Self Filling Goodness!

I love to collect cookbooks, and have well over 50 of them to read over and test! Most I pick up at my local libraries cookbook swap.

By far my favorites are the old ones published and created by local  churches and small hometown communities.

I gave this one a test run over the weekend and thought I would share the recipe that is! And I got to try out my cute new hand mixer.

Self Filling Cupcakes taken from Garvin County Bicentennial Recipe Book circa 1976.

1 package cake mix {Deluxe Devil Food}
1 8oz. cream cheese
1 egg
1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp salt
1 16oz. package of semi sweet chocolate chips


Mix cake according to package directions; put baking cups in muffin pan. Fill 2/3 full. Cream the cheese with the sugar beat in egg and salt. Stir in chocolate chips. Drop rounded teaspoon of mixture in cake batter. Bake as cake directs.

These were fast and easy and fabulous delicious!

I was surprised to see that not one of them showed any signs of what was tucked inside. I chose to leave mine plain, due to the treat on the inside. However, a nice layer of butter cream would be great too.

I will be linking up at all these great blogs today Tempt My Tummy - Tuesday at the Table -Tasty Tuesday

Just a little something to think about if you are headed to the pool this weekend.

This is hilarious!!!

Cutest Party Favor, EVER!

Ok, ladies {and gentleman}!



I have found the cutest party favor gift ever!

How fabulous is that?

I found this wonderful creation over at Paper & Cake.

Not only does she tell you step by step how to make them

She also has a FREE label for you to download and use.

So, if you are in need of something quick and cute I'm not sure what could top this one!

Hoarder? Hmm...

My husband is in denial.

He has a shoe collection that would be the envy of any girl.

We had a decrapification sale this past weekend so I asked him to comb through his 63 pairs of shoes. He could not possibly be wearing them all.

This is what he had to give me when he was all done!

Really?


I will have to give him a small bit of slack, as he is given about 5-6 pairs of Nikes each season for work.


But the rest… pure addiction.

We even had to have custom shelving put in from floor to ceiling in our closet when we built our home. Our closet has 14 feet ceilings!


I guess things could always be worse. So does anyone out there have a hoarder hubby?

M.I.A.

Have you missed me?

Well we have taken some much needed time off and have been crazy getting in the "back to school" mode, as I am sure most of you are too.

I know that my creative soul is aching for a good GW trip and crafting something new and exciting. But that is going to have to wait a couple of more weeks.

We took some time to head back down to Dallas and catch some Yankee’s vs. Rangers games.

This is just about as close as we will ever be to Jeter

A-Rod

And Swisher.

I can’t forget this player

He would have hit balls all 9 innings if we would have let him.

What you can’t see, or should I say feel, is the 106 degree heat! It was insanely HOT and made me wonder why we Americans ever decided to settle here.

Yep, it was so hot that right after I took this picture


My camera threw in the towel!

{This is how my son rides EVERY ride...even the Titan that took him 25 stories up and dropped him at 85 mph...should I be worried?}

So no pictures of our fun filled days to Six Flags {107*} and dragging the kids to every store known to man for back to school shopping. Or all the fabulous places we ate!

Eat here, order brisket tacos and call me to say thanks!

D-E-L-I-S-H!

All I can say is thank heavens for hotel swimming pools!

It's the Most Wonderful Time of The Year...

Halleluiah! Halleluiah!


I know many Halleluiahs have been shouted by moms across the country as the kiddos head back to school.

As always we MUST take our traditional first day of school pictures.

I do my best to make sure that the sun is eye blinding in front of my sun fried geraniums.

Fill little man’s heart full of joy for his first day of kindergarten. You think he could at least fake some excitement.

Fresh back packs ready to be drug through God knows what over the next 9 months.

As I look at this picture I realize that outfit #2,626,258 is a tad bit short in the back. I have my fingers crossed that it’s just her back pack hiking it up for her.

Thumbs up heads down it’s time to head to school!

My hope is the new shoes don’t cause long lasting blisters and much unneeded drama.

There had been much discussion with me walking Gabe to his class the first day of kindergarten. He did not want ANY part of that. But I had a plan…

Telling him I was just going to get out of the car to take a picture in front of the school. Then he paused and started at the front doors. I asked him if he wanted me to follow him. He shrugged his shoulders and said I think so.

So I followed him to his class {no hand holding} when he turned and yelled stop!

And off he went without evening looking back. I realized that my job was done and he was eager to start on his new adventure.


Sniff…Sniff…

Aloha!

This past weekend we had a little Luau of some friend to attend.


And when I saw her cookie creations I knew that I would have to share them with you.

How stinkin’ cute are these flip flop cookies?

She used Vienna and Milano cookies, yum!

Using pre- iced cupcakes she simply added a few candies and a party umbrella.

Gabe enjoyed towering above everyone

And shooting silly string on us all.

Hannah wacked the piñata so hard

That she became headless.

We love a good party especially when they serve up Sno Cones!

Monday I am going to share with you some really cute gift ideas for birthday's and weddings that I have used this summer!

Framing Book Pages

You know the look…everywhere you look it seems people are doing it, framing botanical prints in wall groupings. I love the look and have been looking for a used botanical print book for about a year. When I came across this…

If you are a reader of this tiny little blog you know my love for NYC. So I thought these 1920 drawings of the city by Tony Sarg would look perfect framed for a wall grouping.

I picked eight different pictures.

China town

Broadway and Grand Central Station


You can find a black frame ,with a wide mat, just about anywhere now days.


We settled on a grouping of eight and it was just perfect. Not only adding color but reminding me of the city this country girl loves!