Giveaway at Fiona and Twig

Fiona and Twig have a GREAT giveaway: an Anthropologie gift card and a great book on thrifting. You should check it out here! (Or maybe you shouldn't... more entries means I am less likely to win. Hmmm...)

Spanish Cream Cake

I got this incredible recipe from a friend of my Paw Paw's. It was my first time making a cake from scratch (I try not to bake too often anyway, since I don't need all the sugar). And it turned out great! Here are the directions in case you want to try it, too.

Spanish Cream Cake

Cake:

2 C. sugar

1 C. buttermilk

½ C. shortening

2 C. sifted plain flour

½ C. butter

1 tsp. baking soda

5 egg whites

5 Egg Yolks

½ tsp. salt

2 C. coconut

1 tsp. vanilla

1 C. pecans, chopped

Separate eggs...

... and beat egg whites until stiff. Set stiff egg whites aside in a separate bowl.

Sift flour, soda, and salt over chopped pecans and coconut.

Beat sugar, shortening and butter until fluffy. Add egg yolks, buttermilk, and vanilla. Beat well.

Add dry ingredients and beat well.

Gently fold stiff egg whites into mixture.

Pour into 3 (9-inch) greased and floured pans.

Bake @ 350° for 30 minutes or until done (more like 15 for my crazy oven).

Allow cakes to COOL thoroughly to room temperature.

Frosting:

1 C. butter

½ C. coconut

2 tsp. vanilla

2 lbs. powdered sugar

16 oz. original Philadelphia Cream Cheese

Beat well the butter, cream cheese, and vanilla. (I actually used the 1/3 less fat cream cheese and only 1.5 lbs of powdered sugar.)

Slowly add the powdered sugar by cupfulls. Beat well. Repeat until all the powdered sugar is fully blended.

Add coconut and mix well.

Frost between layers, top, and sides. Refrigerate.

I'm linking up to Kimba's DIY Day.

I'm also linking up to  

Alabama - Tennessee Rivalry

I have spoken before about my love for the South; one thing I love the most is just how important football is. I. Love. Football. Alabama football of course (since I did graduate from there), but nearly any football. Our Saturdays are devoted to trying new game day foods, walking the dogs in the cooler weather, and watching nearly every football game that finds its way onto TV. And today is the Alabama/Tennessee game.

If you, by some chance, don't care about football or know nothing about the SEC or Alabama, this is one of the biggest games of the year--every year. There is just this incredible sense of pride (on both sides) in the histories of the programs and the tradition of the game. Alabama has 12 national championships and Tennessee has 6. I wish I could make someone understand how enthused (and crazy) fans get in the South during football season. But unless you actually experience it, you can't understand. Here is a sampling of what you might see on a fall Saturday in the South (specifically in Tuscaloosa).

Big Al, our mascot, is always doing something crazy. Dancing...


... or crowd surfing.


We can claim the greatest coach that ever lived: Paul "Bear" Bryant. Under him, UA won 13 SEC championships and 6 national championships.


Now, we have another incredible coach, who has pushed our team from a pathetic 6-7 record in 2006 to a 12-1 record in 2008; we currently have 19 straight regular season wins.


Enthusiastic student section.


Bryant-Denny Stadium.


And then of course there are the crazy fans. But they also make the game day experience more fun.


We all love the Bear, but come on...

And one of my favorite Alabama football moments: "The Catch." At least that's what I will always call it. No other explanation needed.

Watch it here.

What a stinking incredible catch. It still amazes me just to watch it.


Football really is one of the greatest things on earth. It nearly brings me to tears that football season is over half-way finished. ("Hey! There's no crying in football!".... or something like that.) I hope that whatever team you cheer for, you are having a great time during this season! Unless you are a Tennessee or LSU fan... then I hope it's miserable. :-)

Goodwill Finds

After making my weekly trip to Goodwill, I wanted to share my finds. Let me preface this by saying that I have recently discovered how badly I needed two things (among others): new coasters, and a holder for my fire wood.

Goodwill to the rescue!



Shut the front door (as one of my fave people on the planet, Stacey London, would say)! These coasters are incredible! Of course I have my doubts about them being real silver, but they sure do look elegant either way. And how much were they? Two measly dollars. You can't get coasters for two dollars if you buy cloth ones at Wal-Mart. So I was pretty pleased. And then...



I found this beaut. It's a little scratched, but for $5, I couldn't say no! A little polish will fix that, but even if not, who cares? It's just going to be holding wood.

As a little bonus (because I'm in a sharing mood today), I'll let you in on the real prize of the weekend. This picture of my doggies loving on my nephew. And him having no clue what to do.



He's so precious, I know. And so are my sweet puppies.

DIY Fall Wreath

I love autumn, and I love wreaths. But I hate autumn wreath prices. Hobby Lobby's wreaths are $30 and up (and that's half off, usually). I can't justify spending that much money, but I wanted one--badly. So I decided to make one myself. I bought this wreath at Hobby Lobby for $2.50 (half off the original $5).



I also bought a leafy garland for $5 (half off $10) and some berry sprigs ($1 a piece). The garland was 20 feet long, plenty to wrap around the wreath several times. I then broke apart the berry stems and stuck them haphazardly in the wreath.


I decided to hang the wreath with a strip of burlap; I saw this idea here and loved it. Just cut a piece about 3-4 inches wide, drape it over the top of your door, and put tacks in it to hold it there (I had to put about 6 I think). I think it looks very "autumn-y".


In total, this project cost me about $9 and took approximately 10 minutes. Not too bad!

Taco Soup and Yogurt Cake

I always have problems thinking of what to cook when we are going to have company. Trying to cook a four-course meal or anything similar is always time- and energy-consuming. However, there is one recipe that I always feel comfortable making; everyone always loves it, and it is super easy to make: taco soup.

As I said, it is ridiculously easy to make. And yet, so yummy.

Taco Soup

2 cans whole kernel corn
2 cans diced tomatoes
1 can Rotel (tomatoes with chiles)
2 cans kidney beans
1 can pinto beans (or vice versa: 1 kidney and 2 pinto)
1 package dry Ranch dip
1 package taco mix (JC and I use 1.5 packages because we like a little extra, but either is fine)
1 to 2 lbs browned ground beef (we use extra-lean for a healthier option)

Here are the directions. Pay close attention, because it's really tough. Open all cans and packages. Pour in a large pot (do not drain the cans). Cook for 30-45 minutes. Done. Isn't that great? If you're like me and you think, "I'm tired. I don't want to cook when I get home," this is a great option. Plus, it is easy to make in bulk to either freeze or feed a large group of people. Not to mention what it offers on a cold night (which we have been having a few of lately). We usually eat it with tortilla chips and maybe top it with some cheese, but those are both optional. Yum, yum.


For my birthday, I wanted a cake (of course), but I wanted to find a healthier (not healthy, but healthier) option. I stumbled upon this recipe, and even though I was skeptical, I tried it. Even JC loved it! Always nice to bring your hubby over to the healthier side, also.

Yogurt Cake

Cake:
1 box yellow, white, or butter yellow cake mix
8 oz. strawberry yogurt
2 egg whites
1 cup water

Icing:
8 oz. Cool Whip
4 to 8 oz. strawberry yogurt

Mix cake ingredients together and cook according to box directions. My oven seems to cook much faster than others, so it was actually finished in half the time. However, I'm not sure if this was because of the different ingredients, or if it was just my oven. So check it about half way through (stick a toothpick in the center and see if it comes out clean).

After taking it out of the oven, let the cake cool. While it's cooling, mix the Cool Whip and yogurt together for the icing. I started out with 4 oz. of yogurt, and added more to taste. I think I ended up using about 5 or 6 oz. When cake is cool, spread on top and put in the fridge.



Once again, super easy and super yummy. Plus, I don't feel as bad about eating it, since it doesn't have an extra-sugary icing and lots of oil in it. I'm sure you could use different yogurt (such as lime, blueberry, etc.) for different flavors. I'll have to try that sometime. Enjoy!

Fall Has Really Begun

Of course we all know that fall technically began about a month ago. But to me, it's not really fall until the weather gets cooler, you buy a few pumpkins, drink a little hot cider, and start your first fire. Well, tonight is the night for our first fire. Further, it's a real wood-burning fireplace--none of that fake gas stuff. I'm not saying the gas fireplaces don't have their merits, but there's nothing better than actually smelling the wood burning. Mmmm....

Anywho, here is a picture of our living room on this "first" fall night.



Yaye! And I'm off work tomorrow, so staying up late to watch football and have an extra cup of cider is completely acceptable. Oh, happy day.