sketched!

{sketched by jonathan barker 4/1/2012}

i seriously have the coolest friends ever.

thank you jonny! <3

today is the LAST DAY to enter the giveaway! you dont want to miss it!

tasty tuesday {applesauce spice cake}

as promised, Matthew's favorite cake of all time.

you'll need:

1 box of spice cake mix

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup brown sugar

4 eggs

1/2 cup cinnamon applesauce

2/3 cup of water

beat all ingredients in a large bowl. place in a greased/floured bundt pan and bake at 350 for 45-55 minutes. cool in pan for 25 minutes before turning out onto a plate.

for glaze, mix 1 cup of confectioners sugar with two tablespoons of lemon juice (you could use milk instead, if you want)

a big thanks again to matthew for blessing me with this treasure trove of recipes. love.

something very exciting is happening on the blog tomorrow, so come back! you won't want to miss it!

matthew thomas

this is Matthew.

perfect southern gentleman. (seriously, heart of GOLD)

motorcycle and car junkie.

total NERD.

foodie.

i've known matthew since 2004, and we recently reconnected on facebook. we spend our time catching up and talking about food and music [mainly bluegrass]. we've deemed these talks "kitchen talks" (because they are the kind of talks you'd have with friends and family whilst hanging out in the kitchen) and they're pretty much wonderful.

since most of our time talking is spent talking about food, matthew gave me a collection of his family's recipes. i have to say, i was beyond excited by this and spent a whole evening (after i put the kids to bed) pouring over these treasures. this cookbook houses the recipe for his favorite cake ever.

applesauce spice cake.

come back tuesday for that recipe.

when was the last time you had a kitchen talk?

fabulous friday: weekend plans!

i'm very much looking forward to this weekend! tonight i'm going out with my BFF sara to FOOD DANCE! and then tomorrow, i'm going to Toledo to go to the zoo with NESSA! (that's right, be jealous. i'm spending the day with one of my favorite blogger ladies EVER. not to mention her absolutely adorable little girl!)

things i'm thankful for this week:

apples

all of my "moms"

COFFEE! (hallelujah!)

isaiah's speech progression (people other than me can understand what he is saying! YAY!)

my halloween socks from mama judy

my job (because it is mostly awesome)

things that brought me joy this week:

brown sugar maple coffeemate (try it andrea. you-will-LOVE-it!)

jackson said his FIRST WORD on sunday! (MOMMA!)

home cooked meals

seeing my kids laugh (yes, seeing them. their little faces just light up!)

the nasty ick that is going around has left our house!

long talks with my bestest after the kids go to bed

what are your weekend plans?

ps, today is national chocolate day! celebrate accordingly!

steppin out {5-17-2011)

sweatshirt-f21

tank-OP

trousers-thrifted

yellow heels-DIY/Lei

polka dot clutch-target

{this is my first clutch, which consequently started my clutch obsession. michael bought if for me at target when we were dating. i looked at it like 4 or 5 times while we were in the store but i really didn't want to spend $12 on it! he grabbed it while i wasn't looking and wrapped it in a tshirt he was buying so i wouldn't see. he proceeded to give it to me when we got out to the truck. how sweet is that?! let me tell you. SO SWEET.}

{yellow heels and pink glitter TOMS}

{jenn with her adorable baby bump!}



had a girls night tuesday with my BFF jenn. isn't she adorable? she's currently preggo and looking absolutely cute all the time. we stopped off at the coffee shop first, and then hung at her house, and later went and saw water for elephants. that movie was wonderful, and i now need to go get the book from the library and read it. cause if i loved the movie, i'll love the book even more. books are always better than the movie in my opinion. hope your week was wonderful!