that takes no time to cook.  

I used to find this at Walmart, however, they've stopped carrying it... BUT, I just found it at my local Ingles Grocery Store.  This tastes Fabulous, it's easy to make and everyone in the house likes it!  Even my 7 year old.  

It's certainly worth a try if you see at your local Grocery.

Anyway... have a great Monday, and I'll talk to you soon!

What I Found Friday...

Welcome Back!

It's the first official 'What I Found Friday' of the New Year... and I've found A LOT!!

I've been Blog Stalking and Pinning away, all of the goodies that I want to create and duplicate this year.  Here are a few of my favs that I'll be working on first:

YUMMY   ; )

This Strawberry Cream Cheese Vanilla cake from Perry's Plate will be one of my 1st creations of the new year.   Doesn't it make you want to scratch-n-sniff the computer screen!!  

Where is Rachel Ray's Smell-o-Vision when you need it??

New to me this year is Just Crafty Enough's Iron Craft Challenge.   

Every other week the great minds at Just Crafty Enough will post a Craft Challenge based on a Theme, Crafting Material, or Technique.  You have two weeks to come up with your creation.

I thought that this would be interesting and hopefully challenge ME a little.  If you are interested in joining the Challenge, click here for all of the details, and let me know if you sign up...  

PS.. the first challenge has begun!

Here is a Scrapbooking Organizational project that I want to complete:

It should be fairly simple.  Just a Paper Towel Holder, Clear folders and Binder Rings.... we'll see... I found this great idea on Pinterest via Tumblr.com.

I'm not sure if I've posted these cute frames or not, but they would look GREAT in my Kitchen!

I've picked up the frames at Michaels, so now all I have to do is finish the project.  Easy Enough!  

I spotted this on Homespun With Love.

So there are my first projects for 2013... 

what are you working on in the New Year??

Talk to you soon!

HAPPY NEW YEAR! 2013!!

A New Year is once again here!  

I know, I know... I've been a little MIA recently (actually since August).  

As some of you may know, I've been working on a REALLY BIG project over the last few months and I had to step away from my blog and focus other things... But now I'm BACK, and I'm ready to reveal the BIG project:

Introducing:  

ADDISON LEIGH NICHOLS

My newest little Creation arrived on 10-11-12, 8 lbs & 8 oz., 21 3/4 inches long.  

We are all excited that she is finally here and Big Sister Gracie is such a GREAT help!  We only hope that 2013 is as wonderful as 2012 was...  Happy New Year to all!





Now a look back at the top 3 most popular posts from Blogitty, Blog, Blog, Blog in 2012:

Number 3:  Beef Burgandy Crockpot Recipe

Yes!  It was as good as it looks!


Number 2:  The Vinyl Tree decal that I used in Addison's nursery.

I'll have to give you an update on this... I've hung pink frames in the tree.




And the Number 1 most viewed Post from Blogitty, Blog, Blog, Blog in 2012:
The Dresser upcycled in to a Changing Table

Thanks for hanging out with me in 2012, and I look forward to seeing you all in 2013!