breakfast: peppermint tea and oatmeal

tractor

~the recipe

Italian Cream Cake

from: The Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook



For the Cake

5 eggs

1/2 cup butter

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 cup shortening

2 cups sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup buttermilk or sour milk

1 cup flaked coconut

1/2 cup finely chopped pecans
3/4 cup finely chopped pecans

Separate eggs. Allow egg yolks, egg whites, and butter to stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. Grease and flour three 8 inch or 9 inch cake pans; set aside. In a medium mixing bowl combine flour and baking soda; set aside.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. In an extra-large mixing bowl (or electric mixer) beat butter and shortening on medium speed for about 30 seconds. Add sugar; beat until well combined. Add the egg yolks and vanilla; beat on medium speed until well combined. Alternately add flour mixture and buttermilk to butter mixture, beating on low after each addition just until combined. Fold in coconut and pecans.

Thoroughly wash the beater[s]. In a medium bowl (or your electric mixer, just pour the batter into another bowl) beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. Fold about one-third of the egg whites into the cake batter. Fold in remaining egg whites. Spread batter evenly into prepared pans.

Bake about 25 minutes for 9 inch pans, about 35 minutes for 8 inch pans, or until a toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Cool cake layers in pans on a cooling rack for 10 minutes. Remove cake layers from pans. Cool thoroughly on wire racks.


For the Frosting
1 8 ounce package cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 teaspoons vanilla
5 1/2 - 6 cups powdered sugar

In a large mixing bowl (or electric mixer) beat cream cheese, butter, and vanilla until light and fluffy. Gradually beat in powdered sugar to reach spreading consistency.

Lay the first cake layer on your cake stand or plate. Spread about 1/2 cup frosting, then sprinkle 1/4 chopped pecans. Add another cake layer, spread with 1/2 cup frosting, sprinkle with 1/4 nuts. Add the last cake layer. Frost the top and sides of cake. Sprinkle additional pecans on top if desired.

Eat!

celebrating...

with Italian Cream Cake!

Celebrating what?

We now have a working oven again! Last week the heating element in our oven broke. I really didn't miss it though. Oddly enough. :)

Today Dad put the new element in, and after I cleaned the living room, I got to work making this yummy cake. Recipe to come... for know I'm going to go enjoy some dinner.

P.S. Please ignore the many bags of powdered milk, chocolate chips, and the Gold Fish box. :)

Hello!

I hope you all had a wonderful, peaceful Christmas. I won't be around much probably this week, but I just had to stop in to let y'all know I am still alive. :) Last week was busy, of course. We had our church's Christmas Eve service at our home. We sang, heard a message, ate pie, and fellowshipped (is that even a word???). It was great! On Christmas Day we stayed home, opened gifts, ate, and just relaxed. We celebrated with family on the 23rd and the 26th.



This week is pretty busy, so I will post when I can. Meanwhile, I wish all of you...

blue canning jars

All photos taken by Ashley.

my 100th post and the poor cookies

Yay! This is my one hundredth post! Now on to the poor cookies...

They were found this morning, at the scene of the crime. Their noses had been eaten, and they had been stabbed with a Phillips head screwdriver.

Their fellow reindeer looked on, unharmed.

The perpetrator 'fesses up.

A Blog Award!

Clare at I Have Loved the Rain passed this award along to me. Thanks Clare!

The concept behind the award being that the blog creators have shown an uncanny knack for seeing silver linings and making the best of bad situations (i.e., lemonade from lemons).
Now I am going to pass this along to a few more bloggers...

my Mom

and

simply

interesting...

I saw this blog readability test and thought I would try it and see what happened. Well, I guess you need to be a genius to read my blog. :)

updated to add: the link. Sorry about that Andi!

mandarins+leaves+light

Chocolate Cake

I made the Pioneer Woman's Best Ever Chocolate Sheet Cake earlier. This cake is beyond description. It's so good. Go make it for yourself. And you will find out. Trust me. Go make it. Now.



Okay, so you don't have to make it now, or ever, I just thought you might like it. Because it's so good. And because the cake + frosting contains almost one pound of butter.

Christmas Ornaments

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

our Christmas tree decorated with white lights, wooden cranberry garland, cardinal birds, and soon to come... popcorn chains and ornaments!

This picture doesn't do our tree justice. The blurriness bugs me!!! Ah! Anyways, some of us wanted to just leave it the way it was, (it is beautiful!) but the twins wanted ornaments. So I better go help decorate!

a sweet surprise

Caroline at Standing in the Sunlight hosted a giveaway, and I won! The package was supposed to arrive tomorrow. But what a sweet surprise when I opened the mailbox yesterday... and there was a package for me!

I loved the charming little sticker she closed the wrapping with.

And the lovely note card. How did you know I love birds?!

The bag is so sweet Caroline! I love it!!!

wild mushrooms

a sweet Etsy find

or, something I might like for Christmas *smiles*

8x10 art print ~ from mincingmockingbird

to answer the question

How did I like the movie Prince Caspian?

I liked it quite a bit. It wasn't my favorite, but I would watch it again (if only to look at Susan's costumes :-) hehe).

Prince Caspian is a bit dorky. But that just makes for laughter.

So, does that answer the question well enough to suit y'all?

Emmy, I know you will be disappointed that I'm not raving about it. But you probably expected my answer. :-)

hello!

Since I've been away, I have:

gone to my first choir performance

taken engagement photos for a sweet couple

primed my room, with some help

watched WALL E

bought some more paint

went to a birthday party

watched Prince Caspian at the party

went to church

made brownies

went to Sunday night bible study

primed my ceiling again

meet Handsome and Sweetie

These are our Livestock Guardian Dogs, Handsome (the male) and Sweetie (the female). They are Great Pyrenees/Anatolian crosses. They are huge, wonderful dogs! They live with and guard our goats.

They also guard the baby.

Making Paper Chains

Perhaps the simplest of all Christmas crafts. Paper chains. Today the boys and I made lots of them. Although most of you probably know how to, I decided it would be fun to make a little tutorial of how to make them.

Cut a piece of construction paper in half. And yes, that is a baby foot and hand in the corner.

Fold one of the pieces in half. Crease.

Cut on fold. Yes, that would be the baby again. Why is his suit un-snapped?

Take a picture of your cute little brother.

Fold the cut piece in half. Crease.

Cut on fold.

Now you have strips of paper.

Glue (the messiest and prettiest way), tape, or staple (the easiest way, but you can see the staples) the strips together,

until the chain is as long as you want it.