Real Life: Live & Unscripted

WOOO HOOOOOOO!!!!!!! TGIF!!!!!!!

Enjoy your weekend!! Toodles!

Ummmm chocolate cake.....

*sigh*

This was SO.DAMN.GOOD. Like I cut this EVERYTIME I walked past the table good!!!

Need a good chocolate cake recipe for Valentine's Day?!?!

TRY THIS ONE LOL. (Kayla decided that since we had some extra chocolate left it would be good on the cake lol)

What you need:

• 1 (18.25 ounce) package devil's food cake mix
• 1 (5.9 ounce) package instant chocolate pudding mix
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 4 eggs
• 1/2 cup warm water
• 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. In a large bowl, mix together the cake and pudding mixes, sour cream, oil, beaten eggs and water. Stir in the chocolate chips and pour batter into a well greased 12 cup bundt pan.
3. Bake for 50 to 55 minutes, or until top is springy to the touch and a wooden toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool cake thoroughly in pan at least an hour and a half before inverting onto a plate If desired, dust the cake with powdered sugar.

Add this Satiny Chocolate Glaze for more chocolate goodness...

What you need:

• 3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1 tablespoon light corn syrup
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

1. In a double boiler over hot, but not boiling water, combine chocolate chips, butter and corn syrup. Stir until chips are melted and mixture is smooth, then add vanilla.
2. Spread warm glaze over top of cake, letting it drizzle down the sides.

**Disclaimer** Now hopefully you will like this cake if you make it. It was a TOTAL hit at my house, and my guests LOVED it. 

When ever I try a new recipe I ALWAYS follow it exactly the first time. NEXT time I make this I will omit the chocolate chips and use my chocolate cake recipe. Other than that it was REALLY good. This is only the 2nd time I've used a box cake mix and I will share that other recipe next time.

If you try it let me know how you like it!

Toodles!!!

Two posts in one day!?! NEW BUTTERICK PATTERNS!

I am a SUCKER when it comes to new patterns. I will be the first to admit it.

I LOVE all the possibilities! The excitement lol. Ok...I'm trippen. ANYWAY.....here are the ones I like. Now granted I might not make all of them but they sure will be great additions to my already HUGE pattern stash! LOL

New Butterick Patterns

B5213- This is SOOOOO cute to me. View C! I just LOVE that!!!

 
B5314- I can TOTALLy see this on me. Love View B

B5316- I love view A. I also have a floral print that this will be STUNNING in!

B5317- If this does not SCREAM summer dress!?!? I LOVE THIS!

**side note, I am SO glad I still have the shape and I am not "too old or too old looking" to wear some of these styles. My mom looked at these and said they were cute but some were a little too young for her. I respect the fact that she dresses her age. MORE women need to do that. side note over lol**

 
B5320- I don't know if it has anything to do with the fact that I LOVE ruffles but I SO love this dress!!! View A. LOVE IT!

B5328- Y'all know I love a wrap ANYTHING lol.

B5335- This has SO MUCH POTENTIAL!!! I wouldn't mind doing this in the same colors!!! LOL

Ok, that was fun lol. Now I can FINALLY finalize my spring/summer plan! I am already halfway there!! I also have to show you guys what I am planning on sewing for the kids AND Tony!! *gasp* LOL

Which ones did you guys like?

Thankful.....

Today was one of those days where I was just thankful. I mean I'm thankful EVERYDAY but today some stuff just really hit close to home.....

• I have a home to live in that isn't about to go into foreclosure
• I have a healthy family
• We are a happy family (most of the time lol)
• We have a good meal everyday
• We have clothes to wear
• I have a  husband that does a wonderful job of providing and taking care of us
• I work because I want to, not because I have to
• I LOVE my job! SERIOUSLY!
• I have the greatest friends. EVER.
• I am
• thankful for my blackberry ( just keeping it real lol)

I could go on and on and on but I am just thankful!!

When I got to work yesterday THREE people lost their job. I mean they went to work with a job and left without one. I mean really.

 
Thanks to EVERYONE ( Krustallos, Teka, Rose Sewing Room,  Jackie,Sew Sassy and I THINK that is all lol) who gave me the Kreativ Blogger award!

Thanks to EssenseVibe

 

For the encourage and inspire award. I HOPE I haven't forgotten any!! LOL

It is greatly appreciated!

Y'all have a great day!!!!

Toodles!

GTFOOH Episode 3

*sigh*

This lady right HERE was SO festive. Y'all can't really see the gold crap around the bottom of her skirt....

Say it with me...

GTFOOH!!

How was your weekend?!?

Mine was pretty laid back and just relaxing!

I LOVE IT!

I have so much going on the next couple of months, I am going to ENJOY weekends where I do not MOVE....

Well, where I don't move much lol.

My parents went to the Eagles concert Saturday night and I took a pic (since I had to take them to the concert lol)

Don't they look cute?!?!?! Awwwwwwwww
Umm notice that jacket? She has good taste lol.

My mom is ALWAYS buying something. Look at this ancient Chinese desk/table she got...

This is how it looks closed...looks like a table right? Check THIS OUT...

How freaking cool is that? I REALLY do like it.

When I grow up I wanna be just like my momma lol.

I really have THE best parents EVER. I love them so much.
*mushy moment over* lol

I got a good deal of sewing done! I will keep this post updated as I cross things off my list... woo hooo!!

I also got some GOOD knitting time in.

GG is looking goodddddddddddddd lol

 

Won't be long now!!! YAY ME! LOL I AM going to finish! LOL

Ok, that is it. I am REALLY rambling today.

Toodles!

TBF, RAK winner....and some sewing stuff (PICTURE HEAVY)

RAK WINNER FROM YESTERDAY IS....

 

Can you see who is in the NUMBER ONE SPOT? Send me your snail mail addy! You can click the picture to make it bigger! Congrats and look for another one soon!!!

WHOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAA man!!!

This used to be the JAM! Well it is STILL in rotation lol.

Now on to some sewing stuff lol.

I am on the clock to get a few things made. I put a little widget under my profile pic so I can hopefully meet my goal. If not..oh well. It is JUST a goal. I will NOT rush lol. Rushing and sewing is NOT good lol.

 

McCall's 5241 I need something to throw over my arms just in case I get COOL and not cold. I will use this eyelet type sweater knit that I got from Hancock. I've had this for a while. Finished January 26, 2009

Butterick 5247 I swear this is one of my FAVORITE patterns!! This time I am going to make the dress version using this lovely bamboo knit I picked up from Gail K last summer. Finished January 23, 2009

Have you noticed I'm STILL sewing from my stash!?!? lol

Vogue 8379 Good ole Vogue 8379! I think I've made this 3 times? I LOVE this dress and it really is a TNT pattern! This is a jersey I picked up from my trip to North Carolina last November. FINISHED FEBRUARY 4, 2009

Vogue 8390  View B.I wanted to do something fun with this top. I didn't want to go with a solid and since spring really is JUST around the corner I want to use this fun knit. I can NOT remember where I got this from lol. Finished January 24, 2009

Vogue 8291 I LOVE view A of this shirt. Just a simple tunic but I'm torn on the fabric. I don't know if I should use this yellow, that I picked up in Nashville OR this one...

I got this one from Hancock and it's like this purple-ish color with gold undertones. I think it is really pretty. What do you think? Which one?? I can't decide.

 

Vogue 8558 One can never have enough casual tops. I am really liking view A but since it IS still January I will be making view B. FINISHED FEBRUARY 7, 2009

 

Vogue 8565 At first glance this looked really maternity-ish. But upon closer inspection...I can jazz this up. I think this will be a great "car ride" or run out and grab the kids outfit. Comfy but still cute.  I don't know bout y'all and y'all KNOW how I feel about sweats! I am only going to make the top from this one and wear the pants below with it. DISASTER!! LOL Thrown away February 7, 2009

 

McCall's 5819 I didn't even notice this pattern until made it. Too cute!!! I was going to make mine in coral but ummm lol Imma do mine in black. I am gonna make the pants in black too and wear them with the above pattern lol. FINISHED February 8, 2009

LAST but NOT least....

Vogue 1099 I have LOVED this jacket since the moment I laid eyes on it. My problem!?!? Hancock didn't have the patterns when they were on sale. This one WILL be made in white pique "IF" it gets to me on time lol. I do believe it will lol. :-)

I think I can do it.  These are all pretty easy and straight forward patterns and all my patterns and fabric are cut out EXCEPT the last vogue one...I am stalking my mail main DAILY! LOL

Ok...guess I need to get sewing!!

Toodles!

RAK RAK RAK RAK RAK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

**I have closed the comments so the winner can be picked!!**

Do I have your attention yet?!?! LOL

How about a RAK! It has been a LONG time since I've done one of these.

I went through and purged....took out some stuff that I am NOT using and figured hey...I will give it to a good home....

A couple pics?? SURE!

These pics REALLY don't do this justice. There is SO much stuff in here and it's GOOD stuff....y'all already know I don't buy no JUNK! LOL

It's stuff I've purchased and now wonder why...or stuff from past kits that I haven't used.

Free to a good home. 

Leave a comment (like y'all always do lol) and I will do some sorta random number generator thing lol.

I will pick a winner around midnight-ish and post it tomorrow lol.

Alright guys have fun!

Toodles!

Pattern Review M5323

My FIRST sewn item of 2009!! WOO HOOOO! LOL

Gotta love the get ready shots lol. Tony is ALWAYS snapping lol

OOP McCalls 5323

Pattern Description: Unlined, fitted wrap blouse has sleeve and neckline variations; blouse A has purchased applique; blouses A, B have side ties, purchased trim; blouse C has sash; includes separate pattern pieces for A, B, C and D cup sizes.

Pattern Sizing:14-20

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it? yes

Were the instructions easy to follow? I didn't really use the instructions on this one. It's basic shirt construction.

What did you particularly like  or dislike about the pattern? I didn't really care for the puffy sleeve. I didn't realize how puffy it was until I was working with it.

Fabric Used: Cotton shirting from my stash. I've had it so long I don't even remember where I got it from.

Pattern Alterations or any design changes you made: None other than combing view A and B.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? I am going to make this my TNT wrap shirt pattern. I MIGHT make this exact version again but use a different sleeve. When I make it again I will do a different neckline and sleeve. This was my first time working with the made-for-you patterns and they are SUPERB!!!! I LOVE that it has cup sizes. That is awesome lol. I HIGHLY recommend this pattern if you can find it.

Conclusion: GREAT pattern!!! This was the first time I've been at my machine since the end of October 2008 sooo I was kinda rusty and it took me FOREVER. I think you can make this in a couple of hours from start to finish.

WOW, what day is it!??!

MAN, when I tell you I have been BUSY...I have been JUST THAT LOL.

Thanks for all the emails checking on me. I am oooooooooooook lol.

Let me do a quick little recap....mainly pics and a few words lol.

Tony took Aj to the Monster Truck Jam. Those are pics from our local paper. Here is the official site.

AJ HAD A BALL!


He KEPT talking about the guy on the bike that flipped upside down!


Aj loved meeting Grave Digger! He even got his autograph on a racing flag. He was trying to be shy. Tony said he talked the ENTIRE TIME lol.

Ummm the girls and I made charm bracelets.... and we scrapped. Other than that not sure WHAT we did lol.

This past weekend we went to a good friend of ours 30th bday party...

He said something real vulgar and I stopped to take a pic lol. He is soooooooooo crazy lol

Me and my girlsssss lol. Gotta start it off with Patron shots...I'm just sayn lol

Tony and the Bday boy...I SWEAR. I DO NOT UNDERSTAND THE NEED FOR SHADES AT NIGHT. Moving on before I get upset AGAIN....

We had a whole buncha folks over playing cards, eating, and just chillin. The kids played upstairs while the grown folks stayed downstairs. Y'all remember you couldn't go downstairs with the grown folks lol. Don't even play lol.

THEN they decided to pull out the counters Aj uses for school to act as umm "chips" lol

Lawd, it just went downhill from there lol. We had a good time and I THINK that is it lol.

Ok...ya'll have a SUPERB INAUGURATION  DAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Toodles!

More scrappies.....

Here are a few of my latest LO's. I NEED to update my album on my sidebar. I haven't added anything to it in a WHILE lol.  I might just start with these and continue on lol.

Family

And a couple of close ups.....

Products:

CS: Prism

PP: 7gypsies & MM

HS: Clock, brown paint and family sticker

Tim Holtz crackle paint

Chipboard Unknown

BG velvet ribbon

7 Gypsies labels

Colorbox ink

MS scallop punch (LOVE THIS THING)

NO TITLE LO LOL

Products:

CS: Prism (I am ADDICTED to Prism white cardstock. It's my favorite white cardstock EVER)

PP: 7 Gypsies

Tim HOltz grundge board stars

HS red paint

MM paper clip thingy lol

Journaling card unknown

I think this is my favorite LO lol

Products:

CS: Prism

PP: 7 gypsies ( I actually hated this paper, but when you have something you HAVE to use, use strips or very small amounts. lol)

7 gypsies stickers and tape (LOVE this stuff)

I don't know if you can see it very well in the picture but I used a page out of an old hymnal that I got from the thrift store for this very purpose. I sprayed it with some spray to make it acid free. I actually love this look and plan to use this some more lol

Flowers:Prima

HS: Glossy Extra words and date stamp.

Pearl Brads: Spare Parts

MM: Metal word and journaling page

Ok, that is IT for me! LOL Sewing and knitting update coming soon!! LOL

OH and look for a HUGE RAK in the next couple of days!!! I wanna make someone SMILE :-)

Have a great day!!

Toodles!

GG ;-) Green "Red" Gable Progress

I TOLD y'all I was going to knit!!!! LOL! I am going to finish it too. This was taken on Dec 7 so I've made more progress now and I will show another progress shot soon.

For those of you that don't remember, I made this once before back in May of  2007 and while I LOVED it...it was kinda short. I think I got tired of knitting lol. So this time I will make it the CORRECT length lol.

Speaking of knitting how many of you are going to Stitches South!?!? I WILL BE THERE!! WOO HOO! Robin wants to plan a gathering of blogger/rav people so let me know!!

Ok, that is ALLLLL I have for you today!

Toodles!

GTFOOH Episode 2.....and TBF!!!

Let's throw it back shall we?? And I mean WAYYYYYYYYYYYYYY back....

See, lemme tell y'all bout this kinda music. I may not have been born until 1977 but I GREW UP ON THIS!  Listen to the words...THERE IS SO MUCH TRUTH IN THIS DAMN SONG!!!! Wanna read the lyrics?? You can check them out HERE. Music THESE days is alright to "bounce" to but it has almost NO meaning...and I did say ALMOST lol.

Faces have been blurred/cropped to protect the innocent.

WHO can 'splain this to me??? WHY he got a LOW haircut in the front and dreads in the back????

I'll wait......

Say it with me GTFOOH!!

Y'all have NO idea the stuff I have seen lol. I'mma show it to you one picture at a time. I had a VERY sweet blog reader who sent me a WHOLE BUNCHA HOT MESS PICTURES!!! LOL So if y'all see something out there that needs to be featured on GTFOOH...send it to me and I will post them lol. Gotta love reader submissions lol.

Ok, that is IT for me guys!

Hope you all have a SUPERB weekend!!!

Toodles!

Yummmmmmm.....Key Lime Pie

I have a few posts scheduled from some of the things I baked over the holidays lol. So when you see all these cakes and pies and stuff start popping up....this stuff is NOT recent lol. I LOVE scheduling a post lol.

I LOVE Keylime Pie, but Tony loves it even more than I do so when he asked me to make him one...of course I did ;-)

What you need:

• 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick butter) melted
• 2 (14-ounce) cans condensed milk
• 1 cup key lime or regular lime juice (I used key limes)
• 2 whole eggs
• 1 tablespoon lime zest

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

In a bowl, mix the graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and butter with your hands. Press the mixture firmly into a 9-inch pie pan, and bake until brown, about 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool to room temperature before filling.

Lower the oven temperature to 325 degrees F.

In a separate bowl, combine the condensed milk, lime juice, and eggs. Whisk until well blended and place the filling in the cooled pie shell. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes and allow to chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.

Once chilled, sprinkle the lime zest as a garnish and serve chilled.

 I made my own whip cream using heavy whipping cream, sugar and vanilla extract. I whipped it until I had the consistency I wanted.

Enjoy!

Scrappy goodness...Mom's gift...

I had a few of you ask about one of my moms gifts this year and here it is. NORMALLY I make her a calender but this year for SOME reason I couldn't find my templates *eyeroll* so I made her a flip album.

I KNOW y'all remember this MM album kit that came out YEARS ago. I've had it a LONG time.

I had this thing so long it was dusty lol.

These were the original insides....

I did use some of it but I had to make it my own ;-)

 

I kept the front really clean and simple.

 

This is a side view of the pages. I think it's about 20 in all.

 

 

 

 

Just a few of the inside pages.

With my mom I have to make something that can stay OUT lol. She will never get a regular album lol. She won't open it lol.

Andre and Corey both said they wanted pics of the kids....well they actually asked me why they don't get stuff like that lol. They like pictures too...soooooo guess they will be getting something similar next year lol.

That's all I have today!

Have a great one! TOODLES!

Spring Sewing....The "plan"

On the 27th or 28th I went through all my clothes...AGAIN and got rid of anything that didn't fit right, dingy, faded, old or was too small, or too big and now I have a PLAN.

Now like all plans, they are subject to change :-)

One thing I realize that I NEED are some woven tops. Y'all KNOW I LOVEEEEE knits but I NEED some woven tops. I need that structure.

This list will be updated as I complete it and as the pattern company puts out the new spring/summer collections.

I have a LOT of patterns. SERIOUSLY.  A lot of what I have is OOP and to me those are some of the best ones. CLASSIC is always in style.

M5323 Patrice made this one and it was just too cute, so I picked it up lol. I love the neckline on view B but love the short sleeves of A so I PLAN to combine those two. I want to do this in white.  Finished January 17, 2009

I MUST mention that I am ADDICTED to white tops. SERIOUSLY.  Once summer arrives, I LIVE in white. White pants, white skirt, white top. I LOVE IT.

Now that I've mentioned that lol, I am going to seriously have to NOT make all my woven tops in white lol.

 

M5470 I have loved this pattern since it came out  in 2007 I think.....

I don't do a WHOLE lot of long sleeve tops....so of course I like view a and of course I want to do this in white, BUT I might go with the salmon rose from Patone Spring 09.

I've said it before and I'll say it again...I like to be aware of the trends, but I don't live by those rules :-)

 

M4922 This pattern didn't get a second glance until I saw Erica's version. Needless to say I really liked it. I actually can't wait to make this one and I will make view C.

 

S4112 I think everyone and their momma has made this top. I even started it once in this pretty pink, but at the time I didn't know how to do buttonholes so I didn't finish it. I'm almost positive I threw it away lol.  I will make the short sleeve view.

 

S3838 I have made this one before but it wasn't as well made as I would have wanted it to be so I threw it away. See, I have NO problem getting rid of stuff that isn't well made. I've learned sewing is really trial and error. The mistakes I've made, I don't make twice lol. ANYWAY, I want to make view A and probably view E for the summer. I really love this top with a nice pair of fitted straight leg pants. You simply can't wear a top like this with a baggy/unfitted bottom. NERP lol.

 

S4077 This is another pattern that was brought to my attention by someone else. Mimi made this one and I LOVED it and had to get it lol. I plan on making view E.

 

V8196 I have been in love with this shirt for a LONG time. I don't know where I saw it first but I LOVE It. I plan on making view A.  I have a swiss cotton dot (I don't know if that is the proper name) that will be perfect for it.

 

B4985 This is another one that has been on my list forever.  I really love this top. I plan on making view B or C...I haven't decided yet.

 

NL 6755 I LOVE wrap dresses and shirts. I adore this pattern. I've had it a while and now I'm going to make it! LOL. I don't know if I am going to make view A or B. I might just make B with short sleeves lol.

Ok, there you have it. That is it for my woven tops that I PLAN to make.  I need a lightweight jacket (because it's just not cold enough for a coat lol) for Spring and early summer so I will be looking for a versitle pattern for that.

This post got really long lol.

Hope you all have a great day!

Toodles!

TBF....and a buncha other stuff lol

Man....what DAHELL they got on?!?! LOL

LAWD lol
TOO FUNNY!!!

Let's seee where do I start? LOL

I am going to do Project 365 this year lol. I started a new blog for it and you can follow that HERE if you would like. I still have to jazz it up a bit but I will do that a little bit later on. I'm going to do mine a LITTLE bit different soooooo lol. WIsh me luck with that lol.

I'm also doing Twitpic 365 with Patrice lol. I will PROBABLY use a lot of the same pics lol...just a warning lol.

Tony said his best Christmas gift was tickets to the Papa Johns.com Bowl Game NC State vs. Rutgers. The game was superb.

Here are a couple of pics...

They said the game was packed and it was COLD. It was a part of Patrick's gift too...can't just buy one ticket...and I wasn't going lol.

Ya'll have to excuse Tony's head... *sigh* he is in the process of letting his hair "loc" so ummm yeah he KEEPS that stocking cap thing on it when he is out of the house. LAWD. I will be glad when this phase passes. I have been taking pics sooooo. I will post them soon one day lol. I don't have the very first twists but I do have the beginning of the loc process.

*DEEP SIGH* I went to Sips N Strokes the other night,  and did NOT enjoy myself. I have gone a lot as you all know, and I have NEVER not enjoyed myself. That CHANGED. The instructor SARAH whom I will make SURE I NEVER have again was AWFUL. THE ENTIRE CLASS WAS NOT PLEASED. What does that say?! YOU SUCK AS AN INSTRUCTOR!!!  The class ended at 9. When I left at 9:45 people were STILL trying to fix their paintings.  This was the best I could do with mine. The original picture looked something like this:

 

TRUST me when I say it took a LOT of work to get it even remotely close to this.  I STILL don't like it.

We had a blast on NYE. We went to a family party first...it was Michael Jackson themed lol....

The kids had a blast...there was a ton of food as it ALWAYS is with my family lol...we LOVE to eat lol. I don't know where Jaelyn was when we took this pic lol.

My Uncle Speed (We have a TON of nicknames in the family lol) and my dad lol

Uncle Pig giving me the evil eye lol...he know he love me lol.

My Uncle Wayne...the Host...that is a WIG on his head and his ONE glove lol

We were getting our cha-cha on. I swear that dance never gets old. I sweated my hair out lol, and before you ask, yes that is the same sweater in the above pic....don't act like you ain't never did it before lol

My mom wanted to learn so we were TRYING to teach her....

Had to call for some backup lol...she needs two on one help...One on one wasn't working lol.

 

Then I went to another party and did it up again lol

I don't think I got out of bed until almost 11 New Year's Day lol.

Ok, that is ALL I GOT! LOL

Hope you guys have a great weekend!

Pray for us...we are doing something new as a family lol.

LAWD! LOL

TOODLES!

Happy New Year!!!!!!!!!!!

Don't talk about it this year......BE ABOUT IT.