What I've Found Friday... Scraptastically Exciting!!!

HAPPY Friday!  

I have to jump up and down for a moment... I'm just so excited!!!!

Have you every heard of or been to:

Or the convention that I go to in Charlotte:

WELL  I  AM!!!  WAHOOOOOO!!

I finally registered online and even signed up for two AWESOME Classes (which gets me in to the Convention for Freeeee!

I can't wait!  If you are going let me know, and let me know what you like best about the convention.  I think my favorite part would be the hundreds of supplies that I NEVER KNEW EXISTED!

If you Scrapbook and have never been to the CKC Convention, try to get to one near you.  You will enjoy it!  

Here is a link to the main CKC site:  CKC Scrapbook Conventions.  There is a list going down the left side of when and where the convention will be.

I'll post some more pictures after the Convention.

Have a great Weekend!

Random Wednesday... Swelling

Uuuugggghhh!

That's all I can say today!  

It's VERY warm in North Carolina and the Humidity will make you sweat just thinking about going outside!  And of course, due to the temperatures outside and being pregnant, I am SWELLING like the hot air blimp on Super Bowl Sunday!

My rings have gotten tighter on my fingers, my feet feel like heavy stubs of chub and when I look in the mirror, it looks like my face is twice the size it use to be.....   (sorry, just give me my 10 minutes to whine).

 OK... here is the before Picture, 1st thing it the morning.  Actually my left foot looks like it has already started to swell a little..

PS.. I hate feet!  Mine and other peoples.

And here is a Picture after I get home in the afternoons:

Lov'in the 4th of July toes, Right!

FEEL THE PAIN?  Yuck!!

If anyone knows a great trick to reduce the swelling, it would be appreciated!  

Now I'm off to find a cool spot and put my feet up!

Happy Wednesday everyone! ; )

Let's Make It Monday... Lemonade Cake

So I was cruising Pinterest the other day and crossed paths with a LOVELY Lemonade Cake.  The Picture alone got my Pregnancy Cravings cranked in to HIGH gear!!  Here is the picture that started it all from Annie's Home Blog. 

Doesn't it look Scrumptious!

Here is the Recipe:

Cake:

1 1/3 cups granulated sugar
6 tablespoons butter, softened
1 tablespoon grated lemon rind
3 tablespoons thawed lemonade concentrate
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 large eggs
2 large egg whites
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/4 cups fat-free buttermilk
Cooking spray 

Frosting:

2 tablespoons butter, softened
2 teaspoons grated lemon rind
2 teaspoons thawed lemonade concentrate
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
8 ounces 1/3-less-fat cream cheese
3 1/2 cups powdered sugar 

Preheat oven to 350°.
To prepare cake, place first 5 ingredients in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended (about 5 minutes). Add eggs and egg whites, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda; stir well with a whisk. Add flour mixture and buttermilk alternately to sugar mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture; beat well after each addition.
Pour batter into 2 (9-inch) round cake pans coated with cooking spray; sharply tap pans once on counter to remove air bubbles. Bake at 350° for 20 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans 10 minutes on a wire rack; remove from pans. Cool completely on wire rack.
To prepare frosting, place 2 tablespoons butter and the next 4 ingredients (2 tablespoons butter through cream cheese) in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at high speed until fluffy. Add powdered sugar, and beat at low speed just until blended (do not overbeat). Chill 1 hour.
Place 1 cake layer on a plate; spread with 1/2 cup frosting. Top with remaining cake layer. Spread remaining frosting over top and sides of cake. Store cake loosely covered in the refrigerator.

It was a bit more complicated to put together, and had lots of ingredients, but the outcome was FANTASTIC!  

Here are my Ingredients:

More ingredients than I usually cook with...

And here are a few Pictures of MY finished Product:  

YUMMMMMMMM!  
My Grater was not working great, so there were some larger pieces of Lemon throughout the cake.

Please ignore the my Paper Plate Fine China...  I will say the Icing was Heavenly!

My Pictures don't do it justice.  

The cake was delicious, even the Hubs said it was good!  I would love to find a recipe with the same outcome that only 3 to 4 ingredients, but that would be 

"Having my Cake and Eating it too!"  

HA!

See you all Wednesday!

What I Found Friday... ME! Back and ready to go!

Hello Everyone!  

So, after a week at Holden Beach, NC and then a week recovering from being on the Beach (laundry, unpacking & getting back into a routine), I'm finally back!

My Blog Calendar is set and I'm ready to start posting again.  I have to admit that I was bad while on Vacation.... I didn't set up any posts prior to leaving.  (Don't worry.. I put myself in time out, on the Beach, for being such a bad blogger) ; )  

So how was my sabbatical on the Beach?  

Fabulous... thank you for asking!  

Here are a couple pictures that I managed to snap from my Beach Time Out Chair: 

Scott & Gracie playing in the Surf!

Gracie loves having her Daddy all to herself!

The view from my Chair... Actually Gracie took this picture. 

An afternoon Snack!  YUM!

Everyone have a Safe and Happy Weekend.  And I'll see you all on Monday!

Random Wednesday... The Ever Growing Baby Bump

Happy Wednesday!

I thought I would share some of my Belly Photos with you.. I've tried to do a photo every month (I just love seeing the difference from month to month).  However, I've missed a few months, and I've actually misplaced one month's picture.  I've got Pregnancy Brain!

So Check me out.... here is 2 Months Pregnant:

The Big t-shirt hides the obvious.... and I look like I'm in shock.

 Here I am at 4 Months... after climbing Chimney Rock.  A mountain in NC.  I was hot, tired and ready for some A/C.  

Beautiful background!

And here I am at 6 Months.  WOW.. it's getting out there!  With a little over 3 1/2 months to go, and Summer just beginning, it's not going to be fun.

 Happy 'Baby' Hump Day!

Let's Make It Tuesday... Sticky Buns

Running a little behind.... (that's been a trend lately)

However, I just had to share with everyone, that I finally got around to making the Sticky Buns that I had posted a week or so ago on What I Found Friday.  

Here's a refresher:

I found this at The Jones Way blog.  It looked so completely yummy, I had to make it!!!  

For mine, I used Flaky canned biscuits instead of the Grands biscuits, and mine turned out fine.  Here is a picture, fresh out of the oven:

YES... it was a gooey, messy blob of YUM!  It was VERY easy to make and came out great!  A definite thumbs up from my two biggest critics, Gracie (who at first didn't even want any on her plate) and Scott (who went with eggs and liver mush first, then went back for the Sticky Bun).  

We will totally be having this again, it's like Dessert for Breakfast!

I also tried another recipe that turned out pretty good, a Ravioli Bake.  It was Quick & Easy to throw together!  Here is a link to the recipe:  Betty Crocker's Speedy Ravioli Bake

Now doesn't this look Wonderful!  PS...this is Betty Crocker's picture, not mine.

This was my second time making this dish and it was a big hit both times.  I used Ragu Garlic Sauce and Walmart brand Meat Ravioli.  Here is a fresh out of the oven picture of my Ravioli Bake: 

Sorry... TERRIBLE photo.

This was the only picture of MY dish.... I was too busy eating afterwards!  

Trust me, it looked as good on my plate as the Betty Crocker picture above.  YUM!  

Well, that's it for Let's Make it Monday Tuesday.  

I still have two Squash Casserole recipes to Make and Compare.  So maybe by next Monday I'll let you know how they turned out.

Happy Tuesday y'all!

What I Found Friday... Names ; )

Happy Friday!

Our Beach Countdown has begun.. 

Only 8 more days and I will have my SWOLLEN, UNTANNED, Nugget-like toes in the warm (and hopefully) wet sand of Holden Beach!

But before the relaxation can happen, we have to Pack, Pack and did I say Pack?  That is on my Weekend to-do list.  We are going to try to pull off the 1st annual Beach Olympics.  In honor of the Summer Olympics coming up.  I still have to figure out what events will be happening....

So on to What I Found Friday.

I have no pictures to post today; but instead, a favor.  My husband and I are caught between two names for this new member of our family that will be here in a few short months.  

And DON'T tell him, but I'm looking for some help with the name.  We are stuck between two names:

AVA LYNN NICHOLS

and

ADDISON LEIGH NICHOLS

We also liked Ella Cheyenne Nichols, but I just didn't think Ella Nichols flowed well.  Not to mention, my Husband keeps throwing in Matilda to with every name (not sure if he is kidding or not). 

How we managed to like two names with the exact same initials is beyond me, but we keep going back to these two.. so let me know what you think!

Talk to you soon!