White Chocolate Cake Success!

I fount this recipe in a southern living cookbook i had checked out from the library a couple weeks ago and finally decided to make it. Ill just say that the first one didn't work out to well but i did a lot of things wrong and had to try other stuff. At last i finally got it right and it turned out perfect! Ill post the after picture with the frosting but my uncle mark decided to help me get it "unstuck" and it kind of crumbled on one side so ill post the before picture too so you can see. All and all it didn't turn out that bad except for running out of frosting.

Ingredients:

1/3 cup chopped bakers (bakers brand) white chocolate

1 cup butter, softened

1 ½ cups sugar

4 large eggs, separated

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 ½ cups shifted self rising flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 cup buttermilk

Directions:

Microwave chocolate in a glass bowl on HIGH 45 seconds or until melted. Beat the butter and sugar at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy. Add egg yolks, 1 at a time, beat well after each addition. Add melted white chocolate and vanilla.

Sift flour and baking soda together; add to butter mixture alternately with buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Beat egg whites at high speed until peaks form. Gently fold beaten egg whites into batter. Pour batter into 3 greased 9-inch round cake pans.

Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans on wire racks for 10 minutes; remove from pans, and cool completely on wire racks. Spread frosting in-between layers and on top and sides of cake. Garnish, if desired. 

Just a side note: i used the whipped cream cheese frosting and it turned out delicious!

My Favorite New Accessory!

Im a big accessory person, i love handbags, wallets, jewelry etc. It drives ryan nuts how im constantly changing things but i wouldn't be me if i didn't : )


Here lately ive been on a scavenger hunt for an adorable wallet and have been coming up empty handed. Today me and my sister decided we were going to go to rue 21 and check out their clothes and etc. When i walked up to the checkout counter thats where i seen it. I fell in love! The great thing about it is you can use it by itself too.

I also got three (yes i said three) pairs of jeans for $3 each from the clearance rack and two tube tops that were only $3 (the wallet was $5 since i bought my sister one too). My sister was also about to pick up a couple shirts for $3. The best part is since ga isn't doing their tax free week (not fair!) rue decided they were going to take an additional 10% off the entire store including clearance and sale items! We got $112 worth of stuff for $45! I love bargain shopping!

Happy Birthday To Me!!

Im finally 21 today wooo hoooo! Tonight will be filled with:

Guest Post.

This is brittanys little sister Mackenzie and i just wanted to do a guest post on her blog to wish her a happy birthday! i love you sis!

My Strawberry Icebox Cake

Its the first recipe i tried out of my homemade cookbook and it actually was really good minus the sugar and vanilla and i substituted the chocolate with chocolate syrup. I had little ones eating it too and i didn't want them to sugared up before bed : )

2 pounds fresh strawberries, washed
3 1/4 cups whipping cream, divided
1/3 cup confectioners sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 sleeves (about 19 ounces, or 24 to 28 whole crackers) graham crackers
2 ounces dark chocolate, finely chopped
Take out a few of the best-looking strawberries and set them aside for the garnish. Remove leaves from the remainder of the strawberries and cut each berry into thin slices.
With a hand mixer or in the bowl of a stand mixer, whip 3 cups of cream on high until it stiffens, about 2-3 minutes. Add the confectioners sugar, vanilla, and whip to combine.
Spread a small spoonful of whipped cream on the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking pan, or a similarly-sized platter. Lay down six graham crackers. Lightly cover the top of the graham crackers with more whipped cream, and then a single layer of strawberries. Repeat three times, until you have four layers of graham crackers. Spread the last of the whipped cream over the top. Add a few more strawberries.
To make the chocolate ganache, heat the cream until bubbles form around the edges, then pour over the chopped chocolate. Let it stand for a few minutes, then whisk until the mixture is thick and glossy. Drizzle this over the layered dessert with a spoon.
Refrigerate for at least four hours, or until the crackers have softened completely. Garnish with additional berries.

A Rainy Day Calls For

Some shopping at the mall for something else to wear for my birthday since we changed the plans around (the big announcement is coming in another post tomorrow) i needed something a little more casual/dressy to wear. I fount this adorable top here and its just perfect for where we are going : )

In my book a rainy day is never complete without a vanilla dr pepper from qt and a lovely little rainbow we like to take pictures of while we are driving down the road and i promise we dont get reckless. Hope you all enjoyed your weekend!

Project Cookbook!

If there is one thing i love to do in this world is cook and bake. The one thing i hate in this world is cookbooks. They are good for some recipes but why spend so much on cookbooks for only a handful of recipes and thats when my sister suggested i make my own cookbook full of my own recipes that me and my family like so that way i have them on hand when i need them. I have been doing lots of research online for some recipes and got some really good ones im hoping to try soon and ill have to post them as i go along and tell you how it goes. They dont totally look the best right now but they are just starters and ill probably move up as i go but for now here is my cookbook project. My next project is restoring the table and chairs we have wish me luck!

(sorry about the mess in the floor me and my sister are in the process of re arranging the room)

T.J Maxx Finds For This Half Of The Year : )

Since i moved back to woodstock there isn't a tj maxx around here so i dont have that many TJ maxx finds anymore but hopefully that will change soon but for now here are a few for the past 7 months : )

My first find of the year was my juicy couture day dreamer bag that i absolutely love!

My second one was my resuable tj maxx shopping back for only $.99 each! Its perfect as a beach bag, overnight bag or as it says reusable shopping bag for when you go to the mall so your not carrying so many bags around with you plus you wont have all those bags when you get home!

My final purchase was my 21st birthday dress. I had been searching for months for the perfect dress to wear out to dinner and i wasn't coming up empty handed everything was "cute" but nothing stood out until i saw this one and i knew the moment i tried it on that it was the perfect one and it was only $20!

Have You Had Any Good Tj Maxx Finds?

My 25 Small Pleasures In Life : )

A good friend of mine sent me this article and it inspired me to write up my short list of my small pleasures in life although i must admit most of them came from that list but its all the same!

1. sleeping in

2. finding a couple forgotten dollars in your pocket

3 .a home cooked meal

4. laughing

5. a bubble bath

6. your favorite song

7. helping someone in need

8. inspiring blogs

9. a rainy afternoon

10. an afternoon nap

11. finding the perfect piece of clothing...on sale

12. staying in your pj's all day

13. the sound of rain hitting the windows

14. holding hands

15. a kiss on the forehead

16. the cold side of the pillow

17. kissing someone you love

18. old photographs

19.bacon and pancakes cooking on Saturday morning

20. A good book you can get lost in

21. the way my dog looks at me when we first wake up in the morning

22. a pull-through parking space

23. a french vanilla cappuccino

24. bargain shopping

25. reading outside

I hope this list inspires you to write one of your own. I hope you all enjoy your day!

Favorite Fridays: 4th Of July Activity!

Im like most people and one of my all time favorite things to do on the 4th of july is go see fireworks. I can't say ive ever been to the same place twice but when you go to different places it makes it more interesting. The past couple 4ths we spent time with Ryans family and this year its time we spend it with mine. Our weekend is going to be jammed packed full this weekend starting tomorrow night.

Saturday Night: We have the dirt track races at Dixie Speedway with a fireworks show
Sunday Morning: Going to the lake for jet skis, boating, tanning and a cook out.
Sunday Night: Going to the old famous home depot hole to see fireworks : )

I absolutely love fireworks and spending time with family so this should be awsome and i can't wait! How are you guys spending your 4th?

A Day Of Silence For Cohen

You can find out more here.