{ pink ruffles & paige }

We celebrated my baby's 2nd birthday this week. She's now running around the house, climbing on every piece of furniture, and saying things like, "Wook at me, Mommy!" How can this possibly be?

We didn't have a big bash, but I couldn't let the occasion pass without providing my [fearless] girly girl with a little bit of pink, a touch of ruffles, and lots of love.

Happy birthday, sweet Paige.

{ special strawberry cake }

Summertime and strawberries go together like baseball and hotdogs (and cold beer).

We enjoyed a low-key 4th of July yesterday, as Ty has been busy on duty in Boston Harbor during most of the holiday festivities. His time at home has been limited, but this same time last year, we had just received the news that he would be leaving within the week for an extended deployment out of the country ... so this year, we very much appreciate any time we have just being together.

Back to strawberries ... Ty's favorite. And now it seems Paige's as well (Aidan likes strawberry 'gogurt' squeezers, if that counts for anything). Strawberry layer cake was the plan, and it was an easy one to put together. Make one for the strawberry lover in your life, and appreciate our freedoms, as well as those who have sacrificed to bring them to us.

God bless America, home of baseball, hot dogs, strawberries, and gogurt squeezers.

Strawberry Layer Cake with Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting
(adapted from DaveRamsey.com)

Ingredients
Cake
1 cup vegetable oil
4 large eggs
1 box white cake mix
1 - 3oz. box of strawberry Jell-o
 24oz. frozen, sliced strawberries (thawed)

Frosting
3 sticks of butter at room temperature
8 oz. block of cream cheese at room temperature
6 cups of powdered sugar
about 6 tablespoons of juice and pulp from strawberries

Process
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare three eight-inch round cake pans by lining bottom of pans with wax paper sprayed with non-stick baking spray and lightly floured.

Using a potato masher or a fork, mash strawberries into small pieces. Measure one cup for the cake and set aside. Separately reserve about 6 tablespoons for use in the frosting.

Combine cake mix, oil, eggs and dry strawberry Jell-o in a mixing bowl and beat until blended. Stir in cup of mashed strawberries until blended.

Pour mixture evenly into the prepared cake pans. Bake 30 minutes at 350. Cake is done when toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Cool cakes in the pans for 10 minutes, then gently turn cakes out onto plates to cool completely.

To make icing, mix softened butter and cream cheese in mixer bowl until smooth. Slowly add powdered sugar and mix well. Add reserved strawberry juice with pulp by tablespoon to give the butter cream icing color and a touch of strawberry pieces. Do not add too much juice or your icing will be too thin.


Chill frosting for about 10 minutes before use. Assemble cakes, frosting between layers, and generously covering the top and sides.

Store the finished cake in the refrigerator until ready to serve -- the cream cheese frosting softens quickly, especially in the summer. Garnish with fresh strawberries just before serving.

{ shamefully indulgent breakfast }

This delectable dish was on our Christmas morning breakfast menu a few weeks ago. 

It was so, so very, very good (yes, this statement requires its own paragraph).

And that's really all I have to say about it, as mere words don't seem like a fair fight when describing something so yummy.

Except for the fact that I still think about it ... late at night ... when I have the munchies. Oh, and during the daylight hours too ... so, yeah, pretty much whenever.

Scrumptious, chewy, sweet goodness.


You. Must. Make. This.

Sticky Buns Breakfast Ring
(adapted from All Things Delicious)

2 tubes refrigerator buttermilk biscuits (don't use Grands -- they're too big and mess up the cooking time)

3 tablespoons butter, melted

1/2 cup maple syrup

1/3 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Coat the inside of a bundt cake pan with non-stick spray. Combine the melted butter and syrup in a small bowl and set aside. In another bowl, combine the brown sugar and cinnamon.

Pour about half of the syrup mixture in the bottom of the pan and sprinkle half of the brown sugar mixture on top.

Arrange the biscuits on a slant/diagonal around the bottom of the pan, overlapping edges to form a ring.

Top biscuit ring with remaining syrup and sugar mixtures.

Bake at 375 degrees for approximately 20 minutes, or until golden brown (mine took about a half hour, so just keep a close eye on it).

Cool for 1 minute in the pan, then invert onto a serving platter.

Make yourself a second mimosa and thank me. :)