cake!

There are few things that I love more in life than cake.  Throw some chocolate in that cake, and I could spend an entire day eating many, many slices.  I know it's not cool to love sugar these days, but as long as I try and eat lots of veggies (read, some veggies), etc. I've found a way to justify it.

Enter the bundt pan. Jeff and I have had this ongoing joke with this bundt pan I registered for and we got as a wedding gift.  I originally put it on the list because it reminded me of one of my favorite childhood desserts that my mom whipped up time and time again.  When we started prepping for the move Jeff tried to get me to ditch it "Baby, are we getting rid of this?" and I said "Absolutely not."  Even though it hadn't been used in almost five years, I had a plan.

Fast forward a few months, and now in my newly bright kitchen I decided to bake my mom's chocolate chip bundt cake. Jeff just aced a very big presentation at work and I thought it deserved a celebration -- and what better than Pat Swan's chocolate chip bundt?

Now if I would've known that Amelia would be up for the entire night with an ear infection, I probably would have passed on dessert, but how can we prepare for these things?

I wish the pictures were better, but my skills aren't up to par with Smitten Kitchen level (I'm obsessed with her blog).  The recipe's below, but I'm gonna warn you there are a couple of "from the box" ingredients. It kinda goes against my baking policy, but this is a recipe from the 70s, so what do you expect?  This cake is about reliving my childhood, but I did make a few modifications (marked below) and I was able to find a "healthy" pre-made vanilla cake mix, but, yeah...it's still from a box.


CHOCOLATE CHIP BUNDT RECIPE:
TOTAL TIME: Prep: 15 min. Bake: 65 min. + cooling YIELD:12 servings

Ingredients
1 package yellow cake mix (regular size) (You could always make your own, I just didn't have time at 7:00 at night)
1 package (3.4 ounces) instant vanilla pudding mix (I know, I know)
1 cup 2% milk
1 cup canola oil
4 eggs
1 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips (I always choose Guittard)
5 tablespoons grated German sweet chocolate, divided
2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar


*******MY MODIFICATIONS**********
 Immaculate Naturally Delicious Vanilla Cake Mix & an Extra cup of Guittard chocolate chips ; I also used whole milk, instead of 2%
************************************
Directions

1. In a large bowl, combine the cake and pudding mixes, milk, oil and eggs. Beat on low speed for 30 seconds. Beat on medium for 2 minutes. Stir in chocolate chips and 3 tablespoons grated chocolate. Pour into a greased and floured bundt pan.

2. Bake at 350° for 55-65 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack to cool completely.

3. Combine confectioners' sugar and remaining grated chocolate; sprinkle over cake.

Yield: 12 servings.

Saying What We Wanna Say

SNL has so many hilariously amazing women this season. When I saw this little gem, I couldn't help but laugh out loud.  Oh, the things I really want to say...

Flor!

I 've fallen in love with FLOR.  They're a carpet design co. that makes modular carpet tiles, so if you have cats who puke like me, or toddlers who destroy everything, these are genius.  If a square gets ruined, or needs to be cleaned, you just pull up the individual tile and clean or replace. 

There's hundreds of textures, styles and prints that can be arranged however you like, but we went with a green short shag that looks like grass for Amelia's room.  It just makes me happy to walk in there with bare feet in the morning. So cheery and cozy - and this mama needs that.

Here's what her room looked like before:

I just had to show that wallpaper close up because it was like some crazy cross stitch from the 70s and the carpet isn't visible here, but trust me, it was "vintage."

I hate showing before & after shots, because we aren't totally done.  Still looking for art over the crib and tent.  Stay tuned.  But for now, here it is:

Pasta Anyone Can Make -- As Long as You Have Trader Joe's

I've been pretty upfront about struggling to get lunch and dinner on the table in an easy fashion over here. So I was psyched when my friend Jenny made me a deliciously simple pasta, that's just four ingredients, all from Trader Joe's. Truth be told, we were making pasta for the kids and the only kind we had was the little wagon wheels. It was delicious that way, but you can also use fusilli or penne.

I made it during Amelia's nap last week and it took no time.  It makes a great side dish, or if you're a pasta lover like me, your entree for the evening.

Here goes:
- Boil pasta
- Chop chives (a handful will do)
- Cut mozzarella into cubes
- Once pasta is cooked, add the fresh mozzarella cheese and place immediately on the hot pasta
- Add sun-dried tomatoes and some of the olive oil left in the jar (too much will make it super oily)
- Season with some salt and pepper, maybe even red pepper flakes for a little kick

And you're done.  Thanks, Jenny!

New Year, New House

2014 was all about searching for a home  - eight months to be exact, almost long enough to carry a baby full-term.  It took me back to my dating days of going on first dates  (open houses), hoping he'd call back (getting a counter offer), then wondering if he was ever gonna commit (accepting final offer). We got our hearts broken several times, but in the end, just as everyone said we found the house that was perfect for us. The only problem was that it needed a lot of love to bring it back to its glory days. It was an enormous task to take on as first-time homeowners. We were warned -- multiple times -- but we're suckers for a challenge.

Here are a couple of  before and after shots, and almost all of these pics are taken by our family photographer -- Jeff. Without him, I'd just have highly-filtered instagram photos to chronicle the past two years.

Before ...

After ...
It took us a long time to decide on a color.  Jeff wanted to repaint the house red, but I just couldn't help but think barn.  So, we finally agreed on Benjamin Moore's Galveston Gray - and a pop of yellow to make it just a bit more cheery.

I'm not ready to reveal the finished living room, because it's not finished. Ha! But, here's a before and  ... middle. The yellow shag really says it all.

Before:

After:

The biggest change was ripping up that ol' shag and putting down beautiful hardwood.  We ripped off the wallpaper and painted the walls Farrow & Ball's Cornforth White (which is a beautiful light grey).  We decided to paint the fireplace white and stain the mantle. We went back on forth on that one for awhile, but now every time I stare at that brick I'm so damn happy. More to come, I promise.

Valentine's Playdate/Puking Disaster

I thought I would pull a total Betty and have some friends over (read mommies and toddlers) and get a little crafty for Valentine's Day.  My mom has a delicious and reasonably healthy cookie recipe that I make every year, so I thought it would be perfect.  I'd make the dough the night before, whip up the homemade icing and then the kids could decorate them tomorrow afternoon.

Here's what I was envisioning:

*photo by Jeff

 plus

photo: thetreatboutique.com

Here's what happened:

Last night, Amelia projectile vomited all over Jeff and the rocker. Is it bad that I cringed when I realized it had been taken down in the process? So I scratched making the dough and spent plenty of time cuddling with her until she was okay to go to sleep.

She didn't seem better today, so I made the call. The playdate was off.

And here's today's reality:

BUT, I do have my mom's recipe for the most delicious Valentine's Day cookies to pass along:

Valentine's Cut-Out Cookies:

1 cup butter, softened

6 oz cream cheese, softened

1 cup sugar

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon Vanilla

1 tablespoon baking powder

1\4 teaspoon salt

1 cup quick or old fashioned oats

1\2 cup chopped walnuts

Beat butter and cream cheese together.  Add sugar and vanilla;  beat again.  Sift dry ingredients.  Add to creamed mixture.

Stir in oats and walnuts.  Chill several hours or overnight.

Bake at 350 for 12-15 minutes.

Frosting:

2 cups confectioners sugar

2 tablespoons butter, softened

4 teaspoons milk

1\2 teaspoon vanilla

pink and red food coloring

Roll out balls of dough in your hand, shape like a heart (indent top and elongate a point) or roll out and use a cookie cutter.  Frost when cool.

Why Betty?

photo cred: revictorian.com

Betty makes me think Betty Crocker, Betty Draper, maybe even Betty Rubble. She runs the house, probably bakes pies with a homemade crust while her baby naps, sews and crafts, dresses sexy for a night out with her husband - she's doing it all (certainly some better than others, Ms. Draper).

So what does that have to do with me?  About eight months ago I decided to quit my part-time job and become a stay-at-home mom. I nannied in a previous life so I thought being home with our daughter would be easy for me. The reality?  It's the hardest thing I've ever done and I know it's cliche to even say that.  What I've figured out in my brief time as a mom, is that being a parent is just hard. Whether you work full-time, part-time or stay-at-home it's exhausting.

The most challenging part for me is that staying at home means I need to be a tiny bit more domestic. And truth be told, I'm really not.  In my head I want to bake those cookies from scratch, arrange fresh flowers in beautiful Anthropologie vases, but the reality of whipping up dinner while my 21- month-old sleeps for an hour and a half is just not something I find particularly easy, or interesting. I really just want to nap, or watch that last episode of "The Affair" and try to wrap my head around if Allison and Noah will make a go of it OR just have a moment to sit in a quiet room without a crazy tiny person shouting "Mommy" every ten seconds. The problem with this is that Jeff and I just bought a house and I need to rein it in on the takeout and get on the Dave Ramsey plan ASAP.

So, I'm chronicling my journey to be an executive wife -- run the household, manage bills, stick to a budget, become a culinary goddess, make our home beautiful, be sexy for myself and my husband, find a creative outlet that fulfills me, still see my girlfriends, have conversations that don't begin and end with Amelia, raise our child and actually like it.