The Mother Of All Carrot Cakes

Hello Sweet Friends.  

I have a hiking buddy who loves carrot cakes.  He LOVES them.  So, I baked up The-Mother-Of-All-Carrot-Cakes for his birthday.  It weighed in at 13.4 lbs.  Yep, it did.  Four layers of yummy goodness there, friends.

He loved it.

The cake recipe can be found here, and the directions on how to frost a cake like this can be found here.  Enjoy!!

Hugs,

Life is Good...

Winnemucca Lake, CA

Hello, Sweet Friends.

Life is good... and I have been one busy girl this year.  One of my New Year's resolutions was to "stretch outside my comfort zone", as opposed to last year's "drink more wine".  (Hmmmm... maybe last year prepared me for this year.  Haha.)  Wow.  I had no idea what the last six months or so would have in store for me, but it's been amazing!!  

One common theme for me this year seems to be that instead of staying home and attempting to make things (mostly unfinished projects... hee hee), I'm getting out and doing things.  I'm lovin' it.  Here's some of the ways I've been stretching...

1.  I'm being more active... in big ways, and little ways.  I take the stairs... I hike the hills... I ride my new bike... I'm even going back to the gym.  I have a huge goal to achieve in a couple years, and all this activity will lead up to it.  I'll tell you about that on another post. It involves travel, adventure, and some great friends.  I can't wait!!!

2.  I've expanded my circle of friends... I've joined a spiritual community that I absolutely adore.  They've embraced me with their kindness, positive spirit, love, and support of my healthy lifestyle goals.  My life is richer for knowing them.  I think I've found my tribe,and it really warms my heart.

3.  Brace yourself... I started dating again.  Whoaaaaaa Nelly!!  It's been an adventure... full of fun, comedic moments, and yes-- even a little heartbreak.  It's all good though.  Why did I wait so long??  (FYI: Nothing steady yet... I guess I really shouldn't compare them all to Jamie Fraser, eh?)

4.  I'm cooking at home more... for myself, and for my friends.  Mostly simple stuff.  I'm finding that I love to cook for my friends.  I love loving them with food.  I've been baking a few fun birthday cakes lately too.  I'm hoping to share photos and recipes soon.

5.  I went salsa dancing... refer to #3, comedic moments.  Yep, I stepped on his feet all night.  He didn't seem to mind though.  Oh, and no... I did not wear fringe.

6.  I'm allowing myself to be more spontaneous when invited to go do things, instead of "Let me think about that... I'll get back to you."  Sometimes over-thinking has kept me from having some great experiences in the past.  This has been a big change that has made #1-5 possible.

Soooo, that's just a bit about what I've been up to.  There's more, but I'll save it for another time.  

Oh-- I came upon a great website...please check it out.
www.bravegirlsclub.com. 
I really, really love it.  I even bought a pair of my own "Brave Girl Boots", pictured above.  Most Brave Girls in the club have cowgirl boots.  I went for the hiking boots, since I've been doing so much hiking this year.  I love them.

It's been so long since I posted a "real post", I have no idea if anyone is even going to read this.  If you are still out there, thanks so much for stopping by.  I hope to not let too much time go by before my next post. :)

Hugs,