These are a Few of my Favorite Things!

It's Fall Ya'll...my absolute favorite time of the year. 

I look forward to it all year long! 

I love the feel of the air and all the harvest smells...

So These are a Few of My Favorite Things about FALL!

Cream Cheese Pound Cake

Another great recipe for you! This one is of my very favorite recipes. It even was sold for $100 in a dessert auction at our church in Texas! It is a must try :) Enjoy!

Cream Cheese Pound Cake

1 (8 ounce) cream cheese, room temperature
3 sticks butter, room temperature
6 eggs
3 cups sugar
3 cups all purpose flour, sifted with 1tsp baking powder
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp lemon extract
1/2 tsp almond extract

Cream butter and cream cheese together until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add sugar, flour mixture, and flavorings. Beat 4 minutes at MEDIUM speed. Pour into greased and floured large bundt pan. Bake 1.5 hours at 300 degrees or until toothpick comes out clean.

*Tip: I recently discovered using flour baking spray rather than greasing and flouring the bundt pan the old fashioned way and it works amazingly well!

Fall Recipe!

• Apple Cream Cheese Bundt Cake
• (Courtesy of Southern Living: I made this cake last weekend and it was fantastic! The whole house smelt like autumn goodness and I could have licked the pot clean of the frosting....Enjoy!)

• CREAM CHEESE FILLING:
• 1 (8-oz.) package cream cheese, softened
• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 large egg
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• APPLE CAKE BATTER:
• 1 cup finely chopped pecans (I left these out of my batter, but up to you!)
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
• 3 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 3/4 cup canola oil
• 3/4 cup applesauce
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 cups peeled and finely chopped Gala apples (I only needed about 4 apples to get 3 cups)
• PRALINE FROSTING:
• 1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
• 1/4 cup butter
• 3 tablespoons milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup powdered sugar

Preparation

• 1. Prepare Filling: Beat first 3 ingredients at medium speed with an electric mixer until blended and smooth. Add egg, flour, and vanilla; beat just until blended.
• 2. Prepare Batter: Preheat oven to 350º. Bake pecans in a shallow pan 8 to 10 minutes or until toasted and fragrant, stirring halfway through. Stir together 3 cups flour and next 7 ingredients in a large bowl; stir in eggs and next 3 ingredients, stirring just until dry ingredients are moistened. Stir in apples and pecans.
• 3. Spoon two-thirds of apple mixture into a greased and floured 14-cup Bundt pan. Spoon Cream Cheese Filling over apple mixture, leaving a 1-inch border around edges of pan. Swirl filling through apple mixture using a paring knife. Spoon remaining apple mixture over Cream Cheese Filling.
• 4. Bake at 350º for 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes or until a long wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool cake in pan on a wire rack 15 minutes; remove from pan to wire rack, and cool completely (about 2 hours).
• 5. Prepare Frosting: Bring 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1/4 cup butter, and 3 Tbsp. milk to a boil in a 2-qt. saucepan over medium heat, whisking constantly; boil 1 minute, whisking constantly. Remove from heat; stir in vanilla. Gradually whisk in powdered sugar until smooth; stir gently 3 to 5 minutes or until mixture begins to cool and thickens slightly. Pour immediately over cooled cake.
• 
  
• *I took pecan halves and tossed them in honey, cinnamon, and sugar. I then roasted them and decorated the top of my cake with them like shown in the picture*

Grandparent's Day

~ Grandma ~ 

My Grandma - when I think of her so many things come to mind. To name just a few: piano, singing, holiday decorations, Hilton Head Island, "Somewhere Over the Rainbow", Taco Bell, Snickerdoodle cookies, lilacs, emeralds, peas and potatoes, brach candies...the list could go on and on :). I have been close to my Grandma for as long as I can remember. When my mom was pregnant with Blake and Mandy, she was on bedrest and in the hospital for quite some time so I stayed with my Grandma and Granddaddy and I think this is where our closeness started. I remember being little and begging to spend the night at their house. Whenever I was there, I felt like I was a princess. Grandma and I would stay up late watching the soap operas she had recorded or watching old movies like "The King and I" or "The Sound of Music." She taught me how to sing and play the piano and was always so proud of me with everything I did.  And now not only is she Grandma but she is Gigi. Emma loves her Gigi and has brought so much joy to Grandma's life. I love her dearly and I am so thankful to have her as my Grandma. 

~ Grandaddy ~

My Grandaddy - where do I begin..."The Wizard of Oz", Angel Baby, Dickens houses, Hilton Head Island, boston baked beans, apple pie, halloween costume pictures, christmas morning Santa Clause reports, Alaska, Disney World... I think the things are miss the most about him are his smile and his hugs. I loved the way he smelled and there are times when I can still feel what it felt like to be in his arms. When I was little and staying at their house, I would hide at the top of the stairs when I saw him pull in the driveway from work and jump out and scare him as he came up. I now know he always knew I was there :) but acted surprised each and every time! In his eyes, I could do no wrong. He gave me everything I ever wanted and enjoyed each second of spoiling me rotten.  I wish he could see where I am now and how beautiful his great granddaughter is. I know he would be head over heels for Emma. He was the absolute kindest, most intelligent person I've known. If I needed to know the answer to something random, I could always call him up and he knew right off. I miss him so much it hurts deep inside but the comforting part is I know that one day I will get to have one of those great hugs again and I am so thankful that I have no doubt of where he is right now...I love you Grandaddy...

~ Mamaw ~

My Mamaw - Oh my goodness... sweet tea!, banana pudding, Thanksgiving, visits to Oakwood, the weather :), potato salad, Oscar the grouch, water beds, Chaco's mexican restaurant, milky way cake, the Schwans man... It's not too hard to tell that my Mamaw can cook! For as long as I can remember, one of my favorite things about going to my Mamaw's house was finding out what treat she had waiting for us. She always has sweet tea in the fridge and some type of dessert. And now that Emma has come along, she always has a bowl of goodies waiting on her. Emma has figured that out and knows which cabinet to go to for her treats! Mamaw is the sweetest most down to earth lady in the world. I think she is absolutely fantastic! Her hospitality is so amazing and you can feel how much she cares for you just in the sound of her voice. Love her!

~ Papaw ~

My Papaw - :) Papaw... Nascar racing, the Eagle Club, air conditions, pork chops!, pepper, "pretty good", westerns, Jovan Musk, white fudge oreos... My Papaw is the most laid back man I know and it's my favorite thing about him. He has this dry humor and he doesn't really say much but when he does, you always laugh. He has been through a lot with his health and has never missed a beat. His spirits are still high even after losing the majority of his sight and suffering through the effects of a stroke. You will never hear the man complain about anything. I admire him so much and wish I would be more like that. I love to watch him interact with Emma. She brings out a side of him we don't get to see much since he had his stroke. It warms my heart to hear him laugh at the things she does and she is crazy about him! Her favorite thing is giving him hugs and he eats up every minute of it! 

It's Game Day!!

It's that time of year again when the weather starts to get that slight chill in the air and the weekends begin to fill up with ... FOOTBALL ... !! And oh how I love it! While I have my teams, I could spend my Saturdays watching football all day long. We have kinda made it a tradition to also enjoy a great meal with our games...chili, taco soup, white chicken chili, chicken and dumplins, home-made italian chicken soup, etc. Yum Yum!

Rocky Top

You'll Always Be

Home Sweet Home To Me

Good 'Ol Rocky Top

Rocky Top Tennessee

Rocky Top Tennessee

And then there are Sundays...and Mondays...and sometimes Thursdays! Gotta love Peyton Manning and the Colts :), and I'm still very hopeful despite his injuries, he will pull it out this season!!

August Happenings...

Ok...so it's literally been over a month since I've posted on my blog! Needless to say, things have been quite busy for us lately. The major new thing in my life, I went back to work.... I say this with many emotions.... Obviously the money I'm earning doesn't hurt us and I feel like I worked too hard to earn the degree and skills I have to just let it go to waste but at the same time, going back to work and leaving Emma has been incredibly difficult. I knew it was going to be hard but I don't think I realized just how hard it was going to be. And Im only working part-time, which is two 12 hour days a week, but even those two days away are extremely difficult. However, I am going prn (as needed basis) in December so I think once I get to that point, it will be much better! I am enjoying taking care of patients again and using my cardiac nursing skills , I just wish I could work like 6 hours rather than 12!

Moving on to the fun things of August! Will, Emma and I spent a day together in Asheville, North Carolina at the Biltmore House! I went to the Biltmore in high school but Will had never been. We had a blast! Even Emma seemed to thoroughly enjoy the house! She would randomly say "whoa" to things she saw as we toured the mansion! Seeing the Biltmore is truly an amazing experience. To think that long ago, someone built a home so large and intricate is just unreal!  At Christmas, the house is all decorated for the season and I would love to see it during the candlelight tour they have...

Will and I had the opportunity to go to the Bristol race! He won tickets through a golf tournament he played in a couple months ago. So we went and had a so much fun. I haven't been in years and I don't religiously watch the races each weekend but my family does and they always have so growing up with racing, I've always been a Jeff Gordon fan. But even if you aren't a race fan, being at that track with all those cars rushing around is a thrilling experience. And to make it even better, Jeff Gordon lead almost the whole race but ended up finishing in 3rd....

.....So I am going to make a much better attempt to post more often in September!