"God eats this in Heaven"

So, tonight I decided to make something sweet for the fab-o cast of Jubilation's Summer Show (which is AWESOME and you should definitely go see it) so I found a positively sinful recipe for Chocolate Cookie Dough Dip.

Yeah, you read that correctly.  Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough DIP.

I used this recipe and actually had to add a lot to it! When I finished it, it had a gross liquid-y consistency so I added some flour and some sugar and it made it SO SO SO much better!

It's like eating homemade cookie dough! Simply delicious.  We dipped animal crackers and it was sinful.  That is one happy camel.

patriotic pops

The 4th of July is my favorite holiday, hands down.  No presents, no serious family get togethers, just some fab food and fun people and lots of fireworks (I have a weird affinity for fireworks...).

In spirit of this weekend, Miss Audrey Coots and I attempted Cake Pops.  I've had the book for awhile and always sort of put it off but now that I had a decent first run I'll know what to change for next time! They turned out OK but here's what I learned:

1) When it comes to frosting, more is more but don't over do it- ours turned out a little too frosting-y
2) Melt the chocolate down more than you think you need to, we had a REALLY thick coating outside of the cake and it was a little hard to work with
3) Use actual Wilton piping bags to decorate rather than Ziploc bags...

We used Bakerella's recipe and they were DELICIOUS.  Funfetti cake and icing were the perfect consistency and I probably ate half of them!

Come visit me in Tuscaloosa and I'll make you some more- I'm now addicted to making these precious treats!

surprises

"A joyful heart is good medicine"

Proverbs 17:22a

Precious Anna's 20th birthday is May 17th, which is why sweet Lauren and I decided to drive all the way to Jasper, GA, to surprise her a whole week before her big day... she never saw it coming!

We called her mama that morning to try set up our sneaky plan and when we arrived, Anna was already out of the house, so we decided to set up and decorate!

So we waited...... and waited.... and waited for Anna to show up.  Finally, she did!

It was so much fun seeing her face as she was COMPLETELY shocked (kudos, Miss Sandy, on keeping it a surprise!) 

Lauren was in charge of dinner and I was in charge of dessert, and I think it was a hilarious success.

Homemade Sushi for dinner!

this was the best one, made by the
birthday girl!

After dinner (which wasn't a huge success, but it was deliciously entertaining), we made RainbowCakeInAJar for dessert.  Once I perfect the recipe, I'll post all of the destructions on here so that you can have super cute cakeinajar, too!  Tell me if that's not making your tummy rumble right now...

After dinner and dessert we watched "Life as We Know It", that Katherine Heigl movie where she is awkward and quirky but then the unexpected guy swoops in and then they live happily ever after.  There's a baby in there somewhere...

In between all of this filling food and cheesy movies, we played with Anna's ADORABLE new guide-dog-in-training-puppy.  Meet Robbie:

Precious, right?! The dog's not too bad, either! :)

These girls have been my sweet sweet friends since middle school and we haven't lost contact.  Though we only see each other a few times a year, it's always entertaining and always warms my heart.  These ladies are so precious to me and I thank the Lord every time I spend time with friends like Anna and Lauren!

mum's the word

"As one whom his mother comforts, so I will comfort you"

Isaiah 66:13a

I have the best mom in the whole world and I like to bake, so here's my precious combination of the two:

Mums for your Mum cupcakes

The ingredients are really cheap and easy but they are pretty time consuming so plan for that: 

40 minutes to prepare cupcakes, bake, cool and frost

5-7 minutes to decorate each cupcake

see? so easy... the Sanding Sugar was the most expensive
and it was $5.98 for 6 colors!

Step 1: make your cupcakes (duh). 

Step 2: prepare your marshmallows.  Cut them diagonally so that they eventually look like petals for your mums.

Step 3: let your cupcakes cool and frost them.

we aren't going for "pretty frosting" here, it's just about
even coverage :)

Step 5: place the sticky side of your marshmallow in the sanding sugar and begin to line the outside of your cupcake. 

continue this step until you have reached the center of your cupcake, add some detail in the center aaaaaaaand you have a Mum!

Personally, I think it's a big step up from this precious plate that still hangs in our kitchen:

Happy Mother's Day!  I hope all of my favorite mothers enjoyed their very special day! You are so loved and so appreciated, I promise!