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,   

Finally!!

Squeeeeee!!!  Berkeley, here I come!!!!  

My boys are waiting for me...

Hugs,

Dliiiing! Dliiiing!

Hey Sweet Friends...check out my new wheels!! Yay!! It even has a basket and a bell... dliiiing!! dliiiing!! 

This girl is ready for spring!!

Hugs,

Fairy Gardening at The Secret Garden

Hello, Sweet Friends!  

The other day I had the unique opportunity to create a fairy garden for a local garden store called The Secret Garden.  Jennifer had seen my fairy garden here on the blog, and asked me to come over to play.  How could I possibly turn down an opportunity to create, free of any expense to me, with unlimited use of all the adorable fairy garden accessories that she offers in her beautiful store??  

Yep.  I jumped at the chance.

We decided to do a three-tiered fairy garden.  (Squeeeee!!!)

Would you like a little tour?!

Jennifer has so many beautiful succulents at her store, we thought it would be great to make use of them in the fairy garden.  I had never used succulents in a fairy garden... I really like how it turned out!  Succulents are available in so many hues and shapes.  They were so fun to work with, and will be super easy to care for. 

I love the little cottage-- isn't it sweet?!  (Please feel free to click on the images to see more detail of everything going on here.)  There's so many sweet details throughout this garden... a tiny lantern, dry creek, pond, clothes line, and...

... a little kitchen garden!  Every fairy cottage needs a wee garden, don't you think?  I think this might just be my favorite "handmade" feature in this little pot!  It was so easy to create... I just picked some "babies" from the existing plants.  All you need to do is stick them in the soil, and they will eventually take root.  How easy is that?!

These fairies like to entertain in the evenings, so an outdoor fireplace was required in the creation of this area of the fairy garden.  It was fun to experiment with various sizes of gravel to create different textures.  The gravel also helps to keep the soil from drying out so fast.

Now, on to the largest pot... this one was soooo fun to create!  I've always wanted to install a small fountain in a fairy garden, so when Victor and Jennifer were able to provide the fountain I was absolutely thrilled!  This fountain is solar powered.  

A little helpful hint:  to help the fountain remain small, drill the holes in the spout to a larger size.  (Thank you, Victor-- you're brilliant!) 

I couldn't resist creating a bunting for the tree.  It's made with washi tape and hemp twine.  The tire swing was created with a tire we pulled off of a toy truck purchased at a thrift store.  Aren't those dragonfly stepping stones fun?  I also love the little bench, wood arbor and the terracotta pots!  

Please, please, click on these photos to view more detail.  (I apologize for these terrible photos... the light was difficult to work with at the time.  The sun was so bright, I couldn't see what I was shooting on the screen of my little point-n-shoot camera!  Someday I'll have a nice camera... someday...sigh.)  

I had so much fun creating this fairy garden.  As you can see, Jennifer has an amazing variety of fairy garden accessories at her store... the inspiration was endless!  The Secret Garden carries everything that you need to build a fairy garden... a huge variety of pots, plants, fountains, gravel, and accessories.  If you are ever in the Sacramento area, please do stop by their lovely store.  You will be so happy that you did!

The Secret Garden

(So much more than a garden store!)

8450 W Stockton Blvd  Elk Grove, CA 95758

(916) 682-6839  

Jennifer, Victor, and their girls were so helpful and enthusiastic during the creation of this garden...they made this experience pure playtime for me!  (And I returned home with some wonderful gifts too-- thank you sooo much! xox)   

Hugs,

Superbowl Snacky Time

Happy Super Sunday!  I'm about to run out the door to watch the Super Bowl football game, but I thought that I would show you what I made for the party before I leave.  I thought that I would try my hand at royal icing... yikes.  I know that there must be a learning curve.  This is the only cookie that turned out half decent. The rest just look like turds. 

Soooo... I'm redeeming myself with my yummy guacamole!  

GO FORTY-NINERS!!!

OXO,

Hellooooo, Sweet Friends~

I made a card.  My close friends know what a big deal this is.  My paper crafting mojo has been gone for soooo long... but good things are happening in my life now, and this resurgence of creativity is bringing me so much joy.

My break from blogging has been quite trans-formative.  So much has happened in these past six months.  So many good things are happening in my life right now.  I feel so very blessed.

Several months ago, I cleaned out my studio-- with the help and encouragement from a dear friend.  It has lifted my heart.  (I had no idea that absurd amounts of ribbon and crap stuff could weigh me down so much.)  I've been able to have my friends over several times to play, and it's been so fun!  

My studio is my playroom again... and this girl is ready to play.

OXO,

PS:  Jami, if you're reading this... this was your Christmas card!  It was returned to me because I used your old address.  Next year's card will get to you safely... I promise!