Coca-Cola Cake

Oh, how I love to bake!

I was craving a chocolate cake recently, but I didn't have the time or the energy to make a true chocolate cake. I perused my cookbooks and found this SWEET little guy ... a Coca-Cola Cake.

Sounds kinda gross, right?! A cake that tastes like Coke? No, my friends. It's delish & super easy!

Try it, you just might like it!

Here's a great recipe, complete with pictures!

PS. I use a cup of pecans in my frosting.

Saturday Morning Scene (SMS)

Here's what our Saturday Morning Scene looked like today ...

Anniston played in her Jumperoo & watched a little Mickey Mouse.

I enjoyed a vanilla iced coffee.

All while Justin worked SO hard to put new tile down in our guest bathroom.

This is the "during" shot. Will post "after" pics soon!

Q & A

So, there's a blog that I sorta "stalk". It's called Southern Blonde. I stalk her mainly because she has the cutest, sweetest little girl that is 1 year older than Anniston. I like to look at her pictures and think about what Anniston will be doing one year from now :) Anyway, she had this little Q & A game and I thought it would be fun to play ...

Here are the rules:
1. You must post the rules
2. Post 12 fun facts about yourself in the blog post
3.Answer the questions the tagger set for you in their post and then create 12 new questions for the people you tagged.
4. Tag 12 people & link them on your post. (or as many as you like)
5. Let them know you've tagged them.
Facts About Me

1. Chick-fil-A is my favorite, favorite restaurant. I'd choose that over something fancy any day!
2. My New Year's resolution is to tithe more - 10% or more every month.
3. I'm obsessed with almost all of the Real Housewives series (esp. New Jersey!)
4. I love J. Crew!
5. Baking relaxes me. The process of making ( & sometimes eating) cakes, pies, cookies, breads, etc. helps me to relax.
6. I am deathly afraid of heights! Just thinking about being somewhere high makes me sick to my stomach.
7. The last book I read was Heaven is For Real. That little boy's story changed my life.
8. I haven't slept all night long in 7+ months. Does this count as a "fun fact"? It's not fun for me :)
9. My favorite meal to cook is poppyseed chicken, brown rice & gravy, & green beans.
10. One of my biggest pet peeves is the misuse of the words your & you're, as well as there, their, & they're.
11. I love to wear anything with pearls. Pearls are so classic.
12. I have a little crush on Matt Lauer from the Today Show.

1. What's your favorite movie?
Steel Magnolias
2. How do you relax?
Baking
3. Do you workout? If so what's your favorite?
I love Physique 57! I started kickboxing recently, but I don't know if I can keep it up.
4. Describe yourself in one word.
Easygoing (is that one word?)
5. What would I find it your handbag right now?
Wallet, floss, & a to-do list
6. What would your dream job be?
I really like being a teacher. My dream is that all I would have to do is teach. No meetings, committees, workshops, etc.
7. How many hours of sleep do you get a night?
5-6 hours
8. Do you like Walmart? Be honest!
Yes, at 11:00 on a weekday when nobody is there!
9. What's the last meal you cooked?
Chicken Pot Pie
10. What's your favorite vacation destination?
It's a tie between Destin, FL & Savannah, GA
11. Who's your favorite musician of all time?
Probably Carrie Underwood
12. What one item would you pack if you were on Survivor?
Sunscreen! I have fair skin :)

Okay, here are my questions for you ...

1. If you could have one plastic surgery procedure, what would it be?
2. If you won the lottery, what would be your first purchase?
3. What is the current screensaver on your phone or computer?
4. Do you have any pets?
5. What's your favorite comfort food?
6. How many times a week do you go to the grocery store?
7. What is your favorite thing to cook?
8. Where is your favorite place to shop?
9. What perfume are you currently wearing?
10. What is your favorite season?
11. What laundry detergent do you use?
12. Pepsi or Coke?

Play along if you'd like!

Keri @ Gillespie's Gatherings

Erica @ Osley Ongoings

Robyn @ And then came babies

My baby's growing up!

Ummm ... I haven't blogged since mid-December!

I really want to try to blog 3-4 times a week now. However, I can't seem to find the time to wash my hair, so I don't know how that is going to go :)

Here's what has been going on with me since December ...

* We celebrated Anniston's first Christmas.

* I enrolled in school to begin my Master's degree.

Is it sad that this is all that's been going on with me in almost 2 months?!

My life may not have had many milestones, but Miss Priss has been going nonstop!

Santa brought her a Jumperoo, which she is in love with!

She has started eating cereal. So far, she has eaten it twice :)

She rolled over! I guess crawling will be next!

She can even sit up on her own (with a little support from behind)

I just can't believe how fast she's growing up!

Where has the time gone?!

Well, It's CHRiSTMAS BREAK for me, folks!

Can you tell I'm just a little excited?!

My maternity leave ended 3 weeks ago. For some reason I thought it would be a good idea to start back to school before Christmas break. What the heck was I thinking?!

I teach first grade. It's my favorite age to teach. I work with some super fun, super sweet ladies & we have kept ourselves BUSY these past 3 weeks. Polar Express Day, Grinch Day (complete with a Who Feast :), Christmas Plays, Christmas Parties, Goodie Day, Tacky Sweater Day, the list goes on & on & ON! Being so busy kept my mind off of my sweet little baby girl ... for a few minutes at least. I know everyone got tired of me calling to check on her, but I can't help it. Who wouldn't miss this little face?

I can't believe how big she is! Justin swears she grows a ton from when he leaves in the morning to when he gets home at night. He's probably right.

She has started smiling ALL the time, now. Everybody loves it, of course. I'm pretty sure she can recognize my & Justin's faces. She spits/drools all the time. I don't know if she's teething or if she just likes to spit :)

At her last doctor's appointment she weighed 11 lbs. 4 oz. and she just started wearing a size 2 in her diapers. Also, she's trying SO hard to roll over! She hasn't done it yet, but I know she will soon.

We took her 3 month pictures. Here are some of them ...

Thank you to Sara Wise for these Ahhh-mazing photos. She's so great!



Thoughtful Thursday

I heard this song on the radio. As always, God knows just what we need to hear & when we need to hear it. I thought I would share the lyrics with ya'll ...

Laura Story: Blessings

We pray for blessings
We pray for peace
Comfort for family, protection while we sleep
We pray for healing, for prosperity
We pray for Your mighty hand to ease our suffering
All the while, You hear each spoken need
Yet love us way too much to give us lesser things

'Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
What if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You’re near
What if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise

We pray for wisdom
Your voice to hear
And we cry in anger when we cannot feel You near
We doubt Your goodness, we doubt Your love
As if every promise from Your Word is not enough
All the while, You hear each desperate plea
And long that we'd have faith to believe
'Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
What if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You’re near
And what if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise

When friends betray us
When darkness seems to win
We know that pain reminds this heart
That this is not, this is not our home
It's not our home

'Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
And what if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You’re near
What if my greatest disappointments
Or the aching of this life
Is the revealing of a greater thirst this world can’t satisfy
And what if trials of this life
The rain, the storms, the hardest nights
Are Your mercies in disguise

I love this song : )
Happy Thursday!

What I'm LOViNG ...

I totally splurged on this blow dryer, but it has changed my life. A blow dryer? Yes, a blow dryer! I have the THiCKEST hair {not to mention it's curly, too} & it only takes a few minutes to dry it now. Also, I have broken my addiction to my flat iron thanks to this blow dryer. Good-bye flat iron, hello healthy hair!

I love these. Leopard goes with everything, right?!

Holiday Coffeemate Creamers - YEAH!

I want to be here. What do ya' say, Keri?! ;)